Anime like Akane-banashi

Chihayafuru

Also known as Chihayafuru.

Studio: MADHOUSE , VAP , Nippon Television Network , Sentai Filmworks
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance , Slice of Life , Sports

Chihaya Ayase has spent most of her life supporting her sister’s model career. When she meets a boy named Arata Wataya, he thinks Chihaya has potential to become a great karuta player. As Chihaya dreams of becoming Japan's best karuta player, she is soon separated from her karuta playing friends. Now in high school, Chihaya still plays karuta in the hope that she will one day meet her friends again.



Tags: Karuta , Female Protagonist , School Club , Josei , Coming of Age , Love Triangle , School , Heterosexual , Ensemble Cast , Primarily Teen Cast , Unrequited Love , Athletics , Tomboy , Bullying , CGI , Slapstick

Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu

Also known as Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju.

Studio: Studio DEEN
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

The story revolves around a mature prisoner who was released on good behavior during Japan's Shouwa Genroku era (1960s to early 1970s). He is called Yotarou by others, a term that means an "anti-hero" or a "dim-witted man." When he returns to society, he starts a new life in rakugo (comic storytelling). Touched by Yakumo's role as the "grim reaper," he asks the master to take him in as an apprentice. Most of the season delves into Yakumo's own past during World War II and the years afterward.



Note: The first episode aired with a runtime of 48 minutes as opposed to the standard 24 minute long episode.

Tags: Rakugo , Tragedy , Acting , Historical , Primarily Adult Cast , Time Skip , Love Triangle , Josei , Male Protagonist , Disability , Meta , Primarily Male Cast , War , Suicide , Elderly Protagonist , LGBTQ+ Themes , Boys' Love

Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu: Sukeroku Futatabi-hen

Also known as Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju.

Studio: Studio DEEN
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

Unable to forget a performance of "Shinigami" performed by the rakugo master Yakumo in the prison where he was being held, Yotaro's first act upon his release was go right to the theater, where he begged, pleaded, and was finally accepted as Yakumo's live-in apprentice. After years of refining his art, Yotaro was promoted to the rank of Shinuchi and inherited the title of 3rd Generation Sukeroku. For the sake of his master Yakumo, Konatsu, and to change the image of Sukeroku inside them both, what kind of rakugo will Yotaro discover?

This celebrated human drama, based on a story by Haruko Kumota, offers an honest and sympathetic look into the lives and livelihoods of rakugo storytellers in the Showa era.



Tags: Rakugo , Josei , Acting , Elderly Protagonist , Primarily Adult Cast , Male Protagonist , Afterlife , Time Skip , Historical , Suicide , Yakuza , Gods , Inseki , Pregnancy , Memory Manipulation , Age Gap

Joshiraku

Also known as Joshiraku.

Studio: J.C.STAFF , Starchild Records , Mainichi Broadcasting System , Kodansha
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Slice of Life

Marii, Kigurumi, Tetora, Gankyou, and Kukuru deserve a round of applause for keeping the art of Rakugo alive! What’s their secret? Witty, absurd banter of course! These five friends always have something to talk about, no matter how silly the topic.



Tags: Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Meta , Surreal Comedy , Primarily Female Cast , Parody , Satire , Slapstick , Acting , Rakugo , Female Protagonist , Primarily Adult Cast , Otaku Culture , Educational , Urban , Shounen , Nudity , Episodic

Medalist

Also known as Medalist.

Studio: ENGI , KADOKAWA , Kodansha , TV Asahi
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological , Sports

Tsukasa Akeuraji, a frustrated skater, meets a girl called Inori Yuitsuka, who is yearning to enter the world of figure skating. Motivated by Inori's obsession on the rink, Tsukasa takes on coaching Inori himself. Inori's talent blossoms, and Tsukasa becomes a brilliant mentor. Together they aim to make her a glorious medalist!!



Tags: Ice Sports , Coming of Age , Dancing , Athletics , Female Protagonist , Found Family , Seinen , Male Protagonist , Primarily Child Cast , Rehabilitation , Work , Urban , CGI , Ballet , Time Skip , Parenthood

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

World Is Dancing

Also known as The World Is Dancing.

Studio: Shouchiku , Cypic , CyberAgent , Cygames , Toy's Factory , arma bianca , TOKYO MX , BS Asahi , Happinet Media Marketing
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

Born into a life of acting and dance with a traveling theater troupe in 14th-century Japan, 12-year old Oniyasha has one problem—he doesn't know what the point of any of it is. "Why must I step with the left foot here instead of the right? Why is one performance good and another, bad? Why do people dance at all?" It all seems perfectly arbitrary, until a chance encounter in a run-down shack sets him down a path to revolutionizing the art form and influencing much of Japanese culture to come. A fictionalized account of the early life of Zeami Motokiyo (Oniyasha), the founder of modern Noh theater—the world's oldest surviving theater art—this coming-of-age artist's journey vividly brings to life a man far ahead of his time during one of Japan's most culturally and socially vibrant eras.



Note: World Is Dancing streamed 3 days in advance of the TV broadcast on Prime Video and HIDIVE beginning June 29th, 2026. Regular broadcasting began on July 2nd, 2026.

Tags: Historical , Dancing , Coming of Age , Class Struggle , Acting , Musical Theater , Biographical , Crossdressing , Male Protagonist , Tragedy , Seinen , Time Skip , LGBTQ+ Themes , Boys' Love , Age Gap , War , Primarily Male Cast , Nudity , Body Image , Disability

Hana wa Saku, Shura no Gotoku

Also known as Flower and Asura.

Studio: Studio Bind , King Records , Nippon Television Network , Yostar , BS Nittele
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Slice of Life

On the picturesque island of Tonakijima with a population of only 600, Hana’s favorite pastime is reading literature to the island’s children. Her narration skills are second to none, and Mizuki, the president of the school’s broadcasting club immediately recognizes Hana’s ability to engage with others and draw them into her recitations. Invited by Mizuki to join the club, Hana embarks on a journey to discover her true love of reading — and maybe even change the course of her life along the way.



Tags: Primarily Teen Cast , School Club , School , Acting , Female Protagonist , Coastal , Classic Literature , Tsundere , Seinen , LGBTQ+ Themes

Uchi no Shishou wa Shippo ga Nai

Also known as My Master Has No Tail.

Studio: Pony Canyon , LIDENFILMS , Mainichi Broadcasting System , TMS Entertainment , Studio Pierrot , Yostar , BS Asahi , Sentai Filmworks
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Fantasy , Slice of Life

Throughout time, supernatural, shapeshifting tanuki loved playing tricks on humankind. One plucky tanuki, Mameda, is no different. But there's one big problem. She wasn’t born in the days of yore — she was born in modern, more cynical times! How can she fulfill her mischievous tanuki destiny when supernatural hijinks are a thing of the past? She finds an angle when she meets Bunko, a master of the Japanese art of rakugo, which uses storytelling to beguile its audience. Mameda is determined to use rakugo to cast a spell on humanity, but first this tanuki trickster must convince the no-nonsense Bunko to take her on as an apprentice.



Tags: Rakugo , Primarily Female Cast , Female Protagonist , Kuudere , Historical , Shapeshifting , Youkai , Acting , Seinen , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Kemonomimi , Mythology , Animals , Tsundere , LGBTQ+ Themes , Age Gap , Ojou-sama , Disability , Found Family

Kono Oto Tomare!

Also known as Kono Oto Tomare!: Sounds of Life.

Studio: Platinum Vision
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Music , Romance , Slice of Life

In the story, Takezou is the last remaining member of the koto club, a club dedicated to the traditional Japanese string instrument. If he doesn't find new members, the koto club will be terminated. One day, Takezou is alone in the club room when a student barges in and demands to join. The student is delinquent Chika Kudou, a guy who even scares delinquent upperclassmen at other schools.



Tags: School Club , Coming of Age , Ensemble Cast , Male Protagonist , Tsundere , Heterosexual , Band , Primarily Teen Cast , Delinquents , School , Shounen , Bullying , Primarily Male Cast , Kuudere