Anime like Look Back

Eizouken ni wa Te wo Dasu na!

Also known as Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!.

Studio: Science SARU , Crunchyroll , NHK Enterprises , Shogakukan , Warner Bros. Japan
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Comedy , Slice of Life

First year high schooler Midori Asakusa loves anime so much, she insists that "concept is everything" in animation. Though she draws a variety of ideas in her sketchbook, she hasn't taken the first step to creating anime, insisting that she can't do it alone. The producer-type Sayaka Kanamori is the first to notice Asakusa's genius. Then, when it becomes clear that their classmate, charismatic fashion model Tsubame Mizusaki, really wants to be an animator, they create an animation club to realize the "ultimate world" that exists in their minds.



Tags: Drawing , School Club , Primarily Teen Cast , Primarily Female Cast , Female Protagonist , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Otaku Culture , Urban , Surreal Comedy , Coming of Age , Educational , Urban Fantasy , Seinen , Tanned Skin , Filmmaking , Ensemble Cast , Meta , Tomboy

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 , Time Skip , Urban , Bisexual , Transgender , LGBTQ+ Themes , Crossdressing , Femboy , Nudity

Bakuman.

Also known as Bakuman..

Studio: J.C.STAFF , NHK , Media Blasters , NHK Enterprises , NYAV Post
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Romance , Slice of Life

Moritaka Mashiro and Akito Takagi are pretty much foils of each other. Mashiro, an average 9th grade student but talented artist, and Takagi, an overall advanced 9th grader and aspiring writer. After great convincing, Takagi convinces Mashiro to join him in becoming the greatest mangakas Japan has ever seen. Takagi, with his gift of writing, hopes to become a successful mangaka, and Mashiro, with his gift of art, hopes to marry the girl of his dreams, Azuki Miho.



Tags: Work , Writing , Drawing , Coming of Age , Ensemble Cast , Male Protagonist , Heterosexual , Meta , Shounen , School , Primarily Teen Cast

Liz to Aoi Tori

Also known as Liz and the Blue Bird.

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

Students and best friends Mizore Yoroizuka and Nozomi Kasaki prepare to play a complex musical duet, Liz and the Blue Bird, for oboe and flute. Though they play beautifully together and have been friends since childhood, Mizore and Nozomi find that with graduation looming and the duet proving difficult, their friendship begins to buckle under the pressure. Interspersed with their story is the fantasy tale of Liz, drawn like a storybook, contrasting with the crisp realism of the school.



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

Eiga Daisuki Pompo-san

Also known as Pompo: The Cinéphile.

Studio: CLAP , Kadokawa Pictures Japan
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama

The manga depicts the craft of movie-making and revolves around Joelle Davidovich "Pompo" Pomponette, a talented movie producer who looks like a little girl.

Operating out of the movie capital "Nyallywood," Pompo has been shooting one B-grade entertainment flick after another that anyone would enjoy. One day, Pompo's "movie buff" assistant Gene spots a new script written by Pompo, and is moved by its exquisite story. In a fit of passion, he proclaims, "I want to see this as a finished work in theaters as soon as possible!"

However, Pompo tells him, "So you shoot this film." Thus, Gene takes on his first directing gig. Meanwhile, Natalie, an ordinary girl who just arrived in town with movie actress dreams, has been discovered by Pompo.



Tags: Filmmaking , Work , Acting , Educational , Foreign , Coming of Age , Female Protagonist , Meta , Primarily Adult Cast , Male Protagonist , Shoujo , Writing

BLUE GIANT

Also known as Blue Giant.

Studio: Toho , NUT
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Music

Dai Miyamoto's life is turned upside down the day he discovers jazz. A former high school basketball player, Dai picks up a saxophone and begins practicing day and night, determined to become one of the greatest of all time. He leaves his hometown Sendai for the bustling nightclubs of Tokyo, but soon finds the life of a professional musician is not for the faint of heart. His passion eventually wins over the cocky but talented pianist Yukinori, and after Dai convinces his friend Shunji to learn the drums, they launch a new jazz trio whose rough sound contains a raw energy that quickly wins attention from local audiences. But what does it take to truly be great?



Tags: Jazz Music , Urban , Band , Male Protagonist , Ensemble Cast , Primarily Adult Cast , Seinen , Primarily Male Cast , CGI , Bar , Tragedy

Mimi wo Sumaseba

Also known as Whisper of the Heart.

Studio: Studio Ghibli , Tokuma Shoten , Walt Disney Studios , GKids
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Romance , Slice of Life

During summer vacation, a schoolgirl named Shizuku, who longs to discover her true talents, observes an ordinary-looking cat riding by himself on the train. Intrigued, she decides to follow him. This chance encounter leads her to the mysterious Seiji, a boy who is determined to follow his dreams, and The Baron, a magical cat figurine who helps her listen to the whispers in her heart. Soon, Shizuku's exciting adventures carry her far beyond the boundaries of her imagination.



Tags: Coming of Age , Writing , Female Protagonist , Heterosexual , Shoujo , Animals , Primarily Teen Cast , School , Tsundere , Fairy Tale , Crossover , Love Triangle , Kemonomimi , Nekomimi , Unrequited Love , Cycling

Aru Nihon no Ekaki Shounen

Also known as A Japanese Boy Who Draws.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

An experimental animation and documentary about the life of a boy who wants to become a manga artist.

Tags: Autobiographical , Meta , Drawing , Coming of Age , Work , Mixed Media , Rotoscoping , Otaku Culture

Kimi no Suizou wo Tabetai

Also known as I Want to Eat Your Pancreas.

Studio: Studio VOLN , Half H.P Studio , Futabasha , ABC Animation , Asahi Shimbun , JR Higashi Nihon Kikaku , Tohan , Aniplex
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance , Slice of Life

Spring time in April and the last of the cherry blossoms are still in bloom. The usually aloof bookworm with no interest in others comes across a book in a hospital waiting room. Handwritten on the cover are the words: "Living with Dying." He soon discovers that it is a diary kept by his very popular and genuinely cheerful classmate, Sakura Yamauchi, who reveals to him that she is secretly suffering from a pancreatic illness and only has a limited time left. It is at this moment that she gains just one more person to share her secret.

Trying to maintain a normal life as much as possible, Sakura is determined to live her life to the fullest until the very last day. As her free spirit and unpredictable actions throw him for a loop, his heart begins to gradually change.



Tags: Tragedy , Coming of Age , Male Protagonist , Female Protagonist , Philosophy , Heterosexual , Primarily Teen Cast , Classic Literature , Rehabilitation , Achronological Order , Unrequited Love , School

Ping Pong THE ANIMATION

Also known as Ping Pong the Animation.

Studio: Tatsunoko Production , Aniplex
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological , Sports

Tsukimoto Makoto (nicknamed Smile) is a quiet high-schooler who's been friends with the loud and energetic Hoshino Yukata (nicknamed Peko). They're both in the table tennis club and are very good at it, though Smile's personality prevents him from winning against Peko. The club teacher however notices Smile's talent and tries to make him gain some sportive tenacity.



Tags: Coming of Age , Table Tennis , Primarily Male Cast , Seinen , Male Protagonist , Philosophy , School Club , Primarily Teen Cast , Ensemble Cast , Rotoscoping , School , Teacher , Language Barrier , CGI , Bullying , Anti-Hero , Time Skip , Delinquents , Coastal , Suicide