Board 8 > What is the best anime miniseries?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Like single-season, probably <20 episodes

I tried ranking all the ones I've seen but I don't think there's any I've watched through that I didn't thoroughly enjoy. I feel like there's more I've seen but this is what I can think of:

Paranoia Agent
Serial Experiments Lain
A Place Further Than the Universe
Erased
Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunnygirl Senpai (might not count since there's a movie too)
Elfen Lied
Devilman Crybaby

Just barely too long to consider a miniseries:
Cowboy Bebop
Parasyte
Danganronpa 3

Golden Boy Kintaro

2nd place Club-to-death Angel

Baccano!

It's 16 episodes total (13 for main series + 3 ova eps released later), told mostly in but somewhat out of chronological order, very funny and just all around a good time. The first episode is really weird though, just a warning in case you do watch it.

I'd put Baccano! as my favourite 1-cour anime though I havent watched as much as lots of folks around here...

Baccano without a shadow of a doubt.

https://youtu.be/pTJJpwq33dw

Some extremely good anime on that list though, mostly.

Baccano! is my first thought

Baccano was my thought but its also been like a decade since i had a pulse on anime

RikkuAlmighty posted...

but its also been like a decade since i had a pulse on anime

add this part to my post too

I have had the pulse on anime ever season for over a decade and I will still say Baccano.

Personally Baccano is like a 7/10 for me but still a fun time. Some other ones that I think are great

Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!
Sarazanmai (This one I think needs a forewarning that initially you might be put off by it but it's truly a great one once you're onboard with the absurdity)
Odd Taxi
Land of the Lustrous (technically there's a chance it could get a second season but so far chances look slim)
Puella Magi Madoka Magica (technically has some movies but I think just watching the season is fine)
Deca-Dence (Some people are more lukewarm on this one but I thought it was super neat)
Asobi Asobase (A little but of the same forewarning as Sarazanmai, but god it's so funny)
My Roommate is a Cat

And then some ones that are just outside the count, like 21-25 episodes.

Steins;Gate (24 episodes, has a prequel anime season called Steins;Gate 0 but I still think it could count with the main one)
Carole & Tuesday (24 episodes, I do quite love it because I'm a sucker for a bunch of the music)
Great Pretender (23 episodes)

There's a few others but I think I'll leave it at that

I wouldn't reccomend them over Baccano but I would reccomend everything Bane just posted except for Sarazanmai (I was really looking forward to this one and gave it everything I could, but was only able to make it through 3 episodes. It's no Penguidrum!)

Asobi Asobase in particular is a fucking riot.

I think Baccano was hurt slightly for me by how hyped up it got prior to me watching it lol

Baccano is a weird choice since it's like 10% of the total story but it's also really good

Tsuredure Children is a real miniseries

The Tatami Galaxy is my favorite one cour anime and also my favorite anime.

I was definitely lucky to come into Baccano with just a single person recommending it, though I've watched it...at least 15 times now and have never gotten tired of it.

Here are some of my favorites

Baccano
Cromartie High School
Mononoke
Odd Taxi
Usagi Drop
Kino's Journey
Haibane Renmei
Ping Pong
Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun
Katanagatari (cheating, but I'll mention it anyway)

Kamichu can't be beat.

Some other greats:

Humanity Has Declined
Angel Beats
Detroit Metal City (has the added bonus of being half-length episodes, so it's ultra short)
Mononoke (nothing to do with Princess Mononoke - this one's beautifully animated in a different way)
Kino's Journey (the original, not the remake)

Humanity Has Declined in particular feels like it'd have fairly broad appeal.

Edgerunners for new stuff

I guess people do like Madoka too.
Daily Lives of High School Boys
Kids on the Slope

Another
Baccano
Daily Lives of High School Boys
Good Luck Girl
Gourmet Girl Graffiti
Humanity Has Declined
Joshiraku
Kids on the Slope
Monthly Girls Nozaki-kun
Softenni

Tried to stick to stuff thats 13 or less episodes without having any sequels. Most of these are comedies too.

I'll also throw Hyouka into the ring even though it's slightly longer than 20 episodes

For more recent stuff with a different feel from most of what's been mentioned here, Akudama Drive is quite good.

There are a lot of really great ones since the average anime is like 13-26 episodes. Along with the obligatory Paranoia Agent and FLCL, Some of my personal favorites are:

Mobile Suit Gundam: the 08th MS Team - A surprisingly emotional anti-war type anime seen from the perspective of would-be heroes who can do nothing about the war except survive. Gundam varies a lot in quality from series to series but this is probably the best one, though War in the Pocket is good too and only 6 episodes

Mononoke - Anthology folkloric horror series tied together by a mysterious demon-slaying protagonist. There are some subtly beautiful stories here but the biggest stand out feature is the jaw-dropping visual style which draws heavily from traditional Japanese art.

The Tatami Galaxy, Ping Pong the Animation, and Kaiba - Auteur director Masaaki Yuasa's holy trinity. I feel the creativity of his animation is their best quality, but the narratives hold up too, especially Ping Pong's which I found totally engrossing even as someone who hates sports.

Kino's Journey - A traveler and her talking motorcycle roam a strange, cynical world visiting different countries and learning about their odd, philosophically evocative traditions. I've only seen the 2003 series so I can't speak for the remake.

Gosenzo-sama Banbanzai! - A strange, forgotten masterpiece from the director of Angel's Egg. The series is framed as a stage play in which the actors are sometimes human and sometimes puppets, time travel may or may not be involved, and there is a coca cola man who hunts the main characters and is either the an agent of the time police or their petty relative. All the main cast are either deeply flawed, unlikable people or have entirely unclear motives, and it can be kind of boring with long scenes of characters facing the camera soliloquizing about their feelings, but if nothing else it's stuck in my head ever since I watched it.

Odd Taxi - In my opinion probably the best anime to come out in a good five years, sharply written, fun, and original.

Haibane Renmei - Sort of a cross between a cute girl slice of life anime and a philosophical musing on the nature of life and death. I wasn't super hooked on the slice of life parts but it won me over with a deeply personal and impactful ending.

If I had to pick just one of these to call the best though I would say Mononoke.

Wait yes

08th MS Team is a masterpiece

Stardust Memory is a more fun Gundam OVA entry though.

Yuri on ice

Baccano and The Tatami Galaxy come to mind first.

Personally, I'd throw in Flowers of Evil (Aku no Hana).

Leonhart4 posted...

Baccano is a weird choice since it's like 10% of the total story but it's also really good

Wait really? I should look into that manga I guess.

Maniac64 posted...

Wait really? I should look into that manga I guess.

The manga only covers the train arc iirc

It's a 20+ volume novel series though.

Yeah, I've been reading the light novels, and the story goes way deeper than what the anime covers.

The Baccano anime, as excellent as it is, is basically just a teaser.

I own all the LNs release so far, can't recommend the series enough.

You can't just start from a specific volume past the anime though, the anime takes bits and pieces from several novels.

I've never read the manga, but seems like it's just a short partial adaptation of the anime, which would mean it's basically pointless.

"Miniseries" didn't have me thinking you meant a length most anime fit into.

If we're talking comedy, Asobi Asobase and Daily Lives of High School Boys were the first anime I watched where I laughed so hard I cried.

Drama or action, I can't differentiate in my head what's a miniseries and what was a full show.

Oh it's all light novels. Are they officially published in English?

The Baccano anime is much better than the novels IMO. They are officially published in English, yes.

ctesjbuvf posted...

"Miniseries" didn't have me thinking you meant a length most anime fit into.

If we want 6 episodes or less, Gunbuster and Mardock Scramble are excellent, as is R.O.D. the OVA.

Looking at my list, the ones I've given an 8/10 or higher are:

A Place Further Than the Universe
Asobi Asobase
Bocchi the Rock
Death Parade
Devilman Crybaby
FLCL
Flip Flappers
Girls' Last Tour
Gunbuster
Kimi ga Nozomu Eien
Kyousougiga
Land of the Lustrous
Madoka Magica
Ping Pong the Animation
Princess Jellyfish
Odd Taxi
Tari Tari
The Tatami Galaxy
Time of Eve
Violet Evergarden

Edit: I didn't count Bunny Girl Senpai due to the movie but it was in the first post so I guess I'll mention that also. (I'm also now realizing this should have disqualified Violet Evergarden but whatever)

There are 22 novels out in total and the 22nd one is getting it's release a month from now, at which point well be caught up.

There's supposed to be 2 more novels released, but the series is in Game of Thrones mode right now and we don't know when they'll come out.

Gunbuster is the correct choice for a miniseries, because it's actually miniseries sized

Lots of good recs in this topic regardless tho

KanzarisKelshen posted...

Gunbuster is the correct choice for a miniseries, because it's actually miniseries sized

Lots of good recs in this topic regardless tho

How do you mean? I feel like most live miniseries are 6 hour long episodes, so they'd be much longer than Gunbuster.

miniseries and 1cour+ feel like they shouldn't be counted as the same thing so i'll limit to ones with 9 eps or less to be safe

Initial D Final Stage
Trava
Planetarian
Yojouhan Time Machine Blues
She and Her Cat: Everything Flows
Monster Sonic! D'Artagnyan's Rise to Fame
Six Hearts Princess
the Tamayura OVAs
Turning Girls
Afro Samurai
Alien 9
Nekomonogatari (Black)
Time of Eve
Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail
Dai Mahou Touge

are all the ones i've given decent ratings to

anti-recs to some netflix stuff like Eden, Yasuke and season 2 of B: The Beginning

oops edited too much also missed KY-kei JC Kuuki-chan

UF8 posted...

season 2 of B: The Beginning

As the only B: The Beginning stan in America I have dreaded booting up S2.

i still use keith as my icon on netflix lol but man it was exclusively just everything wrong with S1 all over again

Ya see when it's a mess the first time it's interesting.

When it's a mess the second time it's just a mess.

Plus I bet S2 doesn't have anything even close to that fight in the rain with the floating lanterns.