Many Americans believe animation belongs to the “kids” category, which is a shame; some quality television falls under this description! Some shows are wildly different from the kiddie cartoons you might find on Cartoon Network or Nickelodeon. Passing it off as a childish cartoon is a great way to miss a few of the greatest TV shows.
There are excellent shows that are intended for kids but have great value for older audiences (we’re looking at you, “Adventure Time” ). However, we want to highlight a few titles made specifically for the grownups. Most are admittedly comedic, but all are extremely entertaining.
They are our…
Top 10 animated shows for adults
The classics
Archer
This is the best show about the worst people ever.
In real life, we don’t want to meet Sterling Archer or any of the other characters in this show. In fact, we wouldn’t want to be anywhere near their spy agency. They’re the most bungling, addle-brained group of covert operatives ever to see the light of day and God help anyone who gets involved in their antics.
Luckily, this makes them hilarious to watch!
Family Guy
“It seems today that all you see is violence and movies and sex on TV, but where are those good old fashioned values on which we used to rely? Lucky there’s a family guy!”
“Family Guy” follows the Griffin family through insane adventures. It’s a sitcom gone wrong, featuring Peter as the inappropriate but well-intentioned father, Lois as the “average” stay-at-home mom, Chris, the teenage son, Brian as the talking dog, Meg as the character everyone else loves to hate, and Stewie as the ridiculously intelligent and villainous prodigy baby.
Together, they might manage to not burn down the neighborhood.
Futurama
“Futurama” stars Fry who gets stuck in a cryogenic chamber in the year 2000 and falls asleep for 1,000 years. When he wakes up, it’s the future!
As you might expect, one thing leads to another and he falls in love with a one-eyed alien named Leela and befriends an alcoholic, kleptomaniac robot named Bender.
Together, they find jobs at Planet Express, a delivery company owned by Fry’s distant nephew, Professor Farnsworth. They begin a journey that may actually end with them making deliveries once in a while. But more often than not, they’ll barely escape from insane journeys with their lives intact!
Subsequently, the creator Matt Groening also made “The Simpsons” and “Disenchantment,” the latter quite recently. We recommend all of them, but include “Futurama” because it’s our personal favorite!
By anyone’s reckoning, though, “Futurama” created some of the best memes:
Samurai Jack
When you’re done palling around through the comedies, stop by “Samurai Jack” for a welcome change of pace.
Jack receives a sword that can defeat the demon Aku, a powerful being that simply embodies evil. Aku sends him forward in time to a dystopian future because hey, why not put off killing the samurai with a magical sword?
Hey, demons procrastinate, too.
In the future, Jack begins his quest to return to his own time and defeat Aku. This results in a back-and-forth battle that nearly sees victory for each side time and time again.
Look, “Samurai Jack” isn’t necessarily for adults. It’s rated TV-Y7, and was made by the same person that made “Dexter’s Laboratory” and “Powerpuff Girls.” However, “Samurai Jack” never captured that older younger audience as much as it captured older viewers.
Think “My Little Pony,” but with demons and samurai.
South Park
“Come on down to South Park and meet some friends of mine!”
Namely, meet Stan Marsh as the middle-class lead, Kyle Broflovski as a neurotic stereotype, Eric Cartman as the overweight sociopath, and Kenny McCormick as the lower-class kid all the others ignore. Kenny also dies in pretty much every episode.
Oh, trust us, this show gets controversial. The rumors are true.
If you’ve ever wanted a hilarious show that goes where no show was willing to go before, this show is for you. The things they “get away with” will leave you stunned.
Up-and-coming shows
Bob’s Bugers
A family that makes burgers together: it’s a simple concept that gets big laughs.
Bob and Linda Belcher try to hold their family-owned joint together, but they have a lot to handle. They have their awkward outcast daughter Tina, friendly but difficult son Gene, and highly intelligent and manipulative youngest child, Louise.
Interesting fact: their pilot episode broke viewership records. Of course, with a name like “Human Flesh,” who wouldn’t want to give it a try?
Bojack Horseman
Picture this: a world where humans and talking animals live together in harmony. Or…at least in the average-day American discord.
Imagine Narnia mixed with “30 Rock!”
This Netflix-exclusive is the world of Bojack Horseman. Years ago, he was the famous leading actor of the hit TV series “Horsin’ Around.” Now, he’s another burnout celebrity living off his former glory while slowly ruining his life with substance abuse.
The show feels like a comedy for a while, but as time goes on, there are increasingly introspective moments. These moments go into the nature of depression, purpose, and family. The fun never leaves, but we should note that fans love this show for more than just the laughs.
Castlevania
OH YEAH!
Long ago, a series of 8-bit, side-scrolling games took us on an adventure to kill Dracula. We loyally followed…again and again and again!
The games started with Simon Belmont, but this new TV show begins with the story of Trevor Belmont, the last of his family name. He spends his days drinking and fighting in taverns until the world comes crashing down after the Church of Walachia kills Dracula’s human wife for allegedly practicing witchcraft. The once-benevolent vampire lord sets out on a quest to destroy all humans and begins (as one does) by summoning an army from Hell.
Slowly but surely, others come to Trevor’s side to join the fight against Dracula: Sypha, a nomadic mage, and Alucard, the [spoilers] son of Dracula. Their battle will be legendary!
Also, props to Simon and Richter Belmont for getting into Super Smash Bros!
One Punch Man
What if a hero was too powerful? What if they were truly OP?
Saitama can beat every bad guy with one punch, but bad guys aren’t his problem. He’s become so powerful nothing in life can catch his interest. Even when powerful monsters appear with greater frequency, he finds himself unmatched.
If you’ve ever wanted to watch a godlike hero with arguably more power than Superman struggle through life’s daily challenges while occasionally wrecking a villain with no trouble, watch this show. If you like action, watch this show. If you like comedy or anime or character development or musings on dreams, motivation, and inner fulfillment, watch One Punch Man!
It’s seriously all that and more.
7 ongoing animes you should be watching
Read now ►Rick and Morty
Get riggity riggity rekt!
Let’s just get this out of the way: we understand that a lot of the fanbase has ruined “Rick and Morty.” However, you shouldn’t let a few bad apples spoil the bunch, no matter how annoying they are:
If you haven’t heard of it yet, this show follows the hyper-intelligent, dimension-hopping outlaw Rick Sanchez and his awkward grandson, Morty Smith. Together, they go on adventures that occasionally end in the Earth’s invasion, destruction, or their own deaths.
Yeah, they get themselves into some pickles.
The toxic fanbase shouldn’t dissuade you from watching this show. The political commentary mixed with the action and comedy make for a fun experience.
Try it out. You may just fall in love.
Wrapping up
Did your favorite show make the list? What popular animated show for adults do you think should have made the list? Let us know in the comments below!
