Anime like Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora

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

ef: a tale of melodies.

Also known as ef ~ A Tale of Melodies.

Studio: Shaft , Sentai Filmworks , NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Mystery , Psychological , Romance , Supernatural

In a story set years in the past, Himura Yuu is a studious and diligent young man intent solely on maintaining his top academic position at Otowa Academy. One day, he meets a mysterious girl named Amamiya Yuuko, who, to his surprise, recognizes him. Memories of a distant childhood, memories rather left forgotten...meeting Yuuko again will force Yuu to confront the regrets and sorrows of their collective pasts and presents.

In the present, Kuze Shuuichi may seem like a womanizer, but upon closer inspection, is a man who would rather be left alone. Hayama Mizuki, however, is not the type of girl who would let him be, especially after hearing the beautiful sounds of his violin performance. As Mizuki attempts to become closer to him, Kuze attempts to push her away—the tale of their budding relationship is darkened with undertones of an imminent tragedy.

Tags: Heterosexual , Tragedy , Age Gap , Female Protagonist , Male Protagonist , Bullying , Ghost , Drawing , Primarily Female Cast , Foreign , Love Triangle , Snowscape

Iriya no Sora, UFO no Natsu

Studio: Toei Animation , Happinet Pictures
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance , Sci-Fi

Asaba Naoyuki is an ordinary high school student. As a member of his school's press club, he's just spent the summer camping outside the local military base, in hopes of seeing the UFOs that are secretly kept there, according to local legend. Returning to school, he meets a strange girl, Iriya Kana, and gradually comes to realize that she is more than merely strange - and that a dark secret lies beneath the world that he knows.



Tags: War , Amnesia , Military , Love Triangle , School , Denpa , Tragedy , Memory Manipulation , Dissociative Identities , CGI

sola

Studio: diomedéa , Nomad , Lantis
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance , Slice of Life , Supernatural

Sola's story revolves around Yorito Morimiya, the main protagonist, who is a young boy attending high school. He loves taking pictures of the sky at any time of day and any time of the year. One day, Yorito decides to take a picture of the sunrise overlooking the bay, but is deterred when he meets a strange girl trying to force a vending machine that stole her money to give her what she tried to buy—a can of tomato juice. Yorito helps her with forcing the machine while attempting to strike up conversation with her, despite it being four in the morning. Yorito tells her why he is here, but by the time he has forced the can out of the machine, the girl has mysteriously vanished.



Tags: Memory Manipulation , Urban Fantasy , Love Triangle , Super Power , Tragedy , Amnesia , Kuudere , Heterosexual , Coastal , Seinen , Youkai

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 , Disability , Primarily Teen Cast , Coming of Age , Classical Music , Rehabilitation , Male Protagonist , Female Protagonist , Heterosexual , School , Philosophy , Shounen , CGI , Unrequited Love , Tomboy , Slapstick , LGBTQ+ Themes , Suicide , Football

CLANNAD

Also known as Clannad.

Studio: Sentai Filmworks , Animation Do , Kyoto Animation , Pony Canyon , TBS , Movic , Key
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Romance , Slice of Life , Supernatural

Tomoya is a bitter, third year high school student. His mother passed away, causing his father to resort to alcohol and gambling. Tomoya is distant with his father and has become a delinquent in the years since his mother's death. Walking to school, he meets Nagisa Furukawa who is a year older but is repeating the grade due to illness. She is alone, as most of her friends have moved on. The two begin hanging out, and as time goes by, Tomoya finds his life shifting in a new direction.



Tags: School , Coming of Age , Primarily Teen Cast , Family Life , Ensemble Cast , Male Protagonist , School Club , Ghost , Urban Fantasy , Tragedy , Heterosexual , Primarily Female Cast , Amnesia , Slapstick , Female Protagonist , Female Harem , Gangs , Kuudere , Baseball , Tsundere , Twins , Basketball , LGBTQ+ Themes , Cute Boys Doing Cute Things

Ginga Tetsudou no Yoru

Also known as Night on the Galactic Railroad.

Studio: Group TAC , TV Asahi , Nippon Herald Eiga , Asmik Ace , Asahi Shimbun
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Mystery

Based on a short story by the popular children’s writer Kenji Miyazawa, Galactic Railroad offers viewers a slow-paced, dreamlike journey through space and time. When Giovanni, a lonely boy in a hill town, goes to get milk for his ailing mother, he finds himself crossing the Milky Way on a faster-than-light steam railroad. The stations he visits in various constellations, like the planets explored by St. Exupery’s Little Prince, offer curious adventures and an assortment of human "types." Reality and fantasy blur aboard the train, and its travels across the light-years sometimes suggests the journey through life. The characters are depicted as cats, presumably to avoid the problems of animating humans.



Tags: Afterlife , Philosophy , Trains , Classic Literature , Tragedy , Anthropomorphism , Primarily Animal Cast , Travel , Astronomy , Animals , Space , Religion , Mythology , Male Protagonist , Kids , Historical , Bullying

Shinigami no Ballad.

Also known as Momo, the Girl God of Death.

Studio: Group TAC , Pony Canyon , Ginga Ya , Maiden Japan
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Psychological , Supernatural

A girl wrapped in white, her name is Momo...in her hand lies a blunt yet shiny scythe. By her side is a winged black cat by the name of Daniel. Carrying the souls of humans, the girl's existence parallels to that of a "Death God" or "Shinigami". At the instant when this white Death God touches the hearts of humans, the world is filled with kindness and grief...



Tags: Episodic , Tragedy , Female Protagonist , Primarily Child Cast , School , Gods , Rural , Heterosexual , Shoujo

Kimi wa Houkago Insomnia

Also known as Insomniacs After School.

Studio: Pony Canyon , LIDENFILMS , TV Tokyo , Shogakukan , Ultra Super Pictures , MAGNET , CHOCOLATE
Status: Finished
Genres: Romance , Slice of Life

Ganta Nakami is a high school student who suffers from insomnia. One day, he meets Isaki Magari, a girl with the same condition. A strange, but special relationship forms as they share a secret and catch up on their sleep in their school’s abandoned observatory…



Tags: Coming of Age , Iyashikei , Photography , Primarily Teen Cast , Seinen , Heterosexual , Astronomy , School Club , Male Protagonist , Female Protagonist , School , Rural , Disability , Outdoor Activities , Camping , Animals , Tanned Skin , Tomboy

Kimi ga Nozomu Eien

Also known as Rumbling Hearts.

Studio: Studio Fantasia , Funimation , Lantis , Media Factory , Age
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance , Slice of Life

At first, Takayuki Narumi is befriended by Mitsuki Hayase only because Mitsuki's best friend, Haruka Suzumiya has a crush on him; however since then, Takayuki, his pal Shinji Taira, and Mitsuki have grown to be the best of friends. Then one day, Haruka confesses to Takayuki her love for him. Not wanting to hurt her feelings, Takayuki agrees to go out with her. After a few incidents, their relationship gets intimate, even while Takayuki and Mitsuki begin to realize their feelings for each other. But suddenly, when tragedy strikes, things are never the same for these four friends again.


Tags: Love Triangle , Heterosexual , Hikikomori , Tragedy , Netorare , Rehabilitation , Work , Time Skip , Amnesia , Female Protagonist , Male Protagonist , Primarily Adult Cast , Ensemble Cast , School , Cars , Nudity , Swimming