Anime like Kono Oto Tomare!

Mashiro no Oto

Also known as Those Snow White Notes.

Studio: Shin-Ei Animation , DMM music
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Music

Sawamura Matsugorou is a shamisen player of legendary talent. Upon his death, his grandson, Sawamura Setsu, lost his ability to play. Having lost his beloved sound, Setsu finds himself in Tokyo in search of a new sound to love. Tachiki Yuna, who works at a club, hooks him up with a gig to play there as a warm up act. Setsu imbues the sound of his shamisen with his many thoughts and feelings he has of others, still searching for his own sound and his own feelings.



Tags: Musical Theater , Coming of Age , Male Protagonist , School Club , Shounen , Urban , School , Tragedy

Chihayafuru

Also known as Chihayafuru.

Studio: MADHOUSE , VAP , Nippon Television Network
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance , Slice of Life , Sports

Chihaya Ayase is a girl who has spent most of her life simply supporting her sister in her model career. That changes when she meets a boy named Arata Wataya, a talented karuta player who recognizes Chihaya's potential to become a great player herself. As Chihaya takes on a new dream of becoming Japan's best karuta player, she is soon separated from her karuta playing friends, Taichi Mashima and Arata Wataya, as they grow up. Now in high school, Chihaya still continues to play karuta in the hope that she will one day meet her friends again.



Tags: Karuta , Female Protagonist , School Club , Coming of Age , Love Triangle , Josei , School , Heterosexual , Ensemble Cast , Primarily Teen Cast , Unrequited Love , Athletics , Tomboy , Bullying , CGI , Slapstick

Hibike! Euphonium

Also known as Sound! Euphonium.

Studio: Kyoto Animation , Pony Canyon , Lantis , Rakuonsha
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Music , Slice of Life

Spring in the first year of high school. Kumiko, a member of the brass band in junior high school, visits the high school brass band club with classmates Hazuki and Sapphire. There, she comes across Reina, her former classmate from junior high. Hazuki and Sapphire decide to join the club, but Kumiko can’t make up her mind. She recollects her experience with Reina at a competition in junior high school.



Tags: Band , School Club , Female Protagonist , Coming of Age , School , Primarily Teen Cast , Primarily Female Cast , Classical Music , Ensemble Cast , Unrequited Love , LGBTQ+ Themes , Love Triangle

Chihayafuru 3

Also known as Chihayafuru 3.

Studio: MADHOUSE , Nippon Television Network
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance , Slice of Life , Sports

They may have just won their most coveted karuta tournament, but members of the Mizusawa karuta team still have a long way to go. Each member chases their dreams, and with a win under their collective belt, those dreams are closer in reach than ever. Chihaya Ayase is determined to challenge Wakamiya Shinobu and win the title of Queen, and Taichi Mashima is ready to take on Arata Wataya now that he’s made it into the most elite of karuta players — but an unexpected revelation will deal these karuta players a hand none of them saw coming.



Tags: Karuta , School Club , Female Protagonist , Josei , Love Triangle , Athletics , Coming of Age , Educational , Ensemble Cast , School , Primarily Teen Cast , Unrequited Love , Tomboy , Heterosexual , Male Harem , CGI , Meta

Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso

Also known as Your lie in April.

Studio: A-1 Pictures , Aniplex , Dentsu , Fuji TV , Kodansha , Aniplex of America , Kansai TV , KYORAKU
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Music , Romance , Slice of Life

Piano prodigy Arima Kousei dominated the competition and all child musicians knew his name. But after his mother, who was also his instructor, passed away, he had a mental breakdown while performing at a recital. This resulted in him no longer being able to hear the sound of his piano playing. Two years later, Kousei hasn’t touched the piano and views the world without any flair or color. He was content at living out his life with his good friends Tsubaki and Watari until, one day, a girl changed everything. Miyazono Kaori is a pretty, free spirited violinist whose playing style reflects her personality. Kaori helps Kousei return to the music world and show that it should be free and mold breaking unlike the structured and rigid style Kousei was used to.

Tags: Tragedy , Classical Music , Primarily Teen Cast , Disability , Coming of Age , Rehabilitation , Male Protagonist , Shounen , Love Triangle , Female Protagonist , Heterosexual , School , Philosophy , Slapstick , CGI , Unrequited Love , Tsundere , Tomboy , Ancient China

Ao no Orchestra

Studio: Nippon Animation , NHK , NHK Enterprises
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Music

Hajime Aono was a prodigy violinist until he grew jaded with playing the violin due to personal reasons. Now in his third year of middle school, he struggles to decide his academic path. One day in school, he meets Ritsuko Akine, a hotheaded novice violinist who wants to enroll in a high school with a distinguished orchestra club. When he finds himself getting closer to Ritsuko and being brought back to the world of violinists, time starts moving again for him.

This is the beginning of a youthful drama where sounds and hearts alike resound in harmony.

Tags: Band , Male Protagonist , School Club , Primarily Teen Cast , School , Classical Music , Seinen , Estranged Family , CGI , Bullying

Chihayafuru 2

Also known as Chihayafuru 2.

Studio: MADHOUSE , VAP , Nippon Television Network
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance , Slice of Life , Sports

Now in their second year of high school, Chihaya and her friends share all the fun and worries that come with welcoming underclassmen to the team as they face tough rival schools. The passion of the Mizusawa Karuta Club burns hotter than ever, but with the same refreshing, youthful mood carrying over from the first season.



Tags: Karuta , Female Protagonist , Ensemble Cast , School Club , Heterosexual , Josei , Coming of Age , Love Triangle , Unrequited Love , Primarily Teen Cast , School , Tomboy , Athletics , CGI

Blue Period

Also known as Blue Period.

Studio: Seven Arcs , DMM music , Kodansha , DMM pictures , Mainichi Broadcasting System , Bit grooove promotion , Netflix
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Slice of Life

The studious Yatora leaves a dry life of study and good manners behind for a new passion: painting. But untethering yourself from all your past expectations is dangerous as well as thrilling…



Note: The anime premiered on Netflix on Sep 25, 2021 in Japan. The TV broadcast started on Oct 2, 2021.

Tags: Drawing , Coming of Age , Male Protagonist , School , Primarily Teen Cast , Educational , Seinen , Philosophy , School Club , Bisexual , Time Skip , Transgender , Urban , LGBTQ+ Themes , Crossdressing , Femboy , Nudity

Tsurune: Kazemai Koukou Kyuudou-bu

Also known as Tsurune.

Studio: Kyoto Animation
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Slice of Life , Sports

Minato played Japanese archery in middle school, but after a certain incident, he ran away from the sport. In high school, Minato meets new friends, and together as part of their school's archery club they aim to win the prefectural tournament.



Tags: Archery , School Club , Rehabilitation , Male Protagonist , Primarily Male Cast , Primarily Teen Cast , Cute Boys Doing Cute Things , School , Martial Arts , Tsundere , Twins , Coming of Age

Haikyuu!!

Also known as HAIKYU!!.

Studio: Production I.G , Sentai Filmworks
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Sports

Inspired after watching a volleyball ace nicknamed "Little Giant" in action, small-statured Shouyou Hinata revives the volleyball club at his middle school. The newly-formed team even makes it to a tournament; however, their first match turns out to be their last when they are brutally squashed by the "King of the Court," Tobio Kageyama. Hinata vows to surpass Kageyama, and so after graduating from middle school, he joins Karasuno High School's volleyball team—only to find that his sworn rival, Kageyama, is now his teammate.

Thanks to his short height, Hinata struggles to find his role on the team, even with his superior jumping power. Surprisingly, Kageyama has his own problems that only Hinata can help with, and learning to work together appears to be the only way for the team to be successful. Based on Haruichi Furudate's popular shounen manga of the same name, Haikyuu!! is an exhilarating and emotional sports comedy following two determined athletes as they attempt to patch a heated rivalry in order to make their high school volleyball team the best in Japan.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Tags: Volleyball , School Club , Male Protagonist , Primarily Male Cast , Shounen , Ensemble Cast , Primarily Teen Cast , School , Coming of Age , Fitness , Kuudere , Cute Boys Doing Cute Things