20 Best Short 12 Episode Anime You Can’t Skip
If you’re reading this article, it’s because either you love anime or you’re thinking of getting into anime. It’s not every day that you can sit on the couch, turn the TV on and start watching Naruto Shippuden, One Piece, or Bleach. Sometimes, you just want an anime that you can start and finish within one sitting, so that means a short anime with no more than 12 episodes.
After all, maintaining a work-life or school-life balance is important for all of us, and we all want to watch anime and still sleep on time. Fret no more, for I have compiled for you 20 of the Best Short anime that have no more than 12 episodes. Trust me, you will not want to skip any of the anime on this list.
20. Another
Studio: Progressive Animation Works
Where Can I Watch It: Crunchyroll
In class 3-3 of Yomiyama North Junior High, transfer student Kouichi Sakakibara returns after taking a sick leave for the first month of school. Among his new classmates, he is unusually drawn toward Mei Misaki, a reserved girl with an eyepatch whom he met in the hospital during his absence. However, none of his classmates acknowledge her existence; they warn him not to familiarize himself with things that do not exist, but against their words of caution, Kouichi befriends Mei and soon learns of the sinister truth behind his friends’ trepidation.
19. House Of Five Leaves (Saraiya Goyou)
Studio: Progressive Manglobe
Where Can I Watch It: Retrocrush
House of Five Leaves follows Masanosuke Akitsu, a wayfaring ronin drifting in Japan’s peaceful Edo period. Despite being a skilled swordsman, Masanosuke’s unassuming nature has earned him the label of unreliable, and he is often unexpectedly dismissed by his employers, leading him to question his determination as a samurai. As Masa reaches his lowest point, he is approached by Yaichi, a carefree man dressed in pink who seemingly hires him on impulse as his bodyguard.
Unknown to Masa, the job is not as harmless as it seems, and he is drawn into the illegal activities of the group spearheaded by Yaichi. As he becomes further entangled with the gang known as the ‘Five Leaves,’ Masa struggles with his own ideals. Still, his curiosity spurs him forward to uncover the past and motivations of this mysterious gang of outlaws.
18. 91 Days
Studio: Shuka
Where Can I Watch It: Crunchyroll
As a child living in the town of Lawless, Angelo Lagusa has witnessed a tragedy: his parents and younger brother have been mercilessly slaughtered by the Vanetti mafia family. Losing everything he holds dear, he leaves both his name and hometown behind, adopting the new identity of Avilio Bruno.
Seven years later, Avilio finally has his chance for revenge when he receives a mysterious letter prompting him to return to Lawless. Obliging, he soon encounters the Vanetti don’s son, Nero, and seeks to befriend him using the skills he has quietly sharpened for years.
17. Btooom!
Studio: Madhouse
Where Can I Watch It: HiDive
Ryouta Sakamoto is unemployed and lives with his mother, his only real achievement being that he is Japan’s top player in the popular online video game Btooom! However, his peaceful life is about to change when he finds himself stranded on an island in the middle of nowhere, with a small green crystal embedded in his left hand and no memory of how he got there. To his shock, someone has decided to recreate the game he is so fond of in real life, with the stakes being life or death.
16. Katanagatari
Studio: White Fox
Where Can I Watch It: Buy/Rent
In an Edo-era Japan filled with a variety of sword-fighting styles, Shichika Yasuri practices the unique one: Kyotouryuu, a technique in which the user’s own body is wielded as a blade. The mysterious seventh head of the Kyotouryuu school, Shichika lives quietly in exile with his sister Nanami until one day—the wildly ambitious strategist Togame barges into their lives.
15. Astra Lost In Space (Kanata No Astra)
Studio: Lerche
Where Can I Watch It: Hulu / Funimation Now
In the year 2063, space travel is feasible and commercially available. As the cheerful Aries Spring arrives at the spaceport to attend a camp on the distant planet McPa, her purse is suddenly snatched by an impetuous burglar. Luckily, the athletic Kanata Hoshijima is able to retrieve it for her, and Aries soon discovers that he is among the group of teenagers who will be traveling with her on the expedition as team B-5.
Upon arriving at their campsite, the group’s trip takes a turn for the worse when a weird sphere of black light sucks them into the vast reaches of outer space. Stranded with seemingly no hope, they find an abandoned ship nearby that provides them with the means to return home. However, they soon discover that they are not as close to their campsite as they initially thought, but are in fact thousands of light-years away from home.
With this realization, the nine members must carefully manage their resources, maintain their strength, and unite as one to dominate the darkness of space together. While the reason behind their trip’s sudden deterrent remains unknown, they venture on the perilous journey back home aboard their new ship, the Astra.
14. Highschool Of The Dead
Studio: Madhouse
Where Can I Watch It: Hulu
When the dead begin to rise abruptly, Japan is thrown into total chaos. As these monsters begin terrorizing a high school, Takashi Kimuro is forced to kill his best friend when he gets bitten and joins the ranks of the walking dead. Swearing to protect Rei Miyamoto, the girlfriend of the man he just executed, they barely escape their school, only to be welcomed by a society that has been destroyed.
Soon, Takashi and Rei band together with other students on a search to find their family members and uncover what caused this pandemic. Joining them is Saeko Busujima, the beautiful president of the Kendo Club; Kouta Hirano, an otaku with a fixation for firearms; Saya Takagi, the daughter of an influential politician; and Shizuka Marikawa, their hot school nurse.
13. Deadman Wonderland
Studio: Manglobe
Where Can I Watch It: Funimation Now
It looked like it would be a normal day for Ganta Igarashi and his classmates, as they were preparing to go on a class field trip to a particular prison amusement park called Deadman Wonderland, where the convicts perform dangerous acts for the spectators’ amusement. However, Ganta’s life is quickly turned upside down when his whole class gets butchered by a mysterious man in red. Framed for the massacre and sentenced to death, Ganta is sent to the very prison he was supposed to visit.
12. Beastars
Studio: Orange
Where Can I Watch It: Netflix
In a civilized society of anthropomorphic animals, an uneasy tension exists between carnivores and herbivores. At Cherryton Academy, this mutual distrust peaks after a predatory incident results in the death of Tem, an alpaca in the school’s drama club. Tem’s friend Legoshi, a grey wolf in the stage crew, has been an object of fear and suspicion for his whole life.
In the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, he continues to lie low and hide his terrifying traits, much to the objection of Louis, a red deer and the overbearing star actor of the drama club. When Louis sneaks into the auditorium to train Tem’s replacement for an upcoming play, he assigns Legoshi to lookout duty. That very night, Legoshi has a fateful encounter with Haru, a white dwarf rabbit shunned by her peers.
His growing feelings for Haru, complicated by his predatory instincts, force him to confront his own true nature, the circumstances of the death of his friend, and the wave of violence invading the world around him.
11. Death Parade
Studio: Madhouse
Where Can I Watch It: Hulu / Funimation Now
After death, either Heaven or Hell awaits most humans. But for a select few, death brings them to Quindecim, a bar where only pairs of people who die at the same time can enter. Attending the bar is a mysterious figure known as Decim, who also acts as the judge.
He passes sentences on those who wind up at Quindecim by challenging them to a life-threatening game. These games determine if the patron’s soul will reincarnate into a new life, or be sent into the void, never to be seen again.
From darts and bowling to fighting games, the true nature of each patron slowly comes to light as they wager their souls. Though his methods remain unchanged, the sudden appearance of a black-haired amnesiac forces Decim to reexamine his own judgments.
10. Somali And The Forest Spirit (Somali To Mori No Kamisama)
Studio: Satelight / HORNETS
Where Can I Watch It: Crunchyroll
In a world occupied by demons, cyclops, and other incredible creatures, humans stand apart as the outcasts. Quick to anger, the human race engaged in a war that all but wiped them out. The few humans that remain are seen as a delicacy, serving no purpose but to be hunted down and eaten.
One day, Golem, a wandering guardian of nature, encounters a lone human child while patrolling. Inspired by her spirit, he takes the girl, named Somali, under his wing. Together, the duo ventures on a journey to find Somali’s parents and bring her home.
9. No Game No Life
Studio: Madhouse
Where Can I Watch It: Hulu
No Game No Life is a surreal comedy that follows Sora and Shiro, shut-in NEET siblings, and the online gamer duo behind the legendary username Kuuhaku. They view the real world as just another lousy game; however, a strange e-mail challenging them to a chess match changes everything as the brother and sister are plunged into a supernatural realm where they meet Tet, the God of Games. The mysterious god welcomes the two to Disboard, a world where all forms of conflict are settled through high-stake games.
This system works thanks to a fundamental rule wherein each party must wager something they deem to be of equal value to the other party’s wager. In this strange land where the very idea of humanity is reduced to child’s play, the indifferent genius gamer duo of Sora and Shiro have finally found a real reason to keep playing games: to unite the sixteen races of Disboard, defeat Tet, and become the gods of this new, gaming-is-everything world.
8. Yuri!!! On Ice
Studio: MAPPA
Where Can I Watch It: Crunchyroll / Funimation Now
Yūri Katsuki carried all of Japan’s hopes on his shoulders to win at the Grand Prix Finale ice skating competition, but suffered a crushing defeat. He returns home to Kyushu and half feels like he wants to retire, and half feels like he wants to continue ice skating.
Suddenly, the five-time consecutive world championship ice skater Victor Nikiforov appears before him with Yuri Plisetsky, a young Russian figure skater who is already defeating his seniors. Victor and Yuri both take up the challenge in an unprecedented Grand Prix series.
7. Kabaneri Of The Iron Fortress (Koutetsujou No Kabaneri)
Studio: Wit Studio
Where Can I Watch It: Prime Video
As the world is in the middle of an industrial revolution, a monster appears that cannot be defeated unless its heart, which is protected by a layer of iron, is pierced. By infecting humans with its bite, the monster can create aggressive and undead creatures known as Kabane. On the island Hinomoto, located in the far east, people have built stations to shelter themselves from these creatures.
People access the station, as well as transport wares between them, with the help of a locomotive running on steam, called Hayajiro. Ikoma, a boy who lives in the Aragane station and helps to build Hayajiro, creates his own weapon called Tsuranukizutsu in order to defeat the creatures. One day, as he waits for an opportunity to use his weapon, he meets a girl named Mumei, who is excused from the mandatory Kabane inspection.
During the night, Ikuma meets Mumei again as he sees Hayajiro going out of control. The staff on the locomotive has turned into the creatures. The station, now under attack by Kabane, is the opportunity Ikoma has been looking for.
6. Goblin Slayer
Studio: White Fox
Where Can I Watch It: Crunchyroll / Funimation Now
Goblins are known for their ferocity, cunning, and rapid reproduction, but their reputation as the lowliest of monsters causes their threat to be overlooked as adventurers turn a blind eye in favor of more rewarding assignments with larger bounties. A young priestess has formed her first adventuring party, but almost immediately they find themselves in distress.
It’s the Goblin Slayer who comes to their rescue—a man who’s dedicated his life to the extermination of all goblins, by any means necessary. As a holder of the prestigious Silver rank, the Goblin Slayer allows her to accompany him as he assists the Adventurer’s Guild in all goblin-related matters. Together with the Priestess, High Elf, Dwarf, and Lizard-man, the armored warrior will not rest until every single goblin in the frontier lands has been eradicated for good.
5. Dorohedoro
Studio: MAPPA
Where Can I Watch It: Netflix
The story revolves around Kaiman, who does not remember who he was before he was transfigured by a Magic-user. This transformation left him with a reptile’s head, and a desire to find out the truth about who he really is. Accompanied by Nikaido, his female companion, he tracks down Magic Users in The Hole and unceremoniously chomps down on their heads, hoping to find out who it was that put him in this state.
4. Erased (Boku Dake Ga Inai Machi)
Studio: A-1 Pictures
Where Can I Watch It: Netflix, Hulu, Funimation Now
Satoru Fujinuma is a struggling manga artist who has the ability to turn back time and prevent deaths. When his mother is killed he turns back time to solve the mystery, but ends up back in elementary school, just before the disappearance of his classmate Kayo.
3. Kaguya-Sama: Love Is War
Studio: A-1 Pictures
Where Can I Watch It: Hulu, Funimation Now, Crunchyroll
Considered a genius due to having the highest grades in the country, Miyuki Shirogane leads the prestigious Shuchiin Academy’s student council as its president, working alongside the beautiful and wealthy vice president Kaguya Shinomiya. The two are often regarded as the perfect couple by students despite them not being in any sort of romantic relationship.
2. Grand Blue
Studio: Zero-G
Where Can I Watch It: Prime Video
Iori Kitahara moves to the coastal town of Izu for his freshman year at its university, taking residence above Grand Blue, his uncle’s scuba diving shop. Iori has high hopes and dreams about having the ideal college experience, but when he enters the shop he is sucked into the alcoholic activities of the carefree members of the Diving Club who frequent the place. Persuaded by upperclassmen Shinji Tokita and Ryuujirou Kotobuki, Iori reluctantly joins their bizarre party.
1. The Promised Neverland (Yakusoku No Neverland)
Studio: CloverWorks
Where Can I Watch It: Hulu, Funimation Now, Crunchyroll, Adult Swim, Netflix, Spectrum On Demand, HBO Max
Surrounded by a forest and a gated entrance, the Grace Field House is inhabited by orphans happily living together as one big family, looked after by their Mama, Isabella. Although they are required to take tests daily, the children are free to spend their time as they see fit, usually playing outside, as long as they do not venture too far from the orphanage, a rule they are expected to follow no matter what. However, all good times must come to an end, as every few months, a child is adopted and sent to live with their new family, never to be heard from again.