10 Best Short Anime Even Beginners Will Love

Many popular anime series are quite lengthy, with multiple seasons or a large number of episodes, which can be intimidating for newcomers. If you’re just getting into anime, it’s often best to start with something shorter – under 50 episodes – to avoid feeling overwhelmed. Even longtime fans sometimes want a change from popular shows and enjoy exploring different series. Recently, Comic Book compiled two lists of excellent, shorter anime – perfect for both beginners and those looking for something new.

But there’s so much more great anime out there! So, we’ve put together another list of short series that everyone will enjoy, not just those new to anime.

10) Run With the Wind

This overlooked series is a real treasure, telling a story about a group of young runners in just 23 episodes. It’s a surprisingly realistic show, emphasizing the dedication and effort it takes to succeed, rather than relying on over-the-top visuals. This makes it easy to connect with the characters and their journey.

Kakreu Urahara was once a star runner, but now he’s starting college and studying sociology. He rediscovers his love for the sport after becoming friends with Haiji Kiyose, another student at the university.

9) Violet Evergarden

Though visually stunning and set in a beautiful world, at its heart, this story is about finding healing and connecting with others. Violet, once a child soldier, spent years fighting and simply following commands. With the war now over, she’s searching for a new reason to live, but it’s difficult for her to adjust to normal life because she struggles to express her feelings.

After the war, she finds herself disconnected from her former commander and has a hard time adjusting to a normal life. The story follows her as she becomes an Auto Memory Doll, traveling the land and recording people’s feelings by writing down their memories.

8) Dororo

This anime is a fresh take on a classic series from 1969, inspired by a lesser-known gem from Osamu Tezuka. The story is gripping and follows Hyakkimaru as he battles incredible hardships, simply to survive and find his place in the world.

Abandoned as a baby and offered as a sacrifice to demons by his own father, Hyakkimaru returns after many years seeking to reclaim what was stolen from him. But Dororo is more than just a tale of staying alive; it’s a thought-provoking look at what makes us human, and how things like greed, fear, and hopelessness can cause us to lose our empathy.

7) Death Parade

I’ve noticed that Death Parade, despite being a unique and beautifully animated series, doesn’t seem to get the attention it deserves. It’s a shame it never got a second season, because it really delved into what makes people tick, showing their true colors when put under pressure.

After death, people don’t go to heaven or hell. Instead, they find themselves at a bar where they’re judged to see if they deserve a second life. The story centers around these judgments, as the bartender puts pairs of souls through risky challenges that expose their deepest flaws and secrets.

6) Banana Fish

Despite its mature themes and intense action, Banana Fish is a standout Shojo anime. Many fans consider it one of MAPPA’s best works, offering a gripping and emotional story that stays with you long after it ends. The series centers around Ash Lynx, a 17-year-old leader of a New York City gang, and Eiji Okumura, who assists a Japanese photographer.

Though they come from very different backgrounds, a chance encounter brings them together, forging an unexpected connection. Eiji’s gentle nature offers Ash much-needed comfort and hope, but their story soon takes a troubling turn, filled with betrayal and despair, leaving the characters trapped by their fate.

5) Love Through a Prism

Yoko Kamio, the author of the popular manga Boys Over Flowers, created Love Through a Prism, a brand-new anime now available on Netflix. With stunning animation by WIT Studio, this series is definitely worth checking out.

I’m completely hooked on this series! It’s not just beautiful to look at and the music is amazing, but the story itself is so well-done, and honestly, every single character feels so real and complex. It follows Lili Ichijouin, who moves from Japan to London in the 90s to study art, and we get to meet all these fascinating people along the way – especially Kit Church, who’s just captivating!

4) Nodame Cantabile

Many popular music anime, like Given and Your Lie in April, tend to be sad or dramatic. That’s what makes Nodame Cantabile so different – it’s a cheerful and uplifting story. It follows Megumi Noda (nicknamed Nodame) and Shinichi Chiaki, two piano students at a Japanese music school, as they pursue their studies in classical music performance.

Shinichi is a focused musician determined to become a conductor, while Nodame simply loves playing piano and hopes to teach young children. Despite being complete opposites, their lives become intertwined, and they unexpectedly help each other grow as musicians. The story is both funny and heartwarming, realistically portraying the challenges of chasing your dreams.

3) Sonny Boy

This critically acclaimed anime from the Madhouse studio is known for its complex stories, dreamlike animation, and exploration of what’s real. The series starts with 36 middle school students—including characters named Nagara, Nozomi, and Mizuho—who suddenly find themselves in a strange new dimension called “This World.”

This strange new world has its own rules, and also gives the children special powers. Throughout the story, they face difficult problems and disagreements as they try to find a way back home quickly.

2) Ghost Hunt

Ghost Hunt is a surprisingly funny and lighthearted horror anime, even though it deals with some serious and spooky topics. It’s a really enjoyable series, but it doesn’t get the attention it deserves, even after being out for nearly twenty years.

This anime presents eight intriguing cases of paranormal investigations, going beyond simple ghost stories to explore psychic abilities and how they can be used for malicious purposes. We follow Mai Tanayama, a 16-year-old student, as she becomes involved with the 17-year-old owner of a psychic research center in Shibuya, assisting him with each case and uncovering the secrets of the supernatural world.

1) Mob Psycho 100

Despite having three seasons, Mob Psycho 100 flies by – it’s easy to become completely absorbed in Mob’s exciting story. Based on the popular manga by ONE, the creator of One-Punch Man, the series centers around Shigeo Kageyama, nicknamed Mob, a middle schooler with incredibly powerful psychic abilities.

He chooses to hide his abilities and live a normal life, but finds it’s harder than expected. To control his powers, he takes a part-time job with Arataka Reigen, who is interested in exploiting Mob’s skills and has secrets of his own.

What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!

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2026-02-08 06:11