Anime like Aitsu to Lullaby: Suiyoubi no Cinderella

Bari Bari Densetsu (1987)

Studio: Studio Pierrot
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Sports

The film is about 4 high-schoolers who are bike racers and illegally partake in races at night on public roads.



Tags: Motorcycles , Male Protagonist , Tragedy , Acting

Bobby ni Kubittake

Studio: MADHOUSE , Kadokawa Shoten , Project Team Argos
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance

The "Bobby" referred to in the title is actually 17-year-old Akihiko Nomura, an underachieving high school kid with a deep love for motorcycles. His grades are failing, and his father – traditional and strict (but who must have also at some point gave in and allowed him to have a motorcycle) – is trying everything he can think of to get the kid to apply for college. His mother is so silent, she might as well not even exist. Really, his support system lies entirely in his twinkle-toed little sister, who's nosy but cheers him on in her own way.

Bobby really does little else but work on his bike. He cleans his bike. He tunes up his bike. He rides his bike. One would call him a motorcycle otaku. His most recent achievement seems to have been getting photos of himself on a road trip printed in a motorcyclist hobby magazine. This leads to an unexpected result: a girl his age, who picked up that issue on a whim, decides to write him a letter. A long, rambling letter, but dreamily romantic just the same. Bobby admits to his sister that he's never gotten a letter from a girl before. He writes back, "I got your letter. I'm happy 'cause it was from a girl."

Bobby is not a well-rounded kid. He barely speaks – even to his own family – and the "letters" he writes back to the mystery girl usually consist of a single sentence or so. His motorcycle obsession is all-consuming, to the point where he happily quits school to work at a biker bar. Of course, his father, at a loss, kicks him out of the house. Staying with a friend, he's delighted when his female pen pal says she'll call him. On that day, his boss at the bar decides to take him to a motocross track. But that's a day that wouldn't end in a way that anybody would expect.



Note: Based on the novel of the same name by Yoshio Kataoka.

Tags: Motorcycles , Tragedy , Male Protagonist , Coming of Age , Foreign

Wangan Midnight

Studio: A.C.G.T. , OB Planning
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Sports

Based on a seinen manga by Kusunoki Michiharu serialised in Young Magazine.

The story gets its roots from the actual street racing that occurs on Tokyo's Shuto Expressway, one stretch of which is known as the "Wangan", literally meaning "bay side" (although it is generally used to refer to the freeway), the longest, straightest road in the entire country. Of course, there's also lots of traffic to contend with, including a fair number of heavy trucks. Because of this, the action is inherently hazardous, and wrecks are common. Blown engines are also a frequent hazard, especially with the extreme-high power engines.

One day, Akio Asakura, a third year high school student, is driving his Fairlady Z (Z31) and is challenged by Tatsuya Shima, a doctor, in his black Porsche 964 Turbo (nicknamed the "BlackBird"). With a friend in the passenger seat and two girls in the back, Akio pitifully tries to win, but is defeated. Determined to become faster, he goes to the junkyard to buy parts for his car, when he sees a pristine, unscratched midnight blue Fairlady Z (S30) in the junkyard. Intrigued as to why such a machine is about to be junked, he buys it. He soon finds that the car is unnaturally fast due to a tuned L28 engine, bored and stroked to 3.1 liters combined with twin turbos, which produces 620bhp. He also finds that all of the car's previous owners had unfortunate accidents in it, starting with the first owner's death. The manga follows Akio's various encounters, though the central plot revolves around his constant battle with the BlackBird for superiority.



Tags: Cars , Urban , Male Protagonist , Seinen , Primarily Adult Cast , Photography , CGI

Initial D

Also known as Initial D 1st Stage.

Studio: OB Planning , Funimation , Fuji TV , Studio Comet , Studio Gallop , Pastel , Kodansha
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Sports

High school student Takumi Fujiwara works as a gas station attendant during the day and a delivery boy for his father's tofu shop early in the morning. Little does he know that his precise driving skills and his father's modified Toyota Sprinter AE86 Trueno make him the best amateur road racer on Mt. Akina's highway. Because of this, racing groups from all over the Gunma prefecture issue challenges to Takumi to see if he really has what it takes to be a road legend.



Tags: Cars , Male Protagonist , Primarily Male Cast , CGI , Rural , Seinen , Heterosexual , Coming of Age , Work , Primarily Adult Cast , School , Age Gap

Bari Bari Densetsu

Studio: Studio Pierrot
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Sports

The main character, Gun, rides a customized Honda CB750F cafe racer and eventually evolves into a pro road racer.

Tags: Motorcycles , Tragedy

Circuit Angel: Ketsui no Starting Grid

Studio: Studio Unicorn
Status: Finished
Genres: Action

Mariko is a downtown schoolgirl who loves motorcycles and wants to graduate from the street-racing circle of her friends to the world of pro racing.



Tags: Motorcycles , Nudity

Kentauros no Densetsu

Also known as The Legend of Kentauros.

Studio: Wako Production
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama

The Centaurs are a racing team of 93 bikers from the port city of Yokohama who are named after the legendary Greek horse/men. Arthur and Ken fall out over their love for the same lady deciding to settle their competition with a race.



Tags: Motorcycles , Male Protagonist , Nudity , School