In Praise of 2019’s Short Anime

Happy New Year, everyone! With 2019 in the history books and another season of anime in danger of beginning any day now, it’s easy to get swept up in the current of what’s, well, current. The volume of modern anime production is so high that it’s difficult to keep up, even if you attempt to watch only the good stuff. That’s why, before another landslide of First Impressions arrives to bury us all, I’d like to talk briefly about four anime series that you may have missed during the past year – all of them shorts. Short series are among the first to be discounted in the AOTY conversation, but several of these shows will be appearing on my year-end ballot (fair warning to my fellow writers), and I’d recommend checking out whichever one most appeals to you. All of that said, let’s start with my favorite of the bunch: Rilakkuma and Kaoru.

Rilakkuma and Kaoru

This stop motion slice-of-life was something of a minor hit on Netflix. A bunch of mainstream outlets wrote articles last year about its unprecedented levels of cuteness, and I’m here to confirm their findings. Rilakkuma and Kaoru ranks among the best feel-good anime series in recent memory, and that’s due in large part to its stellar production choices. Both the bears and Kaoru’s pet bird are voiced with sighs and squeaks that are perfectly suited to their designs. The lighting is impeccable, capturing the mood of different seasons and environments with ease, and accenting the animals’ fur for maximum visual appeal. The animation isn’t on the level of stop motion feature films, but it doesn’t need to be – all of the show’s self-contained stories are low on movement, and they’re better for it. This is a series that invites you to slow down and appreciate life for its small pleasures, and Rilakkuma is the perfect ambassador for that message.

Super Shiro

We mentioned this Masaaki Yuasa-directed short in our fall season preview, and I’ve been watching it ever since. Shiro and his nemesis Dekapoo’s war to obtain a bone-shaped alien power source owes a massive debt to cartoon duos like Tom and Jerry. In fact, uncharitable viewers could simply write off Super Shiro as an inferior version of that series, and they wouldn’t be far from the mark. There are several reasons to give it a watch, though, two of which are the show’s elastic use of Flash animation and its rotating camera effects. The series’ flat colors and simple character models force Science Saru’s trademark animation to do all the heavy lifting, and it usually succeeds. Shiro and Dekapoo’s frantic competition takes place at some creative locations, as well; a museum with laser security and a frozen storage warehouse are my two favorites thus far. Super Shiro is only a quarter of the way through its projected 48 episode run, so if you know your way around torrent sites, now’s the perfect time to catch up.

Rinshi!! Ekoda-chan

One of the oddest shows of 2019, Ekoda-chan’s 12 episodes were helmed by 12 different directors, all of whom are industry veterans. The result was a collection of three minute shorts with nothing in common apart from their central character. The series’ art style varies from episode to episode, bouncing from squigglevision to marker and pen to rotoscoping to animated layouts. Sometimes Ekoda-chan is her usual naked self and sometimes she’s a rabbit; there’s an episode shot in POV where she only appears in reflective surfaces, and one where she has to traverse a dream world made of yarn. Not all of these ideas are successful – in fact, I’d say there are two or three episodes near the end which are utter failures. Even so, the show’s inventiveness and low-key commentary on modern womanhood make it worth a watch. As a bonus, Ekoda-chan’s super-short episodes are followed by lengthy discussions with the director and seiyuu who worked on each one, which is great for people interested in the creative process.

Senryuu Shoujo

Want to watch a show where Kana Hanazawa plays a girl who can only communicate through short Japanese poetry? If so, Senryuu Shoujo is for you. This is the most recognizably “anime” of the shows on this list – the characters are part of an after-school club, there’s a pool episode, they watch the fireworks together, and so on. It’s got a similar structure to countless other “lots of cute girls and one sexless guy” anime, but the central relationship is actually rather sweet. Nanako (the titular senryu girl) is bright and cheerful, but an unspecified form of anxiety renders her unable to speak, so she carries around tanzaku and ink to relay her thoughts. Thus, an unlikely friendship forms between her and Eiji, a delinquent boy who loves senryu poetry. There’s not a lot of romantic progress here, but his affinity for Nanako’s preferred mode of communication gives them a believable bond, the origin of which is detailed in a terrific final episode. If you’re in the mood for something light and fun, Senryuu Shoujo is it.