Top 100 Animated Series Nominees – 2010s!

No worries at all — we genuinely appreciate the comments. These kinds of conversations are exactly why this project exists.

Let me break down our approach a bit. We absolutely hear you on including lesser-known series. That said, we intentionally excluded most 2025 titles and shows with only a single season, as many of them haven’t yet proven long-term staying power as true “Top 100” contenders. For example, I personally enjoyed Dragon Ball Daima, but as a limited one-off that hasn’t fully embedded itself into pop culture yet, it simply hasn’t earned that legacy status. Good? Yes. Top 100? Not quite.

Our criteria went beyond personal favorites. We factored in season and episode counts, awards, cultural impact, and overall memorability. We also consulted people within our circle and even used AI as a secondary gut-check alongside our own internal standards.

In the past, we used a far more open, free-for-all approach, and while that allowed variety, it also meant some shows were underrepresented due to limited voter familiarity. We also ran into the issue of being under-equipped to fairly judge large chunks of anime, which flooded the list with titles outside our core wheelhouse. This time, by narrowing initial choices, we’re actually giving lesser-known shows a fairer shot through focused voting, rather than letting them get lost in the shuffle.

We also made a conscious choice not to include Machinima, Rooster Teeth, YouTube, or web-exclusive animated series. While some of those are solid, they simply didn’t have the same mass exposure as traditional platforms like Disney, Netflix, Hulu, or cable networks. That was a deliberate line in the sand.

As for X-Men ’97, we treated it as a continuation of the original series rather than a fully separate entity, which is why it was integrated into X-Men overall instead of standing alone. And honestly? I personally liked X-Men ’97 — but it almost proves our point. There’s been radio silence since Season 1, no real momentum or news, and with only 10 episodes followed by an apparent two-year gap before Season 2, it’s already started fading from immediate memory. That doesn’t make it bad, but it does raise the question of staying power — especially in an era where excitement can vanish faster than a Saturday morning cartoon time slot.

The same logic applies to 2025 releases. Even if they’re strong, most won’t have additional seasons before we begin recording in 2026, putting them in that awkward “too soon to tell” category. No matter when a list like this is created, the newest shows will always face that hurdle. That’s where our secondary factors come in: awareness, recognition, awards, and overall legacy.

Some of the titles mentioned — like Adventure Time (which we did cover, just not every subtitle iteration) or Disenchantment — were considered, but even those struggled to match the cultural dominance of giants like The Simpsons or Futurama. And yes, we all have personal favorites that didn’t make the cut. Trust me, I left a few on the cutting room floor too.

Could we have added another 50–100 shows? Easily. But that’s exactly why we’re also doing the Top 15 fan-voted submissions. Fans will rank their personal picks from #1 to #15, and once we gather enough responses, those will be added to the pool — expanding the master list from 250 to 265 titles.

Voting is live now on this post and an upcoming standalone one. Once we have sufficient entries, we’ll close submissions and build our official Top 100 list for the next phase of the Countdown.

We truly appreciate the passion, the feedback, and the thoughtful engagement. Stick with us — this ride’s just getting started, and the nostalgia train is still running on premium fuel.

Check the post here: https://geekcastradio.com/specials/top-100/the-top-100-animated-series-countdown-2026-fan-nominees/