Anime like cocoon: Aru Natsu no Shoujo-tachi Yori

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 , Orphan , War , Family Life , Survival , Historical , Primarily Child Cast , Homeless , Rural , Male Protagonist , Military , Female 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 , Disability , Heterosexual , Arranged Marriage , Iyashikei

Mitsuami no Kamisama

Also known as Pigtails.

Studio: Production I.G
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Slice of Life

The earth shook. The sea roared. A far greater disaster followed. And then...

There is a small house solitary standing by the seaside. A pigtail-braided girl is living there alone since that day. Mail is no longer delivered, but even this morning she's hanging out the laundry as usual. She's unaware that all around her, the clothes-pegs are quarreling, the pillow argues with the umbrella about the outside world, and the new toothbrush is unsuccessfully trying to be polite with the silent, old ones.

Do things exist to be used until they are consumed or broken? Are they afraid of being thrown away once their life cycle is complete?



Tags: Dystopian , Post-Apocalyptic , Female Protagonist , Rural , Seinen , Philosophy , Body Horror

Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou

Also known as Girls' Last Tour.

Studio: WHITE FOX , Sentai Filmworks
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Sci-Fi , Slice of Life

Civilization is dead, but Chito and Yuuri are still alive. So they hop aboard their beloved Kettenkrad motorbike and aimlessly wander the ruins of the world they once knew. Day after hopeless day, they look for their next meal and fuel for their ride. But as long as the two are together, even an existence as bleak as theirs has a ray or two of sunshine in it, whether they're sucking down their fill of soup or hunting for machine parts to tinker with. For two girls in a world full of nothing, the experiences and feelings the two share give them something to live for…



Tags: Post-Apocalyptic , Lost Civilization , Philosophy , Episodic , Iyashikei , Travel , Tragedy , Female Protagonist , Environmental , Survival , Urban , Primarily Female Cast , Chibi , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Denpa , Military , Seinen , Robots , Tanks , Snowscape , Kuudere , Artificial Intelligence , Aliens , Guns , CGI , Photography , Nudity , Anthropomorphism , Language Barrier , Proxy Battle

Himeyuri

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

The 30-minute film centers around a group of high school nurses called Himeyuri who served during the Battle of Okinawa during World War II. The Himeyuri Alumnae Incorporated Foundation, which runs the Himeyuri Peace Museum in Okinawa, produced the film with the aim to convey the experiences of those high school nurses, many of whom lost their lives during the battle, to children.

Tags: Historical , War , Biographical , Medicine , School , Primarily Female Cast , Tragedy , Teacher

Houseki no Kuni

Also known as Land of the Lustrous.

Studio: Orange , Sentai Filmworks , Kodansha , Mainichi Broadcasting System , Movic , AT-X , Toho , Q-Tec
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Fantasy , Mystery , Psychological

In the mysterious future, crystalline organisms called Gems inhabit a world that has been destroyed by six meteors. Each Gem is assigned a role in order to fight against the Lunarians, a species who attacks them in order to shatter their bodies and use them as decorations.

Phosphophyllite, also known as Phos, is a young and fragile Gem who dreams of helping their friends in the war effort. Instead, they are told to compile an encyclopedia because of their delicate condition. After begrudgingly embarking on this task, Phos meets Cinnabar, an intelligent gem who has been relegated to patrolling the isolated island at night because of the corrosive poison their body creates. After seeing how unhappy Cinnabar is, Phos decides to find a role that both of the rejected Gems can enjoy. Houseki no Kuni follows Phos' efforts to be useful and protect their fellow Gems.

Tags: Coming of Age , CGI , Full CGI , Philosophy , Anthropomorphism , Agender , Tragedy , Post-Apocalyptic , Seinen , Memory Manipulation , Primarily Female Cast , Body Horror , Survival , Amnesia , Coastal , Conspiracy , Time Skip , Swordplay , War , Shapeshifting , Tsundere , Snowscape , Mixed Media , Language Barrier , Astronomy , Twins , Work , Slapstick

Hadashi no Gen

Also known as Barefoot Gen.

Studio: MADHOUSE , RCC Chugoku Broadcasting , GEN Productions , Discotek
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

It's the summer of 1945. 3 years have elapsed since the war between Japan and USA began. Gen is a young boy living a struggling yet satisfying life in the city of Hiroshima, that has been strangely spared by the bombing taken in almost every other Japanese City. Food is scarce, and Gen's family is suffering from severe malnutrition, which endangeres his pregnant mother. There isn't much spare time as Gen and his little brother Shinji help their father and mother at work and try to make sure their family survives the tought times. Little do they know, what the Americans have in store for the city of Hiroshima and as of the 6th of August 1945, their lives are about to change dramatically.



Tags: Historical , Tragedy , War , Autobiographical , Body Horror , Gore , Found Family , Male Protagonist , Primarily Child Cast , Military , Nudity , Educational

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

Kaze Tachinu

Also known as The Wind Rises.

Studio: Studio Ghibli , Walt Disney Studios
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance

Although Jirou Horikoshi's nearsightedness prevents him from ever becoming a pilot, he leaves his hometown to study aeronautical engineering at Tokyo Imperial University for one simple purpose: to design and build planes just like his hero, Italian aircraft pioneer Giovanni Battista Caproni. His arrival in the capital coincides with the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, during which he saves a maid serving the family of a young girl named Naoko Satomi; this disastrous event marks the beginning of over two decades of social unrest and malaise leading up to Japan's eventual surrender in World War II.

Tags: Aviation , Historical , Work , Biographical , Male Protagonist , Tragedy , Time Skip , War , Primarily Adult Cast , Heterosexual , Marriage , Natural Disaster , Foreign , Drawing , Trains

Madogiwa no Totto-chan

Studio: Shin-Ei Animation , Toho
Status: Finished
Genres: Slice of Life

This engaging series of childhood recollections tells about an ideal school in Tokyo during World War II that combined learning with fun, freedom, and love. This unusual school had old railroad cars for classrooms, and it was run by an extraordinary man-its founder and headmaster, Sosaku Kobayashi--who was a firm believer in freedom of expression and activity.

In real life, the Totto-chan of the book has become one of Japan's most popular television personalities--Tetsuko Kuroyanagi. She attributes her success in life to this wonderful school and its headmaster.

The charm of this account has won the hearts of millions of people of all ages and made this book a runaway bestseller in Japan, with sales hitting the 4.5 million mark in its first year.



Tags: Autobiographical , Trains , Disability , Kids , School , War , Tragedy , Rural , Nudity