When I was stationed in Japan a decade and a half ago, I came across an anime short series that was really entertaining. Episodes were 5 minutes long, but with a minute-and-a-half intro and a half-minute of credits, the actual episode was only 3 minutes long. It's intended to bridge the gap between shows on Japanese TV, as their shows don't necessarily run a solid 30 minutes like ours.
I downloaded a copy of this show when I first found it, but that hard drive broke ages ago and I haven't been able to find another copy until now. I'm so happy!
It stars a small cute panda named Pan Talon who is the hero of Robominal City. He pilots the giant mecha known as Panda-Z and defends his city from the evil Waruminals and their mechs.
The show is in the style of an old silent film, with periodic cuts to a black screen with white text anytime someone "talks." However, instead of black-and-white animation, you get vivid colors, and instead of old-timey piano background music, the musical theme for the show is more of a 70s classic rock vibe.
Talon seems to be the only flesh-and-blood creature on the entire show, as all the other characters are animal-themed robots. Mostly panda-themed, but there are a few others, like bunnies, cows, and dogs. Talon fights the evil Skull Panda and his Warunimal Forces. "Warunimal" is a Japanese/English portmanteau, as "warui" means "bad" in Japanese and it's blended with the English word, "animal."
Most episodes are brief day-in-the-life scenes, showing what goes on at the respective bases of the good and bad guys, with an occasional mecha battle here and there. Everyone eats batteries as their main source of food, even Talon. Which makes you wonder if he may be part robot. Although, there are a few episodes where he gets soaked and is just fine; whereas all other characters short-circuit when wet.
There's not much background given to the world these characters live in. Granted, there's no time in each episode to explore their world in-depth. But you get a few episodes that focus solely on a character or two, where you get to know them a little better. There's even an episode dedicated to the Waruminal Forces ranting about how awful their respective bosses are. I always wondered where all these robot creatures came from. I wondered if Pan Talon built most of them and some turned evil. There's a lot of room for speculation in this short series. Sadly, it ended after only 30 episodes.
If you're looking for a brief, entertaining concept for a show, or just need to pass some time, this is a great show to occupy your mind for a bit. The music is awesome and it's not just unending mech battles, like some anime shows. You get some calmer episodes to sit and enjoy the characters too. I highly recommend this series!
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