Binge-watchingyour favorite animeis all fun and games until it’s two days into the marathon and all you’ve finished is a meager 50 episodes in a 300-episode series. And while there’s nothing wrong with stretching that marathon into the work week, watching on the small screen of your phone in your lunch hour to pack more in is hardly the most comfortable experience.
If you’re like us and can’t handle the nail-biting anticipation of cutting a long series into pieces, you’ll love the bite-sized titles included on this list. There’s a little bit of everything, including psycho dramas, thrillers, horrors, and slice of life. Just scroll on through and find a title perfect for a weekend watch.
Psychological, Drama
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“What happens when we die?” is an age-old question that none seem to have the answer to—but Death Parade attempts to give viewers a grim yet thought-provoking one. The story takes place in a mysterious bar called Quindecim, where souls are sent to complete challenges that ultimately decide their fate: rebirth or the eternal void. On the surface, these challenges look like everyday bar games like darts and pool. But really, they’re designed to reveal the player’s true character by emotionally and mentally testing them.
Decim is an enigmatic bartender assigned (created, really) to oversee and judge these games. He’s initially quite detached from these human souls, but when he’s sent an assistant—Chiyuki, a human soul that can’t remember her past—all of that changes.
His interactions with Chiyuki challenge his impartiality and programmed detachment. Her judgments of the human souls make him question the fairness of his own process, and he begins to appreciate the depth and complexity of human emotions—something he was never equipped to fully understand initially. It’s amentally gripping seriesand perfect for a weekend binge.
Mystery, Thriller
In Erased, Satoru Fujinuma has an ability called Revival, which lets him travel back in time, usually by a few minutes, whenever life-threatening events are about to happen. Unfortunately, these trips are involuntary, so Satoru can’t control when and where Revival is triggered.
In thisthrilling mystery anime, Satoru’s ability manifests on a much larger scale, sending him 18 years into the past after a horrible tragedy: his mother’s murder. Now back in his younger body, he uncovers a connection between her death and a series of child abductions, prompting him to protect his classmates, especially Kayo Hinazuki, a quiet girl targeted by the killer.
Balancing a child’s innocence with an adult’s determination, Satoru races to rewrite the past and stop the unknown menace, hopefully saving everyone, including his mother.
Action, Horror
10
If horror anime is your cup of tea, then you won’t want to miss Devilman Crybaby. It’s got everything that makes a spine-chilling tale: demons, ghouls, and back-stabbing best friends.
A Devilman is what you call a bedeviled human that retains their soul even after possession, something that happens to Akira Fudo, thanks to Ryo, his demon-obsessed friend. Ryo tricks Akira into a chaotic ritual where demons are unleashed, and Akira merges with the powerful Amon.
Though he gains incredible strength, Akira remains kind-hearted and uses his new powers to fight demons threatening humanity.
But as fear of demons spreads, society begins to unravel, revealing the cruelty and darkness in human nature. Akira must navigate betrayals, heartbreak, and devastating losses in a brutal war between humans and demons.
Drama, Slice of Life
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AnoHana: The Flower We Saw That Day is a slice of life anime following Jinta Yadomi, a recluse who out of the blue starts seeing the ghost of Menam, a childhood friend. Menma tragically died in an accident years ago, and now her spirit has returned with an unresolved wish that’s keeping her tied to the world.
Unfortunately, Menma can’t remember this wish, so she asks Jinta for help. This forces him to reconnect with their old friends who he hasn’t seen or talked to since Menma’s death.
As the group work together to fulfill Menma’s wish, they find themselves having to confront their grief, guilt, and the ways Menma’s loss affected their lives. AnoHana is a truly moving story about friendship, loss, and the power of finding closure. So, keep that box of tissues close—you’ll need it!
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Love can change just about anyone—even a trained weapon of war. This premise is what makes Violet Evergarden an absolutely captivating watch.
We see Violet being stripped of all human emotion and turned into a tool for combat. This made her an incredible warrior, but left her isolated from the rest of society. Many of the people around her viewed her as an unfeeling instrument of destruction rather than a human being.
Major Gilbert, however, was different. He’s one of the few who saw her humanity and sought to help her discover her own identity beyond the battlefield.
After the war ends and she hears his parting words, “I love you,” Violet goes on a quest to understand their meaning. Taking a job as an Auto Memory Doll, she writes letters for others, discovering emotions she never knew existed.
Slice of Life, Comedy
What would it feel like to be stuck in a time-loop of reliving your biggest life decisions? Well, you can ask the protagonist of this next anime series.
The Tatami Galaxy follows the journey of a cynical student who dreams of an ideal college experience filled with romance and meaningful friendships. However, he discovers his reality is far from being a dream—so he spends most of his time regretting his decisions and blaming others for his misfortunes.
Later, through a mysterious turn of events, he gets stuck in a time loop that lets him relive his college years multiple times. Each time he goes back, he chooses a different club or path, hoping it leads him to the one perfect life he’s been envisioning.
This anime is great for those looking for unique art styles and fast-paced storytelling.
It goes without saying that if you dream big dreams, you need to be ready to take big steps. However, it’s not always easy to take that leap of faith. That’s exactly the struggle that Mari Tamaki experiences in A Place Further Than the Universe.
Mari wants to break free from her ordinary life and do something meaningful and adventurous. But like most people, she’s not quite sure what that meaningful, adventurous thing could be. However, all that changes when she meets Shirase Kobuchizawa.
They hatch a plan with two other friends, Hinata Miyake and Yuzuki Shiraishi, to go to Antarctica, where Shirase’s mother disappeared while on a voyage years ago. As the four girls prepare for the trip of a lifetime, they form an unbreakable bond while facing emotional challenges and personal growth.
Sci-Fi, Drama
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Planetes is a grounded andthought-provoking sci-fi animeabout space debris collectors in the year 2075. The story follows Ai Tanabe, a new recruit aboard the spaceship Toy Box, as she joins a team tasked with clearing hazardous debris from Earth’s orbit. While the premise might sound simple, the show dives into deep themes like environmentalism, class struggles, and human ambition.
What makes Planetes special is its realistic portrayal of space exploration and the personal growth of its characters. The series balances its hard sci-fi elements with emotional storytelling. Each episode explores different aspects of life in space, from the dangers of zero gravity to the ethical dilemmas of interplanetary exploration.
