The popular streaming service Netflix has some of the best anime that fans can binge-watch right now. Since the popularity of streaming took off, binge-watching has become the ideal way for most fans to watch a new show. Rather than having to wait for weeks just to watch a new episode, viewers have found it far more convenient to sit down in their own time and watch every episode over a short period of time.
Netflix has become the best place to do this as they ultimately started the trend. By releasing all new episodes at once for the majority of their original programming, this started a movement that changed the face of watching television forever. Anime is no different in this regard. While Netflix has begun following a simulcast method of weekly episodes for certain series, including their must-watch hit A Happy Marriage, their library of anime is so vast that there are plenty of options for fans to binge.
10 Pokémon Concierge Provides a Chill Experience For Beginners
Estimated Binge Time: 1 Hour and 12 Minutes
The latest addition to Netflix’s anime library, Pokémon Concierge was ultimately a cozy way to end the 2023 anime season. Its appealing art style mixed with relaxing themes make it impossible not to binge all four episodes at once, making the series its own little mini-movie. Concierge is also a great gateway show for people wanting to try binge-watching for the first time, since it’s not only short but provides an easy watching experience. The series has been so popular among fans that many have begun calling for more episodes following a disappointingly short episode count that has begun to make waves.
Pokémon Concierge
Pokémon Concierge is a stop-motion animated series created for Netflix by The Pokémon Company. The series centers on a young woman named Haru who works at the world-famous Pokémon resort, where she caters to various Pokémon guests and their owners/trainers in different lighthearted and comedic scenarios.
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9 Junji Ito Maniac Provides a Frightfully Fun Binge Experience
Estimated Binge Time: 5 Hours
Fans of iconic horror mangaka Junji Ito know just how big his voice is in the world of horror. His name has become as well-known as other titans of the genre, such as Stephen King and Wes Craven. This second attempt at bringing his stories to life in the form of anime, and while the show is an imperfect mixed bag due to it being an anthology, there are so many stories that are adapted here that it’s impossible not to find one that speaks to a viewer. From creepy hanging balloons to headless mannequins, Junji Ito Maniac is the perfect watch for binge-watchers wanting something spooky on their list that improves upon the disappointing Junji Ito Collection anime with better animation and scarier stories.
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8 Violet Evergarden is Perfect for Fans of Sci-Fi Drama
Estimated Binge Time: 9 Hours and 36 Minutes
Violet Evergarden is a Netflix anime that has become cherished by fans as one of the streamer’s most underrated. The series follows a soldier named Violet working alongside various automatons in a ghostwriting department as she tries to solve a mystery revolving around a series of words spoken to her earlier in her life. While there are only 13 episodes in the main series, there’s plenty of content for new fans to indulge in once they finish the series. With two films, including a recap of the main series that serves as a love letter to the show, and a short OVA, the world of Violet Evergarden is vast for viewers who love a good science fiction drama series, opening the way for an enjoyable binging experience.
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7 Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Brings the Game to Life
Estimated Binge Time: 4 Hours and 24 Minutes
When the game Cyberpunk 2077 was originally released, fans were ultimately disappointed by its presentation. However, before it got its important updates that gave players a better experience, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners reignited excitement among fans with a story that took the internet by storm. The popular Trigger anime set in the world of the game follows an outlaw named David as he takes on large threats as an Edgerunner with a ragtag crew in his dystopian reality. Edgerunners became a global phenomenon when it released, even managing to gain Crunchyroll’s award for Anime of the Year in 2023. While there are no plans for a second season, it’s a perfect series to binge to see what the hype is all about.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
David Martinez (Kenichiro Ohashi) is a streetwise kid living in the slums of Night City in Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. To survive, David becomes an edgerunner, also known as cyberpunk, taking on mercenary jobs outside the system. Together with a group of new and veteran edgerunners, David will shoot for the moon to escape the underbelly of the increasingly cyber-obsessed city. Unfortunately, the law isn’t the only group that the edgerunners will have to contend with, as other heavily cyber-augmented humans will pose an even more significant threat.
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6 Death Note is a Must-See Classic
Estimated Binge Time: 14 Hours and 11 Minutes
Despite becoming a series so popular that it has been joked about constantly, Death Note is a remarkable series that every anime fan should see at least once in their lives. The show follows Light Yagami as he comes across a book called the Death Note. He quickly learns from the Shinigami Ryuk that whoever’s name he writes in the book will die of a heart attack unless otherwise specified. This leads to an engaging thriller as Light is playing cat-and-mouse with the authorities as he tries to model the world into his idea of a utopia. Death Note proved immensely popular with fans as it adapted the well-received shonen series of the same name. Even with its intimidatingly large binge time, it’s well worth the time invested.
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5 Devilman Crybaby Set a High Bar for Netflix Anime
Estimated Binge Time: 4 Hours and 12 Minutes
This modern adaptation of the manga Devilman by Go Nagai set a major precedent for Netflix anime due to how incredibly well-received it became by fans and critics alike. The story, which follows Akira Fudo after an incident with his childhood best friend leads him to having his body inhabited by the devil Amon, turning him into a half-human half-devil hybrid dubbed “Devilman” became such a huge hit among viewers that it’s still being praised to this day. Its intricate themes and unapologetic LGBTQ+ messages have been heralded by critics while also delivering some pretty epic action that rivals some of the best action sequences in other anime such as Dragonball Z. Devilman Crybaby is nothing short of a masterpiece and needs to be seen from beginning to end in one shot, making it the perfect choice for a binge.
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4 Aggretsuko Adds Incredible Depth To Adorable Sanrio Characters
Estimated Binge Time: 14 Hours and 56 Minutes
It’s a bit jarring to fans when they realize that Aggretsuko and its focus on real-world adult themes came from the same company that created the Hello Kitty franchise. Yet, it stands tall as one of the best anime Netflix has ever created. This series spotlights Retsuko, a red panda working a 9-5 accounting job that vents her frustrations through her passion for karaoke Death Metal. The adorable designs of Aggretsuko‘s characters do a great job pulling audiences in to what could be a fun little comedy, yet the writing stands out with some of the best character work fans will see in an anime. Not every character choice hits, as seen through season 4’s handling of Haida, but regardless, Aggretsuko is a must-watch for anime fans with its five seasons and has one of the best anime Christmas specials ever providing tons of content for their next binge.
Aggretsuko
Aggretsuko is a Japanese animation series created by Sanrio and licensed by Netflix. The series centers on a red panda who relieves stress by singing heavy metal karaoke after work. The series ran for five seasons of 15-minute episodes and was adapted into a comic book series by Oni Press in 2020.
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3 Komi Can’t Communicate Is a Wholesome Must-Watch for Romance Fans
Estimated Binge Time: 10 Hours
Based on the long-running manga by Tomohito Oda, this slice-of-life romantic comedy took the Netflix community by storm with its simple yet adorable story. The series follows a socially anxious girl named Komi as she attempts to make 100 friends before she leaves high school. With the help of her first friend, Tadano, she begins to expand her social circle and develop connections that will last a lifetime. The animation mixed with its clever writing make this series one of the most wholesome shows fans can watch on the streamer. It’s cute, quirky, and incredibly fun, making it a fun binging option that the whole family can get in on.
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The 10 Most Adorable Komi Can’t Communicate Moments
Komi Can’t Communicate is an anime that’s filled with adorable moments. Here are the ten best parts that show Komi at her absolute cutest.
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2 Castlevania Delivers an Action-Packed Epic
Estimated Binge Time: 13 Hours and 57 Minutes
This anime, loosely based on the hit video game by Capcom, was one of the most talked-about series on Netflix for quite some time. It’s an epic adventure that hooked fans from the get-go with its grandiose settings and high stakes as the Belmonts take on Dracula and his army. The way the story plays out gives the series an epic feel as it draws from some of the biggest stories ever told, including Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings franchise. With four seasons of action-packed episodes bolstered by in-depth lore that expands the world of the games, Castlevania is a series that can’t be missed.
Castlevania
Based on the video game franchise, Castlevania is a Netflix original animated action series that follows the never-ending battle of the monster-slaying Belmont clan as they continue to face off against the hordes of the night. When Count Dracula’s human wife is murdered, his grief leads him to doom the world to eternal darkness. To stop him, it’ll take a team of three unlikely heroes banding together: the last remaining Belmont, Trevor, a magic-wielding seeker named Sypha Belnades, and the tortured half-human, half-vampire son of the count himself, Alucard.
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1 Scott Pilgrim Takes Off Defies Expectations
Estimated Binge Time: 3 Hours and 40 Minutes
Rounding things out is a series that no one expected, yet, it delivered something more than profound. Scott Pilgrim Takes Off was hyped up by Netflix as a more faithful adaptation of the books by Bryan Lee O’Malley. However, following a shocking twist at the end of the first episode, it became its own thing that expanded on the lore of the Scott Pilgrim series and explored its side characters more in-depth. It’s something that most fans weren’t expecting when they heard that an anime about Scott Pilgrim was being made, but at the same time, it delivered on so much more that it became something the fanbase needed. At a brisk eight episode runtime, this is a must-watch for bingers that also happen to be fans of Scott Pilgrim, making it one of the best Netflix anime to binge-watch of all time.
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off
Based on the famous graphic novel by Bryan Lee O’Malley, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is an animated adaptation of the comedic action-adventure series. The series will see the titular Scott Pilgrim living a routine life until he falls for a delivery girl named Ramona Flowers – but before they can date, he’ll have to battle with her seven evil exes. The series will see several returning talents, such as the cast of the 2010 film by Edgar Wright, all reprising their roles, and musical partners Joseph Trapanese and Anamanaguchi.
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