Short anime series has been taking over lately; gone are the days when 24-episode seasons were the norm, with the new trend being around 13 episodes. And it's not hard to see why. The anime industry is getting fiercely competitive, and production costs have soared.
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However, from a viewer's point of view, time constraint is perhaps the biggest factor driving the popularity of anime shows with fewer seasons and episodes. That’s why one-seasoned animes are perfect for binge-watching, where you get a complete story without having to dedicate your life to it! Here are some of the top picks you should definitely check out.
10 Haven't You Heard? I'm Sakamoto
All high schoolers have one thing in common — they're convinced Sakamoto must be pretending to be cool. From combing his hair to sitting on a chair, he does everything so elegantly. His jealous classmates always put him in messy situations to test his patience, but he'll always just bounce back with a hair flip and a wink (or something similar).
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Haven't You Heard? I'm Sakamoto is a hilarious comedy anime with just 13 episodes, but one that will leave a mark on you forever. It's the perfect escape anime when you need to beat the blues and forget about the world for a bit.
9 Domestic Girlfriend
An anime with a love triangle premise, Domestic Girlfriend is all about breaking hearts. The series became well-known for its addictive opening song, “Crying for Rain” by Minami. It centers around Natsuo Fujii, a teenager who falls for his high school teacher, Hina Tachibana.
However, he unknowingly hooks up with her younger sister, Rui Tachibana. Things become even more complicated when Natsuo's father marries their mother, making the girls his step-sisters. From here on, it's an emotional drama, and it's impossible not to binge-watch it all in one go!
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8 Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song
AI has made huge strides lately, and while some people worry about its potential downsides, there are also some positive examples of AI, such as Vivy—a robotic songstress. In the anime, she teams up with an advanced AI from 100 years into the future to prevent a disastrous AI apocalypse.
The fluid action scenes are unreal, and the show doesn't overstay its welcome by dragging on for multiple seasons. What's fascinating about Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song is that it explores the idea of what it means to have a heart. Is your heart just a collection of experiences that you've lived through? Vivy discovers that putting her heart into singing is more than just a program that's encoded into her.
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7 Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day
Anohana is an anime about the theme of redemption. The story follows a group of childhood friends who have been torn apart by a tragic accident. Each of them holds some sort of guilt for the death of their friend, Menma, and the feeling that they could have done something to prevent it still haunts them.
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However, things change when Menma reappears in the form of a spirit after ten years, seeking help to fulfill her last wish. With a tear-jerking conclusion that many anime experts deem as one of the best, Anohana is a must-watch for anyone dealing with grief.
6 Summer Time Rendering
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The time travel theme in anime isn't exactly new. Shows such as Re: Zero, Steins; Gate, and Tokyo Revengers have already incorporated this sci-fi concept into various genres. Summer Time Rendering takes it a bit further to establish a premise based on an old Japanese folktale that if your shadow encounters you, then it will take your place.
The story follows Shinpei Ajiro, who has come back to his hometown in Hitogashima Island to attend the funeral of his lover, Ushio. But something weird is happening in the town, as people start disappearing. With his newfound ability to rewind time, Shinpei's only goal is to uncover the truth behind Ushio's sudden death. The anime is going to be full of shocking twists and leave you with a good taste of summer.
5 Yuri on Ice
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For aficionados of sports anime, Yuri On Ice is a must-watch show that revolves around ice skating. The 12-episode anime follows Yuri Katsuki, who, after losing in a major skating competition, takes a break from sports. Yuri's fortune changes when a video of him performing a routine by his role model, Victor Nikiforov, goes viral on the internet.
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Crazy enough, Victor shows up and offers to coach Yuri for the Grand Prix Finals. Over the course of the series, their relationship blossoms into something electrifying, with many scenes focusing on their emotional connection. Yuri and Viktor are often considered one of the best LGBTQ+ couples in anime.
4 Mononoke
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The Mononoke (2007) mini-TV series is an avant-garde horror anime, that is critically acclaimed for its distinct animation style. The anime cleverly fuses the traditional "ukiyo-e" Japanese art style with modern animation techniques like quick camera movements and POV shots.
Although everything has a 2D papercut feel in the backdrop of watercolor painted canvas texture, the animation is illusive enough to be immersive. Mononoke is about a medicine seller who exorcises spirits as he travels across feudal Japan. However, the story contains metaphorical elements that require multiple viewings to fully comprehend.
3 Odd Taxi
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This 2021 masterpiece anime somehow manages to be the best example of a modern classic. Odd Taxi presents anthropomorphic characters that are relatable and face contemporary social issues, such as an influencer trying to make it big on social media, a middle-aged man spending big bucks to date an online woman who is deceiving him, and a nurse doing underhanded jobs for the Yakuza to pay off her college debt. However, these things occur backstage as the central narrative of the show revolves around a mystery thriller.
2 Plastic Memories
Anime featuring star-crossed lovers always seem to be the saddest ones, and it’s indeed hard to watch them twice. Plastic Memories takes advantage of this trope and creates a unique storyline in a future world where humanoid robots are just as much a part of society as humans but with a catch.
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These robots have a lifespan of only 9 years, after which they start to lose their memories. The main character, Tsukasa, is responsible for retrieving these robots once their time is up, but he ends up falling in love with one of them. Despite knowing that their love story doesn’t have a Disney happy ending, they still choose to pursue it and cherish these temporary “plastic” memories.
1 Hyouka
Once Chitanda's curiosity is piqued, there's no escaping her probing questions. Hyouka is arguably the best slice-of-life anime out there, with breathtaking visuals. The show follows the reasoning prowess of slacker Oreki Hotarou, who joins his school’s literature club. In each passing episode, he solves a plethora of mysteries for his curious classmate, Chitanda.
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Alongside the deductive escapades, a mature plot complementarily blossoms, capturing life's ficklest moments and the rosy romantic phase of youth. Though the anime covers only the first four light novel volumes, the ending was so on point and just “beautiful” (only one way to describe it) that further seasons seemed unnecessary.
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