Buddy

A pair of cute critter besties bonding over their shared obsession with otaku culture — collecting merch, freaking out over limited-edition drops, and just living their best fandom lives together. That's basically the whole premise of Buddy, and honestly, it's kind of perfect for what it is. This is a standalone animated music video set to a Mao Abe pop track, aired as part of NHK's Minna no Uta program, which has a long history of pairing catchy songs with surprisingly creative and experimental animation. The whole thing runs about the length of a single song, so there's zero time commitment here. What you get is a burst of colorful, tightly synchronized animation following Buddy and their friend through the chaotic joy of being way too into the things they love — scrambling for rare goods, geeking out together, riding the emotional rollercoaster of dedicated fandom. The vibe is warm, funny, and genuinely wholesome without being saccharine. If you liked the anthropomorphic character energy of Aggretsuko or the otaku-life relatability of Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku, this hits a similar sweet spot but condensed into a few minutes. There's also a bit of that Show By Rock!! visual flair in how it blends music with expressive character animation. It's aimed at kids but the fandom humor lands for anyone who's ever refreshed a page at 3 AM trying to cop a figure drop. A nice little palette cleanser.