Four of my favourite 2D animated shows from the past few years
I can personally attest to Pantheon and Scavneger's Reign (although I haven't watched the newest season of SR yet).
Pantheon is very much a show of morals versus "progress". The end is a WILD ride.
Scavneger's Reign is about people on a foreign planet and using the planet's resources to survive and possibly escape. The alien fauna is downright incredible to imagine. Another stellar show.
Dude. Pantheon blew my mind. I have several scenes burned into my mind forever (Chanda being scanned).
I love all four that you posted, but I can't remember the last time a show stayed with me as well as Pantheon did 🤯
so many for this list!
I'd also like to throw in
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off - anime version of the movie with all the same voice cast, with a major major twist at the first episode (hint - it's very different from the movie and much more mature while still keeping the same vibes)
Adventure Time - Fionna and Cake - an excellent follow up to Adventure Time. Idk how comprehensible it is to non-adventure time watchers, but it is it's own story that does some cool stuff.
Blue Eyed Samurai - just a great revenge story with gorgeous animation.
Fuck.
I loved Scavenger's Reign, and now you're telling me I gotta watch these ones too?
Well if I must, I shall.
I think another one that's worth adding is Infinity Train. It's targeted at a slightly younger audience, but is a great sci-fi animated show.
Each season follows its own characters with a little bit of overlap.
Scavengers Reign and Common Side Effects share the same creators, and are both very good! It's interesting that they both have themes related to harmony with nature and the various relationships that humans form with it, good and bad.
Pantheon is also fantastic, super heady sci-fi with a lot to say about the modern tech industry, and loads of references to sci-fi classics. It's clear the writers are huge sci-fi geeks and their enthusiasm comes through in the show.
I haven't seen The Mighty Nein but if it's being grouped with the other shows here it must be worth a watch. It does seem like the odd one out of the bunch though since it's fantasy rather than sci-fi like the other 3.
In hindsight Scavengers Reign reminds me a lot of La Planète Sauvage.
OP first off Thank you for turning me on to pantheon because I did not get the memo this shit is phenomenal. Idk if it belongs on this list quite since it's a movie and not a series, but a lot of folks have not seen "Mars Express" and it was also a really good animated scifi. Has that detective noir expanse/ghost in the shell vibe.
Is Scavenger’s Reign good? I really dig the art style. Reminds me of Moebius.
Ps: I love the character designs of Common Side Effects. Looks absolutely unhinged xD
Common Side Effects was such a stressful watch for me.
They put that turtle in mortal peril every damn episode.
I know this is a place for animation, but if you enjoyed Pantheon, I highly suggest checking out Hidden Girl and Other Stories by Ken Liu. The tv show is based off of loosely connected stories from that anthology and the stories are great. Another short story was turned into the episode Good Hunting on Love, Death, and Robots.
Edit: corrected Love, Sex, and Robots to Love, Death, and Robots
Frieren really got me. It can be a bit too much in a couple of episodes, it's anime, but it's great. If you haven't watched, Avatar the last airbender is really a must. Incredible show. Someone mentioned Bojack Horseman, which I concur, but maybe a show for young adults. I was obsessed with Serial Experiments Lain as a teenager, but maybe it's too dated now.
Common Side Effects sometimes feels like it's drawn over real footage. Not because it's super accurate but the way the camera moves
You have good taste.
Watch both Avatar series if you haven't already. The Vox Machina/Meighty Nein makers are shameless Avatar fans; you'll recognize the references immediately.
Also:
DOTA: Dragon's Blood
DCAU. I'd recommend Justice League, BTAS, and (though technically not DCAU) Young Justice, specifically.
If you haven't played Dispatch, it was cowritten by critical role, the team behind Mighty Nein and Vox Machina. Almost positive it was animated in 3D, but looks 2d through its art direction.
Mighty Nein and Scavenger's Reign are defo two shows I go above and beyond to pirate, and could even justify a direct donation to the creators. Mighty Nein is set in the same universe as Vox Machina and uses the same cast of voice actors, to boot.
Another ones I really like the 2D animation style are X-Men '97, which basically uses a cleaned-up version of the style of the '90s Spider-Man animated series before they went to 3D backgrounds; and Wakfu tho this one does more notorious mixing with other animation styles. There's also timeless classics of 2D animation, such as Samurai Jack.
Common Side Effects was great. One day I decided to check out an episode or two, and ended up watching the entire season by accident. Scavengers Reign also rules.
Hmm, I might have to check out Pantheon...
Well if we are recommending 2d shows, I gotta rep up Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Season 2 came out just a little while ago and it was as fun as the first season.
Great list, especially Pantheon, it’s one of my favorite shows of all time. The mix of technological ethics, existential horror, conspiracy, and more are done fantastically. I just wish the voice audio mixing was better, but it gets a pass since they were doing it during COVID I believe. It got unduly overlooked due to the streaming weirdness, but I think it’s all on Netflix now thankfully.
If you liked it check out Mars Express, it’s a movie that touches on a lot of similar themes in a cyberpunk/neo-noir context with some amazing animation.
anyone can recommend something with the vibe of scavengers reign ... sci fi, no traditional story arc...
I can confirm, I was terribly impressed with Mighty Nein. Really good show.
I have the opposite taste, I like most animated shows, not any of these. Tried a few episodes of each multiple times, hasn't hit/clicked.
Replace Pantheon with The Legend of Vox Machina.
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