Short Titles: Less is More

Giving a name to a work of fiction serves a variety of purposes apart from giving a name to the work. They also grab viewers' attention, and serve as a first impression of sorts. As such, short titles can often be the most memorable.

Some of the titles are rather simple, and can refer to the protagonist, the setting or some object or plot element.  For example, Naruto refers to the series' orange-clad ninja protagonist, My Hero Academia refers to the school that the series is set at, One Piece is the fabled treasure that pirates are seeking and Sword Art Online is the "game of death". In these cases, you can instantly tell what the title is and how it's relevant to the work.

The source of the title doesn't always have to be obvious. For example, Kingdom Hearts' namesake is only revealed toward the end of the first game, while the Chrono Trigger is only introduced near the end of the game, around the time the endgame quests become available.

Short titles can also be rather cryptic. Girl Friends' title can refer to girls who are friends, or one's female significant other, as Mariko and Akiko's relationship starts out platonic but eventually becomes romantic. Similarly, The Last Jedi is either about the singular last Jedi(potentially Rey or Luke depending on who one asks) or the plural last Jedi, as it is suggested that there are other Force users out there. Other titles can be symbolic in some way or another, often including some concept that's central to the work as a whole.

There are many different things that a title can convey, but some of the more memorable and meaningful titles do them in three words or less.

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