7 Saturday Morning Anime Classics Perfect for the Family (& Where to Watch Them)

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These anime offered the same kind of action that other Saturday morning cartoons did at the time, but also were the same kind of family friendly offerings fit for that broadcast time as well. While these shows might not be the first choice for some older fans, they are the kind of anime classics you can watch while the whole family is sitting around the TV on a weekend. Read on for some family friendly anime classics and let us know your picks in the comments!

7). Yu-Gi-Oh! (Tubi, Pluto TV, Netflix, Crunchyroll)

You’ll find that many of the Saturday morning anime that aired on blocks like Fox Kids and Kids WB were also toy or game advertisements (much like the other animated shows). This meant a lot of collect-a-thon kind of anime like Pokemon (which you’ll see addressed on this list), and one of the more distinct out of the package is Yu-Gi-Oh!. It’s probably the “least” family friendly on this list because it does skew older in terms of the kind of battles it has over the course of the series, but it’s all through card games.

It’s not a particularly intense kind of fighting, but it does get a bit dark. Watch it with older kids, as this was one of those TV-Y7 shows that would air in the later slots on Kids WB. That was then the younger kids were getting restless near that noon slot, and the slightly older kids were likely just getting up.

6). Spider Riders (Tubi)

There’s a chance that millennials haven’t thought about this one in a long time. Spider Riders didn’t exactly take the traditional anime route as it didn’t adapt a manga story, but instead adapted a series of novels written by Tedd Anasti, Patsy Cameron-Anasti and Stephen D. Sullivan across its series. With P.A. Works helping to bring it all to life, Spider Riders follows a young boy who falls deep into the Earth and finds a whole new Insectoid society fighting for its life.

Riding a spider into battle, this boy is now in a war for the fate of something much bigger. It’s a young fantasy action show, but involves younger kids and lowers the stakes as a result through its adventure. It doesn’t get as heavy as some other shows like it.

5). Monster Rancher (Tubi, Pluto TV, Prime Video)

Add Monster Rancher to the pile of fun yet forgotten shows. Tecmo’s series of video games took its shot at the Pokemon craze with its own collectible monsters, and incorporated fans’ real life CD collections into the fun. The anime took that idea to the next level by bringing a Monster Rancher game player into a whole new world.

While this franchise might not have monsters as easily identifiable as seen with Pokemon or other franchises of its kind, it’s a much grander story than you’d think. Teaming up with a young girl to find a mysterious Phoenix, it’s a magical world with cool monsters and adventures to explore through its episodes.

4). Sonic X (Netflix, Hulu, Tubi, Pluto TV)

Sonic has always been a great icon for families, and the Sonic X anime is no different. It’s skewed more towards younger boys due to the nature of the action and story (which is inspired by the original games but not concretely set to it), but it’s just one of those fun series. The stakes are never too high as to really put Sonic in any danger, but it’s just enough to keep you invested each episode.

It was the perfect series you’d watch one episode or two a week, and get a healthy dose of Sonic before tackling the rest of the weekend. Now you can tap into that energy again after all these years.

3). Sailor Moon (Tubi, Pluto TV, Crunchyroll, Hulu)

If you’re looking for something that skews more towards young girls instead, Sailor Moon is the perfect option. It’s a great show with a great core cast of fighters who transform and use various powers to defeat the forces of evil. The action isn’t so intense as to turn anyone away from the fun, and the visual aesthetics of the franchise are just unmatched. There are various iterations to watch from the classic anime as well, and each of them are perfect for the entire family to check out. There’s a reason why it’s held in such high regard after all this time.

2). Digimon (Hulu)

But once again, the strongest classic Saturday morning anime shows were those collectible monster hits. Digimon offered one of the best kind of worlds for this too as it not only was open to all sorts of young demographics, but each kid got their own best friend and partner Digimon. It took out all the seedier animal fighting side of Pokemon, and instead took a group of kids on a huge adventure across a wild world over the course of the Summer.

The best part of this franchise too is that it offers different iterations for different audiences, so there’s a Digimon for every kind of family. Definitely look into it and see this adventure.

1). Pokemon (Netflix, Prime Video, Pluto TV)

Been mentioning this throughout the list thus far, but there’s a reason why Pokemon was such a big deal in these early morning hours for kids. Following Ash Ketchum as he sets out on his dream of becoming a Pokemon Master, there is literally decades worth of episodes following Ash as he tries and fails at reaching his dream of becoming a Pokemon League Champion.

Fans finally got the payoff to these decades worth of build up too with a version of Ash who eventually did become champion of the world, and it’s the kind of journey you really don’t get elsewhere. It might be a hard sell for a family to kick off a new obsession with this one, but there’s a reason Pokemon’s anime has been such a hit for such a long time.

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