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

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 , Ensemble Cast , Heterosexual , Primarily Male Cast , Male Protagonist , Bullying , School , Female Protagonist , Gyaru , Shounen , Hip-hop Music , Love Triangle , Baseball , Swimming , Language Barrier

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 , Tragedy , Female Protagonist , Coming of Age , Otaku Culture , Primarily Female Cast , Philosophy , Meta , Hikikomori , Work , Time Manipulation , Rotoscoping , Autobiographical , School , LGBTQ+ Themes , Shounen , Rural

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 , Primarily Teen Cast , Primarily Female Cast , Ensemble Cast , Classical Music , Unrequited Love , LGBTQ+ Themes , Love Triangle

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 , Primarily Adult Cast , Band , Coming of Age , Tragedy , Love Triangle , Shoujo , Rock Music , Ensemble Cast , Netorare , Heterosexual , Fashion , College , Kuudere , Nudity , Age Gap , Mahjong , Noir

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 , Meta , Mixed Media , Yuri , Slapstick , Seinen , LGBTQ+ Themes , Work , School , Rotoscoping , Chibi

Ongaku

Also known as ON-GAKU: OUR SOUND.

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

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 , Found Family , Tragedy , LGBTQ+ Themes , Yuri , Vocal synth , Family Life , Acting , Tanned Skin

THE FIRST SLAM DUNK

Also known as THE FIRST SLAM DUNK.

Studio: Toei Animation , Dandelion Animation Studio
Status: Finished
Genres: Sports

Shohoku's “speedster” and point guard, Ryota Miyagi, always plays with brains and lightning speed, running circles around his opponents while feigning composure. Born and raised in Okinawa, Ryota had a brother who was three years older. Following in the footsteps of his older brother, who was a famous local player from a young age, Ryota also became addicted to basketball.

In his second year of high school, Ryota plays with the Shohoku High School basketball team along with Sakuragi, Rukawa, Akagi, and Mitsui as they take the stage at the Inter-High School National Championship. And now, they are on the brink of challenging the reigning champions, Sannoh Kogyo High School.



Tags: Basketball , School Club , Coming of Age , Full CGI , Male Protagonist , School , Tragedy , Primarily Male Cast , Shounen , Primarily Teen Cast , Ensemble Cast , Heterosexual

Given

Also known as given.

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

Tightly clutching his Gibson guitar, Mafuyu Satou steps out of his dark apartment to begin another day of his high school life. While taking a nap in a quiet spot on the gymnasium staircase, he has a chance encounter with fellow student Ritsuka Uenoyama, who berates him for letting his guitar's strings rust and break. Noticing Uenoyama's knowledge of the instrument, Satou pleads for him to fix it and to teach him how to play. Uenoyama eventually agrees and invites him to sit in on a jam session with his two band mates: bassist Haruki Nakayama and drummer Akihiko Kaji.

Satou's voice is strikingly beautiful, filling Uenoyama with the determination to make Satou the lead singer of the band. Though reticent at first, Satou takes the offer after an emotional meeting with an old friend. With the support of his new friends, Satou must not only learn how to play guitar, but also come to terms with the mysterious circumstances that led him to be its owner.



Tags: Band , Boys' Love , Male Protagonist , Primarily Male Cast , LGBTQ+ Themes , Coming of Age , Primarily Teen Cast , Suicide , Tragedy , Rehabilitation , Cute Boys Doing Cute Things , Urban , School , Josei , Bisexual , Rock Music , Ensemble Cast , CGI , Basketball , Tsundere