At only 10 years old, Mihama Chiyo is the one strangest student in her high school freshman class. An academic prodigy with an affinity for cute plushies, Chiyo is only one of several eccentric individuals in this class, and her homeroom teacher, Tanizaki Yukari, is no exception. Alongside Chiyo, there are students like the energetic and tomboyish Takino Tomo, her best friend Mizuhara Koyomi with an extremely short fuse, as well as the athletic and tall beauty with intimidating looks but a gentle personality, Sakaki. Together, this quirky group of girls navigates their adventure-filled school lives with laughter, absurdity and sometimes, even a sobering account of their high school lives.

Of the group of girls in this series, Chiyo is without a doubt the cutest of the bunch. With her small frame and childlike way of speaking (who would’ve thought?), Chiyo is of course, the series’ chibi character. Chiyo’s academic brilliance saw her become a high schooler 6 entire years before her peers – but that isn’t important. Did you know that her pigtails are detachable? As already discerned by Sakaki, there is more to the chibi character Chiyo than we actually think…

Thirty thousand Japanese gamers one day find themselves trapped in the world of the popular MMORPG, Elder Tale, after its latest update. Unable to logout, the gamers are forced to live their everyday lives within the confines of the game. Socially awkward college student Shiroe, a veteran of the game, sets out to learn to live in his new world, leading other gamers and NPCs alike in order to bring stability to the virtual city of Akihabara. Together with his friend Naotsugu and the fierce assassin Akatsuki, Shiroe aims to make the best of his new reality.

The petite but fierce assassin, Akatsuki, is a skilled player within the world of Elder Tale. She bears some kind of affection towards Shiroe and dutifully calls him her master. Her somewhat cold and steely persona aside, Akatsuki has some truly adorable moments in Log Horizon and she does her job as the series’ resident chibi character really well – but the contrast between her adorable frame and visage and her terrifying dexterity in combat makes her one our favourites.

Takasu Ryuuji is a gentle, kind-hearted high school student. Unfortunately, his extremely intimidating face often has him labelled as a delinquent. Aisaka Taiga on the other hand is a petite student in Ryuuji’s class who is anything but frail and gentle. Armed with a wooden katana and an explosive personality, Taiga is known as the “Palmtop Tiger”. The two meet up as a result of an embarrassing accident and Ryuuji learns that Taiga has a sweet side – she is crushing hard on the student council president and Ryuuji’s best friend, Kitamura Yuusaku. What’s crazy is the fact that Ryuuji also has a crush, and it’s Taiga’s best friend, Kushieda Minori! Crushing on each other’s best friends, Taiga and Ryuuji form an impromptu alliance in order to help each other achieve their crushes.

Aisaka Taiga’s reputation speaks for itself. She’s the Palmtop Tiger, a sharp-tongued, short-fused barrel of explosives that decks the halls of Ohashi High School on a daily basis. Her temperament makes her incredibly difficult to approach despite her incredibly small frame. Despite first impressions, Taiga is generally good natured to the point of giving up her own happiness for her best friend’s sake.

Five years after winning the World Martial Arts tournament, Son Goku now lives a peaceful life with his wife, Chichi and son, Gohan. That all changes, however, when Goku’s older brother, Raditz, lands on Earth one day, claiming to be one of the few surviving members of the Saiyan race – which includes Goku himself! The Saiyans were a proud warrior race but after their homeworld was annihilated during Goku’s infancy, they are but a memory. Raditz drops the bomb about Goku’s alien heritage and his pre-programmed goal to destroy and conquer planet Earth. Raditz attempts to recruit Goku as an ally, but he refuses, prompting the beginning of another intense, battle-filled journey led by Goku.

The Android Saga brought on a myriad of powerful opponents, but none were as terrifying as the biologically engineered abomination that was Cell. Upon achieving his Perfect Form through absorbing both Androids 17 and 18, Cell decided to not only terrorise Gohan, but the rest of the Z-fighters. Cell gave birth to seven mini-Cells, each just as powerful as their daddy, so they would slaughter the Z-fighters and push Gohan to the edge. The Cell Jrs looked just like Cell, but smaller and more menacing due to the simple fact that they couldn’t speak. Each squeal of delight from a Cell Jr was followed by the agonised throes of the Z-fighters. Small definitely does not mean weak.

A rugby team is made up of different individuals of different stature and temperament. At Kanagawa High School, the small but gutsy Kenji Gion decides to join the rugby club. Alongside his classmate Iwashimizu, the ever-dutiful vice-captain Hachiouji and of course, the overwhelming but enigmatic captain, Sekizan. They must learn to work and together despite their differences in personality and physical ability in order to become the best.

At 159cm, Kenji Gion is by no means what one would imagine when rugby is mentioned. However, convinced that he’ll undergo a growth spurt, Gion wears oversized clothes. Obviously self-conscious about his height, Gion goes ballistic whenever he’s called short, but his loud and rambunctious personality shows that he is “tall” of character. Upon starting school at Kanagawa High, Gion decides to go against what is normally thought of people his height and join the rugby team.

On his first day at Ousai Private Academy, a formerly all girls’ high school, Tsuda Takatoshi is reprimanded for his untidy uniform by the student council president, Amakusa Shino. As an apology for delaying Tsuda for his first class and also, because she believes that the student council requires a male opinion on decisions regarding male students. As a result, Tsuda finds himself becoming the vice-president of the student council – on his first day. He soon realises however, that the student council members are extremely eccentric, with President Shino being a total pervert, secretary Shichijou Aria sharing the President’s taste for all that is erotic and lewd and the petite treasurer, Hagimura Suzu, who is very self-conscious about her height (or lack thereof). Join Tsuda as he navigates his new high school life surrounded by a student council that is anything but normal!

Hagimura Suzu is about as tall as the average elementary school student. As a result of her small stature, Suzu is incredibly sensitive about matters involving her height – to the point of violence. She broke out into a screaming mess of vulgar insults and threatened to assault a foreigner who was asking for directions simply because he said, “Thank you, little girl”. Best course of action around this chibi? Pretend she isn’t one.

Around the world have appeared numerous labyrinths said to be containing incredible treasures. These labyrinths are apparently the handiwork of the Magi, a rare class of extremely powerful magicians who guide certain individuals to dungeons in order to help them build their empires. Djinns are supernatural beings which rule over the labyrinths and grant successful labyrinth conquerors their immense power, as well as granting them the chance to be king candidates – individuals who have the potential to rule the world. Aladdin is a young magician, eager to explore the world after living a life in isolation with no one but his mentor, Ugo – a djinn encased within Aladdin’s flute. After a certain accident, Aladdin befriends one Alibaba Saluja, who suggests that conquering the nearest dungeon would be the only way to make amends. Thus begins Aladdin and Alibaba’s adventure which will end up deciding the fate of the very world.

Aladdin is a small child who should be around an elementary schooler’s age. Hidden within his tiny, friendly and totally unimposing frame is an immense power. Despite being incredibly powerful, Aladdin is a friendly and cheerful little guy with a sense of justice beyond his years and a caring heart. He does, however, sometimes display some worrying perverted tendencies, which for some, are incongruous with the adorable little hammer-pants wearing magician.

The Crimson Denizens are mysterious entities from a different universe who thrive on human beings’ energy of existence. The remnants of each Crimson Denizen’s meal is the scant remainder of a person’s soul – a “Torch”. Torches are the ephemeral reminders of one’s existence and once gone, it’s like the person never existed. In order to combat the Crimson Denizens’ murderous eating habits, the Flame Hazes are warriors trained to combat them. One day, Sakai Yuuji’s life changes forever when he is attacked by a Denizen. However, before the Denizen can reduce Yuuji to but a memory, he saved by a nameless Flame Haze – a young girl with burning eyes and crimson hair. Before Yuuji can even begin to understand his situation, she tells him that he has long been reduced to a Torch. All that awaits him is a solemn removal from existence.

The nameless Flame Haze who appears just in time to “save” Yuuji ends up getting the name “Shana”, because Yuuji just couldn’t stand the fact that she had no name. Shana is a petite young girl, about the same age as Yuuji. When fighting, Shana’s hair and eyes burn a deep, fiery red and she wields a flaming katana. Just as her hair and eyes let on, Shana has a feisty, fiery personality and quite the sharp tongue. However, as the series progresses, we see her develop confusing romantic feelings towards a certain individual and in some respects, she becomes a regular teenage girl.

Katsuragi Keima is a high school student known online as the legendary “God of Conquest”, because he can conquer any girl’s heart… Well, girls of the 2D variety. In dating sims, Keima reigns supreme. Offline, however, Keima’s unhealthy obsession with dating sims has caused him to prefer the two-dimensional world over real life. One day, he accepts a challenge to prove his dating sim supremacy but it turns out to be a call for help from a naïve demon called Elucia “Elsie” de Lute Ima, who has a mission to retrieve run away evil spirits which have escaped from Hell and found refuge in the human world. The only way for Keima to capture these spirits is to conquer the thing he hates most: three-dimensional girls. Held hostage by a deadly which now has him shackled to Elsie, Keima has no choice but to prove that he’s worthy of the title of “God of Conquest” by finding his way around the hearts of real-life girls!

Possibly the cutest character on this list, Elucia “Elsie” de Lute Ima is an adorable demon from Hell with a cheerful disposition and a sweet, pure and innocent personality. Despite being a demon, one that is assigned to capture evil spirits from Hell, Elsie is actually scared of the dark and of ghosts. At a fairly petite 159cm, Elsie isn’t the most imposing character on the show, and because of her height and personality, she just could not be left off this list.

Due to the levels of pollution in the ocean, a certain evil monster has risen to the surface with the intention of taking over the human world. Ika Musume, a ruthless and dangerous…ly adorable little girl who makes squid ink spaghetti and works at the Aizawa family’s seaside seafood restaurant in order to work off the debt she incurred as a result of her shenanigans. Now working as a waitress at the restaurant, Ika Musume’s mission to make humanity pay takes a backseat as she uses the various wacky adventures and encounters as a means to learn more about the human world. However, will her experiences with the Aizawa family prompt human annihilation at Ika Musume’s hands? Or will she have a change of heart and go back to whence she came?

Remember when we said that Elsie is the cutest character on this list? We lied. Ika Musume is everything a chibi should be: absolutely adorable with a killer personality. Ika Musume’s somewhat dark reason for being on the surface contrasts with her incredibly quirky, eccentric personality. She is by no means imposing and her adorable squid hat (which is actually her head and she dies if it’s removed) sprouts ten comical tentacles that make her a formidable but loveable adversary. Her curiosity knows no bounds, and surprisingly, she is capable of grasping complicated human concepts as exhibited when she learned the English language in almost no time at all. Small, adorable, loveable and intelligent; with some episodes of the series being dedicated to a mini chibi version of herself, it only makes sense that Ika Musume is our top chibi anime character… for now.