Anime like Dragon Ball, Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece are no doubt some of the most spectacular series of all time. Between their amazing stories, characters, and art design, fans all over the world can fall in love. But it's a daunting task to catch up to these amazing anime simply because their episode lists easily reach to the hundreds and some fans don't have the patience or the time.
But fans don't have to worry about finding a good short anime, as there are many wonderful series in any genre that only have one season. Short series are easy for fans to sit back and binge over the weekend and still get the same satisfaction at the end.
10 Plastic Memories Demonstrates That Forbidden Love Always Hurts
Romance in anime is frequently bittersweet, as fans get to love and enjoy the relationships that evolve between the characters while knowing the anime will end sooner rather than later. Plastic Memories is a prime example, where the growing relationship between Tsukasa the human and Isla, a robot known as a Giftia.
With Isla's lifespan coming to an end, Tsukasa has to figure out his feelings for her before it's too late. Despite the show making it obvious that the series would end sooner than most, it's not any easier to swallow for fans who fell in love with both Isla and Tsukasa.
9 Yuri On Ice Hits The Spot For Sports Anime Fans
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Yuri On Ice follows the story of the young figure skater Yuri Katsuki returning home and quitting ice skating after a devastating defeat in the Grand Prix Final. Back in Yuri’s hometown, a video of his performance made an appearance on the internet and gained the attention of Russian figure skater Victor Nikiforov, who makes it his mission to get Yuri figure skating once again.
But it doesn’t come that easy when Yuri Plisetsky, a prodigy skater, makes his way to Victor on a promise that he made to choreograph his routine. Now the two Yuris must compete against each other to see who will be coached by the famous Victor Nikiforov.
8 Strange, Supernatural Things Happen In Shiki
Shiki takes place in a small village called Sotoba, an isolated area where nothing particularly exciting happens to the residents. That all changes when the village doctor Toshio Ozaki and his friend Seishin Muroi the priest come across a couple of dead bodies.
While trying to figure out what happened to these unfortunate individuals, Toshio and Seishin notice the Kirishiki family joining their village in the dead of night. When things couldn't seem to get any weirder, a local girl is discovered catatonic in the woods suffering from what Toshio thinks is anemia inflicted by bug bites.
7 Another Features A Terrifying Mystery That's Solved In Only 12 Episodes
The horror fiction mystery anime Another had fans impatiently waiting for each new episode. After being hospitalized and experiencing some strange interactions with his friends, Koichi Sakakibara returns to school where he realizes that his friends weren't the only ones acting odd.
Once Koichi is settled in, he recognizes a girl named Mei from the hospital is also in the same class but notices that no one else pays her any mind and pretends she doesn’t exist. Drawn to the mystery of Mei, Koichi takes it upon himself to figure her out.
6 Toradora Shows Two Friends With The Same Goal
Toradora! is an adorable romantic comedy that dives into the friendship of two opposite friends. The sweet and gentle Ryuuji Takasu, who students think is nothing but a delinquent simply because of his face, and Taiga Aisaka, a cute but feisty student, are thrust into each other's lives with no warning.
In a normal situation, Taiga and Ryuuji wouldn't have fostered any kind of friendship, but Taiga makes a humiliating mistake that causes them to cross paths. This leads these two on a mission together with the same goal: they both have a crush on each other's best friend and are determined to help one another steal the hearts of their crushes.
5 Your Lie In April Still Makes Fans Cry Years Later
The popular romantic drama Your Lie In April takes fans through the emotional journey of former piano prodigy Kosei Arima. After losing his mother, Kosei suffers from a mental breakdown and refuses to ever touch the piano or excel in any activities, as he believes the world is colorless and monochrome.
Fortunately, Kosei meets Kaori Miyazono, a free-spirited violinist who encourages Kosei to play the piano once again. But this heart-warming series does not prepare fans for the gut-wrenching pain that follows both Kosei and Kaori.
4 Action Meets Romance In Angel Beats!
The supernatural world of Angel Beats! follows Yuzuru Otonashi through what seems like an ordinary high school student's life. In reality, Yuzuru is in the afterlife where someone who has experienced some sort of trauma that they must overcome in order to move on and get reincarnated.
While attending this afterlife school, Yuzuru meets Yuri Nakamura, who convinces him to join their organization built on rebelling against God for their circumstances in life. While having to balance fighting against evil entities from the afterlife attacking the other students and dealing with the regular emotions of a teenage boy, Angel Beats! gives the perfect mixture of romance and action.
3 Erased Takes Fans On A Emotional Time-Travel Adventure
If fans want a heart-wrenching short psychological thriller series, Erased is what they're looking for. While only 12 episodes, the series doesn't speed along the story but still manages to give fans the chance to experience the characters and their situations.
Satoru Fujinuma has a peculiar ability called "revival" that allows him to go back into time before a life-changing moment and hopefully prevent it from taking place. Not only does this unnatural ability give him the chance to save his mother, but it also allows him to take down a kidnapper from his childhood once and for all.
2 Fans Get To Love The Strange Human & Alien Friendship In Parasyte
For fans that enjoy science fiction horror with a bit of humor, Parasyte takes the cake. Fans get to follow the unlikely relationship between the main character Shinichi Izumi and his new parasite companion Migi.
Migi becomes stuck to Shinichi's hand for the remainder of his life and must try to keep Shinichi away from the other parasites inhabiting Earth, so the two must work together even if their motives are slightly different from one another. All of this happens while Shinichi also deals with the loss of loved ones and trying to maintain the facade of a normal teenage student.
1 Death Note Is A Thriller That'll Take Its Fans For An Exciting Ride
Death Note is a darker anime series, mixed with the perfect amount of mystery and psychological and supernatural thriller. The series follows the life of Light Yagami, a seemingly normal teen prodigy. One day, he comes across a mysterious notebook called the Death Note.
Light now holds tremendous power in his hands, as the Death Note allows the user to take the lives of others by simply writing their name. Unfortunately, Light loses his good sense along the way. Stirring up a lot of attention catches the eye of one of the top detectives L, and now Light has to come up with some elaborate schemes to try to throw him off his track or take L's life.