Best 2D Animated Shows That Belong on Every Creative's Watchlist
TL;DR
Great animated shows are packed with intentional creative choices in colour, pacing, composition, and character design that go far beyond entertainment.
This list covers seven standout 2D animated series: Each entry offering a different lesson in visual storytelling.
These shows double as a masterclass for animators, illustrators, and storytellers: From colour scripting and shape language to silence as rhythm and emotional framing.
Watch with a creative eye paired with hands-on practice: It will teach you a lot about professional animation if you pay attention to details.
Every unforgettable animated show is a stack of intentional decisions: a story structured just right, a character's walk that reveals who they are, a colour palette that shifts your mood without you noticing, and a world so lived-in it feels like it existed long before the camera showed up.
For aspiring animators, illustrators, and storytellers, that's exactly why watching great animation can teach you as much as any classroom. The best shows demonstrate how visual language, art direction, and creative execution work together, frame by frame, to tell a story.
So whether you're chasing storytelling inspiration, studying world-building, or just wanting to see what bold art direction looks like in motion, these 7 animated series are worth watching with a notebook nearby.
Table of Contents
1. Hilda (2018-2023)
Country of Origin: United Kingdom, Canada, United States
Studio: Mercury Filmworks, Silvergate Media
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Mystery
Streaming platforms: Netflix
Based on Luke Pearson’s graphic novels, Hilda follows a curious young girl who moves from a remote wilderness into the city of Trolberg, where she befriends even the most dangerous monsters drawn from Scandinavian-inspired folklore. As she explores both natural and urban worlds, she learns how myth and reality often overlap in unexpected ways.
Why Creatives Should Watch It
One of Hilda's standout techniques is its consistent use of shape language. Rounded, simplified forms run through both the characters and the world around them, giving everything an immediate sense of warmth and gentleness, even when the story leans into danger or mystery. That consistency is exactly what makes the tonal shifts land: because the visual language rarely changes, the moments when the mood does shift feel all the more noticeable.
The series is also a great example of environmental storytelling. Its backgrounds are packed with narrative detail: architecture, props, and natural elements that hint at a bigger world without ever pulling focus from the story. There's a lot animators can learn from how Hilda blends fluid, expressive character animation with mostly static environments: it's a simple but effective way to direct the viewer's eye and keep the story feeling clear, even in busy scenes.
2. Over the Garden Wall (TV Mini Series - 2014)
Country of Origin: United States
Studio: Cartoon Network Studios
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Streaming platforms: Hulu, HBO Max, Disney+, Apple TV
Over the Garden Wall invites viewers on a beautiful journey with two half-brothers, Wirt and Greg, as they navigate the eerie, enigmatic forest known as The Unknown. The story unfolds like a modern fairy tale, exploring themes of fear, identity, and brotherhood through encounters with mysterious characters and surreal landscapes as they find their way home.
Why Creatives Should Watch It
Over the Garden Wall has a visual style that feels instantly nostalgic, with hand-painted backgrounds inspired by early 19th-century illustration, giving the whole show a timeless, storybook quality. One of its strongest techniques is environment-first storytelling: before a single character moves or speaks, the background composition, lighting, and texture have already told you how the scene should feel.
The series also leans on recurring visual motifs: lantern light, autumn leaves, decaying architecture, and drifting fog that echo its themes of uncertainty, change, and nostalgia each time they reappear. Its pacing is unhurried by design, too, making generous use of still frames, musical interludes, and slow transitions. Against the fast-cut style so common in modern animation, this gives the show a different kind of rhythm, one that gives emotion room to breathe.
3. Steven Universe (2013-2020)
Country of Origin: United States
Studio: Cartoon Network Studios
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
Streaming platforms: Hulu, Disney+
Steven Universe centres on a young boy raised by the Crystal Gems, magical guardians who protect Earth from intergalactic threats. As he grows into his inherited powers, he also uncovers the history of the Gems and learns to navigate his identity and belonging.
Why Creatives Should Watch It
Steven Universe shows how simple-looking animation can still carry strong emotion when everything is done with intention. The character designs are clean and uncomplicated, and a lot of the storytelling comes through how characters move and react.
This simplicity wasn't accidental. Creator Rebecca Sugar has spoken about designing the Crystal Gems around basic shapes that reflect who they are underneath, an approach she traced back to studying Bauhaus design theory, which taught her to link simple shapes and colours to specific ideas.
Pearl is built from a cone, which always points one way, matching how fixed and exacting she is; Amethyst from a sphere, reflecting her fluid, versatile nature; and Garnet from a square, conveying her steadiness and stability.
Colour plays a big role too. As relationships deepen or characters grow, the world around them shifts in subtle, quiet ways. Colours soften or warm to mirror what's happening emotionally, without needing to spell it out. Even fusions and transformations use colour blending to show identity and connection forming in real time, almost like watching two feelings become one.
4. The Midnight Gospel (2020)
Country of Origin: United States
Studio: Titmouse
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Streaming platforms: Netflix
The Midnight Gospel travels through surreal, psychedelic worlds where Clancy, a spacecaster, interviews beings about profound topics such as life, death, and existence. The show pairs mind-bending visual experimentation with introspective, philosophical conversations, creating an immersive experience.
Why Creatives Should Watch It
Instead of having the visuals simply echo what's being said, the show deliberately lets sound and image drift apart—allowing them to run side by side, each building its own layer of meaning at the same time.
That gap between what you hear and what you see creates a kind of tension throughout. The conversations stay grounded and philosophical, while the visuals drift into something more surreal, symbolic, or abstract, echoing the emotions and ideas underneath. Because of this, big feelings like grief, identity, or acceptance aren't explained to you so much as they're something you sit with for a while.
The pacing echoes this same reflective spirit. Long, unhurried conversations unfold alongside visuals that keep shifting and evolving. Together, they create a rhythm that feels closer to contemplation than conventional storytelling.
5. Mononoke (TV Mini Series - 2007)
Country of Origin: Japan
Studio: Toei Animation
Genre: Fantasy, Horror, Mystery
Streaming platforms: Netflix, Crunchyroll
Mononoke follows a mysterious Medicine Seller who travels through feudal Japan investigating supernatural spirits known as 'mononoke'. To exorcise them, he must uncover their Form, Truth, and Reason, which reveal the emotional origins behind each spirit.
Why Creatives Should Watch It
The show feels like a stunning meeting point between traditional Japanese aesthetics, echoing Ukiyo-e woodblock prints, and bold, modern design. Its intricate patterns, striking linework, and vivid colour contrasts are brought to life through layered compositing, and they never feel purely decorative; they carry the story and its emotions forward.
The series also plays with framed compositions and segmented visual spaces, often breaking the screen into panels that echo traditional artwork or the feel of theatrical staging. It's a small choice that adds a lot, deepening the psychological tension while giving the story a fragmented quality, much like the way memory or feeling actually works.
Colour becomes a storyteller in its own right, shifting subtly between arcs to reflect spiritual distortion, emotional imbalance, or moments of revelation. Paired with the show's stillness and its minimal camera movement, everything asks you to sit with the visual design itself, rather than rushing you toward the next action.
6. BoJack Horseman (2014-2020)
Country of Origin: United States
Studio: Tornante Television, ShadowMachine
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Streaming platforms: Netflix
BoJack Horseman follows a washed-up sitcom actor as he struggles with fame, addiction, relationships, and self-destruction. The world he lives in is a strange mix of humans and anthropomorphic animals, but beneath the comedy, the show digs into identity, regret, and emotional accountability.
Why Creatives Should Watch It
BoJack Horseman pairs simple, minimalist character animation with a background that's famously dense with detail. That contrast is part of the craft: the more you watch, the more you notice, and the show rewards rewatching as those layered details reveal themselves. For creatives, it's a study in how restraint up front can make room for richness elsewhere, the kind that keeps fans discovering and discussing the show long after a first watch.
A key technique is emotional framing through composition. Characters are placed in wide, empty, or asymmetrical spaces that visually reinforce isolation, detachment, or discomfort, often before dialogue clarifies emotional intent.
Subtle character animation also plays a major role. Micro-expressions, timing delays, and body language often contradict spoken dialogue, creating layered emotional subtext within scenes. For creatives, this is a reminder that performance doesn't have to rely on dialogue to communicate truth; sometimes what a character isn't saying carries more weight than the line itself.
7. Samurai Jack (2001-2017)
Country of Origin: United States
Studio: Cartoon Network Studios
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Streaming platforms: Adult Swim, YouTube TV
Samurai Jack chronicles a samurai sent into a distant dystopian future ruled by the shape-shifting demon Aku. Stranded in time, he travels across strange and ever-changing worlds while searching for a way back to the past so he can defeat Aku and restore balance.
Why Creatives Should Watch It
Characters are designed to be instantly readable through shape and silhouette, even in complex or minimal environments. This makes action scenes easy to follow and gives every pose a strong sense of purpose.
That same clarity carries into how the show handles pacing. It holds onto wide, cinematic compositions longer than most animated series, letting the environment and mood sink in rather than rushing to the next beat. This slower pacing gives weight to simple actions and makes the world feel more deliberate and atmospheric.
That patience extends to sound as well: silence works just as intentionally as movement. Pauses, stillness, and sudden bursts of action are carefully balanced, creating a rhythm that builds tension without needing constant dialogue or explanation.
What Makes These Shows Stand Out?
Although these series vary greatly in style and subject matter, they share several qualities:
Distinct visual identities
Strong storytelling foundations
Thoughtful use of colour and composition
Purposeful world-building
Each show offers a different way of thinking about animation as a craft. For creatives working in any discipline, these qualities offer valuable lessons that extend beyond animation and into design, filmmaking, illustration, and storytelling as a whole.
Turning Inspiration into Practice
These animated shows highlight how powerful 2D storytelling becomes when visual language, pacing, and design are treated as part of the narrative itself. From minimalist staging in Samurai Jack to emotional colour systems in Steven Universe and experimental structure in The Midnight Gospel, each series offers a different way of thinking about animation as a creative discipline rather than just entertainment.
For aspiring animators and creative professionals, inspiration often works best when it’s paired with practice. TESSR sits in that space, helping creators explore storytelling, character design, and animation fundamentals in a more hands-on way, so ideas picked up from shows like these can gradually turn into work of their own.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is 2D animation still relevant?
Yes. While CGI animation has become increasingly common, 2D animation remains widely used across television, streaming platforms, independent productions, and feature films because of its expressive visual style and creative flexibility.
What can creative professionals learn from animation?
Animation teaches how to communicate ideas visually through movement, timing, and composition, and these principles carry over into many creative fields like design, filmmaking, and storytelling.
Are these shows suitable for beginners in animation, or only experienced creatives?
These shows are worth watching at any skill level. Beginners can study them to build a visual vocabulary, learning what strong composition, timing, and character design look like in practice, while more experienced creatives can dig deeper into the specific choices behind each technique. You don't need technical expertise to start noticing what makes a scene work; that instinct develops the more you watch with intention.
Author Bio
A Penangite based in Kuala Lumpur, Mia has written across industries, picking up stories, styles, and the occasional existential crisis over punctuation along the way. She is currently a creative writer at TESSR, where she explores the intersection of creativity, collaboration, and better ways of working. Outside of writing, she can be found chasing live music, setting off on solo adventures, or passionately insisting that song lyrics qualify as life advice. That same energy carries into Mia’s writing. Curious, a little chaotic, and always searching for the detail that makes everything click. Connect with her on LinkedIn!
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