Anime like BLUE GIANT

Sakamichi no Apollon

Also known as Kids on the Slope.

Studio: Dentsu , Fuji TV , Tezuka Productions , Toho , DAX Production , Sentai Filmworks , MAPPA , Sony Music Entertainment , Hanabee Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Music , Romance , Slice of Life

The beginning of summer, 1966.

Because of his father's job situation, freshman high school student Kaoru Nishimi moves by himself from Yokosuka to Kyushu to live with relatives. Until then, Kaoru was an honor roll student who tended to keep to himself, but meeting notorious bad boy Sentaro Kawabuchi starts to change him. Through his devil-may-care classmate, Kaoru learns the attractions of jazz and finds the first person he can call a "friend". He also discovers how much fun it is to play music with a pal.

Other characters include Sentaro's kind childhood chum, Ritsuko, who is the daughter of a record shop owner; the mysterious upperclassman, Yurika; and Brother Jun, the much-admired leader among their peers. Set against the backdrop of a seaside town with a scent of American culture, this series is a drama about young people coming into their own, crossing each other's paths, and finding friendship, love, and music!



Tags: Coming of Age , Band , Love Triangle , Josei , Jazz Music , Male Protagonist , Heterosexual , Found Family , Primarily Male Cast , School , Rural , Religion , Historical , Primarily Teen Cast , Unrequited Love , Age Gap , Time Skip , Politics

BECK

Also known as Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad.

Studio: MADHOUSE , Marvelous Entertainment , Starchild Records , Funimation , Asatsu DK , Kodansha
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Music , Slice of Life

Tanaka Yukio, better known by his nickname Koyuki is a 14 year old who feels disconnected from life in general. Through the act of saving a mismatched dog, he meets guitarist Minami Ryuusuke, and becomes involved in Ryuusuke's new band BECK. Koyuki's life starts to change as the band struggles towards fame.


Tags: Band , Coming of Age , Urban , Rock Music , Male Protagonist , Ensemble Cast , Heterosexual , Primarily Male Cast , School , Bullying , Hip-hop Music , Shounen , Language Barrier , Crime , Love Triangle , Baseball , Gyaru , Female Protagonist , Swimming , Work , Acting

Look Back

Also known as LOOK BACK.

Studio: Studio Durian , Avex Pictures
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Slice of Life

Ayumu Fujino is a fourth grader who draws a manga strip for the school newspaper. Her art makes her the star of the class, but one day she's told that Kyomoto, a student who refuses to come to school, would also like to submit a manga for the paper...



Tags: Drawing , Female Protagonist , Tragedy , Coming of Age , Primarily Female Cast , Meta , Work , Autobiographical , Philosophy , Hikikomori , Rotoscoping , Rehabilitation , School , Otaku Culture , Rural , Yuri

Hibike! Euphonium

Also known as Sound! Euphonium.

Studio: Kyoto Animation , Pony Canyon , Lantis , Rakuonsha
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Music , Slice of Life

Spring in the first year of high school. Kumiko, a member of the brass band in junior high school, visits the high school brass band club with classmates Hazuki and Sapphire. There, she comes across Reina, her former classmate from junior high. Hazuki and Sapphire decide to join the club, but Kumiko can’t make up her mind. She recollects her experience with Reina at a competition in junior high school.



Tags: Band , School Club , Female Protagonist , Coming of Age , School , Classical Music , Primarily Teen Cast , Primarily Female Cast , Ensemble Cast , Yuri , Unrequited Love , LGBTQ+ Themes , Love Triangle

Ongaku

Also known as ON-GAKU: OUR SOUND.

Studio: ROCK'N ROLL MOUNTAIN
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Music , Slice of Life

When you’re a bored teenager looking for thrills, sometimes the only thing you can turn to is rock ‘n roll. Having no skill, money, or even a full set of drums, a feared trio of high school delinquents nevertheless decide they are destined for musical glory in a quest to impress their only friend Aya, avoid a rival gang, and – most importantly – jam out. Animated almost entirely by director Kenji Iwaisawa, and featuring a lead performance by Japanese alt-rock legend Shintaro Sakamoto, ON-GAKU: OUR SOUND brings its own sound and vision to the Hiroyuki Oohashi manga from which it was adapted. With pitch-perfect deadpan humor, the film presents a highly original take on the beloved slacker comedy: a lo-fi buddy film with a blaring musical finale that will leave you wanting an immediate encore.



Tags: Band , Delinquents , Rotoscoping , Coming of Age , Primarily Teen Cast , Rock Music , Male Protagonist , Primarily Male Cast , School , Heterosexual

GIRLS BAND CRY

Also known as Girls Band Cry.

Studio: Toei Animation
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Music , Slice of Life

Feeling out of place in the countryside, high school dropout Nina Iseri moves to Tokyo. After a rough first day and getting locked out of her apartment, she meets her favorite guitarist, Momoka Kawaragi. The two put on a street performance together and decide to start a band with three other girls. While each girl faces her own struggles, their passion for music keeps their dreams alive.



Tags: Band , Primarily Female Cast , Female Protagonist , Rock Music , Coming of Age , Full CGI , Urban , Bullying , Yuri , Found Family , Tragedy , LGBTQ+ Themes , Orphan , Acting , Tanned Skin , Family Life , Vocal Synth

NANA

Also known as NANA.

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

Two twenty-somethings seemingly share nothing in common apart from their first name, but a chance meeting on a train bound for Tokyo sets Nana Komatsu and Nana Oosaki on a collision course with destiny. Nana Komatsu, a love-at-first-sight dreamer, aims to find enduring happiness in the big city. Nana Oosaki, neo punk rock vocalist, pursues her burning ambitions of musical stardom and worldwide fame. As their fates increasingly intertwine, they each chase their dreams — until the harsh realities of life in big city Tokyo threaten to tear everything apart.



Tags: Female Protagonist , Shoujo , Primarily Adult Cast , Band , Coming of Age , Rock Music , Tragedy , Pregnancy , Love Triangle , Ensemble Cast , Netorare , Heterosexual , Fashion , Kuudere , College , Nudity , Age Gap , Office Lady , LGBTQ+ Themes , Mahjong , Crossdressing

Bocchi the Rock!

Also known as BOCCHI THE ROCK!.

Studio: CloverWorks , Aniplex , Houbunsha
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Music , Slice of Life

Hitori Gotou, “Bocchi-chan,” is a girl who’s so introverted and shy around people that she’d always start her conversations with “Ah...”

During her middle school years, she started playing the guitar, wanting to join a band because she thought it could be an opportunity for even someone shy like her to also shine. But because she had no friends, she ended up practicing guitar for six hours every day all by herself. After becoming a skilled guitar player, she uploaded videos of herself playing the guitar to the internet under the name “Guitar Hero” and fantasized about performing at her school’s cultural festival concert. But not only could she not find any bandmates, before she knew it, she was in high school and still wasn’t able to make a single friend!

She was really close to becoming a shut-in, but one day, Nijika Ijichi, the drummer in Kessoku Band, reached out to her. And because of that, her everyday life started to change little by little...



Tags: Band , Female Protagonist , Primarily Female Cast , Primarily Teen Cast , Rock Music , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Coming of Age , Hikikomori , Rehabilitation , Surreal Comedy , Seinen , Meta , Mixed Media , LGBTQ+ Themes , Yuri , Slapstick , School , Rotoscoping , Chibi , Urban

Kimi no Iro

Also known as The Colors Within.

Studio: Science SARU , STORY Inc. , Toho
Status: Finished
Genres: Music

Totsuko is a high school student with the ability to see the 'colors' of others. Colors of bliss, excitement, and serenity, plus a color she treasures as her favorite. Kimi, a classmate at her school, gives off the most beautiful color of all. Although she doesn’t play an instrument, Totsuko forms a band with Kimi and Rui, a quiet music enthusiast they meet at a used bookstore in a far corner of town. As they practice at an old church on a remote island, music brings them together, forming friendships and stirring affections. Will they discover their true 'colors'?



Tags: Band , Primarily Teen Cast , Boarding School , Female Protagonist , Religion , Coming of Age , Iyashikei , Nun , Rock Music , School , Coastal , Dancing , School Club , Ships , Ballet , Trains

Hyakuemu.

Also known as 100 METERS.

Studio: Pony Canyon , Asmik Ace , TBS , GKIDS , ROCK'N ROLL MOUNTAIN
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Sports

100 METERS follows Togashi, a track star who is born to run. As a kid, he is naturally gifted and wins every 100-meter race without effort. But in sixth grade, he meets Komiya, a transfer student who is full of determination but lacks technique. In teaching him, Togashi gives Komiya a new purpose: to win no matter what. Years pass by, and Togashi and Komiya meet again as rivals on the track and reveal their true selves.



Tags: Athletics , Rotoscoping , Philosophy , Coming of Age , Male Protagonist , Fitness , Time Skip , Primarily Male Cast , Shounen , Outdoor Activities , School Club , School