20 Must-Watch Animated TV Shows For All Ages

There’s a wide variety of animated TV shows, not all of them aimed at a young audience, and some of them are a must-watch. Many animated TV shows are made for a young audience and have a family-friendly tone, with many of them becoming classics and even ranking among the best TV shows of all time.

However, the world of animation also has content for a more mature audience, and they are as good and entertaining as children’s shows. From traditionally animated shows to sitcoms, family stories, and fantasy adventures, there are some animated shows that are a must-watch, regardless of their target audience, as they all have something different to offer.

X-Men: The Animated Series

In 1992, the X-Men successfully made the jump to TV with X-Men: The Animated Series. The show follows the title team of mutants (formed by fan favorites like Wolverine, Cyclops, and more), led by Professor Xavier, as they fight to achieve peaceful coexistence with humans.

X-Men: The Animated Series is one of the best superhero TV shows of all time, thanks to how faithful it is to the comics, its animation, voice acting, and the themes addressed in it. In 2024, the revival X-Men ‘97 was released on Disney+, and it’s also a must-watch.

Sailor Moon

Sailor Moon is a Japanese superhero anime TV series based on the manga of the same name. Sailor Moon follows Usagi Tsukino, a middle school student given the power to become the Pretty Soldier known as Sailor Moon. Usagi is later joined by other Sailor Soldiers, and together they defend Earth from various villains.

Sailor Moon has powerful, strong, complex female characters, covers themes of love, friendship, and identity, and its vibrant and fun animation makes it an engaging and entertaining show. Although its reboot series, Sailor Moon Crystal, is also good, the original show is a classic everyone should watch.

The Powerpuff Girls

The Powerpuff Girls is one of Cartoon Network’s best and most popular TV shows. The Powerpuff Girls takes the audience to the city of Townsville, where scientist Professor Utonium accidentally creates three kindergarten-aged girls with superpowers: Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup.

Together, they fight against the different villains that try to destroy or take over Townsville. The Powerpuff Girls are now part of pop culture, and the show has been praised for its concept, humor, animation, creative characters, and storylines, as well as its perfect balance between childhood and funny elements with superhero themes and scarier elements.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Star Wars has expanded a lot, especially on TV, but its best TV show is, arguably, Clone Wars. The show is set between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, and follows Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Anakin’s padawan, Ahoska Tano, as they lead the Republic’s clone army against Dooku’s Separatist Alliance.

The Clone Wars is worth watching even for those not into Star Wars, thanks to its character development, themes of politics and morality, cinematic quality, and animation, with engaging storylines that appeal to both kids and adults.

Gargoyles

Gargoyles focuses on the title nocturnal creatures who turn to stone during the day. The surviving gargoyles were cursed to sleep, meaning being frozen in stone form, until their castle “rises above the clouds.” A thousand years later, the gargoyles awaken when billionaire David Xanatos has the castle reconstructed atop his New York skyscraper.

While they adapt to a completely new world, the gargoyles become the city’s secret nighttime protectors, and they must also stop Xanatos’ sinister plans. Its well-developed stories and characters, mythology, and themes like racism, prejudice, ambition, and more make Gargoyles a must-watch classic.

BoJack Horseman

For a more mature audience, there’s BoJack Horseman. This adult animated tragicomedy follows anthropomorphic horse BoJack Horseman, a once 1990s sitcom star who plans a resurgence with an autobiography written by ghostwriter Diane Nguyen.

However, BoJack is also struggling with substance-use disorder, while also dealing with his agent, a former rival, and more. Although it had a rough start, BoJack Horseman is now one of the best animated TV shows of all time, and has been mostly praised for its themes of depression, addiction, sexuality, suicide, and more.

Animaniacs

Animaniacs follows the Warner siblings, Yakko, Wakko, and Dot, as they create (fun) chaos at Warner Bros. Studios and beyond. Animaniacs is styled as a variety show, with skits featuring a variety of characters, such as Pinky and the Brain, Slappy and Skippy, the Goodfeathers, and more.

Animaniacs seems like a children’s show, and while it is appealing and entertaining enough for young viewers, it’s mostly aimed at a mature audience. Animaniacs’ strengths are its animation, variety of characters, wild sense of humor, and pop culture references and parodies.

Love, Death, & Robots

Netflix is home to Love, Death, & Robots, an adult animated anthology TV series. As such, each episode of the show is a different story, but the twist here is that every episode is produced by a different animation studio.

Thanks to this, each episode of Love, Death, & Robots has a different animation style and genre, but always covering one or more of the three title concepts. This makes every episode of Love, Death, & Robots a short film and a display of different talents, with beautiful animation, complex storylines, and a unique element of unpredictability.

Batman: The Animated Series

Batman: The Animated Series follows Bruce Wayne as he fights crime in Gotham City as Batman, facing a variety of villains. It’s a simple premise, but what makes Batman: The Animated Series one of the best animated shows of all time is its approach to the characters and its animation style.

Batman: The Animated Series goes into the complex backgrounds of the villains, while also following Batman’s personal battles. Its noir-like animation, impeccable writing, and themes like mental illness, death, and loss contributed to making Batman: The Animated Series a groundbreaking superhero show that everyone should watch.

Pokémon

Of course, Pokémon is on this list. The beloved anime series follows Ash Ketchum, a young boy who dreams of becoming a Pokémon Master. Accompanied by his first Pokémon, Pikachu, Ash sets out on a journey to fulfill his dream, competing in various tournaments and making friends but also enemies along the way.

Pokémon stands out for its creative premise and universe, interesting creatures, relatable characters, and its exploration of friendship, family, empathy, and more. Not only will Ash’s journey capture the attention of the audience, but so will the different creatures he and Pikachu come across.