I am a huge fan of Non Anime animation. If I had to do a quick list off the top of my head, I’d probably choose the following as my favorite shows:
Beast Wars: Especially Season 2, which was the tightest storyline for Transformers for a LONG time. Seriously, Code of a Hero may be THE best episode of any Transformers show ever.
The DCAU: Batman TAS, Superman TAS, Justice League, JLU, Static Shock, Batman Beyond (I have never seen The Zeta Project and really don’t intend to): Probably the greatest animated universe of all time. These shows are so much better than nearly everything DC puts out right now. Kevin Conroy IS Batman. Mark Hamill IS The Joker. Clancy Brown IS Lex Luthor. Michael Ironside IS Darkseid. Special points to the following episodes: The Grey Ghost, Heart of Ice, Almost Got Im, Joker’s Favor, The Man Who Killed Batman, Two-Face, The Last Son of Krypton, Apokolips Now!, Injustice for All, Wild Cards, Starcrossed, All of JLU Season 2, Alive, Destroyer, and Out of the Past. In addition, the movies Mask of the Phantasm and Return of the Joker are amazing.
G.I. Joe Renegades: A show killed before its time. Charlie Adler is the best threatening Cobra Commander ever (though Chris Latta is the best comedic. Seriously, Chris Latta was perfect in everything he did from Transformers to his cameo in Roadhouse). The Destro storyline is fantastic. My favorite episodes were probably The Enemy of My Enemy, Knockoffs, and Cutting Edge.
The Spectacular Spider-Man: Another show killed in its prime. This is probably the best interpertation of Spider-Man ever. I love the 90’s cartoon, but it was too heavily edited for broadcast. The X-Men cartoon had similar issues, but got away with a bit more. Both of those are great, but this is better. This is a fantastic distilling of the Spidey mythos and Josh Keaton IS Spider-Man. The Green Goblin storyline was probably my favorite, but special mention goes to Catalysts, Intervention, Identity Crisis, and Final Curtain.
Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes: The Marvel version of JLU. Wonderful acting, great distillation of years of comics. Each episode built off the previous. It made the Wasp a fantastic character, and I never found her character to be interesting in the comics. My favorite episodes were probably Meet Captain America, Living Legend, Ultron 5, Hail HYDRA, A Day Unlike Any Other, and Winter Soldier. The X-Men version of this show is Wolverine and the X-Men, which is set in this continuity.
Batman The Brave and the Bold: Unless you are a stickler for grim and gritty Batman stories, this show is perfect. This IS the Silver Age reborn. Seriously, just watch it. We get an animated adaptation of the Bat Manga, a new adventure with Scooby Doo, a short with Space Ghost, a song about how Batman is better in bed than any other hero, animated Superdickery, Joker and Harley Quinn doing the Time Warp, an episode that is a love letter to Grant Morrison, Booster Gold, AQUAMAN, Ambush Bug, and, for those who prefer your Batman sour, a perfect adaptation of the Silver Age story where Batman confronts Joe Chill, complete with cameos by Adam West, Julie Newmar, Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, and Richard Moll. Between this and BTAS, we have a perfect animated representation of The Dark Knight.
Transformers Animated: The best Transformers show. Just watch it. Mission Accomplished has a montage of Starscream Dying. It is glorious. Plus, more Waspinator.
Transformers Prime: If Animated was too kiddy for you, this is almost as good. Frank Welker is back as Megatron and Peter Cullen is back as Prime. The best character is, again, Starscream. He steals the show and Steve Blum is clearly having a ball with him. Special props for making Arcee an interesting character. It helps that her voice work is top notch.
The Simpsons: Seasons 4-8 are the best. Stick to them and you will be fine.
Archer: Best cartoon in general airing right now.
Steven Universe: Best cartoon aimed at a younger audience right now. I seriously wish this was on as a kid. It is so good.
I have heard great things about Gravity Falls, but haven’t had a chance to watch it yet. I plan to though. I know I haven’t touched on any vintage cartoons like the Hanna Barbera collection (shout out to Where’s Huddles) or Looney Tunes, but what I included here is just the tip of the iceberg.
