There are thousands of worthwhile anime that are out there fighting for the audience’s attention. Time and life are unfortunately not infinite, which means that individuals need to be selective about the anime that they watch and, for these fans, short series are typically the way to go.
Long-running anime like Detective Conan, Gintama, Urusei Yatsura, and Galaxy Express 999 are fantastic series, but they’re not ideal for a weekend binge-watch session. However, there are some exceptional anime available for those who are looking to comfortably finish an entire series within a weekend, and comfortably so at that.
Tatsuki Fujimoto 17-26 Is An Unpredictable Anthology Of Diverse Brilliance
Tatsuki Fujimoto has become a household name in the anime industry after Chainsaw Man‘s breakout success. This has led to some of Fujimoto’s earlier works, and the odds and ends of his career, also suddenly receiving accomplished adaptations.
Tatsuki Fujimoto 17-26 is an anthology that adapts various one-shot stories from Fujimoto’s career. Not only is the anthology anime only eight episodes, but they also vary in length, with some being as short as 12 minutes.
The series caters to fans of many different genres, as it cycles through extreme and absurd stories that are the perfect primer to anime’s limitless possibilities. Six different animation studios also worked on these eight episodes, and they showcase an eclectic visual quality that plays to each story’s strengths.
FLCL Transforms A Personal Coming-Of-Age Story Into A Surreal Sci-Fi Experience
Anime has a fantastic capacity for taking universal concepts like the fears and anxieties that surround puberty and entering adulthood and filtering them through a super-stylized lens. FLCL looks at an intergalactic war where the fate of the planet is at stake, but it’s really a story about 12-year-old Naota coming into his own and accepting that his childhood is over.
FLCL‘s Haruko Haruhara is one of anime’s greatest wild cards and the ultimate foil for the reserved Naota. FLCL is only six episodes, but it achieves more in that time than many series do with 60 episodes. Adult Swim later helped co-produce four separate FLCL sequels and expansions, but they’re hardly mandatory watches the way the original is.
Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War In The Pocket Highlights The Grounded, Human Side of Mecha Warfare
Mobile Suit Gundam has been around for over 45 years, and it helped define anime’s mecha and space opera genres, while also helping them evolve. Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket is an important turning point for the franchise because it’s Gundam’s first OVA series.
War in the Pocket is only six episodes, and this smaller runway provided opportunities to tell more intimate and grounded stories that might not be possible in a full series. For instance, War in the Pocket takes a step away from space battles and instead looks at the fallout on Earth, through the eyes of an impressionable 11-year-old boy, Al.
Al idolizes Bernie, a grounded mecha pilot, only to personally experience how the horrors of war can take away lives. War in the Pocket‘s haunting ending is still among the Gundam franchise’s greatest moments.
There is no shortage of anime that tackle trauma, grief, and acceptance in highly sophisticated ways, and yet it’s truly remarkable what Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day accomplishes in only 11 episodes. There’s an inherently melancholy angle to the coming-of-age melodrama that sees a group of childhood friends reunite on the five-year anniversary of their friend’s death.
Each of Anohana‘s characters processes death differently, which helps them all grow closer and cathartically connect. Anohana‘s emotional storytelling is likely to evoke tears from its audience, and there’s even something in there for fans who primarily watch supernatural anime.
Gunbuster Is A Contemplative Mecha Series About War’s Transformative Nature
Gainax’s Neon Genesis Evangelion is an evergreen anime classic, and there’s a strong case to be made that Gunbuster is the studio’s dry run on a high-minded mecha series before tackling the epic property. Gunbuster is a six-episode OVA that marks Hideaki Anno’s directorial debut, and establishes many of the filmmaker’s signature touches.
At face value, Gunbuster is yet another series about soldiers who are trained to use mecha armor to battle against deadly aliens. Gunbuster stands out from its mecha peers by drawing inspiration from underdog sports series like Aim for the Ace! Noriko’s strenuous training period and the person that she grows into are just as important as the war itself, and its existential fallout.
Alien Nine Is A Dark Look At Magical Girls Who Are Turned Into Weapons
Everyone praises Puella Magi Madoka Magica for being the breakthrough dark and subversive magical girl anime. That being said, Alien Nine tackles the same idea a decade earlier while crafting an unnerving allegory about growing up and the loss of autonomy. Alien Nine is a four-episode OVA that follows a trio of magical girls who each embody a different archetype, and work together to battle alien threats.
However, these magical girls are forcibly drafted into a program that creates child soldiers who lose agency when they’re paired together with Borg alien headgear. Alien Nine has an erratic tone, and its cute “moe” character designs and cheerful art aesthetic intentionally clash with the dark and disturbing themes and storytelling.
Bastard!! Is A Forgotten Dark Fantasy That Operates In Extremes
1992’s Bastard! is an ultra-violent post-apocalyptic dark fantasy that almost feels like a parody of the hyper-brutal anime movies and OVAs that were prevalent during the ’80s, like Wicked City, Demon City Shinjuku, and Urotsukidoji. This sort of unabashed ’90s energy is even more charming and nostalgic over three decades later.
Bastard!! is set during a magical Dark Age in which a prolific dark wizard known as Dark Schneider is reincarnated in a 15-year-old’s body. The series proceeds to tackle many dark fantasy tropes in a magical world that’s full of demons and deadly obstacles.
There’s a clear, engaging goal for Dark Schneider to achieve that’s concisely covered across six episodes. 2022’s Bastard!! adaptation expands the story to 39 episodes, but the original still makes for the more satisfying experience.
Video Girl Ai’s Magical Girlfriend Demystifies Relationships & Identity
Anime’s “magical girlfriend” subgenre was incredibly popular during the ’90s, and these types of anime tell comical love stories that frequently feature supernatural flourishes. Video Girl Ai is a great primer on this subgenre and, at only six episodes, it’s a low commitment title that’s easy to binge through.
Video Girl Ai is such a playful throwback to the ’90s with its retro art design, fashion sense, and a soundtrack that epitomizes ’90s music. The series is only six episodes, but it still features a surprising tonal shift part-way through its run that digs into identity, agency, and what it means to be human and have feelings.
Macross Zero Charts The Cruel Origins Of This Iconic Militaristic Sci-Fi Anime
Macross is a foundational mecha franchise that offers a refreshing counterpoint to Mobile Suit Gundam and Patlabor through a unique angle that explores the power of music and pop idols. Macross Zero was produced for the franchise’s 20th anniversary and this five-episode OVA functions as the series’ prequel.
Accordingly, Macross Zero helps establish much of the series’ lore and essential world-building. It’s a short series that can be binged as its own thing, or be treated like a gateway to the Macross franchise.
These five episodes are full of rewarding storytelling and character development. The action sequences that are set in the sky also feature revolutionary air combat choreography that was unprecedented at the time. It’s an anime that’s as visually impressive as it is thematically sound.
Golden Boy Is Sublime Crude Comedy With An Endearingly Awkward Lead
There are some wildly hormonal anime comedies from the ’90s that mix simple slice-of-life storytelling with exaggerated misunderstandings that reflect broad farce. Golden Boy is an entertaining throwback to the past that doesn’t get hung up on an intricate storyline or an original hook.
Kintaro Oe, the titular Golden Boy, cycles through various odd jobs, which always seem to put him in awkward scenarios with the opposite sex. Kintaro’s embarrassing exploits are so much fun that it’s too bad that Golden Boy is only six episodes. It could be three times as long and still feel fresh.