Anime like Donguri to Yamaneko (1995)

Guskou Budori no Denki (2012)

Also known as The Life of Budori Gusuko.

Studio: Tezuka Productions , Sentai Filmworks
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Slice of Life

The fairy tale follows a young man named Guskou in the Tohoku forests of northeastern Japan in the 1920s. After an onslaught of droughts and natural disasters, Guskou is forced to leave his home and search for a better life elsewhere. Guskou joins a group of scientists at the Ihatov Volcano Department, which deals with the same natural disasters that drove Guskou from his home.



Tags: Animals , Classic Literature , Male Protagonist , Historical , Anthropomorphism

Ihatov Gensou: Kenji no Haru

Also known as Spring and Chaos.

Studio: Group TAC
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Sci-Fi , Slice of Life

A unique biographical sketch of the life of the great modern Japanese poet Kenji Miyazawa, SPRING AND CHAOS is highly stylized and intense and draws on Miyazawa's writing techniques to tell his life story. Miyazawa often used animals as the main characters in his stories and poems, and it is this technique that allows director Shoji Kawamori to recreate Miyazawa's fanciful land of Ihatov and use it as the backdrop for Miyazawa`s life. Beautiful and affecting, SPRING AND CHAOS is a fitting tribute to one of Japan's greatest writers.

Tags: Biographical , Tragedy , Denpa , Writing , Classic Literature , Historical , Rural , Animals , Philosophy , Male Protagonist , Time Skip , CGI , Teacher , Anthropomorphism

Taneyamagahara no Yoru

Studio: Studio Ghibli
Status: Finished
Genres: Psychological

Four workers wait out the night around a campfire. Three of them are talking about different things when they start hearing strange noises. Their discussion wakes up a sleeping companion who promptly goes back to sleep only to start having dreams...

Tags: Classic Literature

Kaze no Matasaburou

Studio: MADHOUSE , Konami , Project Team Argos , Magic Capsule
Status: Finished
Genres: Fantasy , Slice of Life

A foreign transfer student from the city arrives one day in a Japanese country town. Enchanted by his air of mystery, his classmates nicknamed him "Matasaburou the Wind Imp" after a local legend. Eventually, they become friends and spend many days playing in the countryside. One windy day, Matasaburou returns to the city, leaving his classmates to speculate that he really was Matasaburou the Wind Imp and that he flew away on the wind.

Tags: Primarily Child Cast , School , Kids , Rural