TV Asahi Launches PicoAni Short Anime Brand With New Broadcast Slots
TV Asahi is formalizing short-form anime as a dedicated programming brand with prime weekend slots, signaling a strategic push to capture younger audiences accustomed to short-form video.
Reporting from 2 sources: Comic Natalie, Anime Anime.
TV Asahi has launched PicoAni, its first short anime brand, with new weekend broadcast slots added before Crayon Shin-chan and after the Kamen Rider/tokusatsu block. Four titles were announced: Shirotan and Pop Pop Polters for October 2026, and Josemaru and Momomo! Ninimo for January 2027.
The brand name PicoAni combines "Pico" (small) and "Anime." Its logo uses puzzle pieces, and its catchphrase is "Only anime that clicks into place!" The brand targets young people and children familiar with TikTok and YouTube Shorts, as well as busy adults, and plans to distribute content across terrestrial TV, social media, portal sites, events, and global channels.
Two new broadcast slots have been added: Saturday 4:29 PM, leading into Crayon Shin-chan and Doraemon, and Sunday 10:00 AM "PicoAniTime" following the Kamen Rider/tokusatsu slot. The existing Sunday 8:00 AM slot continues to air Koupen-chan.
Starting October 2026, Shirotan-a healing anime about a white harp seal voiced by Aoi Yuki-airs in the Saturday slot, and Pop Pop Polters, a stop-motion miniature anime by creator Mozu about three ghost brothers, airs in PicoAniTime. In January 2027, Josemaru, a hybrid 2D/stop-motion adaptation of a popular X (Twitter) character, and Momomo! Ninimo, a non-verbal 3DCG co-production with The Pinkfong Company, will air back-to-back in PicoAniTime.
- Shirotan: October 2026, Saturday 4:29 PM slot. Healing anime about a white harp seal, voiced by Aoi Yuki.
- Pop Pop Polters: October 2026, PicoAniTime slot. Miniature stop-motion anime by Mozu about three ghost brothers.
- Josemaru: January 2027, PicoAniTime slot. Hybrid 2D/stop-motion adaptation of a popular X character by Inochiya.
- Momomo! Ninimo: January 2027, PicoAniTime slot. Non-verbal 3DCG co-production with The Pinkfong Company.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 2 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- Comic Natalie テレ朝初のショートアニメブランド・PicoAni誕生 悠木碧主演の「しろたん」など放送
- Anime Anime テレ朝初のショートアニメブランド「PicoAni（ピコアニ）」誕生！「クレしん」前や「ライダー・特撮」後に放送枠を新設