Anime like Kataku

Michi

Studio: Tomoyasu Murata Company
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

The My Road series - Scarlet Road (2002), White Road (2003), Indigo Road (2006), and the most recent instalment Lemon Road (2008) - can be read as meditations on loss and mourning. These poetic films tell their story through motif, character expression, music and montage and require repeated viewing for one to absorb the subtly evoked layers of meaning.



Tags: Stop Motion , Philosophy , No Dialogue , Rehabilitation , Puppetry , Rural , Male Protagonist , Episodic , Iyashikei

Konohana no Sakuya Mori

Also known as Forest this flower bloom.

Studio: Tomoyasu Murata Company
Status: Finished
Genres: Mystery

A horse puppet wanders into a silver world and pauses before an ethereal flower.

Tags: No Dialogue , Stop Motion , Tragedy , Animals , Puppetry , Post-Apocalyptic

Matsugae wo Musubi

Studio: Tomoyasu Murata Company
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

"The Pine's Branches" is the latest work in Murata Tomoyasu's series "Journey through memories of life and death,” which he began following the Tohoku earthquake in 2011.

Tags: Stop Motion , Tragedy , Rural , Family Life , Twins , Female Protagonist , Time Skip

Inaka Isha

Also known as Franz Kafka's A Country Doctor.

Studio: Studio DEEN , Shouchiku
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological

A hapless country doctor describes with breathless urgency a night-time summons to attend a young patient. Events soon take on a surreal aspect as "unearthly horses" transport him instantaneously to the bedside. The doctor, preoccupied with personal distractions and grievances against those he is employed to care for, fails to find what is revealed to be a vile, fatal wound. He is humiliated by the villagers, who are "always expecting the impossible from the doctor," and doomed to an endless return trip, losing everything.



Tags: Philosophy , Rural , Classic Literature , Historical , Medicine , Denpa

Doujouji

Studio: Kadokawa Pictures Japan
Status: Finished
Genres: Supernatural

Based on an ancient legend, Dojoji Temple tells the story of a young priest who finds himself the object of intense infatuation and lust from a young woman. As he rebuffs her advances she becomes more and more desperate eventually turning herself into a gigantic serpent. The priest is hidden under the bell of the temple but the woman's passion is so intense that escape is impossible.

A short animation from filmaker Kihachiro Kawamoto. This film utilizes both stop motion and standard animation techniques.

Tags: No Dialogue , Historical , Religion , Puppetry , Stop Motion , Mythology , Dragons , Demons

Ibara-Hime mata wa Nemuri-Hime

Also known as Briar-Rose or the Sleeping Beauty.

Studio: Kawamoto Productions
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Supernatural

An alternate retelling of the classic Sleeping Beauty fairy tale. The story begins in the same way as the original story but our young heroine instead of falling under the mystical spell begins to uncover the mystery of the man who cursed her and his relationship with her mother. It is a realistic reminder that "They lived happily ever after...", may not be as happy as we once envisioned.

Tags: Historical , Fairy Tale , Puppetry , Stop Motion , Demons , Nudity , Age Gap

Fantascope Tylostoma

Also known as Fantascope Tylostoma.

Studio: Toei Animation
Status: Finished
Genres: Supernatural

A man who appears every 700 years.
Stretching before the man's eyes the world rusted away to monochrome and gray.
Once before the town flourished that is now in ruins.
The man now, has a chance meeting with a person, a prositute.
A story of passion curling like smoke... Tairosu Tomah's story has begun.



Tags: Reincarnation , Achromatic , Gods , Post-Apocalyptic , Ghost , Historical , Revenge , Male Protagonist , Suicide , Age Regression

H.P. Lovecraft no Dunwich Horror Sonohoka no Monogatari

Studio: Toei Animation
Status: Finished
Genres: Horror

Three classic H.P. Lovecraft stories are brought to life by animated clay puppets and miniatures. They are "The picture in the house", "The Dunwich horror" and "The festival".

Tags: Cosmic Horror , Classic Literature , Foreign , Stop Motion

Nekojiru-sou

Also known as Cat Soup.

Studio: J.C. Staff
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Horror , Psychological

Cat Soup is an extremely difficult film to describe, due to its awesome surrealism and almost nonexistant dialogue. It is more a work of art than an anime. There are many underlying themes, such as the transcience of man's existence, but it can be enjoyed without understanding any of them. The plot, though simple, isn't necessarily understandable without being explained. The main character, a cat named Nyatto, embarks upon a journey to save his sister's soul, which was ripped in two when Nyatto tried to save her from Death. She trails after him, brain-dead. They encounter many brilliant, mind-bending situations, beginning with a disturbing magic show.



Tags: Animals , Surreal Comedy , No Dialogue , Philosophy , Afterlife , Cosmic Horror , Urban , Survival , Primarily Animal Cast , Seinen , Anthropomorphism , Gods , Male Protagonist , Circus , Time Manipulation , Body Horror , Outdoor , Rural , Ships , Religion , Nudity , Cannibalism , Gore , Revenge

Tsumiki no Ie

Also known as La Maison en Petits Cubes.

Studio: Oh! Production , Robot
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

An old man lives in a town that has become submerged in water. As the water level rises, he's forced to build additional levels onto his home with bricks (cubes) in order to stay above water. One day he accidentally drops his favorite pipe into the lower levels of his home, and decides to rent scuba diving equipment in order to go searching for it. As he descends through his sunken home, the old man recalls memories of the past in each room.



Tags: No Dialogue , Environmental , Dystopian , Achronological Order , Post-Apocalyptic , Scuba Diving , Elderly Protagonist , Coming of Age , Fishing , Male Protagonist , Cosmic Horror , Tragedy , Family Life , Ships , Marriage , Photography