Anime like Chibi Maruko-chan: Watashi no Suki na Uta

Hoohokekyo Tonari no Yamada-kun

Also known as My Neighbors the Yamadas.

Studio: Studio Ghibli , Tokuma Shoten , Walt Disney Studios , GKids
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Slice of Life

Join in the adventures of the quirky Yamada family -- from the hilarious to the touching -- brilliantly presented in a unique, visually striking comic strip style. Takashi Yamada and his wacky wife Matsuko, who has no talent for housework, navigate their way through the ups and downs of work, marriage and family life with a sharp-tongued grandmother who lives with them, a teenage son who wishes he had cooler parents, and a pesky daughter whose loud voice is unusual for someone so small. Even the family dog has issues!



Tags: Ensemble Cast , Family Life , Achronological Order , Chibi , Rotoscoping , Episodic , Baseball , School , Educational , Primarily Adult Cast , Kids , Elderly Protagonist

Jarinko Chie

Studio: Tokyo Movie Shinsha , Toho , Kitty Film
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Slice of Life

Jarinko Chie is a movie directed by Takahata in 1981. Based on the very popular manga by Etsumi Haruki, it is about ten year old Chie, "the most unfortunate girl in Japan," who manages her family diner while her unemployed yakuza father and her mother are separated. This sounds really depressing, but it's actually a very funny comedy.

The story is set in Osaka, which has a totally different culture from Tokyo.

Tags: Family Life , Female Protagonist , Work , Food , Tsundere , School , Yakuza , Slapstick , Animals , Seinen , Restaurant

Hidamari Sketch

Also known as Hidamari Sketch.

Studio: Aniplex , Shaft , Lantis , TBS , Sentai Filmworks
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Slice of Life

For years, Yuno has dreamed of attending Yamabuki Arts High School, but now that she's been accepted, it means the scary prospect of moving away from her home and family for the first time! Fortunately, Yuno quickly learns that if her new neighbors at the eclectic Hidamari (Sunshine) Apartments aren't technically family, at least the majority share the bond of being fellow art students. From second year students like Hiro and Sae, who try to behave like helpful older sisters (mostly successfully) to her hyperactive new neighbor, classmate and best friend Miyako (who has the scariest apartment ever) Yuno begins to build the support network she'll need for dealing with strange characters like her oddly masculine landlady, her cosplay obsessed home room teacher, her tooth-chattering principal and all of the other odd denizens who inhabit her chosen world of art.



Tags: Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Iyashikei , Achronological Order , School , Primarily Female Cast , Drawing , Female Protagonist , Seinen , Chibi , Episodic , Denpa

Aru Nihon no Ekaki Shounen

Also known as A Japanese Boy Who Draws.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

An experimental animation and documentary about the life of a boy who wants to become a manga artist.

Tags: Autobiographical , Meta , Drawing , Coming of Age , Work , Rotoscoping

Yoru wa Mijikashi Arukeyo Otome

Also known as The Night is Short, Walk on Girl.

Studio: Science SARU
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Romance

A black haired girl is walking around the streets of Kyoto, from the night scene of Pontocho to a second-hand book fair in Shimogamo, then off to a college fair. The main character that has a romantic feeling for her secretly follows her around and looks for the opportunities to run into her in a manner that seems like a coincidence. Unfortunately for him, she is not interested in love yet, so she does not notice his feelings. What awaits these two characters are a series of crazy incidents caused by bizarre individuals, such as a person who introduces himself as Tengu, the god of second-hand books, or a money lender, who collects young men's underwear and lives on a three story barge.



Tags: Surreal Comedy , Female Protagonist , Primarily Adult Cast , Philosophy , Coming of Age , Bar , Musical Theater , Heterosexual , College , LGBTQ+ Themes , Crossdressing , Trains

Mai Mai Shinko to Sennen no Mahou

Also known as Mai-Mai Miracle.

Studio: MADHOUSE , Avex Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Slice of Life

The story is set in 1955 in Kokuga, Hofu City, Yamaguchi Prefecture.

One thousand years ago it was the site of the ancient capital, Suo no Kuni, and traces of the Heian Period (year 794-1185) are passed down to us in the form of ruins and historical place names.

The protagonist is Shinko, a third grade elementary school student, who was born and raised in one of the town's venerable families. She is a little girl whose characteristic is a strange curl on her forehead (she calls it her "Mai Mai"), and her love for playing in the fields. On the other hand, her secret joy is to imagine and to daydream about the world of one thousand years ago. Her fantasies travel far into the days of the Heian Period…

One day, a girl called Kiiko transfers from Tokyo and enters Shinko's class. This girl from the big city has difficulty feeling at home in this small town, but gradually her friendship with Shinko deepens.

Before long, the two of them become engulfed in a strange incident of one thousand years earlier...?!

Tags: Primarily Child Cast , Rural , Historical , Female Protagonist , Family Life , Coming of Age , Tragedy , Autobiographical , Yakuza , Kids , Suicide

Jarinko Chie (TV)

Also known as Chie The Brat.

Studio: Tokyo Movie Shinsha
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Slice of Life

Jarinko Chie is a movie directed by Takahata in 1981. Based on the very popular manga by Etsumi HARUKI, it is about ten year old Chie, "the most unfortunate girl in Japan", who manages her family diner while her unemployed yakuza father and her mother are separated. This sounds really depressing, but it's actually a very funny comedy.

The story is set in Osaka, which has a totally different culture from Tokyo. After the success of the movie, a TV series was made, and Takahata worked as the chief director.



Tags: Yakuza , Seinen , Slapstick , Female Protagonist , Anthropomorphism , Restaurant

Radio City Fantasy: Machikado no Märchen

Studio: Kitty Film
Status: Finished
Genres: Romance

A boy with a drawing book meets a mysterious girl in the streets of Tokyo. They become friends and enjoy each other's fantasies.

Tags: Musical Theater , Urban , Female Protagonist , Primarily Teen Cast , Male Protagonist , Heterosexual , No Dialogue

Eizouken ni wa Te wo Dasu na!

Also known as Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!.

Studio: Science SARU , Crunchyroll , NHK Enterprises , Shogakukan , Warner Bros. Japan
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Comedy , Slice of Life

First year high schooler Midori Asakusa loves anime so much, she insists that "concept is everything" in animation. Though she draws a variety of ideas in her sketchbook, she hasn't taken the first step to creating anime, insisting that she can't do it alone. The producer-type Sayaka Kanamori is the first to notice Asakusa's genius. Then, when it becomes clear that their classmate, charismatic fashion model Tsubame Mizusaki, really wants to be an animator, they create an animation club to realize the "ultimate world" that exists in their minds.



Tags: Drawing , Primarily Teen Cast , School Club , Primarily Female Cast , Female Protagonist , Otaku Culture , Urban , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Surreal Comedy , Coming of Age , Educational , Meta , Urban Fantasy , Filmmaking , Seinen , Tanned Skin , Ensemble Cast , Tomboy