20 Fantastic Animated Series That Outshine Most Live-Action Shows

It’s widely agreed by most that animated film and television are incredibly and unfairly disregarded by many as true art. So much more can be accomplished visually and stylistically in the realm of animation. It’s especially impressive when there’s a great animated television show, requiring not just a longer runtime to animate, but typically released every week.

Animated shows are so wonderful. Being serialized projects doesn’t make them only for kids, though, like typical Saturday morning cartoons are (however, some of these are). If animated television has shown the world anything, it’s that animation can be for everyone, kids and adults — sometimes even adults only. While some may see them as just “cartoons” and nothing to take too seriously, in fact, many animated products often find themselves being better than what one would find in live-action projects.

20

‘X-Men: Evolution’ (2000–2003)

Image via Marvel Animation

With the X-Men coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, people are all theorizing and wondering what the plot could be like for this new iteration. With the cast that’s been announced being so young, many people have been hoping — praying — that they take from the likes of the animated series, X-Men: Evolution.

This series brings the iconic characters into a much younger age, making them high schoolers, rather than teachers at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. Making the main team so much younger than they are typically seen brings the opportunity for all-new kinds of interpersonal drama that can’t be found outside of it. It makes one wonder why they aren’t depicted as teenagers more often (it also kills the controversial love triangle that is commonly between Wolverine, Jean Grey, and Cyclops—thank goodness).

19

‘Green Lantern: The Animated Series’ (2011–2013)

Image via Cartoon Network

While 2011 may seem like a disastrous year for the Green Lantern character, many don’t realize that was only in cinema. The hero had an animated series that began the same year that is genuinely one of the best adaptations of the Hal Jordan (Josh Keaton) character. Overshadowed by the terrible Green Lantern movie, though, Green Lantern: The Animated Series was never given the shot it deserved.

The way this series adapts the entire Green Lantern Corps is almost perfect. It manages to have some mature themes and stories while still being wholly accessible for younger audiences. It feels like a space opera in its scale, but still juggles personal relationships and character arcs as if it were a grounded street-level show somehow.

18

‘X-Men: The Animated Series’ (1992–1997)

Image via Marvel Studios Animation

If someone hasn’t already heard the comic book fans of the world raving about 1992’s X-Men: The Animated Series, they’ve probably been living under a rock for a few decades. It’s so popular that it even got revived with Disney+’s X-Men ’97—people love it that much. For good reason, too, as X-Men: The Animated Series has some of the best superhero storytelling on television.

This five-year-long show has some of the deepest, most meaningful storytelling in animated superhero television. The X-Men have always had this over most Marvel Comics properties. The show accurately and truthfully depicts themes and messages about discrimination and bigotry while still being an action-packed, kid-friendly romp.

17

‘My Hero Academia (2016–2026)

Image via Studio Bones

One of the most popular modern anime is none other than the 2016 series My Hero Academia. Kohei Horikoshi—the mangaka of the franchise—does an exceptional job blending typical Western superhero tropes and character archetypes with the shonen anime style. My Hero Academia is different than what most people expect from a superhero show, with a unique premise, world, and characters that can only be found in this franchise.

The premise of a young boy in a mostly superpowered society who has no abilities getting the greatest power on the planet from the literal Symbol of Peace is already engrossing. But when mixed with the one-of-a-kind characters surrounding him — with equally special power sets — and emotionally compelling stories and character arcs, My Hero Academia becomes a truly distinctive and special series.

16

‘Young Justice’ (2010–2022)

Image via Warner Bros. Animation

From the exceptional minds of Greg Weisman and Brandon Vietti, Young Justice is one of those shows that truly captures the teenage experience (much like another popular show of Weisman’s). Taking a page out of Teen Titans, Young Justice depicts a team of sidekicks and young heroes coming together to form a team of their own.

Unlike Teen Titans, this show goes even deeper with its mature storytelling — less anime-inspired. When it comes to good animated DC Comics content, Young Justice is up there with the best of the best. The storytelling at play, as well as the character arcs, make Young Justice one of the best DC Comics animated properties out there.

15

‘The Legend of Korra’ (2012–2014)

Image via Nickelodeon

It was always going to be next to impossible to perfectly follow up Avatar: The Last Airbender, but with this in mind, the studios behind both that series and The Legend of Korra did pretty dang well when it came to developing the latter. The sequel series, following an all-new Avatar, Korra (Janet Varney), is not perfect, but still an exceptional show, at the end of the day.

People give The Legend of Korra a lot of flak for simply not being the same series Avatar: The Last Airbender was. Expecting the follow-up of one of the best television series of all time to be even better is the definition of overly wishful thinking. At the end of the day, though, The Legend of Korra still finds itself being better than a plethora of series out there, thanks to how well-written it is, especially when it comes to the development of the show’s world and characters.

14

‘Regular Show’ (2010–2017)

Image via Cartoon Network

Kids who grew up on Regular Show consistently call back to it even today, thanks to how hilarious it is. Many attribute Regular Show to their appreciation for absurdist humor, and absolutely adore the wonderful Mordecai (J. G. Quintel) and Rigby (William Salyers), along with the numerous characters that surround them.

Regular Show gets used as a meme—people use the absurd situations that Mordecai and Rigby consistently find themselves in on a typical Tuesday as a joke, all the time, which has kept the memory of the show alive. People simply love this show, and some even beg for it to make a comeback somehow, despite the ending of the original series being incredibly good and satisfying as it is.

13

‘Invincible’ (2021–Present)

Image via Prime Video

One of the most beloved superhero animated series of the last few years is, without a doubt, Invincible. Based on the Skybound comic book of the same name, written by Robert Kirkman, this show came to Prime Video and captured the hearts of the world almost immediately. Despite some failings in the animation department, at times, Invincible still remains one of the most popular shows on the air at the moment.

Thanks to the work of some amazing vocal performances from the likes of Steven Yeun, J.K. Simmons, Gillian Jacobs, Seth Rogen, Walton Goggins, and many more, the characters pop off the screen and come to life. This, combined with some great storytelling thanks to Kirkman and the new writers on the writing team, makes Invincible such a great watch.

12

‘Gravity Falls’ (2012–2016)

Image via Disney Channel

One of the greatest accomplishments to come from Disney Channel/Disney XD is, without a doubt, the ever-iconic Gravity Falls. Brought to the screen by Alex Hirsch, this animated series does an abundance of things right. It crafts a compelling mystery across the entire plot, while crafting just as interesting ones each week in a serialized format.

There’s genuinely so much to love about this show. Despite being an animated show on Disney Channel/Disney XD, anyone can watch and enjoy Gravity Falls. The humor is stellar, the voice acting is lively, the story is engaging, and all of the character arcs are compelling. Not to mention, it went the extra mile to get audiences invested by hiding little hints, secrets, clues, and more into the show that could be used to discover more — the intro theme has a backwards message at the end, which changed each season to act as another cipher.

Image via Bones Inc.

One of the greatest anime ever made comes from the studio that made the extremely popular My Hero Academia, Studio Bones. After a first series that was pretty mixed, they brought the Fullmetal Alchemist franchise back in 2009 with a show that was more accurate and faithful to the original manga, which was called Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.

Thanks to how amazing the manga by Hiromu Arakawa is, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood has found itself being one of the most beloved anime of the modern age, with a whopping and clean 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s such an excellently told story that audiences can’t help but get engaged and care about it. Not to mention, Studio Bones animated it phenomenally well.