Top 5

When you have the attention span of a drunken gerbil. What a weird way of stating it. Can gerbils even get drunk? I’m gonna look it up. Back. I don’t know the answer but do you guys think I should get a gerbil? They’re really cute. Not as cute as baby porcupines OR baby sloths. Man those things are the cutest.

What was I saying? Oh yeah… paying attention for an entire season of anime is really tough. You have to sit there for tens of minutes at the time and read stuff (or listen). It’s o.k once in a while but there’s no way you can keep it up always. And for those times when you’re not up to the task, there are short programs. In fact, here are five that I liked:

5) Kitaro Yokai Diary

Admittedly I don’t have that much to say about this show. I really like Yokai and this was a light-hearted comedy adventure (with a little bit of harem thrown in) full of cute yokai. It had some Natsume elements and some Interviews with Monster Girl elements, both of which are excellent things.

Sure it doesn’t come close to either of those shows but if you want to kill a few minutes and L me the general mood of mister girls or Yokai, then it’s a decent option.

4) Space Battleship Tiramisu

The elusive science fiction comedy is one of my favourite genres and I don’t exactly get to enjoy it often. Sure Tiramisu was often very childish and low brow but it gave me something I simply couldn’t find elsewhere. Not to mention that it could also be surprisingly earnest. I did laugh at some of those jokes and I’m not even embarrassed about it…much?

Space Battleship Tiramisu also looks surprisingly good for a short series with highly detailed character models and fluid animation. It’s one of the best productions I’ve seen in the short program category.

3) Space Patrol Luluco

Few anime studios have the same emotional impact on fans as Gainax//Trigger, and Luluco is a surreal, science fictionny romp through the studio’s history and works. I did not enough about this history at the time I watched Space Patrol Luluco to truly appreciate the nuances and Easter eggs it contained.

As this is a highly referential series, I know a lot went over my head and I plan to go back and rewatch it armed with my new knowledge. When I watched the fantastic Gurrenn Lagann, scenes from Luluco kept coming back to me and made so much more sense. And since each episode is only 5 minutes long, rewatching it shouldn’t take much effort at all!

2) I can’t understand what my husband is saying

I think the great majority of shorts tend to be comedies. The format works a bit like a stand-up act. You tell a joke or a funny little anecdote, deliver the punchline and move onto something else. That’s pretty much how I can’t understand what my husband is saying is arranged, only with a surprisingly sweet love story intertwined.

Like most stand up acts some of the material is a bit questionable and will not land with all audiences but the series has heart. You never get the impression that it’s mean spirited when it pokes fun at some of the less respectful sides of Otaku culture.

I skipped a few of the episodes as some running gags were really not my cup of tea but I know many fans who love this show. So if you’re looking for a short romantic series, this may be the one for you.

Special Mention The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.

I don’t know how this show aired originally but when I saw it, they were short skirts bundled together in roughly half-hour episodes so not technically a short program. Nevertheless, the vignette structure of the narrative means you can watch roughly 5 minutes of anime and move onto something else without feeling like you’ve left things unfinished… So although it may not be a short in definition, it remains one in spirit.

1) Orenchi no furo Jijou

I don’t care that this short is super weird with lots of BL overtones. I don’t care that the plot is nonsensical and the narrative fairly threadbare. Fact is, I enjoyed the heck out of this little show and I can’t explain why. I’m assuming *magic*.

I’ll be honest, I don’t know if you would like Orenchi no Furo Jijo. It’s one of these shows that’s really difficult to compare to anything else. It’s even hard to simply describe. But no matter the risk to my credibility, I will never stop recommending it. Cause it’s magic.

And at 3 minutes per episode what do you have to lose?

Also 1) Time of Eve

With each episode clocking in at 15 minutes, Time of Eve is on the longer side of shorts. Not sure if there’s a cutoff to qualify. But since the entire series is only 6 episodes I think it’s perfectly reasonable. It’s roughly the equivalent of 3 regular episodes so if you ascribe to the 3 episode rule, you’d be done before you even have to decide whether you want to watch it or not.

Whether Time of Eve is an actual short program or not, it is a thoughtful and at times stirring work of speculative fiction in the style of the golden age science fiction masters. A tight nest of moral dilemmas and an examination of human nature against a backdrop of near future technology. I loved this anime.

If I recommend Oorenchi to everyone because I’m not sure who would enjoy it, I recommend Time of Eve to everyone because I think a lot of people would.

There you go 5..I’m 7ish short animes you can binge through in a day or take in one little bite at the time whenever the mood strikes you. Do you have any short program recommendations?

Contributed by Irina
from I Drink And Watch Anime!