If you love anime with crumbling cities and strange monsters, post-apocalyptic shows might be for you. These series do more than blow things up — they dive into what happens after everything falls apart. Here are four of the best post-apocalyptic anime to watch right now, along with where to stream them in the U.S. and who’s behind them.
1. “Attack on Titan”
In “Attack on Titan,” the remnants of humanity live behind three massive walls to hide from giant man-eating humanoids known as Titans. The story follows Eren Yeager, who vows to wipe out the Titans after he watches his mother die during a breach. The series expands into a sweeping war epic about genocide, fascism, and the fight for freedom. The anime adapts Hajime Isayama’s manga and ran from 2013 to 2023. WIT Studio animated the early seasons, and MAPPA produced the later ones. Yūki Kaji (Eren), Yui Ishikawa (Mikasa), and Marina Inoue (Armin) lead the Japanese cast. You can stream Attack on Titan on Hulu and Crunchyroll, with episodes also available for purchase on Amazon and Apple TV.
2. “Neon Genesis Evangelion”
“Neon Genesis Evangelion” takes place 15 years after a global catastrophe called Second Impact wipes out much of humanity. Survivors hide in fortified Tokyo-3 as mysterious beings known as Angels launch repeated attacks. Teen pilot Shinji Ikari must climb into a massive biomechanical Evangelion to fight them, and the story quickly becomes a sharp deconstruction of mecha tropes, depression, and trauma. Hideaki Anno created and directed the series, and Gainax produced it. The original anime aired from 1995-96 and led to the “End of Evangelion” film and the later Rebuild movie series. You can stream the original series and “The End of Evangelion” on Netflix, while the Rebuild films are available on Amazon Prime Video.
3. “Dr. Stone”
If you want something more hopeful, “Dr. Stone” delivers a fun, science-driven take on the post-apocalypse. A mysterious green light petrifies all of humanity, and 3,700 years later, genius teen Senku Ishigami wakes up in a world reclaimed by nature. He decides to rebuild civilization from scratch using pure science. The anime adapts the manga by writer Riichiro Inagaki and illustrator Boichi and comes from TMS Entertainment.
Yusuke Kobayashi voices Senku in Japanese, and he has spoken openly about the challenge of handling the show’s nonstop technobabble. “There are still scientific terms that I have never heard of, so regarding those terms, I’ll just take them home and practice over and over again,” Kobayashi told Comics Beat. “And he also has to explain all of this to his friends — not only his friends, but to the audience as well — so they understand.” You can stream “Dr. Stone” on Crunchyroll, and earlier seasons also appear on Hulu.
4. “Heavenly Delusion”
“Heavenly Delusion” is a newer anime that feels like “The Last of Us” with a surreal sci-fi twist. Based on Masakazu Ishiguro’s manga, the story jumps between two narratives: children raised in a pristine, high-tech facility they call “Heaven,” and teens Maru and Kiruko trekking across a ruined Japan filled with bizarre monsters and collapsed cities about 15 years after a mysterious disaster. “Heavenly Delusion” streams on Hulu in both subbed and dubbed versions.
Which post-apocalyptic anime are you excited to check out? Comment below!
