Anime like Awajima Hyakkei

Ikoku Nikki

Also known as Journal with Witch.

Studio: Shuka , Pony Canyon , ABC Animation , Movic , TOKYO MX , BS Asahi
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Slice of Life

Reclusive novelist Makio Koudai has always preferred the company of books—but when her sister and brother-in-law pass away, Makio unexpectedly becomes the guardian of her 15-year-old niece, Asa Takumi. As they navigate grief, clashing personalities, and the challenges of living together, the two slowly open their hearts to each other, discovering warmth, understanding, and the meaning of family.



Tags: Female Protagonist , Adoption , Coming of Age , Estranged Family , Josei , Family Life , Orphan , Parenthood , Found Family , Writing , Tragedy , Primarily Female Cast , Urban , School , LGBTQ+ Themes , Heterosexual , Band , Yuri , Aromantic

Kageki Shoujo!!

Also known as Kageki Shojo!!.

Studio: PINE JAM , King Records
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Slice of Life

The curtain rises on the Kouka School of Musical and Theatrical Arts. Spotlight on Sarasa Watanabe, a starry-eyed 5'10" student who dreams of performing as Oscar, a male lead role. She forms an unlikely friendship with her new roommate, a former idol who now also hopes to join the all-female Kouka Acting Troupe. Together, they’re in for the role of a lifetime.



Tags: Acting , Primarily Female Cast , Female Protagonist , School , Ensemble Cast , Coming of Age , Shoujo , Aromantic , Primarily Teen Cast , Musical Theater , Heterosexual , Kuudere , Crossdressing , Body Image , Kabuki , Idol , Work , Otaku Culture , Twins , Age Gap , Yuri

Liz to Aoi Tori

Also known as Liz and the Blue Bird.

Studio: Kyoto Animation , Animation Do , Kyoto Animation
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Music , Slice of Life

Students and best friends Mizore Yoroizuka and Nozomi Kasaki prepare to play a complex musical duet, Liz and the Blue Bird, for oboe and flute. Though they play beautifully together and have been friends since childhood, Mizore and Nozomi find that with graduation looming and the duet proving difficult, their friendship begins to buckle under the pressure. Interspersed with their story is the fantasy tale of Liz, drawn like a storybook, contrasting with the crisp realism of the school.



Tags: Coming of Age , Female Protagonist , Band , Primarily Female Cast , Fairy Tale , Yuri , Classical Music , LGBTQ+ Themes , Primarily Teen Cast , School Club , School , Unrequited Love

Shoujo☆Kageki Revue Starlight

Also known as Revue Starlight.

Studio: Kinema Citrus , Pony Canyon , OVERLAP , APDREAM , TBS , Sound Team Don Juan , Nelke Planning , Bushiroad , Sentai Filmworks
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Music , Psychological

The franchise centers on "Starlight" — the song and dance revue troupe loved throughout the world. Karen and Hikari make a promise with each other when they're young that one day they'll stand on that stage together. Time passes, and now the girls are 16 years old. Karen is very enthusiastic about the lessons she takes every day, holding her promise close to her heart. Hikari has transferred schools and is now away from Karen. But the cogs of fate turn, and the two are destined to meet again. The girls and other "Stage Girls" will compete in a mysterious audition process to gain acceptance into the revue.



Tags: Musical Theater , Primarily Female Cast , Ensemble Cast , Acting , Primarily Teen Cast , Female Protagonist , Meta , Boarding School , Battle Royale , Fairy Tale , Animals , Yuri , Time Loop , School , Coming of Age , Henshin , Swordplay , Philosophy , Dancing , LGBTQ+ Themes , Unrequited Love , Love Triangle , Tomboy , Archery , Spearplay , Amnesia , Motorcycles , Urban

Aoi Hana

Also known as Sweet Blue Flowers.

Studio: J.C.STAFF , The Right Stuf International , Fujipacific Music
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance , Slice of Life

Fumi and Akira were close childhood friends until Fumi had to move away. Ten years after losing touch with each other, the two girls meet again as high school freshmen. The two struggle to reconnect after so much has changed, and both deal with the trials and tribulations of high school — sometimes independently and sometimes with each other’s help.



Tags: Yuri , Female Protagonist , Coming of Age , Primarily Teen Cast , Primarily Female Cast , LGBTQ+ Themes , School , Love Triangle , Josei , Bisexual , Tomboy , Acting , Basketball , Unrequited Love , Rural

Sennen Joyuu

Also known as Millennium Actress.

Studio: MADHOUSE , Genco , WOWOW , KLOCKWORX , Kadokawa Shoten , Bandai Visual , Techno Sound , Chaos Union
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Romance

Millennium Actress blurs the lines between the past and the present, and truth and fiction, when a documentary filmmaker fulfills his quest to find the legendary actress Chiyoko Fujiwara, and learn why she mysteriously vanished at the height of her brilliant career. When Chiyoko grants the filmmaker’s request, he, in turn, presents her with a token – a key she had lost and thought was gone forever. The filmmaker could not have imagined that the key would not only unlock the long-held secrets of Chiyoko’s life, but also his own.



Note: The film received an early premiere at the Fantasia Film Festival on July 28, 2001.

Tags: Acting , Biographical , Historical , Primarily Adult Cast , Female Protagonist , Meta , Work , Time Skip , Filmmaking , Heterosexual , Unrequited Love , War , Coming of Age , Anachronism , Fugitive , Snowscape , Class Struggle , Denpa , Swordplay , Age Gap , Trains

Sora yori mo Tooi Basho

Also known as A Place Further Than the Universe.

Studio: MADHOUSE , Media Factory , AT-X , Movic , Sony Music Communications , Crunchyroll
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Comedy , Drama

Mari Tamaki is in her second year of high school and wants to start something. It's then that she meets Shirase, a girl with few friends who's considered weirdo by the rest of the class and nicknamed "Antarctic" since it's all she ever talks about. Unlike her peers, Mari is moved by Shirase's dedication and decides that even though it's unlikely that high school girls will ever go to Antarctica, she's going to try to go with Shirase.



Tags: Travel , Coming of Age , Ensemble Cast , Primarily Female Cast , Female Protagonist , Snowscape , Outdoor Activities , Found Family , Foreign , Primarily Teen Cast , Wilderness , Orphan , Tragedy , Family Life , Work , Educational , Konbini , Ships , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , School , Acting , CGI , Mahjong

3-gatsu no Lion

Also known as March comes in like a lion.

Studio: Shaft , Aniplex
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Slice of Life

Rei Kiriyama is a 17 year old boy who recently started living alone, financed by his salary as a professional Shogi player. Despite his independence, however, he's yet to mature emotionally, and his problems continue to haunt him in his daily life. His relationship with his adoptive family is strained, and he has difficulties interacting with his fellow high school students.

Meanwhile, his professional career in Shogi has entered a slump. Burdened with the heavy expectations placed upon him, his wins and losses are fluctuating as his record and progression into the ranks begin to stagnate.

Acquainted with Rei are the three Kawamoto sisters: Akari, Hinata, and Momo. Unlike Rei, they live happily in their modest home, which they warmly welcome Rei into as if he were one of their own. He frequently visits the family, interacting with them and receiving the kind of care and affection he never quite had while under his foster home.
This is the story of Rei's triumphs and failures, relationships new and old, and his growth as a person.

Tags: Coming of Age , Rehabilitation , Shogi , Found Family , Seinen , Board Game , Estranged Family , Family Life , Adoption , Male Protagonist , Philosophy , Tragedy , Primarily Adult Cast , Urban , Unrequited Love , Iyashikei , Food , School , School Club , Baseball

Kimi no Iro

Also known as The Colors Within.

Studio: Science SARU , STORY Inc. , Toho
Status: Finished
Genres: Music

Totsuko is a high school student with the ability to see the 'colors' of others. Colors of bliss, excitement, and serenity, plus a color she treasures as her favorite. Kimi, a classmate at her school, gives off the most beautiful color of all. Although she doesn’t play an instrument, Totsuko forms a band with Kimi and Rui, a quiet music enthusiast they meet at a used bookstore in a far corner of town. As they practice at an old church on a remote island, music brings them together, forming friendships and stirring affections. Will they discover their true 'colors'?



Tags: Band , Primarily Teen Cast , Boarding School , Religion , Coming of Age , Female Protagonist , Iyashikei , Unrequited Love , Nun , Rock Music , School , Coastal , Primarily Female Cast , LGBTQ+ Themes , Dancing , Ships , Ballet

Hibike! Euphonium

Also known as Sound! Euphonium.

Studio: Kyoto Animation , Pony Canyon , Lantis , Rakuonsha
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Music , Slice of Life

Spring in the first year of high school. Kumiko, a member of the brass band in junior high school, visits the high school brass band club with classmates Hazuki and Sapphire. There, she comes across Reina, her former classmate from junior high. Hazuki and Sapphire decide to join the club, but Kumiko can’t make up her mind. She recollects her experience with Reina at a competition in junior high school.



Tags: Band , School Club , Female Protagonist , Coming of Age , Classical Music , School , Primarily Teen Cast , Primarily Female Cast , Ensemble Cast , Yuri , Unrequited Love , LGBTQ+ Themes , Love Triangle , Heterosexual