20 Incredible Anime To Binge-Watch On Netflix That Might Have Flown Under Your Radar

After being wounded on a battlefield, Violet Evergarden is hospitalised and given prosthetic arms. The war left her with words from the person she held dearest, but she does not understand what they mean.

Upon her recovery, Violet comes across letters written by an 'Auto Memory Doll' while working in a post office. An Auto Memory Doll is an amanuensis who writes letters filled with people's thoughts and feelings. Moved by the notion of the job, she decides to become one herself and she goes on to reshape the lives of her clients and hopefully leads to self-discovery.

Episode count: 13

Reasons to watch:
- A slice-of-life series
- It will make you cry
- It has characters and stories that deal with trauma
- Set in a reimaged western country following World War I
- A Netflix original series

Watch it here. There are two movies in the Violet Evergarden franchise on Netflix too, namely:
- Violet Evergarden: Special
- Violet Evergarden: Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll

The story revolves around an eccentric yet mischievous teacher who is not afraid of admitting to being a pervert. At 22 years old, Eikichi Onizuka challenges the foundations of the educational system. His methods are bizarre and often dangerous. Despite that, Onizuka manages to earn his students' trust and respect one by one while simultaneously teaching them life lessons.

Episode count: 43

Reasons to watch:
- It is hilarious
- Comes with a bit of action and gangster elements
- It is heartfelt and inspiring
- Set in high school

Watch it here.

Heine Wittgenstein is a small-sized man who is given the monumental task of tutoring the King's four sons. He has to train the princes into royalty material. At first glance, the princes have all the allure and refinement Heine would expect, but underneath their exteriors are four potentially terrible tyrants.

Episode count: 12

Reasons to watch:
- A slice-of-life, coming-of-age series
- It is hilarious
- Set in a royal palace in a fictional western country
- It has shojo (mangas marketed towards young women) elements

Watch it here.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is the story of the Joestar family, starting with Jonathan, a mild-mannered Englishman who strikes up a rivalry with Dio Brando, his adopted brother. Because of a cursed mask, Dio becomes a powerful vampire, and Jonathan swears to stop him.

It is the first season of the now five-season franchise. It is also one of the bestselling mangas of all time, with many spin-offs and a live-action adaptation. The franchise is responsible for countless Internet memes, regardless if it is related to anime or not.

Episode count: 26

Reasons to watch:
- Filled with bizarre, over the top comedy and fight scenes
- It is hilarious
- You want to get into the anime meme community
- There are countless videos about Jojo on YouTube

Watch it here.

After not meeting each other for many years, Ryo goes to look for his childhood friend Akira to tell him about the existence of demons - information which the world's governments are trying to suppress. In a bid to expose the demons, Ryo brings Akira to an underground nightclub which leads to Akira being turned into a demon. Being able to suppress the demon's possession, Akira then uses his newfound power to slaughter demons without losing his human heart.

Episode count: 10

Reasons to watch:
- A very different anime art style
- Dark and twisted
- It has some insanely awesome Japanese rap scenes
- It will make you cry
- A Netflix original series

Watch it here.

Fruits Basket tells the story of Tohru Honda, an orphan girl who, after meeting Yuki, Kyo, and Shigure Sohma, learns that twelve members of the Sohma family are possessed by the animals of the Chinese zodiac. They are cursed to turn into their animal forms when they are weak, stressed, or when they are embraced by anyone of the opposite sex. As the series progresses, Tohru learns of the hardships and pain faced by the afflicted Sohmas. Through her own generous and loving nature, she helps heal their emotional wounds.

Episode count: 25

Reasons to watch:
- A slice-of-life series
- It will make you cry
- It has characters and stories that deal with trauma
- There are elements of romance
- It is hilarious
- You will love it if you do follow your Chinese zodiac predictions every year

Watch it here.

As society rises from the ashes of war, cybernetically augmented arena fighters battle for fame and fortune... or die trying. Levius loses his parents after the war and is taken in by his uncle, Zack. Under Zack's tutelage, Levius immerses himself into the world of mechanical martial arts, a brutal new sport separate from that of traditional bouts. As his innate ability for martial arts begins to blossom, he begins to capture the attention of strong and dangerous opponents.

Episode count: 12

Reasons to watch:
- Filled with epic martial arts, hand-to-hand combat scenes
- A 3D anime art style
- Semi-mecha (robots), prosthetics-enhanced characters
- A heartfelt series that deals with love and sacrifice
- A Netflix original series

Watch it here.

When violent monsters descend upon Earth to destroy humanity, a reluctant young man joins a small squad of pilots under the command of his cold and dictatorial father to drive back the menace using giant machines that seem to have minds of their own.

Episode count: 26

Reasons to watch:
- Mechas (robots)
- Set in an apocalyptic world
- A psychological drama
- It has a controversial ending
- It is the series with a famous original soundtrack - A Cruel Angel's Thesis 

There are two Evangelion movies on Netflix too, namely:
- The End Of Evangelion
- Evangelion: Death (True)²

Watch it here.

When tragedy is about to strike, Satoru Fujinuma has the ability to send himself back several minutes before the accident occurs. The detached 29-year-old manga artist has taken advantage of this powerful yet mysterious phenomenon, which he calls 'Revival', to save many lives.

However, when he is wrongfully accused of murdering someone close to him, Satoru is sent back to the past once again, but this time to 1988, 18 years in the past. Soon, he realises that the murder may be connected to the abduction and killing of one of his classmates, the solitary and mysterious Kayo Hinazuki, that took place when he was a child. This is his chance to make things right.

Episode count: 12

Reasons to watch:
- A series about time travel
- A suspenseful murder mystery
- It will make you cry
- A heartwarming series about friendship and love
- The characters have a secret base

Watch it here. There is also a live-action adaptation series produced by Netflix.

Gantz tells the story of a teenager named Kei Kurono who dies and finds himself part of a group that is brought back to life in perfectly healthy bodies and are forced to participate in a 'game' where they must hunt down and kill aliens. Those who die on missions are quickly replaced by others in following missions. The person who wins the game will get a second chance in real life. The series is known for its graphic violence, sex, action, and other mature themes.

Episode count: 26

Reasons to watch:
- Action-packed
- Dark and twisted
- Filled with graphic violence, sex, and other mature themes
- A science fiction series

Watch it here. Netflix has also produced a movie adaptation of this series.

Hinata Shouyou, a short middle school student, gains a sudden love of volleyball after watching a national championship match on TV. Determined to become like the championship's star player, a short boy nicknamed 'the small giant', Shouyou joins his school's volleyball club.

Episode count: 25

Reasons to watch:
- A sports drama
- A heartwarming series about friendship
- It is hilarious
- Set in high school

Watch it here.

Kousei Arima was a prodigious pianist when he was a child. But after the passing of his mother, Saki Arima, Kousei falls into a downward spiral, rendering him unable to hear the sound of his own piano.

Two years later, Kousei still avoids the piano, leaving behind his admirers and rivals. He lives a colourless life alongside his friends Tsubaki Sawabe and Ryouta Watari. However, everything changes when he meets a beautiful violinist, Kaori Miyazono, who stirs up his world and sets him on a journey to face music again. The series is commonly hailed as one of the most tear-jerking anime of all time.

Episode count: 22

Reasons to watch:
- It is lauded as one of the best music anime series of all time
- It is tear-jerking and romantic
- Set in high school
- It has characters and stories that deal with trauma

Watch it here.

Masamune Izumi is a light novel author in high school, who has a shut-in step-sister named Sagiri. He works with a manga artist, known only as "Eromanga Sensei", to produce his work, but he has never met this person. In a turn of events, he discovers that his step-sister is his manga artist. Further chaos erupts between the siblings when a beautiful female best-selling shojo manga creator becomes their rival. The siblings then work together to beat out their rival.

Episode count: 12

Reasons to watch:
- A romantic comedy
- It has ecchi (playful sexual themes) elements
- A story about manga authors and artists
- It has a hikikomori character, a reclusive adolescent or adult who withdraws from society and seeks extreme degrees of isolation and confinement

Watch it here.

God Eater is the anime adaptation of the God Eater video game series. The story is set in post-apocalyptic Japan in the year 2071. The world has been mostly destroyed by mysterious monsters known as the Aragami. An organisation known as Fenrir was made to exterminate Aragami using 'God Arcs', weapons made from Aragami cells.

Those who specialise in exterminating Aragami are known as God Eaters. Their God Arcs originally could only keep a single form, however, a new type has been discovered that can switch between gun and blade form. Their quest is to prevent the total annihilation of the human race.

Episode count: 13

Reasons to watch:
- Action-packed
- A fantasy and science fiction series
- It has a 3D anime art style
- It is adapted from a game of the same name

Watch it here.

Mari Tamaki is a second-year high school student who wants to make the most out of her youth but is usually too afraid to do so. One day, she meets Shirase Kobuchizawa, a girl who has been saving up to travel to Antarctica, where her mother disappeared three years ago. Joined by two other girls, Hinata Miyake and Yuzuki Shiraishi, they join an expedition headed towards the Antarctic to find Shirase's mother.

Episode count: 13

Reasons to watch:
- An adventure and coming-of-age series
- It will make you cry
- A heartwarming series about friendship
- It has characters and stories that deal with trauma

Watch it here.

Kusuo Saiki is a high school student, who was born with powers, which are psychokinesis and teleportation. He attempts to hide his powers from everyone at school. He is put in several seemingly normal scenarios, where he must use his psychic powers to hide his abnormality.

Episode count: 50 episodes across three seasons

Reasons to watch:
- A slice-of-life series
- It is hilarious
- Set in high school
- The protagonist has supernatural abilities

Watch it here. There is also a six-episode series produced by Netflix, which is a continuation of the previous seasons.

Since the Edo period, gladiator arenas have existed in certain areas of Japan. In these arenas, wealthy business owners and merchants hire gladiators to fight in unarmed combat where the winner takes all. Tokita Ohma, nicknamed "Ashura", joins these arenas and devastates his opponents. His spectacular ability to crush his enemies catches the attention of the big business owners, including the Nogi Group CEO, Nogi Hideki.

Episode count: 24 episodes across two seasons

Reasons to watch:
- Filled with epic mixed martial arts and hand-to-hand combat scenes
- The fights are gruesome and graphic
- A 3D anime art style
- A Netflix original series

Watch it here.

Rilakkuma and Kaoru is a 2019 stop-motion animation series created by Dwarf Studio in cooperation with San-X that premiered on Netflix in April 2019. It follows the life of office lady Kaoru, who one day finds two bears and a pet chick in her small apartment. The simple story is filled with adorable and heartfelt moments, depicting an everyday life in Japan.

Both the bears and the pet chick are popular plush toys in gift stores around the world.

Episode count: 13

Reasons to watch:
- A slice-of-life series
- It has dorable plush toy characters
- A stop-motion animation series
- It depicts the mundane life in a Japanese suburb, but the series is filled with heartwarming scenes
- A Netflix original series

Watch it here.

Aggretsuko is a single 25-year-old anthropomorphic red panda, who works in the accounting department of a Japanese trading firm. Facing constant frustrations every day from pushy superiors and annoying co-workers, Retsuko lets out her emotions by going to a karaoke bar every night and singing death metal.

Aggretsuko is a character under Sanrio, the company licenses characters such as Hello Kitty and Gudetama.

Episode count: 10

Reasons to watch:
- A slice-of-life series
- It is hilarious
- Filled with heavy metal scenes
- You will love it if you can relate to hating your boss or are stuck in a boring nine-to-five job
- A Netflix original series

Watch it here. There is also a special Christmas episode produced by Netflix.

Unlike many schools, attending Hyakkaou Private Academy prepares students for their time in the real world. Many who attend the school are from the richest families in the world. During the day, the academy is a normal school, educating students in history, languages, and other subjects.

But at night, it turns into a gambling den, educating them in on the art of dealing with money and manipulating people. Money is power; those who come out on top in the games stand at the top of the school. Yumeko Jabami, a seemingly naive girl but a borderline insane gambler, is ready to try her hand at Hyakkaou's special curriculum.

Episode count: 24 episodes across two seasons

Reasons to watch:
- A psychological drama about gambling
- It has some eerie scenes with sadistic characters
- Set in high school
- A Netflix original series

Watch it here. There is also a live-action adaptation on Netflix.