The Best Animal Anime Characters You’ll Fall In Love With

Have you ever noticed how many anime feature animal characters? Whether it’s a talking cat or a wolf that can take human form, anime animals have been delighting audiences for years. We’re not just talking about the cute animal characters that make you go “aww” when they do something funny or adorable. We’re talking about the ones who are just as well-developed as any human character and whose storylines involve them trying to find love, struggling with their identity, or fighting against societal expectations.

Beastars, the successful anime licensed by Netflix, is only the latest addition to the pot. It features a whole cast of anthropomorphic characters living their lives in a school where herbivores and carnivores try to peacefully coexist… until one of them gets killed.

The world of anime has always been filled with animal characters — but we’ve never seen so many shows with animals that actually play a vital role in the story as protagonists or significant sidekicks. If you’re curious about which animal anime characters won the hearts of Japanese animation fans, we did all the hard work and collected them here!