Tatsuki Fujimoto 17-26

Before Tatsuki Fujimoto became world famous for Chainsaw Man, he drew many short manga stories, called one-shots. A one-shot is a complete story told in a single chapter. In 2021, the publisher Shueisha collected eight of them in two books. The book names are the ages he was when he drew them: 17 to 21, and 22 to 26. This anime turns all eight early works into an anthology, which is a set of separate short stories you can watch one by one.

What makes this project special is how it was made. Each story got its own director and its own studio. Six studios took part, from small new teams to the well-known P.A.WORKS. Because of this, every episode has a different look and feel. Some are loud and strange. Others are quiet and sad. Watching them together feels like visiting a gallery where many artists paint pictures of the same writer's ideas.

The stories cover a wide range. The first one takes place after an alien invasion, where a few humans stay alive by dressing up and acting like chickens at a school. In another, a schoolboy with a crush on his teacher tries to save her from trouble. One follows a student leader who wants to tell someone how he feels before graduation, but keeps getting stopped. One is about a young female killer and a vampire who cannot die, and who wants her help. There is a story about a boy who plays piano and a mermaid who loves his music. Another follows a teenager whose body suddenly changes from boy to girl. One is about a brother raising a little sister whom everyone fears because of a dark prediction about her. The last is about two sisters, both painters, whose jealousy comes out after one of them shows a very embarrassing picture at an art event.

Fans of Chainsaw Man will see early signs of Fujimoto's style here: sudden jumps from silly to shocking, odd humor, strong emotions hiding under a strange surface, and a clear love of cinema. These stories are young and wild, but many of them are also surprisingly moving.

The anime was first shown at a film festival in Hollywood in early October 2025. Later that month it had a short run in cinemas across Japan, split into two programs. In November 2025 it began streaming around the world on Amazon Prime Video. In 2026 it earned a nomination at the International Emmy Awards in the short-form series category. Since every episode stands alone, you can start anywhere. It is a great pick for viewers who want to see what many different animators can do with one creator's ideas.