Netflix‘s library has evolved quite a lot over the years. For a long time, Netflix was seen by viewers as the go-to streaming platform for all of their favorite sitcoms, TV dramas, and movies. In recent years, however, the service has begun to reserve more and more space in its library for its TV and film originals. That’s partly due to many of its competitors launching their own streaming services and keeping their legacy titles to themselves, and partly the result of Netflix’s ongoing interest in cementing its status as an active producer of original material.
Along the way, Netflix’s platform has also — whether intentionally or not — become a treasure trove of underrated animated titles. Indeed, the streaming service hasn’t publicized it quite as frequently, but it has invested just as much money and time into building out its animated shows as it has its live-action. Its efforts to do so have, fortunately, paid off.
Here are five underrated Netflix animated shows you should check out this year.
Hilda (2018)
Based on creator Luke Pearson’s beloved graphic novel of the same name, Netflix’s Hilda follows its titular character, a blue-haired girl from the woods (voiced by The Last of Us star Bella Ramsey) who moves with her mother to the city of Trolberg. Despite her initial reservations about the move, Hilda quickly finds herself swept up in plenty of new adventures and crossing paths with friends, creatures, animals, and spirits that she would never have otherwise met.
The show, which ran for three seasons, is as charming as it is heartwarming. Boasting a simple yet gorgeous art style that perfectly reflects its whimsical story, Hilda is a must-see series for any die-hard animation fans out there who are hungry to discover new animated titles that are both artistic and singular.
Love, Death, & Robots (2019)
Created by Deadpool director Tim Miller and produced by David Fincher, Love, Death, & Robots is one of the most underrated anthology TV series that has come along in recent years. Since it premiered in 2019, the Netflix original has delivered more than its fair share of memorable television episodes, most of which rely on entirely different yet equally awe-inspiring animation styles.
Not every single episode that has been released throughout Love, Death, & Robots‘ first three seasons is destined to blow you away, but the show always seems to be bursting at the seams creatively. You won’t regret giving your time to even its worst chapters, and its best will just leave you hungry for more like them. In the five years since its debut, Love, Death & Robots has never really gotten its fair due. The good news is that it’s never too late to become yet another one of its devoted fans.
Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts (2020)
Set in a post-apocalyptic version of Los Angeles, Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts follows Kipo (voiced by The Boys star Karen Fukuhara), a young human girl from a subterranean community who is unexpectedly separated from her family and left stranded on the surface world, which is run by mutated animals known as mutes. As she tries to reunite with her loved ones, Kipo ends up caught in a dangerous conflict that forces her to realize just how courageous and heroic she can truly be.
Featuring stunningly colorful, occasionally psychedelic animation and a likable cast of characters, Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts is, like Hilda, a three-season Netflix animated series that is well worth seeking out. It’s fun, stirring, and surprisingly thrilling, and it manages to beautifully split its attention between its characters and the action-packed adventures they frequently find themselves going on together.
Trese (2021)
Oozing with atmosphere and striking, noir-inspired imagery, Trese is one of Netflix’s most underrated animated offerings. Inspired by a Filipino comic series of the same name, Trese follows Alexandra Trese (voiced by Shay Mitchell), a healer and warrior based in Manila who protects the city’s citizens from supernatural creatures that constantly threaten to wreak havoc. Comprised of just six episodes, Trese is a distinctly immersive, often nightmarish crime drama.
It seamlessly combines its modern world with the ancient threats that linger beneath its surface. Those who tune in will, therefore, find themselves treated to a series that feels, despite its many familiar elements, completely original.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners (2022)
At first glance, it’d be easy to brush Cyberpunk: Edgerunners off as nothing more than an expensive piece of tie-in marketing for CD Projekt Red’s 2020 video game, Cyberpunk 2077. While it certainly is that, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners also happens to be much more. It’s a visually stunning, narratively gripping TV show that needs to be seen to be believed. Set in Cyberpunk 2077‘s futuristic world, it follows a smart and promising young man named David (voiced by Zach Aguilar), who chooses to respond to a heartbreaking personal tragedy by becoming a high-tech mercenary on the black market, aka, an “edgerunner.”
The show has just as much action as one would expect from it, but part of the joy of watching Cyberpunk: Edgerunners comes from seeing just how well it balances its instances of stylish spectacle with its moments of compelling character development and world-building. Those who have seen it know how good the series is, but it deserves a much bigger audience than it has received up to this point.
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