Anime like Hadashi no Gen

Hotaru no Haka

Also known as Grave of the Fireflies.

Studio: Studio Ghibli , Sentai Filmworks
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

In the aftermath of a World War II bombing, two orphaned children struggle to survive in the Japanese countryside. To Seita and his four-year-old sister, the helplessness and indifference of their countrymen is even more painful than the enemy raids. Through desperation, hunger and grief, these children's lives are as heartbreakingly fragile as their spirit and love is inspiring.



Tags: Tragedy , Survival , Orphan , War , Family Life , Historical , Primarily Child Cast , Homeless , Rural , Military , Female Protagonist , Male Protagonist , Autobiographical , Educational

Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni

Also known as In This Corner of the World.

Studio: MAPPA , Genco , Animatsu Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Slice of Life

The story follows a young lady named Suzu Urano, who in 1944 moves to the small town of Kure in Hiroshima to live with her husband's family. Suzu's life is thrown into chaos when her town is bombed during World War II. Her perseverance and courage underpin this heart-warming and inspirational tale of the everyday challenges faced by the Japanese in the midst of a violent, war-torn country. This beautiful yet poignant tale shows that even in the face of adversity and loss, people can come together and rebuild their lives.



Tags: Historical , War , Family Life , Female Protagonist , Tragedy , Seinen , Rehabilitation , Drawing , Heterosexual , Disability , Arranged Marriage

Ushiro no Shoumen Daare

Also known as Who's Left Behind?.

Studio: Mushi Production
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Slice of Life

Kayoko is a young girl in 1940, just starting first grade. She's a bit of a crybaby, which is no secret to those around her. She loves playing with friends and singing cute schoolyard chants, and occasionally having fun with her three older brothers. Her mother is pregnant, and so she looks forward to being a big sister, only partially understanding the responsibility that might bring. Meanwhile, the war effort is growing, and it`s only the natural thing to do to be patriotic and support the country...

Kayoko goes so far as to contribute her favorite dolly, whose materials could help build explosives. Time passes, and as she grows older, Kayoko sees how the war has affected her life and those around her. Nothing can prepare her for 1945, however, and the bleak times that are soon to come. Based on original creator Kayoko Ebina's real life experience during World War 2 on Showa era.



Tags: Historical , War , Female Protagonist , Autobiographical , Tragedy , Family Life , Coming of Age , Survival , Time Skip

Tokyo Magnitude 8.0

Also known as Tokyo Magnitude 8.0.

Studio: bones , Dentsu , Fuji TV , Toho , Kinema Citrus , Maiden Japan , Asmik Ace , Sony Music Entertainment , Sakura Create
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

The premise of the project is the 70% possibility that a magnitude 7.0 earthquake will occur in Tokyo in the next 30 years. The anime depicts what would happen if an 8.0 earthquake took place.

The story centers on Mirai, a middle school freshman girl who goes to Tokyo’s artificial Odaiba Island for a robot exhibition with her brother Yuuki at the start of summer vacation. A powerful tremor emanates from an ocean trench, the famed Tokyo Tower and Rainbow Bridge crumble and fall, and the landscape of Tokyo changes in an instant. With the help of a motorcycle delivery woman named Mari who they meet on Odaiba, Mirai and Yuuki strive to head back to their Setagaya home in western Tokyo.

Tags: Urban , Survival , Primarily Child Cast , Tragedy , Natural Disaster , Family Life , Female Protagonist , Post-Apocalyptic , Ghost , Rescue , Coming of Age , CGI , Robots , Military , School , Eco-Horror , Motorcycles

Giovanni no Shima

Also known as Giovanni's Island.

Studio: Production I.G
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

Brothers Junpei and Kanta live in Shikotan, a tiny fishing island that has been spared from the devastations of World War II. The two children are named after Giovanni and Campanella from their late mother’s favorite book, Night on the Galactic Railroad, which becomes a source of solace in the aftermath of Japan’s defeat. When Soviet forces arrive with their families to settle in the island, Junpei meets Tanya, the daughter of the commander. Despite their language barrier and growing tension, the children soon form an unlikely friendship.



Note: A special animated movie to commemorate 50th anniversary of Japan Association of Music Enterprises (JAME).

Tags: Historical , War , Tragedy , Language Barrier , Trains , Coming of Age , Male Protagonist

Hiroshima e no Tabi

Also known as Journey to Hiroshima.

Studio: Toei Animation
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

To spend the summer vacation, junior high school student Kazuki rides a bullet train to Hiroshima to stay with his aunt. Upon arrival in Hiroshima, his aunt narrates the tragic past of what happened the day the atomic bomb fell. From the aunt, who had to overcome a lot of hardships, Kazuki learns the value of peace and how to have the courage to lose.

Tags: War , Tragedy , Historical , Table Tennis

Pika Don

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

An animation documentary describing the tragic consequences of the A-bomb explosion in Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945. The flash of the A-bomb, 100 times brighter than the sun, is called "PICA", and the enormous shock wave which came right after the flash is called "DON". At the time this film was completed, it was the very first attempt in the world to deal with such a sensitive subject of Hiroshima using animation media. Because of this short film, the City of Hiroshima decided to establish the Hiroshima International Animation Festival in 1984, appreciating animation art as an effective medium.



Tags: Historical , Tragedy , Cosmic Horror

NAGASAKI 1945: Angelus no Kane

Studio: Mushi Production
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

August 1945. In a converted theological seminary on the outskirts of Nagasaki, a young doctor works to help his patients, as unsettling news comes of a new weapon used by the Americans on the city of Hiroshima. When the second nuclear weapon is dropped on Nagasaki, the hospital staff must work to save lives in the midst of the concentric circles of death that their city has become.

Tags: Historical , Medicine , Military , Tragedy , Non-fiction , Environmental , War , Male Protagonist

cocoon: Aru Natsu no Shoujo-tachi Yori

Studio: Sasayuri , NHK
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

San and Mayu are two schoolgirls living in Okinawa during the closing months of the Pacific War. Together with their classmates, the two friends are drafted into the war effort as nurses for wounded soldiers. When ordered to die for their country, the remaining members of the group escape only to face the harsh environment of a tropical paradise that has become a hellish battlefield.

Tags: Tragedy , War , Female Protagonist , Survival , Historical , Military , Josei , Primarily Female Cast , Primarily Teen Cast , Coastal , Suicide , Rural , Crossdressing , Gore , Medicine , LGBTQ+ Themes , Twins

Natsufuku No Shoujotachi

Studio: MADHOUSE , NHK
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

In 1945, the second and third-year students of a Hiroshima girls' school are taken away to work in war factories. The remaining 220 girls of the first year try to make the best of their new-found status as the only teenagers in an almost deserted town, even amid the deprivations of wartime. On the 7th of August, an American bomber changes their lives forever. Broadcast on the 43rd anniversary of Hiroshima in memory of "the girls who lost their lives to the atom bomb."

Tags: Historical , War