It slows your pulse down in under three minutes, which is a thing almost no anime on your list can do. This is felt-and-wire stop motion, a Japanese studio taking custody of a Soviet children's icon and refusing to modernize him: same ears too big for his head, same soft confusion about where he ended up. The whole premise is a creature who arrived in a crate of oranges and has to figure out what he is, and the show never rushes that question or resolves it with a lesson. Gena the crocodile handles the grown-up business while Cheburashka handles the wondering, and the friendship works because neither of them is performing for you. Twenty-six episodes of small, handmade, unhurried nothing-much, and you will finish it feeling weirdly cared for. Watch it at night when everything else is too loud.

Gena is a crocodile living a solitary life in the city until a crate of oranges shows up. Hidden inside is an odd little creature, and Gena names him Cheburashka. The two share many adventures while Cheburashka gradually makes friends and learns about the world around him. This short-format comedy is adapted from Eduard Uspensky's children's story about the beloved Russian character.