But, hey, at least we're not-how can we put it politely? -weebs. Of course, those serious anime fans probably don’t frequent Netflix, anyway, given the myriad of foreign (and usually illegal) sites housing every season of One Piece and every production ending in “Miyazaki.” Those of us who find ourselves on Netflix are probably just-how should we say it?-filthy casuals. Only Japanese shows and movies get to play.Īside from some of our favorites, we’ve also decided to choose shows and movies with genre significance-which means commercial properties serious fans might not consider worthy are here anyway. So while we love Avatar: The Last Airbender, which pays tribute to various forms of Asian art, both animated and otherwise, we have to leave it on the bench. If it’s animated and written, drawn, and produced in Japan, it’s probably safe to call it “anime.” Cartoons anywhere else in the world-even those which adopt similar animation styles, techniques, or storylines-don’t pass the definition test. While “anime” is just a term derived from “animation,” the word denotes art specifically made in Japan. Selecting the best anime on Netflix is pretty much like choosing the best Netflix TV show: there are hundreds of titles and thousands of forehead-vein-popping fans ready to jot your name into a Death Note if you flub the rankings.
