this post was submitted on 03 Mar 2026
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Most of these are 12 or 13 episodes long.
My top recommendation is gonna be BARAKAMON (2014) simply for the fact that it's the only one I can recommend where the main character is a grown ass man instead of a girl child. 23-year-old Seishuu Handa is a master calligrapher who punches a calligraphy judge for speaking ill of his work; following this incident, Handa ends up exiled on a small rural island to reflect on his actions and art. During his stay on this rural island Handa meets various odd locals, most notably an energetic little girl called Naru.
Other recommendations
Other recommendations:
IN THE HEART OF KUNOICHI TSUBAKI (2022) — this one's about a hidden no-boys-allowed village where little girls train to be ninjas/kunoichi, but the main character has become curious about what the heck these "men" things are, anyways. I thought it had an interesting setting, on top of having good bits and being short and sweet.
MS KOIZUMI LOVES RAMEN NOODLES (2018) — I've rewatched this one three times and loved it every time (incidentally, I was also the one who recommended it to grebgreb, who I spent the third rewatch with). Basically, Yuu is MEGA gay for her classmate Koizumi, who seems to have a one-track mind dedicated exclusively to the consumption of every type of ramen on Earth. And so Yuu basically spends the series following Koizumi into various ramen shops trying to get into her crush's hyperfixation.
STARDUST TELEPATH (2023) — apropos autism-coded characters, this is a very fun yuri coded one. I was actually disappointed by the fact that it WAS short, since it could've used extra time to build up some of the plot beats and have a more satisfying finale. Nevertheless, I did still very much enjoy Stardust Telepath. It's about a girl with social anxiety who feels like an "alien on the wrong planet", and she ends up meeting an extremely energetic extrovert girl who claims to be a literal space alien, complete with her own "alien language" and "alien powers" and all that. The two of them, together with two other girls, end up starting a bottle rocket club with the aim of one day building a rocket that can send the alien back to space.
HITORIBOCCHI NO MARUMARUSEIKATSU (2019) — and apropos characters with social anxiety. Hitori Bocchi has extreme social anxiety, and her only friend is refusing to talk to her until she befriends her whole class. She doesn't quite reach that goal, but does make some very kind friends.
I'M IN LOVE WITH THE VILLAINESS (2023) — an isekai yuri romance in which an office worker wakes up as Rae Taylor, the protagonist of her favorite otome game, which takes place at a magic school. As the title would suggest, commoner Rae Taylor is madly in love with the "villainess" character in the game, the proud noble Claire François.
KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF EIZOUKEN (2020) — this is one of the more "chicks rock" ones. It's about three teen girls who start a school club to realize their shared dream of making an independent anime movie. It's very beautifully animated with characters of varying body types and skin colors, and it's informative about the animation process.
STRAWBERRY MARSHMALLOW (2005) — 20-year-old smoker Nobue takes her 12-year-old sister Chika and her friends (Miu, Matsuri, and Ana Coppola) on various outings. Very much a show defined by the characters' personalities and dynamics, especially Miu who's a real rascal/scamp who steals the spotlight every time. Ana Coppola is also the token "Anglo who's forgotten English" and there's some bits based on this. You might also notice that this one's significantly older than all the other ones I'm recommending. This one also has 5 OVA episodes for a grand total of 17 episodes.
MITSUBOSHI COLORS (2018) — I think this one has similar vibes to the previous one, in terms of being about preteen girls goofing off. This time it's three girls who call themselves the Colors, and there isn't really an adult supervising them, unless you count the local policeman who serves as their "enemy". The Colors basically go around Ueno to "protect the city from peril", "solving mysteries and battling enemies" and all that, which is to say that they really just play and make poop jokes. Notably, Mitsuboshi Colors has the same original creator as Hitoribocchi no Marumaruseikatsu, and I'd say if you liked the one you'll probably like the other.
DO IT YOURSELF (2022) — this one has sort of similar vibes to Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken, except it's more chill, and instead of making a movie the girls are building furniture and treehouses and trinkets and stuff. I watched this one with my mom, who remarked on how the show also depicts old people being active and helping the girls in a very positive way.
DIARY OF OUR DAYS AT THE BREAKWATER (2020) — I recommended this one to @AernaLingus@hexbear.net and she really enjoyed it. A shy girl who's just moved to a new town makes friends through an after school fishing club. It is of course problematic from an animal rights standpoint for the show to concern recreational fishing… But hey, better to watch fictional fish get hurt and killed than to go out and hurt real fish, right?