Anime like Shi Wai

Made in Abyss

Also known as Made in Abyss.

Studio: Kinema Citrus , Media Factory , AT-X , Sony Music Communications , Sentai Filmworks , Cygames
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Fantasy , Horror , Mystery , Sci-Fi

The "Abyss" is the last unexplored place in the world. Strange and wonderful creatures roam within, and it is full of precious relics that present humans can't recreate. Those that dare to explore the depths are known as "Cave Raiders." An orphan girl named Riko lives on the rim. Her dream is to become a Cave Raider like her mother and solve the mysteries of the cave system. One day, Riko starts exploring the caves and discovers a robot who resembles a human boy.



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

Tags: Survival , Outdoor Activities , Primarily Child Cast , Environmental , Travel , Cosmic Horror , Body Horror , Curses , Tragedy , Chibi , Philosophy , Lost Civilization , Dungeon , Seinen , Female Protagonist , Gore , Orphan , Amnesia , Wilderness , Eco-Horror , Anthropomorphism , Robots , Male Protagonist , Steampunk , Nudity , Human Experimentation , Food , Amputation , School , Dissociative Identities , Crossdressing , Religion , Maids , Femboy , Rehabilitation , Time Manipulation

Fumetsu no Anata e

Also known as To Your Eternity.

Studio: Brain's Base , NHK Enterprises , NHK
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Fantasy , Psychological , Supernatural

In the beginning, an "orb" is cast unto Earth. "It" can do two things: change into the form of the thing that stimulates "it"; and come back to life after death. "It" morphs from orb to rock, then to wolf, and finally to boy, but roams about like a newborn who knows nothing. As a boy, "it" becomes Fushi.

Through encounters with human kindness, Fushi not only gains survival skills but grows as a "person". But his journey is darkened by the inexplicable and destructive enemy Nokker and cruel partings with the people he loves.



Tags: Shapeshifting , Tragedy , Coming of Age , Travel , Philosophy , Agender , Rural , Ensemble Cast , Survival , Body Horror , Shounen , Medieval , Time Skip , Animals , Yandere , Gore , Orphan , Indigenous Cultures , Afterlife , Zombie , Prison , Language Barrier , Adoption , Historical , Snowscape , Memory Manipulation , CGI , Battle Royale , Demons

Sayonara no Asa ni Yakusoku no Hana wo Kazarou

Also known as Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms.

Studio: P.A.WORKS , Lantis , Hakuhodo DY Music & Pictures , Bandai Visual , Rakuonsha , Cygames
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Psychological

The people of Iorph live far away from the lands of men, weaving the happenings of each day into a fabric called Hibiol. They live for centuries while maintaining their youthful appearance. Maquia, an orphaned Iorph girl, lives her life in an oasis surrounded by friends, yet somehow feels “alone”. But the tranquil lives of the Iorph are shattered in an instant when the Mezarte army invades their territory on a dragon fleet, seeking the blood that grants the Iorph long life. Maquia manages to escape, but loses her friends and her home in the chaos. She then encounters an orphaned baby who is “alone”. Maquia raises this boy "Ariel", with the help of some new friends. But as the era changes, the bond between Maquia and Ariel changes too, amidst a backdrop of racial tensions between the Iorph and the Mezarte. This is a story of irreplaceable time, woven by two lonely people who can only find solace in each other.



Tags: Parenthood , Family Life , Coming of Age , Female Protagonist , Adoption , Orphan , Tragedy , Time Skip , Medieval , Work , Foreign , Found Family , Urban Fantasy , Travel , Fugitive , Rural , Urban , War , Dragons , Heterosexual , Ensemble Cast , Arranged Marriage , Royal Affairs , Pregnancy , Espionage , Photography , Assassins , LGBTQ+ Themes

Da Yu Hai Tang

Also known as Big Fish & Begonia.

Studio: B&T , Enlight Pictures , Coloroom Pictures , Studio Mir
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Romance , Supernatural

This is a mythic land where no outsider has ever set foot. The spirit-like dwellers there, however, know us mortals well. They are responsible for human emotions and desires, for seasons, weather, the elapsing of time...

Our protagonist, a spirit girl named Chun, has just turned sixteen and goes in the form of a dolphin to explore the earthly part of the sea, to see what the human world is like. While cruising at sea, Chun gets caught in a storm and finds herself enmeshed in a fishing net. A human boy spots her and comes to her rescue, trying to free Chun from the entanglement. By accident, the boy drowns leaving Chun wretched and heartbroken.

Da Hai tells an absorbing and bittersweet story of sacrifice and redemption when Chun is determined to bring back to life the boy's soul, now in the form of a little white fish. Da Hai is about an adolescent coming to terms with her limitations, and a spirit, coming into possession of her powers [...] dealing with the difficult issues of death, love and maturing emotions with empathy and nuance.




Tags: Reincarnation , Afterlife , Female Protagonist , Animals , Mythology , Magic , Shapeshifting , Tragedy , Coming of Age , Unrequited Love , Environmental , Love Triangle

Chi. Chikyuu no Undou ni Tsuite

Also known as Orb: On the Movements of the Earth.

Studio: MADHOUSE , SKY Perfect Pictures , Shogakukan , NHK Enterprises , MADHOUSE , Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

The setting is 15th-century Europe. It was a time when heretical ideas lead those to who possessed such a mindset to being burned at the stake for their beliefs.

The protagonist, Rafał, a child prodigy, is expected to major in theology, the most important subject at the time, at the university where he plans to skip a grade. One day, however, he comes across a mysterious man, and is now studying a possible "truth" in the midst of heretical thought!



Tags: Astronomy , Philosophy , Religion , Ensemble Cast , Seinen , Historical , Foreign , Tragedy , Medieval , Time Skip , Fugitive , Conspiracy , Torture , Primarily Male Cast , Female Protagonist , Male Protagonist , Suicide , Politics , Meta , Gore , Swordplay , Assassins , Alternate Universe , Rural

Wonder Egg Priority

Also known as WONDER EGG PRIORITY.

Studio: CloverWorks , Aniplex , D.N. Dream Partners , NTV Music , Nippon Television Network , Funimation
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Fantasy , Mystery , Psychological , Sci-Fi , Thriller

This is the story of Ai, an introverted girl whose fate is forever changed when she acquires a mysterious “Wonder Egg” from a deserted arcade. That night, her dreams blend into reality, and as other girls obtain their own Wonder Eggs, Ai discovers new friends—and the magic within herself.



Tags: Tragedy , Female Protagonist , Primarily Female Cast , Urban Fantasy , Suicide , Bullying , Coming of Age , Alternate Universe , Primarily Teen Cast , Denpa , Philosophy , Ensemble Cast , Hikikomori , Afterlife , Body Horror , Artificial Intelligence , Transgender , School , CGI , Tomboy , LGBTQ+ Themes , Kuudere , Age Gap , Episodic , Gore , Isekai , Idol , Guns

Kaijuu no Kodomo

Also known as Children of the Sea.

Studio: Studio 4°C , Madman Entertainment , GKIDS , DMM pictures
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Mystery , Supernatural

One summer vacation, Ruka meets two boys, "Umi" and "Sora," whose upbringing contains strange and wonderful secrets. Drawn to their beautiful swimming, almost more like flying, Ruka and the adults who know them are intertwined in a complex mesh...
Meanwhile, an unexplained anomaly is occurring all over the world: fish are disappearing. Thus begins a marine adventure of boys and girls to captivate all the senses!

Tags: Philosophy , Primarily Child Cast , Coastal , Animals , Environmental , Cosmic Horror , Space , Female Protagonist , Swimming , Mythology , Coming of Age , Seinen , CGI , Ships , Bullying , Urban , Handball , School , Monster Boy , Astronomy , Amnesia

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

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

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