Anime like Grow Up Show: Himawari no Circus-dan

Amagi Brilliant Park

Also known as Amagi Brilliant Park.

Studio: Kyoto Animation , Sentai Filmworks
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Fantasy

When new transfer student Isuzu asks Seiya Kanie out on a date at gunpoint, he knows something odd is going on. Especially since she wants to go to Amagi Brilliant Park, where the rides are either dangerous or mind-numbingly dull and the only costumed performers who aren’t rude or apathetic are the ones who didn’t show up for work.

So when Isuzu asks Seiya to take over as the park’s new manager, he knows she’s crazy (Well, crazy-er, given the gunpoint thing.). But when Seiya learns that Amagi Brilliant Park is a REAL Magic Kingdom, that the costumed performers aren’t wearing costumes, that they live off the energy created by attendees, and that unless they can attract 250,000 attendees in three months, they’ll lose their jobs and homes… he goes a little crazy himself.

But, even with the aid of scantily clad fairies, giant mice and sniper-trained sheep, can anyone rescue a park that’s sunk so low that its own bus doesn’t stop there anymore? The race is on to get the turnstiles turning and save Amagi Brilliant Park!



Tags: Ensemble Cast , Work , Fairy , Magic , Male Protagonist , Amnesia , Curses , Economics , Urban Fantasy , Animals , Slapstick , Kuudere , Ojou-sama , Parody , Nudity , Disability , Mermaid , Surreal Comedy , Pirates , Dragons , Dungeon , Heterosexual , School , Guns

Shoujo☆Kageki Revue Starlight

Also known as Revue Starlight.

Studio: Kinema Citrus , Pony Canyon , OVERLAP , APDREAM , TBS , Sound Team Don Juan , Nelke Planning , Bushiroad , Sentai Filmworks
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Music , Psychological

The franchise centers on "Starlight" — the song and dance revue troupe loved throughout the world. Karen and Hikari make a promise with each other when they're young that one day they'll stand on that stage together. Time passes, and now the girls are 16 years old. Karen is very enthusiastic about the lessons she takes every day, holding her promise close to her heart. Hikari has transferred schools and is now away from Karen. But the cogs of fate turn, and the two are destined to meet again. The girls and other "Stage Girls" will compete in a mysterious audition process to gain acceptance into the revue.



Tags: Musical Theater , Primarily Female Cast , Ensemble Cast , Acting , Primarily Teen Cast , Female Protagonist , Meta , Boarding School , Battle Royale , Fairy Tale , Animals , Yuri , Time Loop , School , Coming of Age , Henshin , Swordplay , Philosophy , Dancing , LGBTQ+ Themes , Unrequited Love , Love Triangle , Tomboy , Spearplay , Archery , Amnesia , Motorcycles , Urban

Na-Nare Hana-Nare

Also known as Narenare -Cheer for you!-.

Studio: P.A.WORKS , DMM.com , TV Tokyo , NetEase Games , AmiAmi , P.A.WORKS
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Slice of Life , Sports

Misora Kanata is a first-year student on the Takanosaki High School cheerleading team. She won a national championship in middle school, but can’t jump after a mistake in a competition. She befriends Suzuha, Shion, Anna, Nodoka, and Megumi to form the PoMPoMs. Their new team goes beyond cheerleading to reach the hearts of the people they cheer on. They might just change the world!



Tags: Female Protagonist , Primarily Female Cast , Cheerleading , Primarily Teen Cast , Acrobatics , Coming of Age , Rehabilitation , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Disability , Parkour , Iyashikei , CGI , School , Rural , Baseball , Yuri

Kaleido Star

Also known as Kaleido Star.

Studio: GONZO , Production I.G , TV Tokyo , Hal Film Maker , ADV Films , Funimation , G&G Entertainment , Horipro , MediaNet
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Sports , Supernatural

Sora, a young girl from Japan, comes to America in search of her dream. She wants, with all her heart, to be a member of the Kaleido Stage, a world famous circus, with a combination of musicals, acrobatics and magical effects. With the help of her friends, she struggles to make this dream come true.

Tags: Circus , Female Protagonist , Foreign , Acting , Coming of Age , Acrobatics , Work , Ghost , Fairy Tale , Bullying , Animals , Dancing , Primarily Teen Cast , Musical Theater , Police , Idol , Cosplay

Sakura Quest

Also known as Sakura Quest.

Studio: P.A.WORKS
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Slice of Life

Five young women have one thing in common—the careers they planned for themselves weren’t working out. Job dissatisfaction, trying to make ends meet, and personal insecurities lead each of them to start working at a local tourism bureau where their lives become intertwined. As the girls experience their first year on the job, they learn a lot about their town, their industry, and themselves.



Tags: Work , Rural , Female Protagonist , Primarily Adult Cast , Primarily Female Cast , Ensemble Cast , Coming of Age , Politics , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Acting

mono

Also known as mono.

Studio: Soigne , Aniplex , Houbunsha , Soigne , Mainichi Broadcasting System
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Slice of Life

Satsuki Amamiya was feeling down due to the graduation of the high school Photography Club’s president. However, her best friend and fellow member An Kiriyama encourages Satsuki to dedicate herself to the newly merged Cinephoto Club. Join Satsuki and An as they set out to track down a missing camera, meet new faces, and capture stunning photos and videos along the way.



Tags: Travel , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Female Protagonist , Iyashikei , Episodic , Primarily Female Cast , Yuri , School Club , Primarily Teen Cast , Food , Meta , Photography , Urban , Drawing , Ensemble Cast , Seinen , Animals , School , Ghost , Motorcycles , Skateboarding

Taisou Zamurai

Also known as The Gymnastics Samurai.

Studio: MAPPA , Aniplex , Dentsu , Funimation , TV Asahi , Movic
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Sports

Joutarou Aragaki, former member of the national team, had given his whole life for gymnastics and was fighting against his age and physical strength. However, one day he is told by his coach to start thinking of his next career. Joutarou struggles, but his daughter, Rei, is always there by his side. But with one fateful encounter, the Aragakis’ lives change drastically.



Tags: Family Life , Athletics , Rehabilitation , Male Protagonist , Acrobatics , Tragedy , Dancing , Ninja , CGI , Gyaru , Bullying

Kuroshitsuji: Book of Circus

Also known as Black Butler: Book of Circus.

Studio: A-1 Pictures , Aniplex , Hakuhodo DY Music & Pictures , DeNA , Asmik Ace , Mainichi Broadcasting System , Square Enix , Movic
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Fantasy , Mystery , Supernatural

In late-nineteenth-century England, the Noah's Ark Circus enlivens the city of London with their grandeur and spectacular stunts. However, children are mysteriously disappearing from the town in a manner correlating to the troupe's movement. The Queen, then, sends her notorious Watchdog, Ciel Phantomhive, on an investigative mission to retrieve the missing children. Ciel and his demon butler, Sebastian Michaelis, infiltrate the circus, disguised as team members, to study and possibly unearth its ulterior motive.

This arc immediately follows the Curry Contest Arc in the manga, which ended at episode 15 in the first season of the anime.

Tags: Demons , Tragedy , Circus , Butler , Anti-Hero , Foreign , Gender Bending , Urban Fantasy , Historical , Shounen , Gore , Kuudere , Food , Transgender , Primarily Male Cast , Crossdressing , Male Protagonist , Urban

Hanayamata

Also known as HaNaYaMaTa.

Studio: MADHOUSE , DIVE II Entertainment , Sentai Filmworks , Madman Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Slice of Life

Normal appearance, normal intelligence, normal in arts and sports... just normal. This is the entirely normal 14-year-old, Naru Sekiya. While she admires "Heroines" she continues to live a normal life until one moonlit night she meets a fairy. This foreign girl then guides her into the extraordinary world of the yosakoi dance.


Tags: Female Protagonist , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Dancing , School Club , Primarily Teen Cast , Primarily Female Cast , School , Iyashikei , Band , Seinen , Tsundere , Idol

Princess Tutu

Also known as Princess Tutu.

Studio: Hal Film Maker , ADV Films , Memory-Tech , GANSIS , Marvelous , Sentai Filmworks
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Mahou Shoujo , Mystery , Psychological , Romance

In a fairy tale come to life, the clumsy, sweet, and gentle Ahiru (Japanese for 'duck') seems like an unlikely protagonist. In reality, Ahiru is just as magical as the talking cats and crocodiles that inhabit her town - for Ahiru really is a duck! Transformed by the mysterious Drosselmeyer into a human girl, Ahiru soon learns the reason for her existence. Using her magical egg-shaped pendant, Ahiru can transform into Princess Tutu - a beautiful and talented ballet dancer whose dances relieve people of the turmoil in their hearts. With her newfound ability, Ahiru accepts the challenge of collecting the lost shards of her prince's heart, for long ago he had shattered it in order to seal an evil raven away for all eternity.

Princess Tutu is a tale of heroes and their struggle against fate. Their beliefs, their feelings, and ultimately their actions will determine whether this fairy tale can reach its "happily ever after."

Note: Princess Tutu aired in two parts. The first part included 13 25-minute-long episodes, while the second part consisted of 24 12-minute-long episodes with a 25-minute-long final episode for a total of 38 episodes.

Tags: Fairy Tale , Ballet , Dancing , Philosophy , Meta , Henshin , Writing , Unrequited Love , Female Protagonist , Tragedy , Boarding School , Anthropomorphism , Magic , Shapeshifting , Kuudere , Heterosexual , Necromancy , Shounen , Love Triangle , Surreal Comedy , Swordplay , Animals , Dissociative Identities , Foreign , Reincarnation , School , Episodic , Tsundere , Ghost , Super Power , School Club , Ensemble Cast