Anime ● Review: Crossing Time

Very Average Joe
Oct 23, 2025
2 min read

English Title: Crossing Time

Japanese Title: 踏切時間 [lit. railway crossing time]

Director(s): Suzuki Yoshio

Screenwriter(s): Chiba Misuzu

Studio: Ekachi Epilka

Released: 2018

Runtime: 12 episodes, ~3m each.

Starring: Ogura Yui, Senbongi Sayaka, Komagata Yuri, Ichiki Mitsuhiro, Kinoshita Suzuna

My Verdict: A 12-episode slice-of-life series of three-minute vignettes. The writing can be better, but it’s not that bad if one doesn’t mind risking half an hour.

● This series is based on the manga of the same name by Sato Yoshimi that ran from 2016 to 2021.

● As the Japanese title states, it is a slice-of-life series about moments at the railway crossing. It does not involve time travel as the English title might suggest.

● Each episode is 3 minutes long (excluding the 30-second opening song and credits) and is therefore more like a vignette. Three of the episodes have a second part.

● Generally, the premises are somewhat relatable, many involving students on their way to or from school; perhaps they just want to see the prettiest girl in class (“Majima-san is Sexy”) or people who communicate using their phones even though they are standing right next to each other (“SNS Siblings”).

● A more awkward situation is how a teacher should treat a student at the railway crossing (“Together with Sensei”). He doesn’t want to be a snob or set a bad example but he doesn’t want to be a creep either.

● Most episodes adopt a lighter if not comical approach. The first episode, “Their Youth”, tries to be energetic with a girly love confession—ok, whatever—but none are pretentiously arty, thus avoiding cringeworthy bombast. “Railroad Crossing Poet” makes fun of this idea.

● Whilst some episodes are not bad, others lack a plot. It is admittedly difficult at such a short runtime, but there can be more movement within a monologue or dialogue even in just a few minutes. This is especially the case when rapid-fire internal speech and/or dialogue is utilized.

● As expected for a small project, the visual quality is not great but it is consistently not bad. The environment looks good enough but the characters can be better. Having said that, at such a short runtime, one would think more budget can be afforded for animation.

● Overall, the concept is good enough but the writing can be better. The series is not bad if one doesn’t mind risking half an hour. At minimum, it is a good exercise for writers and editors.