While there’s nothing like enjoying a traditional anime series with 23-minute episodes, anime with shorter episodes can be just as entertaining as their longer counterparts since they have little room for filler episodes or slow pacing. In short-episode anime, there is a limited time frame to introduce settings, characters, and plots, making every moment count.

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Anime with short episodes are also fantastic breathers between other series because they can be easy to watch on busy days and are not as much of a time commitment as other shows. There are short-episode anime series of all genres, but whether they feature romance, action, or comedy, they make the most of their time with memorable simplicity.

10 Ojisan And Marshmallow

Hige chasing after a bag of marshmallows

Hige is a polite man who can’t hide his love for Tabekko Marshmallows whenever his co-worker, Wakabayashi, walks into the office with a bag. However, he doesn’t realize she only teases him with his favorite treat to show her affection for him.

Ojisan and Marshmallow is a light-hearted show that follows Wakabayahi’s attempts to admit her feelings for Hige in bite-sized, three-minute episodes. While Hige unknowingly yet politely declines her romantic pursuits at the beginning of the series, it is an undeniably sweet and easy watch.

9 Tonari No Seki-kun: The Master Of Killing Time

Tonari no Seki-kun The Master of Killing Time

Despite wanting to be a good student who pays attention in class, Rumi Yokoi never seems to be able to pay attention while sitting beside a quiet boy named Seki. He may not cause class-wide disruptions, but Seki-kun always entertains himself with elaborate projects, games, and crafts that pull Rumi in, even when she tries to stop him from getting in trouble.

Seki’s imagination seems nearly endless as he comes up with different scenarios for every class. Rarely does he repeat an activity, making every class period in Tonari no Seki-kun: The Master of Killing Time an amusing and unique seven minutes.

8 Chi’s Sweet Home

Chi from Chi's sweet home

Chi’s Sweet Home follows a gray-and-white striped kitten who finds a home with a young boy named Youhei and his family after she gets lost while walking the streets with her mother. Even though her new family can’t have pets at their apartment complex, they do their best to give her a good life.

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With every three-minute episode, Chi learns to appreciate her family and the simple pleasures of pet life. At times, she has to hide from the landlord of her apartment, but usually, her adventures are just as adorable as Chi herself.

7 I Can’t Understand What My Husband Is Saying

Two shot of the main characters from I Can't Understand What My Husband Is Saying

Despite being husband and wife, Hajime and Kaoru Tsunashi live very different lives. Kaoru works at an office, goes out with her friends, and cares about what the neighbors think. Hajime, on the other hand, runs an otaku blog from home, knowing only a handful of his friends outside the internet.

Alongside references to otaku culture and lifestyle, I Can’t Understand What My Husband is Saying shows how Hajime and Kaoru encourage each other to grow, enjoy life, and appreciate their differences, three minutes at a time.

6 Detroit Metal City

Souichi Negishi in Detroit Metal City

Souichi Negishi has a passion for music and wants to write peaceful music inspired by calm Swedish pop songs. However, he ends up as the leader of a death metal band that sings about death, destruction, and the rot of society. Ashamed by his intense stage persona, Johannes Krauser II, Negishi tries to hide his talent and career from his loved ones, even as his band rises to popularity.

Detroit Metal Citys thirteen-minute episodes perfectly highlight the contrast between Negishi’s personality and his performance on stage, making it a comedic watch for fans of rock music.

5 Space Patrol Luluco

Luluco and friends in uniform

Luluco just wants to live a normal life in Ogikubo, a city where aliens and humans live together. However, when her father, a member of the Space Patrol, accidentally freezes himself over breakfast, Luluco takes his place on the force. Being part of the patrol often means standing out at school and in the city, shattering the average and respectful image Luluco worked so hard to build. Still, she faces difficulties head-on to keep her family afloat.

Space Patrol Luluco is one of Studio Trigger’s most entertaining series, with every moment in the seven-minute episodes adding another layer of comedy to Luluco’s hesitant heroism.

4 Aggretsuko

Retsuko singing while her bosses dance

Aggretsuko follows a red panda named Retsuko, who works for the accounting department of a large company. She hates her job and boss but continues to work at the firm because it is a respectable position. Day in and day out, Retsuko has little to relieve her stress except singing death metal at a karaoke bar alone.

As she opens up more to others at her job, her friends encourage her to push through the tough days and share more time with them. Their days often end at the karaoke bar, but Retsuko’s struggles and songs are well worth their 15-minute episodes.

3 The Way Of The Househusband

Tatsu holding a plate food

Tatsu is a former yakuza member who left his life of violence and crime behind to become a loving househusband for his wife, Miku. He takes care of the cooking, cleaning, and laundry with the same dedication he once used to fight against rival gangs. While yakuza members and the police often recognize him by his demeanor and scars, Tatsu makes sure they don’t underestimate the skill and determination it takes to care for a household on a budget.

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While some episodes of The Way of the Househusband run for up to 19 minutes at a time, each episode is a compilation of shorts that show how Tatsu’s yakuza skills enrich his new, wholesome life as a devoted househusband.

2 Skull-face Bookseller Honda-san

Honda-san holding tea

In Skull-face Bookseller Honda-san, a skeleton takes up a job in a bookstore that specializes in comics. Between stocking shelves, setting up displays, and helping customers, Honda-san realizes how many kinds of people come to a manga store and the dedication the work requires.

Each episode of Honda-san’s adventures runs for about 12 minutes at a time, introducing new guests, problems, and manga recommendations around every corner. Skull-face Bookseller Honda-san also references popular manga series and publishers, giving its seemingly light-hearted comedy a realistic touch.

1 The Disastrous Life Of Saiki K.

Saiki Kusuo in The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.

Kusuo Saiki is a powerful teenage psychic whose diverse talents include telekinesis, pyrokinesis, and teleportation, among other skills. While he could easily take over the world, Saiki prefers to live a quiet life to avoid unnecessary attention and hardship. He doesn’t have many friends, but he still enjoys the simple pleasures of life as best he can.

The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. has 120 short episodes, often compiled into 24 regular-length shows. Whether viewers prefer to enjoy the compilations or take the series one episode at a time, watching Saiki come out of his shell and experience the ups and downs of friendship is a hilarious and rewarding experience.

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