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12 Best Short-Episode Anime


While fans have to decide which genre of anime they like, there are those who decide the length of anime they watch, especially those who are busy every day. For people who have to meet crazy deadlines but still want to relax with anime, short-episode series is perfect for them.

This type of anime is not as common as series with the usual 20+ episodes that run for about 25 minutes. But this does not mean that short-episode anime are not great. In fact, we decided to compile the 12 best anime that fall under this category. 

  1. Eve no Jikan

    It is an anime with only 6 episodes that fans can watch on Crunchyroll. The interesting thing about the series is that it focuses on AI in society and xenophobia. The setting emphasizes that robots are helpers to humans. Those who treat these robots like humans are judged or frowned upon. What fans will learn towards the end of the series is acceptance and understanding the differences between humans and AI. 

  2. Love is Like a Cocktail

    Those who are into romance and short-episode anime will surely like Love is Like a Cocktail. It focuses on a well-mannered husband who will do everything he can to pamper his wife, Chi-chan. Since she likes cocktails, her husband would try a different way to mix these to please her. Each episode runs for about 5 minutes and each cocktail recipe can be tried at home. 

  3. Corpse Party: Tortured Souls

    Corpse Party is an anime adaptation of a video game of the same name. Gore fans will like the series as it is full of decapitated limbs, exploding bodies, and crawling maggots. It follows a group of friends who did a ritual, sending them to the haunted Heavenly Host Elementary School. 

  4. Aoi Bungaku

    What made Aoi Bungaku interesting, aside from having only 12 episodes, is that it is a compilation of 6 classic Japanese literary works. Each episode contains psychological and cultural explorations. The length of each literary work varies as one story might have 4 episodes while others will just have one. 

  5. My Neighbor Seki

    Ever wondered what antics one can do to kill time at school? All the answers are provided by this series. Although the series has 21 episodes, each episode only lasts for 7 minutes. It centers on Rumi Yokio and her weird seatmate, Seki. As seatmates, Rumi will see the various schemes Seki will do during class.  

  6. I Can’t Understand What My Husband Is Saying

    I Can’t Understand What My Husband Is Saying is similar to Love is Like a Cocktail as both focuses on married life. The difference is that the former is about an otaku husband and his non-otaku wife. Hajime, the husband, is a hardcore otaku to the fact that his vocabulary is filled with otaku lingo. His wife, on the other hand, isn’t so they usually end up with chaos at home. 

  7. Hetalia

    Want to remember every country easily? Imagine these as cute anime boys! That is what Hetalia did. The anime captured the attention of viewers with its unique premise. More than 60 countries and even territories were shown in the series. There is also a scene when all of these countries would sit and argue about relevant matters. 

  8. Makura no Danshi

    Makura no Danshi tells a story about pillow boys who will whisper sweet lullabies to the viewers. It is the perfect series to relieve one’s stress. Even better, each boy has a unique personality to keep viewers entertained. One thing is for sure, all pillow boys wanted to make the viewer feel special and loved. 

  9. Mangirl!

    The series has a total of 13 episodes with a length of 3 minutes each. Mangirl! tells a story of a group of girls who wanted to create a manga. The road is not easy for them since they do not have a lot of experience but what fans will like about this is how they did everything they can to pursue their dreams. 

  10. Miss Monochrome: The Animation

    Miss Monochrome might have 39 episodes (as it already has 3 reasons) but each episode lasts for 4 minutes only, making it a short-episode anime. It tackles the life of an aspiring idol girl who prefers everything around her to be just black and white. Fans will be amused with her facial expressions and interesting reasoning in life. 

  11. Danchigai

    For viewers who are looking for a series that focuses on siblings, they might want to try Danchigai. It is a story of four sisters and their only brother. He had to endure their lectures every day about his friends and how he lives his life. Some might even find this series relatable for them. 

  12. Teekyu!

    Who would have thought that there would be an anime that runs for 2 minutes? Teekyu! is a sports anime that shows the daily lives of friends. The girls will play tennis that eventually leads to weird conversations. There is no linear plot followed so fans will just have to enjoy each episode as it is. 

    RELATED: 12 Must-Watch Anime That Has a Strong Female Lead

For more articles like this, take a look at our Anime and Lists page.