One of the things I’ve heard folks who are curious about anime say is that they don’t have the time to invest in it because it’s too long. I can’t exactly fault them for having that mentality. A lot of the anime series that get talked about are tremendously long, spanning hundreds (or even thousands) of episodes with stories that have been ongoing for decades. That can be pretty intimidating – and this is coming from someone who’s been watching anime since the nineties and who likes a good number of those extra long shows.
Sometimes, you want a complete story that isn’t going to take a year to catch up on, and folks don’t realize that anime has an entire WORLD of series that, if you have the time, can be finished in a day. Here’s my list of recommendations for good anime series that are 13 episodes or less. There are a ton more picks if you expand into series that end around the 24 – 26 episode mark (Cowboy Bebop, Ouran High School Host Club, Steins;Gate, and Trigun come to mind) but I want to focus on series that you can finish in a couple of few hours.
Akudama Drive
Summary: The bustling metropolis of Kansai, where cybernetic screens litter the neon landscape, may seem like a technological utopia at first glance. But in the dark alleys around the brightly-lit buildings, an unforgiving criminal underbelly still exists in the form of fugitives known as “Akudama.” No stranger to these individuals, Kansai police begin the countdown to the public execution of an infamous Akudama “Cutthroat,” guilty of killing 999 people. However, a mysterious message is sent to several elite Akudama, enlisting them to free Cutthroat for a substantial amount of money. An invisible hand seeks to gather these dangerous personas in one place, ensuring that the execution is well underway to becoming a full-blown bloodbath.
Number of episodes: 12
Where to watch: Crunchyroll
Watch this series if you’re in the mood for: a cool, stylish cyberpunk story that doesn’t believe in pumping the breaks until you get to the end. The kind of anime where you end up rooting for the bad guys because those entrusted with protecting society are a whole lot worse.
Bloom Into You
Summary: Yuu Koito has always been entranced with romantic shoujo manga and the lyrics of love songs. She patiently waits for the wings of love to sprout and send her heart aflutter on the day that she finally receives a confession. Yet, when her classmate from junior high declares his love for her during their graduation, she feels unexpectedly hollow. The realization hits her: she understands romance as a concept, but she is incapable of experiencing the feeling first-hand. Now, having enrolled in high school, Yuu, disconcerted and dispirited, is still ruminating over how to respond to her suitor. There, she happens upon the seemingly flawless student council president, Touko Nanami, maturely rejecting a confession of her own. Stirred by Touko’s elegant manner, Yuu approaches her for advice, only to be bewildered when the president confesses to her! Yuu quickly finds herself in the palm of Touko’s hand, and unknowingly sets herself on a path to find the emotion which has long eluded her.
Number of episodes: 13
Where to watch: HIDIVE
Watch this series if you’re in the mood for: a honest, heartfelt, queer coming-of-age story where a girl deals with feelings about there being something wrong with her because she doesn’t feel the love they tell you about after a boy confesses his feelings for her.
Erased
Summary: When tragedy is about to strike, Satoru Fujinuma finds himself sent back several minutes before the accident occurs. The detached, 29-year-old manga artist has taken advantage of this powerful yet mysterious phenomenon, which he calls “Revival,” to save many lives. However, when he is wrongfully accused of murdering someone close to him, Satoru is sent back to the past once again, but this time to 1988, 18 years in the past. Soon, he realizes that the murder may be connected to the abduction and killing of one of his classmates, the solitary and mysterious Kayo Hinazuki, that took place when he was a child. This is his chance to make things right.
Number of episodes: 12
Where to watch: Crunchyroll, Netflix, and Hulu
Watch this series if you’re in the mood for: a time-traveling mystery that’ll keep you guessing the entire time with a character who knows what he has to do, but just how much of the past can (and should) you change? A perfect series to show just how invested you can get in an anime after only twelve episodes.
Given
Summary: Tightly clutching his Gibson guitar, Mafuyu Satou steps out of his dark apartment to begin another day of his high school life. While taking a nap in a quiet spot on the gymnasium staircase, he has a chance encounter with fellow student Ritsuka Uenoyama, who berates him for letting his guitar’s strings rust and break. Noticing Uenoyama’s knowledge of the instrument, Satou pleads for him to fix it and teach him how to play. Uenoyama eventually agrees and invites him to sit in on a jam session with his two band mates: bassist Haruki Nakayama and drummer Akihiko Kaji. Satou’s voice is strikingly beautiful, filling Uenoyama with the determination to make Satou the lead singer of the band. Though reticent at first, Satou takes the offer after an emotional meeting with an old friend. With the support of his new friends, Satou must not only learn how to play guitar but also come to terms with the mysterious circumstances that led him to be its owner.
Number of episodes: 11
Where to watch: Crunchyroll
Watch this series if you’re in the mood for: a queer romance that tackles grief, guilt, and learning how to move on when you feel like you don’t deserve it, all while showcasing just how much we use creativity (in this case music) to express our emotions.
Horimiya
Summary: On the surface, the thought of Kyouko Hori and Izumi Miyamura getting along would be the last thing in people’s minds. After all, Hori has a perfect combination of beauty and brains, while Miyamura appears meek and distant to his fellow classmates. However, a fateful meeting between the two lays both of their hidden selves bare. Even though she is popular at school, Hori has little time to socialize with her friends due to housework. On the other hand, Miyamura lives under the noses of his peers, his body bearing secret tattoos and piercings that make him look like a gentle delinquent. Having opposite personalities yet sharing odd similarities, the two quickly become friends and often spend time together in Hori’s home. As they both emerge from their shells, they share with each other a side of themselves concealed from the outside world.
Number of episodes: 13
Where to watch: Crunchyroll
Watch this series if you’re in the mood for: a romantic comedy where the opposites are more similar than they think. An adolescent story that highlights the importance of coming to terms with who you’re becoming as a person, and one where the relationships we try and maintain are forever changing.
Kids on the Slope
Summary: Introverted classical pianist and top student Kaoru Nishimi has just arrived in Kyushu for his first year of high school. Having constantly moved from place to place since his childhood, he abandons all hope of fitting in, preparing himself for another lonely, meaningless year. That is until he encounters the notorious delinquent Sentarou Kawabuchi. Sentarou’s immeasurable love for jazz music inspires Kaoru to learn more about the genre, and as a result, he slowly starts to break out of his shell, making his very first friend. Kaoru begins playing the piano at after-school jazz sessions, located in the basement of fellow student Ritsuko Mukae’s family-owned record shop. As he discovers the immense joy of using his musical talents to bring enjoyment to himself and others, Kaoru’s summer might just crescendo into one that he will remember forever.
Number of episodes: 12
Where to watch: Apple TV
Watch this series if you’re in the mood for: a criminally underrated coming-of-age anime where jazz brings a group of friends together. The music and the relationships that develop through it will make your heart sing throughout the entire series.
Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-Kun
Summary: Chiyo Sakura is a cheerful high school girl who has fallen head over heels for the oblivious Umetarou Nozaki. Much to Chiyo’s confusion, when she confesses to her beloved Nozaki, he hands her an unfamiliar autograph. As it turns out, the stoic teenage boy is actually a respected shoujo mangaka, publishing under the pen name Sakiko Yumeno! A series of misunderstandings leads to Chiyo becoming one of Nozaki’s manga assistants.
Number of episodes: 12
Where to watch: HIDIVE and Amazon Prime Video
Watch this series if you’re in the mood for: an endearing romantic comedy with anime’s most oblivious love interest and the development of a relationship where there’s a lot more to love than the happily ever afters they write about in storybooks. Sometimes, things are fine exactly the way they are.
ODD TAXI
Summary: Eccentric and blunt, the walrus Hiroshi Odokawa lives a relatively normal life. He drives a taxi for a living, and there he meets several unique individuals: the jobless Taichi Kabasawa who is dead-set on going viral, the mysterious nurse Miho Shirakawa, the struggling comedic duo “Homo Sapiens,” and Dobu, a well-known delinquent. But Odokawa’s simple way of life is about to be turned upside-down. The case of a missing girl the police have been tracking leads back to him, and now both the yakuza and a duo of corrupt cops are on his tail.
Number of episodes: 13
Where to watch: Crunchyroll
Watch this series if you’re in the mood for: a series that shows how unique anime can be in regards to how stories are told. It’s hard to point to why this series is so intriguing, but you’ll find yourself invested in the characters, their conversations, and the bigger mystery going on outside the taxi.
Paranoia Agent
Summary: The infamous Shounen Bat (Lil’ Slugger) is terrorizing the residents of Musashino City. Flying around on his rollerblades and beating people down with a golden baseball bat, the assailant seems impossible to catch—much less understand. His first victim, the well-known yet timid character designer Tsukiko Sagi, is suspected of orchestrating the attacks. Believed only by her anthropomorphic pink stuffed animal, Maromi, Tsukiko is just one of Shounen Bat’s many victims. As Shounen Bat continues his relentless assault on the town, detectives Keiichi Ikari and Mitsuhiro Maniwa begin to investigate the identity of the attacker. However, more and more people fall victim to the notorious golden bat, and news of the assailant begins circulating around the town. Paranoia starts to set in as chilling rumors spread amongst adults and children alike.
Number of episodes: 13
Where to watch: Crunchyroll
Watch this series if you’re in the mood for: a series by an absolute legend when it comes to anime (Satoshi Kon) where things are up for interpretation despite the characters trying to find solid answers. If you’re in the mood for a psychological fever dream that’ll make you think and go “wtf” at the same time, this is it.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Summary: Madoka Kaname and Sayaka Miki are regular middle school girls with regular lives, but all that changes when they encounter Kyubey, a cat-like magical familiar, and Homura Akemi, the new transfer student. Kyubey offers them a proposition: he will grant any one of their wishes and in exchange, they will each become a magical girl, gaining enough power to fulfill their dreams. However, Homura Akemi, a magical girl herself, urges them not to accept the offer, stating that everything is not what it seems.
Number of episodes: 12
Where to watch: Crunchyroll, Hulu, and HBO Max
Watch this series if you’re in the mood for: one of those anime series where people say things like “it’s better if you go in not knowing anything about it.”
Sasaki and Miyano
Summary: The shy and easily flustered Miyano harbors an embarrassing secret—he is a “fudanshi,” a boy who likes boys’ love (BL) manga. The last thing he wants is for other students to find out, but through a slip of the tongue, he reveals the truth to Sasaki, his senpai (older classmate). Intrigued, the clueless Sasaki asks to borrow a book to read, which he is given very reluctantly. To Miyano’s surprise, Sasaki enjoys the BL that he receives and asks for more. The two begin to bond over their shared interest in BL, but that bond seems to be leading to something more—assuming Miyano ever realizes his senpai’s crush on him.
Number of episodes: 12
Where to watch: Crunchyroll
Watch this series if you’re in the mood for: a comical queer romance that pokes fun at the BL genre while also developing one of its most charming pairings. A love story about working to figure out what love even is outside of the pages of the fiction you read every day.
Serial Experiments Lain
Summary: Lain Iwakura, an awkward and introverted fourteen-year-old, is one of the many girls from her school to receive a disturbing email from her classmate Chisa Yomoda—the very same Chisa who recently committed suicide. Lain has neither the desire nor the experience to handle even basic technology; yet, when the technophobe opens the email, it leads her straight into the Wired, a virtual world of communication networks similar to what we know as the internet. Lain’s life is turned upside down as she begins to encounter cryptic mysteries one after another. Strange men called the Men in Black begin to appear wherever she goes, asking her questions and somehow knowing more about her than even she herself knows. With the boundaries between reality and cyberspace rapidly blurring, Lain is plunged into more surreal and bizarre events where identity, consciousness, and perception are concepts that take on new meanings.
Number of episodes: 13
Where to watch: Funimation (not on Crunchyroll yet)
Watch this series if you’re in the mood for: a psychological thriller that explores our connection to technology and reality. Like Paranoia Agent, this is another anime series to watch if you’re looking for something that’ll make you question the world around you as you try and interpret what’s going on.
SK8 the Infinity
Summary: High school student Reki Kyan is passionate about one thing: skateboarding. When night falls, he heads to “S,” an illegal underground race inside a mine where skaters compete in highly dangerous situations. After a loss that results in his skateboard being destroyed and his arm being broken, Reki is now incapable of practicing at all. While working, Reki runs into his new classmate, Langa Hasegawa, a half-Canadian and half-Japanese boy with no skateboarding experience whatsoever. After they both visit “S” when tasked by Reki’s boss, they get into trouble and are forced into a bet that requires Langa to skate in a race. However, the mysterious transfer student holds a trump card that Reki was unaware of, one which might help him win the race in the most unexpected way.
Number of episodes: 12
Where to watch: Crunchyroll
Watch this series if you’re in the mood for: over-the-top sports anime hijinks full of entertaining characters and stunts that would probably kill anyone else except for anime protagonists with unique hair colors. Get ready for outcasts becoming a found family unit and a surprisingly charming story with a whole lot of heart.
The Millionaire Detective Balance: Unlimited
Summary: Daisuke Kanbe, a man of extraordinary wealth, is assigned to the Modern Crime Prevention Headquarters as a detective. It is there that he gets partnered with Haru Katou, a humane detective who values justice above all. The two are polar opposites, and their morals clash time and time again. Haru despises Daisuke for using monetary wealth to solve cases, as he believes that money isn’t everything. The two will have to combine their efforts, however, to solve the mysteries that are coming their way.
Number of episodes: 11
Where to watch: Crunchyroll
Watch this series if you’re in the mood for: a hilarious buddy cop adventure with a man who’s got more money than Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark combined. The humor quickly becomes a cover for a more serious story, but that doesn’t stop the charm of the two detectives trying to see eye-to-eye with each other.
Yuri!!! On Ice
Summary: Reeling from his crushing defeat at the Grand Prix Finale, Yuri Katsuki, once Japan’s most promising figure skater, returns to his family home to assess his options for the future. However, Yuri finds himself in the spotlight when a video of him performing a routine previously executed by world champion figure skater, Victor Nikiforov, suddenly goes viral. In fact, Victor himself abruptly appears at Yuri’s house and offers to be his mentor.
Number of episodes: 12
Where to watch: Crunchyroll
Watch this series if you’re in the mood for: a beautiful, inspirational sports anime with characters trying to figure out what to do next after failure (Yuri) and success (Victor) who end up finding the motivation they need through each other.
Also check out: Paradise Kiss, Princess Jellyfish, Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku, Baccano!, WataMote, and… there’s a lot out there! Take a day and watch anime!
(Featured image: Doga Kobo/MAPPA/A-1 Pictures)
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