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 , Love Triangle , Time Skip , Josei , Male Protagonist , Disability , Meta , LGBTQ+ Themes , War , Suicide , Elderly Protagonist , Primarily Male Cast

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 , Urban , Shounen , Nudity , Educational , Episodic

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 , Estranged Family , Board Game , Family Life , Adoption , Urban , Male Protagonist , Philosophy , Tragedy , Primarily Adult Cast , Food , Unrequited Love , Iyashikei , School , School Club , Baseball

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

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 , Inseki , Gods , Memory Manipulation , Age Gap , Pregnancy

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

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

Blue Period

Also known as Blue Period.

Studio: Seven Arcs , DMM music , Kodansha , DMM pictures , Mainichi Broadcasting System , Bit grooove promotion , Netflix
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Slice of Life

The studious Yatora leaves a dry life of study and good manners behind for a new passion: painting. But untethering yourself from all your past expectations is dangerous as well as thrilling…



Note: The anime premiered on Netflix on Sep 25, 2021 in Japan. The TV broadcast started on Oct 2, 2021.

Tags: Drawing , Coming of Age , Male Protagonist , School , Philosophy , Educational , Seinen , Primarily Teen Cast , School Club , Transgender , Bisexual , Time Skip , Urban , LGBTQ+ Themes , Crossdressing , Femboy , Nudity

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