Sometimes we just want a quicker watch. And luckily, just as there are slow-burners in anime, there are also crazy fast burning plots out there too. And by that I mean stuff moves extremely fast, and there’s little to no room for a breather. But just because a storyline moves fast doesn’t always mean it’s great. So let’s take a look at some fast-paced anime that’s also worth the watch.
10. Vivy -Fluorite Eye’s Song-
We’re going to start the list off with a newer show. Although you would think that it would be rather slow, given how A.I. shows are usually more philosophical than action-based, you’d be quite surprised a few episodes in. The story takes place over 100 years. And the show is written so that you time-skip around and only watch the important bits. That’s about as anti-filler as you can get. Plus, certain mini-arcs have full blown action sequences that could put a few modern shounen to shame. This is one of my favorite shows to come out in recent seasons, and waiting a week between episodes was a true tragedy – as this show hooks you immediately and never lets you catch your breath.
9. Baccano!
Baccano is so fast-paced, that telling just one story in 13 episodes seemed too easy. So it decided to tell multiple stories across different places and time periods. And it just all works. All the plotlines do intertwine at a certain point. But with the amount of backstory and character interaction, it honestly felt like every moment was a climax of some kind. The writing is also superb, making you fully grasp each separate story, as well as how it all fits into one grand narrative. It takes talent to write one good character, or one good story – but Baccano somehow nails all of the narratives as well as each character in its wide and diverse cast. Especially Isaac and Miria, they are a treasure.
8. The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.
This feels like the Vine of anime, in all the best ways. Each episode is comprised of a number of short skits that hardly ever connect to each other. Being that the show is a gag anime (and a wonderful one at that if I may add), you’re just bombarded by extremely clever & short skits that you can pretty much watch in whatever order you want. Even the main character speaks in a rather fast tone, as he just wants everything to be over with. It has some excellent meta-humor and characters that you’ll grow to love within minutes, on top of being one of the most time-efficient shows I have ever seen. Like seriously, there’s little to no dead air.
7. Kill la Kill
Kill la Kill is one of those anime that’s so blatantly ridiculous that you just can’t help but love it. The main premise is characters weaponizing fan-service, after all. And it is because of its absurd nature that the focus rarely stays in one place for a longer period of time. Has the protagonist defeated one whacky team captain? Here’s another one. Oh, they’re also defeated? Have some Gamagori kink time. Is that Nudist Beach on the horizon? Let’s throw it over to Mako and her hilarious one-woman dramas. It’s honestly difficult to explain this show without viewing it yourself, so you’ll have to watch it to truly get what I’m saying. Be warned, however, that there is some wholesomeness and tear-jerkers hiding in-between all the sentient clothing and nudist mechs.
6. Jujutsu Kaisen
Yet another relatively new anime on the block here, and it has absolutely blown me away. In a lot of ways, Jujutsu Kaisen is your typical shounen. People fight basically every episode, and the hype train has very few stops. There’s generally very little down-time between fights too. And the fighting itself is simply on a whole different level than most of the shows we’ve mentioned so far. Plus the animation is beyond crisp, and the power system gives way for a lot of interesting powers and battle strategies. Who could have guessed that the Substitution jutsu had a clap variant? The characters are all very likable too. And if you’re looking for something to really hype you up, this is a safe bet.
5. The Future Diary
This show is rather polarizing in the community, being that it’s like the pioneer of the yandere trope – as well as the one responsible for popularizing the battle-royal setup. But you have to admit that it wastes no time in telling the story. It seems like someone is getting stabbed or decapitated every other minute, and we seldom have the time to sit down and question Yuno’s mental state and Yuki’s Stockholm syndrome. It features all the cruelty that anime can present. And if you’re looking for some raw, unadulterated action, this is where to go.
4. To Your Eternity
The most recent season of this anime helped me really understand how short our collective attention span has become. Although the anime is only at its half-way point as I’m writing this, it has been nothing but a blast. The concept is extremely simple, yet so effective. To dumb it down, the main character just travels all around the world to experience as many things as he can. And spoiler alerts below: Because it’s made in this way, even characters that seem central to the story can die at the drop of a hat. And the protagonist rarely spends too much time at a single location. This means that it’s basically like a compilation of countless stories, all different and unique, and all there only for a few episodes before fading into the background.
3. Btooom!
It’s very fitting that the central weapon and item in this battle-royale show is a bomb. Because man does everything move around quickly. You can’t really have a flashback to your childhood if you step on a land-mine, you know? And that’s all you really need to know story-wise. A bunch of people are just on an island. And in typical fashion, they have to get rid of one another in order to have a chance of getting back home alive. Whether they really want to go home… that’s a whole different conundrum, as this isn’t exactly an isekai show.
2. The Tatami Galaxy
I will warn you, don’t even attempt to leisurely watch this show. As it’ll take your full concentration to take in everything presented on the screen. I say this because the show has some of the fastest dialogue you’ll ever hear in your life. And since it’s a slice-of-life type show, the dialogue is everything you have to go off of to comprehend the story. And trust me, you’ll want to understand the story. The visuals are extremely unique and fit the narrative perfectly. But god knows that if you’re a sub watcher, you’ll hardly ever see the top half of the screen. Tatami Galaxy is incredible, and it’s going at Mach 10.
1. FLCL
This is probably the fastest that an anime can get without turning your head into pudding. And even having said that, I must admit that I missed plenty on my first watch-through. And that’s because it’s a double-whammy of a show that goes along extremely quickly without ever holding your hand, or explaining what’s happening on the screen. That would be too easy. You just have to take in this six-episode madness all at once and go into big brain mode to decode the meaning behind it all. Even though it might sound like a headache, at the end of the day, it’s definitely worth checking out.
