Anime like Nakitai Watashi wa Neko wo Kaburu

Kimi no Na wa.

Also known as Your Name..

Studio: CoMix Wave , Kadokawa Pictures Japan , Funimation , NYAV Post , Toho , Madman Entertainment , Selecta Visión
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance , Supernatural

Mitsuha Miyamizu, a high school girl, yearns to live the life of a boy in the bustling city of Tokyo—a dream that stands in stark contrast to her present life in the countryside. Meanwhile in the city, Taki Tachibana lives a busy life as a high school student while juggling his part-time job and hopes for a future in architecture.

One day, Mitsuha awakens in a room that is not her own and suddenly finds herself living the dream life in Tokyo—but in Taki's body! Elsewhere, Taki finds himself living Mitsuha's life in the humble countryside. In pursuit of an answer to this strange phenomenon, they begin to search for one another.

Kimi no Na wa. revolves around Mitsuha and Taki's actions, which begin to have a dramatic impact on each other's lives, weaving them into a fabric held together by fate and circumstance.

Tags: Body Swapping , Time Manipulation , Urban Fantasy , Coming of Age , Memory Manipulation , Female Protagonist , Male Protagonist , Tragedy , Urban , Rural , Gender Bending , Heterosexual , Primarily Teen Cast , Time Skip , Environmental , Mythology , Alternate Universe , Trains , School , Shrine Maiden

Where to watch?

Amazon Prime Video

Max

Tenki no Ko

Also known as Weathering With You.

Studio: CoMix Wave , JR Higashi Nihon Kikaku , Toho , Lawson Entertainment , Kadokawa Shoten , STORY Inc. , GKIDS , Madman Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance , Slice of Life , Supernatural

High school student Hodaka leaves his home on an isolated island and moves to Tokyo, but he immediately becomes broke. He lives his days in isolation, but finally finds a job as a writer for a shady occult magazine. After he starts his job, the weather has been rainy day after day. In a corner of the crowded and busy city, Hodaka meets a young woman named Hina. Due to certain circumstances, Hina and her younger brother live together, but have a cheerful and sturdy life. Hina also has a certain power: the power to stop the rain and clear the sky.

Tags: Urban Fantasy , Urban , Environmental , Female Protagonist , Male Protagonist , Fugitive , Orphan , Family Life , Heterosexual , Magic , Work , Gods , Super Power , Guns , Found Family , Crossdressing , Time Skip , Estranged Family , Restaurant

Where to watch?

Amazon Prime Video

Max

Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi

Also known as Spirited Away.

Studio: Studio Ghibli , Studio Hibari , Walt Disney Studios , GKIDS
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Fantasy , Supernatural

On the way to their new home, 10-year-old Chihiro Ogino's family stumbles upon a deserted theme park. Intrigued, the family investigates the park, though unbeknownst to them, it is secretly inhabited by spirits who sleep by day and appear at night. When Chihiro's mother and father eat food from a restaurant in the street, angry spirits turn them into pigs. Furthermore, a wide sea has appeared between the spirit world and the human one, trapping Chihiro, the sole human, in a land of spirits. Luckily for her though, a mysterious boy named Haku appears, claiming to know her from the past. Under his instructions, Chihiro secures a job in the bathhouse where Haku works. With only her courage and some new found friends to aid her, Chihiro embarks on a journey to turn her parents back to their original forms and return home.

Tags: Female Protagonist , Youkai , Shapeshifting , Magic , Urban Fantasy , Work , Mythology , Curses , Gods , Witch , Anthropomorphism , Isekai , Memory Manipulation , Travel , Dragons , Trains , Primarily Child Cast , Twins

Where to watch?

Max

Neko no Ongaeshi

Also known as The Cat Returns.

Studio: Studio Ghibli , Walt Disney Studios , GKIDS
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Comedy , Drama , Fantasy

The Cat Returns is something of a loose spin-off of "Whisper of the Heart" as it features two characters from that film: Muta (the cat from "Whisper") and the Baron (the cat statue from "Whisper"). There is no other connection between the two movies and this is not a sequel. The story is based on Neko no Danshaku (Baron of Cat) by Hiiragi Aoi.

The main character of the story, Haru, is a clueless, ordinary 17-year-old girl. She has no special abilities and neither is she an extraordinary beauty. When faced with reality, she is unable to make decisions for herself, thus often sways to others' opinions to avoid challenge. One day, Haru saves the life of a cat without considering her own safety. The cat turns out to be the Cat Prince from the Kingdom of Cats, however as a result, Haru is trapped in the world of cats. Can Baron and Muta rescue Haru who has wandered into the world of cats?

Tags: Animals , Anthropomorphism , Nekomimi , Fairy Tale , Female Protagonist , Kemonomimi , Isekai , Primarily Animal Cast , Royal Affairs , Heterosexual , Arranged Marriage , Shoujo , Urban Fantasy , Male Protagonist , Swordplay , Crossover , Body Horror , School

Where to watch?

Max

Kokoro ga Sakebitagatterun da.

Also known as The Anthem of the Heart.

Studio: A-1 Pictures
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Music , Romance , Slice of Life , Supernatural

Jun is a girl whose words have been sealed away. She was once a very happy girl, but because of a certain thing she said when she was very young, her family was torn apart. One day, the egg fairy appeared in front of her and sealed away her ability to talk in order to stop her from hurting anybody else. Since this traumatic experience, Jun lives in the shadows away from the limelight. But, one day, she is nominated to become an executive member of the "community outreach council." On top of that, Jun is also appointed to play the main lead in their musical...

Tags: Rehabilitation , School , Coming of Age , Tragedy , Musical Theater , Female Protagonist , Love Triangle , Primarily Teen Cast , Heterosexual , Family Life , Hikikomori , Chuunibyou , Baseball , Time Skip

Where to watch?

Bilibili

Hotarubi no Mori e

Also known as Into the Forest of Fireflies' Light.

Studio: Aniplex , Brain's Base , Hakusensha , DAX Production , TV Tokyo , NAS
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Romance , Supernatural

The story of Hotarubi no Mori e centers around Hotaru, a little girl who gets lost in an enchanted forest where apparitions reside. A young boy, Gin, appears before Hotaru, but she cannot touch him for fear of making him disappear.

Tags: Coming of Age , Youkai , Ghost , Tragedy , Rural , Urban Fantasy , Shoujo , Female Protagonist , Time Skip , Age Gap , Iyashikei , Wilderness , Heterosexual , Male Protagonist

Where to watch?

Bilibili TV

Kanojo to Kanojo no Neko: Everything Flows

Also known as She and Her Cat -Everything Flows-.

Studio: LIDENFILMS , Lantis , CoMix Wave
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Slice of Life

For the longest time, it's just been the two of them. "Kanojo" and her cat Daru are inseparable, having grown up together. Now a junior in college, Tomoka—her roommate of a year and a half—moves out of their shared apartment, and in order to keep her living space, Kanojo must find a job. Day by day, Daru watches her continued efforts from a cat's-eye view, eagerly awaiting his owner's return. When she gets back, once again, it's just she and her cat.

Kanojo to Kanojo no Neko: Everything Flows is a charming short series about the bond between a pet and his owner.

Tags: Animals , Tragedy , Reincarnation , Female Protagonist , Time Skip , Iyashikei , Primarily Adult Cast , Episodic

Where to watch?

Doukyonin wa Hiza, Tokidoki, Atama no Ue.

Also known as My Roommate is a Cat.

Studio: Zero-G , AT-X , TOKYO MX , Avex Pictures , ABC Animation , Q-Tec , BS11 , GYAO! , BookLive , NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Slice of Life

Mystery writer Mikazuki Subaru, who isn't good at dealing with people, finds them to be a disturbance when it comes to building his imaginary world. One day, he chances upon a stray cat and feels inspiration strike, so he brings the cat home as his muse.

Can watching the inexplicable behaviors of a cat form material for a novel?

Tags: Animals , Hikikomori , Family Life , Male Protagonist , Writing , Primarily Adult Cast , Iyashikei , Rehabilitation , Tsundere , Female Protagonist , Shoujo , Tragedy , Primarily Male Cast , Found Family

Where to watch?

Amazon Prime Video

YouTube

Penguin Highway

Also known as Penguin Highway.

Studio: Studio Colorido , WIT STUDIO , Fujipacific Music
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Mystery , Sci-Fi , Slice of Life

Budding genius Aoyama is only in the 4th grade, but already lives his life like a scientist. When penguins start appearing in his sleepy suburb hundreds of miles from the sea, Aoyama vows to solve the mystery. When he finds the source of the penguins is a woman from his dentist’s office, they team up for an unforgettable summer adventure!

Tags: Coming of Age , Animals , Urban Fantasy , Male Protagonist , Philosophy , Kids , Primarily Child Cast , Environmental , School , Rural , CGI , Swimming , Bullying

Where to watch?

Tubi TV

Suzume no Tojimari

Also known as Suzume.

Studio: CoMix Wave , STORY Inc. , Toho
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Fantasy , Mystery , Supernatural

The story follows Suzume, a 17-year-old girl from a quiet Kyushu town who meets a young man looking for a door. They find a door within ruins in the mountain, and Suzume opens it. Soon, more doors begin to open around Japan, bringing disasters from the other side. The film depicts Suzume's liberation and growth, as she closes the doors that are causing disaster.

Tags: Urban Fantasy , Female Protagonist , Travel , Coming of Age , Magic , Shapeshifting , Orphan , Family Life , Gods , Kaiju , Natural Disaster , Animals , Found Family , Age Gap , Environmental , Time Manipulation , Tragedy , Parenthood , Heterosexual , CGI

Where to watch?