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HomeMovies50 Greatest Short Anime Series of All Time

50 Greatest Short Anime Series of All Time

The sheer length of some of the most famous anime series can be something of a turnoff for newcomers, leading some fans to wonder what the best short anime are. Friends may enthusiastically recommend Naruto, One Piece, or The Legend of Galactic Heroes, but those shows, classics that they are, have hundreds of episodes, making them something of a time commitment, to say the very least.

Maybe a viewer is new to anime and isn’t sure that they want to sink that much time into a single piece of media, or maybe they’re a longtime fan who simply doesn’t have the time or patience to sit through another 70 episodes until they finally reach the story arc their friends keep raving about. Luckily for those pressed for time, anime has a lot of excellent shorter shows that aren’t held back by their length, coming in at 13 episodes or less. The best short anime series don’t waste time getting to the good stuff.

50

High School of the Dead (2010)

12 Episodes + 1 OVA

The type of anime one describes as “to watch for the plot,” High School of the Dead checks boxes for mature themes, violence, and fanservice and the result is one of the best zombie anime. The series is perhaps infamous for each of these elements, the latter of which is practically a font of memes, but it’s also notably short, with twelve episodes and an OVA to its name. In more recent years, High School of the Dead has come under fire for its sexual content, which often goes beyond the typical fanservice fare.

Still, beyond these experiences, one can find a surprisingly thrilling action-horror series. The premise is simple enough: a zombie outbreak causes a collapse of society, with many humans losing their moral compass in the process. This results in wanton violence on top of a fight for survival against mindless hordes of the undead, with the principal survivors starting at their high school. Multiple moments will compel viewers to leap out of their seats in excitement or provoke a good laugh for its more gratuitous scenes.

49

No Game No Life (2014)

12 Episodes + 1 Movie

features The Blank, a duo of elite gamers named Sora and Shiro who spend much of their time online due to their status as social outcasts. After defeating the god Tet in a game of chess, they are transported to a new realm known as Disboard and must conquer the land’s various kingdoms to once again face Tet.

While it may sound like relatively standard isekai fare, No Game No Life is bolstered by its flashy neon visuals and impeccable art direction, and the series is still held in high regard almost a decade after its initial premiere. Isekai anime can often be intimidating, especially the genre’s vanguard which can feature daunting episode counts and a good amount of lore. In contrast, No Game No Life keeps things short and to the point, making it one of the best isekai anime for fans of something like That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime who want a shorter series to dig into.

48

Angel Beats (2010)

13 Episodes


Angel Beats!

Angel Beats!


  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Hiroshi Kamiya

    Yuzuru Otonashi

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Harumi Sakurai

    Yuri Nakamura



Angel Beats, by the same scriptwriter of Clannad, not only has one of the best openings of all time but is a tear-jerking anime loaded with comedy, endearing moments, funny characters, and great twists, becoming a must-watch for any fan of drama.

Angel Beats shares the nostalgic feeling of series like Kanon and the later Charlotte and although it might seem like the typical high school story, it takes flight from its second episode onwards thanks to its original way of addressing topics such as death, the meaning of life, and the pending issues people have when they die. Even though its large cast could have been better fleshed out in two cours, the anime does a great job developing the main characters, in addition to having a great soundtrack and an emotional lesson for the audience.

47

Baccano! (2007)

13 Episodes


Baccano!-1

Baccano!


Release Date

2007 – 2008-00-00


  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Michael C. Pizzuto

    Dallas Genoard

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    J. Michael Tatum

    Isaac Dian

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Caitlin Glass

    Miria Harvent

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Akemi Kanda

    Czeslaw Meyer



Baccano! is a series that takes place across three different places and times: a 1930 story involving a mafioso and the fabled alchemical elixir of life, a 1931 story set aboard a transcontinental train where a killer is on the loose, and a 1932 story focusing on a young woman searching for her missing brother. These three disparate plot lines come together in unexpected ways, and have characters who span across the various stories.

Needless to say, Baccano! is a very unique anime, and there’s really not much else quite like it. Based on a series of light novels, which are a bit more straightforward in their presentation, Baccano! is a celebrated series full of action, mystery, and the occasional laugh. Its setting of 1930s America is definitely an unusual choice for an anime, but it all comes together well.

46

MegaloBox (2018)

13 Episodes


Megalobox (2018)

Megalobox

Release Date

April 4, 2021

Directors

Yō Moriyama

Writers

Katsuhiko Manabe, Kensaku Kojima


  • Cast Placeholder Image

  • Cast Placeholder Image



MegaloBox is a series created to celebrate the anniversary of one of Japan’s most popular anime/manga series of all time, Ashita no Joe (Tomorrow’s Joe), which tells the story of an underdog boxer and his rise to the top. MegaloBox puts a sci-fi spin on the premise by having its boxers fight with special equipment called simply “Gear,” which amplifies the power of punches, making fights more exciting than ordinary boxing.

As an underdog story, it follows the broke and nameless hero, known only as “Junk Dog,” on his rise from a nobody who’s fighting to earn money to the upper echelons of the sport. It has a gritty, cyberpunk style to it which really enhances the show’s vibe, even if the Gear itself is ultimately superfluous. MegaloBox did have something of a spinoff/continuation in the series Nomad, but it’s not necessary to watch Nomad to enjoy the series.

45

Deadman Wonderland (2011)

12 Episodes

Deadman Wonderland tells the story of Ganta Igarashi, a young boy who’s framed for the murder of his classmates and sent to a private prison facility which doubles as an amusement park, where inmates fight to the death. There, Ganta discovers he has special powers to control blood, and meets with a strange albino girl by the name of Shiro who seems to have knowledge of his past that Ganta can’t quite remember…

The series is packed with brutal battles as Ganta must learn to stand up for himself and defend against the other inmates, many of whom are legitimately insane. While based on a manga, the 12-episode anime doesn’t cover the entire series, instead only focusing on the first chapters. That does mean that Deadman Wonderland doesn’t have a very conclusive ending, but it’s enjoyable regardless.

44

Elfen Lied

12 Episodes + 1 OVA Episode

An image of Lucy from Elfen Lied being freed from her restraints before enacting her plan to eliminate mankind.
An image of Lucy from Elfen Lied being freed from her restraints before enacting her plan to eliminate mankind.

Elfen Lied is a staple in the cult classics of anime known to this day, in part for its controversy of being overly edgy and for not being afraid to depict some truly graphic scenes in just the first episode. Yet there are some interesting themes in this short installment that are sure to keep audiences pondering as credits roll.

Following the story of Lucy, who is a Diclonius, she breaks out of her containment cell and wreaks havoc on the facility until she suffers an injury that causes her to push down the memories deep in her psyche. However, her captors are not done with her and send out special teams to try and get Lucy back.

43

Eden of the East (2009)

11 Episodes


Eden of the East

Eden of the East


Release Date

2009 – 2009-00-00


  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Ryōhei Kimura

    Akira Takizawa

  • Cast Placeholder Image

  • Headshot Of Jason Liebrecht In The Funimation Films presents the North American premiere of 'My Hero Academia'

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Leah Clark

    Saki Morimi (English)



Eden of the East is a series which opens with its protagonist, Saki, encountering a naked man with a gun and a cell phone standing in front of the White House. Offering him her coat out of modesty, Saki watches as the young man, apparently named Akira, proceeds to escape—with her passport in the coat’s pocket. Saki then has to track down Akira, and becomes wrapped up in the mystery that he’s found himself in.

Eden of the East is a compelling mystery that leaves fans scratching their heads at every turn. Somehow, the fate of Japan has come to rest on the shoulders of these two unlikely companions, who are now stuck together. The series is an anime original, and has two follow-up films if viewers find themselves dying for more.

42

Run with the Wind (2018)

23 Episodes


Run With The Wind

Run with the Wind



  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Takeo Otsuka

    Kakeru Kurahara

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Toshiyuki Toyonaga

    Haiji Kiyose

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Miyu Irino

    Akane Kashiwazaki

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Hideaki Kabumoto

    Musa Kamala



What separates Run with the Wind from other sports anime is that its story centers on a group of college students where almost all of them aren’t actually athletes or have shown an interest in marathons. So, rather than focusing on aiming to win first place from the get-go, the anime is a clear life lesson of how people are capable of surpassing themselves and doing things they never would have imagined before.

The anime shines especially thanks to its fun and complex characters, each with their own personalities, struggles, and frustrations, and unlike other series that require several seasons to complete a tournament, Run with the Wind, in its short run, is capable of awakening endless emotions in the audience, moments of drama and tension, adrenaline, and happiness, delivering a self-contained and engaging story about improvised but persevering runners.

41

.hack//Legend of the Twilight Bracelet (2003)

13 Episodes

.hack// is a larger franchise, but Legend of the Twilight Bracelet is a shorter, stand-alone series within that franchise that actually makes for a great entry point for beginners. It tells the story of Shugo and Rena, two twins separated by divorce who are able to spend time together once again in an online game after winning a pair of special avatars.

The series has a fair balance of action and comedy, often taking an unusual slice-of-life look at what it’s like to play an MMORPG. While the series does get more dramatic towards the end, it never completely loses its sense of humor. Based on a manga, Legend of the Twilight Bracelet is one of those series that diverges from its source material, so even those familiar with the manga can get something new out of it.

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