# Best foreign animated series.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-foreign-animated-series/810835
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [March 19, 2018, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-foreign-animated-series/810835 "2018-03-19T17:25:07Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@CastletonSnob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CastletonSnob)
#### Post date: [March 19, 2018, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-foreign-animated-series/810835/1 "2018-03-19T17:25:07Z")
We all know the American cartoons, but what about cartoons from other countries? What are some good foreign animated shows?
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### Author:  [@Stonebow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stonebow)
#### Post date: [March 19, 2018, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-foreign-animated-series/810835/2 "2018-03-19T17:26:55Z")
Including Japanese animation? Is the target audience kids or adults?
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### Author:  [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)
#### Post date: [March 19, 2018, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-foreign-animated-series/810835/3 "2018-03-19T17:31:00Z")
Danger Mouse!
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### Author:  [@CastletonSnob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CastletonSnob)
#### Post date: [March 19, 2018, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-foreign-animated-series/810835/4 "2018-03-19T17:32:31Z")
> [@Stonebow](#):
>
> Including Japanese animation? Is the target audience kids or adults?
Either one.
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### Author:  [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)
#### Post date: [March 19, 2018, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-foreign-animated-series/810835/5 "2018-03-19T17:34:26Z")
I only know two anime shows I have really enjoyed:
Death Note
Fullmetal Alchemist - I have only watched the original, not Brotherhood.
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### Author:  [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)
#### Post date: [March 19, 2018, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-foreign-animated-series/810835/6 "2018-03-19T17:35:12Z")
Wallace and Gromit is nice.
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### Author:  [@Stonebow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stonebow)
#### Post date: [March 19, 2018, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-foreign-animated-series/810835/7 "2018-03-19T17:36:39Z")
Adult:
Hellsing
the Fate series (Zero, Stay/Night, Apocrypha, Grand Order)
Blood+
All ages:
Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Sword Art Online
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### Author:  [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)
#### Post date: [March 19, 2018, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-foreign-animated-series/810835/8 "2018-03-19T17:59:35Z")
Trying to think of series that I know that _aren’t_ Japanese and would recommend. All I’m coming up with is [_Ulysses 31_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulysses_31), which is only part Japanese (the other part is French.) Although it has been so many years since I watched it I may not have a good grasp on if it was good or not. You can see for yourself, though, since [all of them are on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diH8TXZKfuQ).
If I was picking a single Japanese anime to mention (and I am) that aren’t an especially acquired taste, I’d go with [_Haibane Renmei_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haibane_Renmei), which is also available on Youtube, both [subbed](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLgcg5tiyUM&index=1&list=PL7499636C5043F6B9) and [dubbed](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQVMjmB-qVc&list=EL0R9-EdOYJmw).
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### Author:  [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)
#### Post date: [March 19, 2018, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-foreign-animated-series/810835/9 "2018-03-19T18:34:00Z")
How about “Nu, pogodi”? A Soviet classic.
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### Author:  [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)
#### Post date: [March 19, 2018, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-foreign-animated-series/810835/10 "2018-03-19T18:34:05Z")
> **[Tetsujin 28-go (2004 TV series)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetsujin_28-go_(2004_TV_series))**
>
> Tetsujin 28-gō (Japanese: 鉄人28号, Hepburn: Tetsujin Nijūhachi-gō, literally "Iron Man No. 28") is a 2004 Japanese anime series based on the manga of the same name by Mitsuteru Yokoyama. It was animated by Genco and Palm Studio and written and directed by Yasuhiro Imagawa. The series has been released in the United States under its original name by Geneon and in the United Kingdom by Manga Entertainment, the first time a Tetsujin-28 property has not been localized to Gigantor in America or The stor...
> **[Samurai 7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samurai_7)**
>
> Samurai 7 (stylized as SAMURAI 7) is a 2004 anime television series produced by Gonzo and based on the 1954 Akira Kurosawa film Seven Samurai. The seven samurai have the same names and similar characteristics to their counterparts from the original. The series was directed by Toshifumi Takizawa, and its music was composed by Kaoru Wada and Eitetsu Hayashi. There are 26 episodes.
> The series premiered across Japan on the anime satellite television network, Animax, as an exclusive high definition C...
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### Author:  [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)
#### Post date: [March 19, 2018, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-foreign-animated-series/810835/11 "2018-03-19T19:52:03Z")
One Piece is one of my favorite TV series, unfortunately its one of the few that still uses the “super deformed” style so your mileage may vary.
Magikano, Best Student Council, Hare+Guu, and Azumanga Daioh are some of the funniest cartoons I’ve ever seen.
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### Author:  [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)
#### Post date: [March 19, 2018, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-foreign-animated-series/810835/12 "2018-03-19T22:45:20Z")
_Panique au village_ (AKA _A Town Called Panic_) from Belgium is good if you like manic, intense silliness. It’s all stop-motion animation with plastic figurines. The three main characters are a cowboy named Cowboy, an Indian named Indian, and a horse named Horse. It started on TV, and in 2009 they came out with a full-length movie. [Here’s the trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3uG8LLuVPQ), and [here’s a scene from the movie](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qsIlJEOjXs).
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### Author:  [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)
#### Post date: [March 19, 2018, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-foreign-animated-series/810835/13 "2018-03-19T22:48:23Z")
_One-Punch Man_. I find it hilarious.
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### Author:  [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)
#### Post date: [March 19, 2018, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-foreign-animated-series/810835/14 "2018-03-19T22:59:11Z")
Most Canadian cartoons would probably be seen in the U.S. anyways. Of the exceptions, I can’t really think of too many that I’d recommend.
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### Author:  [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)
#### Post date: [March 19, 2018, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-foreign-animated-series/810835/15 "2018-03-19T23:14:42Z")
> [@hogarth](#):
>
> Most Canadian cartoons would probably be seen in the U.S. anyways. Of the exceptions, I can’t really think of too many that I’d recommend.
_The Raccoons_ wasn’t that bad. _Max, the 2000 Year-old Mouse_ had its charms. Older still is _Rocket Robin Hood_, which has a somewhat confusing cross-border history, mingled with the 1960s _Spider-Man_ cartoon.
If I had to recommend a single Canadian animated series, I’d probably go with _ReBoot_.
Aside from _Spider-Man_ (or at least its iconic theme song), I’m not sure how many of these are widely known in the U.S. I assume _ReBoot_ is moderately well-known in nerdier circles.
Semi-related, when I visited Europe a few years back to meet the girlfriend’s family, I found a common cultural touchstone through their familiarity with _Fraggle Rock_, admittedly a puppet show and not an animated one.
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### Author:  [@bmoak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2018, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-foreign-animated-series/810835/16 "2018-03-20T02:54:45Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#):
>
> Trying to think of series that I know that _aren’t_ Japanese and would recommend. All I’m coming up with is [_Ulysses 31_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulysses_31), which is only part Japanese (the other part is French.) Although it has been so many years since I watched it I may not have a good grasp on if it was good or not. You can see for yourself, though, since [all of them are on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diH8TXZKfuQ).
Ulysses 31 was a bizarre, almost surreal show. It was good in the sense that it was better than/different from most other shows that were airing on US TV at the time. It was also a relatively short series with a resolving final episode, but it was yanked off the air in my market before it finished.
I’ll name another French-Japanese production from the 80s: [The Mysterious Cities of Gold](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mysterious_Cities_of_Gold). It was so popular in Europe that there was a French/Belgian sequel produce twenty-five years after the original.
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### Author:  [@bmoak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2018, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-foreign-animated-series/810835/17 "2018-03-20T04:01:06Z")
Discussing Japanese anime is a non-starter, as we could go through literally a hundred shows.
The best non-American, non-Japanese show on right now is probably [Miraculous Ladybug](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmnlGKBOo1w), a French/Korean/Japanese production that is a superhero/magical-girl show set in Paris with some eye popping animation.
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### Author:  [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2018, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-foreign-animated-series/810835/18 "2018-03-20T15:08:08Z")
I enjoyed watching _Pocoyo_ with my son. Not sure if it counts, since it’s American, British, and Spanish.
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### Author:  [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2018, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-foreign-animated-series/810835/19 "2018-03-20T16:14:26Z")
Let’s not forget Eastern Europe’s favourite cat and mouse team; _Worker and Parasite_.
Endut! Hoch hech!
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### Author:  [@Methyl\_Ethyl\_Death](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Methyl_Ethyl_Death)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2018, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-foreign-animated-series/810835/20 "2018-03-20T18:14:36Z")
“What the hell was that?”