The 15 Best Adult Animated Shows On Netflix

No list like this would be complete without the king of adult animated series, long may it reign (or is it rein?). In "BoJack Horseman," Will Arnett stars as the eponymous character, a literal horse who behaves like any other person. In fact, that's a large part of what draws us to BoJack: He is shockingly human, often more so than many other characters, and probably some people that you know personally. BoJack is a depressed has-been floating through life, listless and unfulfilled. Who doesn't hasn't experienced that sense of quiet ennui?

"BoJack Horseman" is the rare critical darling that is also universally loved, and for good reason. While you'd be forgiven for calling it a comedy, the show is at its best when it's sad. "Free Churro," an episode from the show's fifth season, is one of the finest examples of what has been called the "sadcom," or shows that embrace a form of "cynical sincerity." The episode sees BoJack giving his mother's eulogy. It starts much as you'd expect — BoJack throws out jokes amid some general awkwardness — before meandering through random memories in which the only constant is the deceased's awfulness. The entire episode is one long monologue. BoJack is the only one who speaks, grieving out loud while leaving unsaid the question underpinning it all: Why didn't his mother love him? Episodes like "Free Churro" are why "BoJack Horseman" is so beloved.

This series from Matt Groening might bill itself as "Game of Thrones" by way of "The Simpsons," but the world of "Disenchantment" has far more in common with Springfield than Westeros. That's mostly a good thing, though in true "The Simpsons" fashion, the storytelling sometimes feels a bit inconsequential, especially in the first season; plot-wise, later seasons are much stronger and more cohesive. Despite the medieval digs, Groening's fans will feel right at home here, as the art style is comfortingly familiar and the sight gags and general zaniness you expect from his productions are present in the requisite amounts.

"Disenchantment" follows the exploits of Bean (Abbi Jacobson), a princess with a rebellious streak, a silly fish-out-of-water elf named Elfo (the always quirky Nat Faxon), and Luci (Eric Andre), Bean's personal house demon who resembles the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Loki in temperament and who may or may not be a cat. There are currently four seasons, and each one is better than the last, as the show quickly outpaced its initial premise.

A fantasy epic that uses Greek mythology as a jumping-off point, this action-adventure series tells a beautifully bloody tale about the wars between gods, giants, and demons, as well as the squishy humans caught in the middle. Heron (Derek Phillips) is a nobody who slaves away in a mine until events bring demons to his door. In short order, Heron is revealed to be the son of Zeus, and a demigod due to his mixed god and human blood. It's a path we've tread many times before — a hero's journey initiated via a one-night stand is boilerplate Greek mythology — but, fortunately, "Blood of Zeus" has a few surprises in store.

The show is very similar to "Castlevania" in the style of its animation (the two shows share a studio), its love of gore, and its somber tone, though it doesn't have the Gothic horror's wonderful sense of humor. This is Greek storytelling writ large, and while I can't vouch for its faithfulness to the mythology, nothing feels egregiously out of place. Mostly, I was just riveted by the action and excited to see what came next. Good news on that front: Netflix has already confirmed that a second season is in the works.

Puberty is many things: confusing, awkward, strange, exciting, and terrifying. If it is funny at all, it's only in retrospect, once we are safely insulated from the horrors by time and experience. If you laughed at all when your body first started secreting alien fluids, it was probably only reflexive. "Big Mouth" explores this chaotic time in our lives, but it manages to be hilarious; maybe puberty is only funny when it happens to someone else?

A show that only pokes fun at the physical changes that teenagers endure would quickly wear out its welcome. Fortunately, "Big Mouth" has more on its mind than the wonderful strangeness of the human body. Simultaneously poignant and repugnant, "Big Mouth" has faint echoes of "Beavis and Butt-Head," but doesn't have that earlier series' casual misogyny. Instead, there's an innocence to "Big Mouth" that reminds you what life was like before sex started making everything weird. "Big Mouth" is forward-thinking and sex-positive, with characters like the hormone monsters, who encourage the characters' more base urges, and are used to explain things like inconveniently timed erections and violent shifts in mood. It's a series that bursts with creativity — the Shame Wizard is one of the greatest concepts ever — and should not be missed.

F may be for "family," but it's also shorthand for ... something else. Case in point: Comedian Bill Burr created this series, and it's as foul-mouthed as you'd expect. Burr stars as Frank Murphy, the patriarch of an American family in 1970s middle America. Frank is crude and ill-tempered, the kind of guy who perpetually seems one psychotic break from a "Falling Down" sort of day. But for all that, Frank is a family man, and the show's heart-warming moments are as surprising as they are quietly moving.

The show's characters are voiced by one of the most star-studded groups you will find in an animated series: Laura Dern, Justin Long, Sam Rockwell, Vince Vaughn, Allison Janney, and T.J. Miller. But as great as the "F is for Family" cast is, equal billing must be given to the setting itself. The show is a love letter to an America that may have only truly existed in our time-faded memories — or those of our parents — but for those of us who are old enough, it is touching and bittersweet nostalgia.

An intelligent but discontent high school student named Light Yagami — yes, his name ends up being highly ironic — stumbles across a supernatural book called the Death Note. Anyone whose name is written in the book dies immediately (there are some rules, but that's the gist). It was left in our world by a death god named Ryuk who thought it'd be an interesting prank; given the first episode ends with Light declaring himself a god after murdering untold numbers of people, he's not wrong.

That's an interesting place to start a series, and although Light is never all that sympathetic, he remains the protagonist of "Death Note" despite his increasingly unheroic actions. Even Light's initial plan to rid the world of evil sends him tumbling down a slippery slope, as to do so he must become evil himself. It's a dichotomy that Ryuk mentions, but his observations fall on deaf ears — Light has already been consumed by his quest. Alarmed by all the deaths, the International Police assign a mysterious but brilliant detective known only as "L" to the case. What follows is a taut dance, as the hunter repeatedly becomes the hunted and vice versa over the next 10 years. "Death Note" is a tightly-plotted thriller that's as horrifying and addictive as "Stranger Things" and other shows of its ilk.

This series calls itself "Big Mouth" meets "The Office," though it also contains generous portions of "Monsters Inc.," "Inside Out," and "Superbad." That's a strange-sounding stew, but the result is refreshingly original. "Human Resources" is a "Big Mouth" spinoff that lets us spend more time with the mothership series' recurring background characters, including the hormone monsters and my favorite, the Shame Wizard. The show is tonally similar to "Big Mouth," but with everything dialed up to 11.

"Human Resources" is about monsters who work for a corporation called, well, Human Resources, which is tasked with helping humans manage their emotions. Imagine "Inside Out," only the monsters are nymphomaniacs, and you won't be far off the mark. The monsters can be seen by their human clients, which invites some entertaining quasi-fourth-wall breaking. Despite the out-there subject matter — or perhaps because of it — "Human Resources" has attracted a number of high-profile guest stars, including Hugh Jackman, Helen Mirren, Lupita Nyong'o, Rosie Perez, and Bobby Cannavale, just to name a few.

Whether you loved or hated the live-action remake, there is no denying that the animated version of "Cowboy Bebop" is far superior. Widely considered one of the greatest anime series of all time, "Cowboy Bebop" has been an anime gateway drug for Western audiences for 25 years, and it has influenced the work of directors like Quentin Tarantino and Rian Johnson. In a very "Star Wars" sort of way, "Cowboy Bebop" is a melting pot of different influences, most notably noir pulp and space westerns, but also kung fu flicks, dystopian cyberpunk stories, and sci-fi horror. The joining of such disparate threads weaves a wholly original world that is simply mesmerizing.

The story follows a crew of registered bounty hunters aboard the spaceship Bebop, a less-decrepit Millennium Falcon. In this world, bounty hunters are called "Cowboys," and our main crew is less of a found family, and more just a group of plain old mercenaries. Episodes often involve the crew pursuing a new target, though there is an overarching story that I won't spoil. Like Han Solo in the original "Star Wars," these Cowboys are in it for the money, and they shoot first. It's one of the greatest TV shows ever made.