Nobody's expecting anything from a PaRappa spinoff about a cute dog eating snacks and singing about it. That's exactly why it works. The show operates on pure permission to be silly without irony or cynicism. Each episode is a tiny perfect loop of contentment. You watch PJ discover that food tastes better when you sing about it, and somehow that becomes the whole philosophy you needed that day. It's a show that exists to remind you that joy doesn't require stakes.

PJ Berri, a character from the PaRappa the Rapper video game franchise, takes center stage in this series of comedy shorts from 2016. Each of the 20 episodes runs about 96 seconds, making for quick, bite-sized viewing with a musical flavor. The shorts aired on Fuji TV and mark two milestones at once: the 20th anniversary of the original game and the 15th anniversary of the earlier PaRappa anime series. Fans of the franchise get a brief, lighthearted spotlight on one of its familiar faces.