10 Hard-hitting, Bingeworthy Anime Series on Netflix

Netflix is one of the largest entertainment streaming services in the world, and recently, they have been buffing up their Anime Library to become the biggest Anime streaming service. In fact, it is estimated that Netflix will spend nearly one billion dollars on Anime investments in 2026. While Netflix does house some of the best live action series on TV, like Breaking Bad and Peaky Blinders, it also houses some of the best Anime series that are overshadowed by all the other content on Netflix. This post will discuss the best hard-hitting Anime, meaning they are meaningful and cover sad/difficult topics that most other entertainment media stay away from. Therefore, this list is not for the faint-of-heart. For those that are interested in Anime that are a little more serious, here is your next watch (in no particular order):

• Kotaro Live Alone: This series follows a well-mannered young boy, Kotaro, that moves into a small apartment complex alone. He becomes friends with his adult neighbors, but as these friends learn more about him, they find out that the circumstances behind his move are all too unfortunate and sad.
• The Apothecary Diaries: Mao Mao, an apothecary in a brothel in ancient China, is a forced into service of the emperor in the concubines’ quarters. Starting from the bottom, she proves her worth by using her alchemical knowledge to uncover and investigate a plot against the emperor and his favorite concubines. However, Mao Mao has only scratched the surface of a much more sinister plot in the works.
• Violet Evergarden: Only ever knowing war, a child soldier, Violet, enters a peaceful world having lost the only person she ever loved. Hesitantly, she finds a career as a letter writer but soon realizes that there is much more to the world than conflict. The more she learns, the more her dark past catches up with her.
• Cyberpunk: Edgerunners: Set the distant future, a group of cybernetically enhanced hood rats fight to survive on the streets and escape the clutches of a corrupt government. Through love and tragedy, the group escapes the streets but at a cost that is almost too much to bear.
• Banana Fish: A New York Gang leader, Ash, befriends an innocent foreigner, Aiji, despite their opposite backgrounds. Before they know it, both are swept up into desperate battle for survival over the release of a new drug, a substance so dangerous it could turn the entire world on its head.
• Vinland Saga: This 13^th century Viking period piece follows Thorfinn, a boy whose father was killed by a ruthless band of mercenaries. Instead of fleeing, Thorfinn decides to follow and eventually join that same mercenary group with the goal of becoming strong enough to kill the leader.
• Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End: A millennium old elf, Frieren, embarks on a long journey to visit the heavenly land of Areole. On this adventure, she realizes the importance of the people around her, both from the past and present, and begins to place more value in getting to know and understand the people she calls friends.
• JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: The Jostar family’s goodwill gives rise to an evil man named Dio, who gains the power of immortality by absorbing other people’s life. Through the generations of Jostars, the family uses their strong-spirited determination and stand powers to bring down Dio and his lackies.
• Monster: A renown brain surgeon, Dr. Tenma, must choose between saving the life of a well-known politician or a young boy. He chooses the boy and loses his career in the process, but the boy turns out to be a merciless murderer. To correct his mistake, Dr. Tenma pursues to boy in hopes of minimizing the damage and killing the boy he once saved.
• Death Note: Light, a high schooler, stumbles upon a notebook that kills anyone with their name written in it. Despite using the power for just means, like dissolving hostage situations, his actions are seen as unjust and he is hunted by the most prominent detective in the world.