10 TV Shows To Watch If You Love Arcane (2024)

League Of Legends has been a popular franchise in the video gaming community for several years, so the 2021 arrival of the animated series Arcanewas highly anticipated but with grounded expectations. However, the first series quickly became a huge success, getting rave reviews all over with everything being praised, from the art style and animation to the character casting and development, not forgetting the captivating story.

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Riot Games and Fortiche created a masterpiece, with eyes now being firmly on what they can possibly do to capitalize on their success in the future. In the excruciating wait for the second season, there are plenty of television shows that can help to fill that void, even if they don't necessarily tick every box and combine every aspect that makes Arcane so watchable.

10 The Dragon Prince Also Shows Off Its Rich World Building

Initially released in 2018, The Dragon Princeis considered to be among Netflix's best animated series, despite Arcane's arrival essentially stealing its crown. When step-brothers Callum and Ezran join forces with an elf called Rayla to look after an egg containing the titular Dragon Prince, the group has the opportunity to potentially stop a future conflict.

The idea of desperately searching for alternatives in order to prevent unnecessarywar and destruction is a theme that is also consistent with Arcane, especially shown by Jayce as he struggles with doing what is considered to be the right thing. The Dragon Prince is rich in fantasy lore and its expansive world-building, which League of Legends and Arcane fans can also relate to.

9 Carnival RowDeals With A Similar Issue Of Class Division & General Discrimination

Despite the obvious differences between Amazon Prime's Carnival Row and Arcanebeing that the former is a live-action series and the latter is animated, the two shows bear resemblance in their steampunk settings and issues rooted in discrimination and class division.

Carnival Row explores this class division and discrimination against magical folk and creatures, all while investigating a murder, giving it political, criminal, mystery, and fantasy aspects that make the show what it is. Starring Orlando Bloom and Cara Delevingne, Carnival Row may not necessarily be as captivating as Arcane's first season but it still has exemplary world-building and character development.

8 Dota: Dragon's Blood Is Another Adaptation Of A MOBA Video Game

Dota: Dragon's Blood is another Netflix animated adaptation of a popular video game,Dota, which is a MOBA just like League of Legends. The worlds and lore of these games are so rich and detailed that there can be no surprise that series adaptations were formed of both.

Dota: Dragon's Blood draws similarities to The Dragon Prince and Castlevania with its fantastical landscapes and creative designs, but can also be enjoyed by Arcane fans, with its gripping action scenes and terrific world-building. It even features voice actors Yuri Lowenthal, Josh Keaton and JB Blanc, who voice Mylo, Deckard and Vander respectively in Arcane.

7 Into The Badlands Brings Martial Arts To A Post-Apocalyptic World

Into The Badlands is an amalgamation of multiple genres into one controlled but also chaotic package,withits post-apocalyptic world set in a future that has almost reverted back to ways of old, with martial arts driving the combat scenes.

Its gritty fight scenes and general tension draw comparisons to Arcane, witha similar visual flair certainly belonging to both shows. Into The Badlands also has its underlying story of oppression under an unjust rule, the Barons in this case, with minor parallels to the Piltover & Zaun relationship. Those who enjoyed the action sequences of Arcaneshould definitely check out Into The Badlands.

6 What If...?Brings Plenty Of Twists & Turns To The MCU

Very few shows can rival Arcane's quality and attention to detailin terms of animation, and What If...? isn't necessarily one of those select few. However, what the MCU animated series does show is innovationthrough drastically changing up its storylines and characters thanks to the justification of the multiverse.

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These twists on what viewers already know to be real, make for a largely fresh, unique, and enjoyable experience. While these surprises aren't necessarily as gut-wrenching as those in Arcane, some are still emotional enough to make viewers care about the characters.

5 Castlevania Is Another Stellar Adaptation Of A Video Game Franchise

When considering other successful western animated series, Castlevania will often find itself around the top of this list. As another example of a successful video game adaptation available to stream on Netflix, Castlevania enjoys its own dark and graphic tone, with it leaning more into the horror genre than Arcane, but its character building and storytelling are still captivating in its own right.

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Like Arcane, Castlevania has a stellar cast of voice actors, even including Toks Olagundoye and JB Blanc from Arcane, and this only helps to make the characters more believable and relatable, in spite of the fantastical world that they are in. Exploring the complex world of Dracula, other vampires, and those opposing them, is a brutal but fun experience, making Castlevania a must watch.

4 Blood Of Zeus Is Another Action-Packed Animated Series On Netflix

With an animation style reminiscent of the NetflixCastlevania adaptation thanks to Powerhouse Animation, Blood of Zeus, formerly known as Gods & Heroes, delves into the world of Greek mythology. It is an action-packed fantastical adventure, which fans of Arcane and Castlevania will likely appreciate and enjoy.

While the characters may not be as complex or as heavily constructed as those in Arcane, the premise of Heron, the son of Zeus, trying to save both Earth and Olympus is easy enough to follow and entertaining enough to enjoy.

3 ShadowAnd Bone Is Another Series With A Strong Female Main Character

Shadow and Bone,based on two series of books set within the expansive Grishaverse created by author Leigh Bardugois, is another series that made its way to Netflix in 2021. It is a fantasy adventure full of mystery and intrigue, with a strong female lead in Alina Starkov, played by Jessie Mei Li.

While Arcane also enjoys its strong female characters, both shows also share in their stellar fight scenes and choreography, that complement their narratives and character-building perfectly.

2 Love, Death+ Robots Plays With Many Different Animation Styles, Themes & Stories

Love, Death+ Robots is one of the most unique television series to be found on Netflix. The series consists of bitesize episodes less than 20 minutes long that each have their own different cast and crew, even if some episodes share certain crew members. Every episode experiments with different animation styles and artistic productions while still trying to refer to the titular three themes of love, death, and robots, or any combination of the three.

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For those who enjoyed the visual aspects of Arcane, with its incredibly detailed animation, there will be some episodes of Love, Death+ Robots that will be more appealing than others, but for the short episode runtimes, it is certainly worth watching through them all.

1 Invincible WasAnother Incredible Series Released In 2021

Like Arcane, Invincible was also released in 2021, and it also garnered rave reviews. Based on the comic series by Robert Kirkman, Cory Walker, and Ryan Ottley, the Amazon Prime series takes an approach tothe superhero genre that is perhaps more comparable to The Boys than the MCU.

While seemingly nothing like Arcane on the surface, Invincible presents afamily that don't always agree, with shocking plot twists that could catch any viewer off guard, which are two aspects that Arcane is particularly known for.

NEXT: Arcane: 6 Best Vi Quotes