Anime like Love Live! Sunshine!!

Love Live! School idol project

Also known as Love Live! School Idol Project.

Studio: Sunrise , Lantis , NIS America Inc.
Status: Finished
Genres: Music , Slice of Life

Otonokizaka High School stands on the border of three cities: Akihabara—a pop culture mecca that's evolving by the minute; Kanda—a conservative, cultured city where history and tradition reign supreme; and Jinbo—a quiet area reserved for a more mature, sophisticated population. Amidst this culture clash, the school now faces closure due to the enrollment of fewer and fewer students.

With the school planning to close within three years, nine female students come together with one thing in mind—form a pop idol group to revive the school's popularity and keep it from shutting down. "In order to protect our beloved school, there's only one thing we can do... become pop stars!"

Their goal is simple: Become an overnight sensation and use their nationwide media exposure to promote their school and bring in a wave of new students to the ailing area. A simple but solid plan, they figure. Naturally, they're nervous and wonder if this plan can really succeed, but for better or worse their new journey has begun...

"All we can ask for is just a tiny bit of support from you. We truly believe that with your help, we can change the world around us. We will make our dreams come true!"



Tags: Idol , Dancing , Primarily Female Cast , School Club , Ensemble Cast , School , Female Protagonist , Politics , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Primarily Teen Cast , CGI , Tsundere , Tomboy , Fashion , Maids , Shrine Maiden

BanG Dream!

Also known as BanG Dream!.

Studio: Xebec , Issen
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Music , Slice of Life

Kasumi Toyama was enthralled by the stars as a young girl, so when she discovers a trail of star-shaped signs one day after transferring to a new school, she can't help but follow them. They lead her to a shop run by the grandmother of one of her new classmates, and Kasumi finds something that will change her life forever: a star-shaped guitar! And just like that, Kasumi knows that forming a band is her destiny.

Of course, convincing Arisa and her grandmother to sell her the guitar won't be easy, and finding a group of other girls who want to become musicians will be even harder. But when a girl has stars in her eyes and a starbeat in her heart, there's nothing that will stop Kasumi from making her fantasies come true!



Tags: Band , Primarily Teen Cast , Primarily Female Cast , Female Protagonist , Rock Music , School , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Urban , Chuunibyou , CGI , Tsundere , Swimming , Yuri

Love Live! Nijigasaki Gakuen School Idol Doukoukai 2

Also known as Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club Season 2.

Studio: Sunrise , Bandai Namco Filmworks , Bandai Namco Music Live , Bushiroad , KADOKAWA
Status: Finished
Genres: Music , Slice of Life

The Nijigasaki High School Idol Club continues to gain popularity as its reputation grows, even catching the attention of aspiring school idol Zhong Lanzhu. However, when Lanzhu visits the club and interacts with its members, she realizes that their ideals differ from her own. This sparks the beginning of a rivalry between Lanzhu and the club members, as she challenges them to see who can captivate a larger audience at the upcoming School Idol Festival.

Thus, the school idol club starts a new chapter in its quest to achieve idol stardom. Being more united than ever before, the girls continue to practice for the festival—wanting to show Lanzhu what it truly means to be a school idol.



Tags: Idol , School Club , Primarily Female Cast , Dancing , Ensemble Cast , Female Protagonist , Primarily Teen Cast , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , School , Yuri , Bowling

THE IDOLM@STER

Also known as The Idol Master.

Studio: Aniplex , A-1 Pictures , TBS
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Music , Slice of Life

765 Production Studio manages the unique talents of 13 professional idols as they slowly make their way to the top and become country-wide celebrities. But the girls' journey is far from just fun and games: hard work, sweat, and tears are some of the prerequisites needed to flourish in this industry—and for 765 Pro in particular, a watchful eye out for their rival, the infamous 961 Production. As the girls' fame grows, however, their time together as a family diminishes, and now the very popularity they sought is threatening to tear them apart. A difficult balance of work and bonding must be achieved, or they risk everyone going their separate ways. The personal and professional ordeals of these idols can't be conquered alone, but with each other's loving support, any obstacle or hardship can be overcome!

Tags: Idol , Primarily Female Cast , Ensemble Cast , Work , Found Family , Dancing , Tsundere , Female Protagonist , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Twins , Office Lady , Tomboy , Acting , Animals , Athletics

Love Live! Superstar!! 2nd Season

Also known as Love Live! Superstar!! Season 2.

Studio: Sunrise , Bandai Namco Filmworks , Bandai Namco Music Live , KADOKAWA , Bushiroad
Status: Finished
Genres: Music , Slice of Life

As another year begins at Yuigaoka Girls' High School, ushering in a fresh batch of students, the school idol club Liella! is excited to expand their membership. However, Liella! is extremely popular due to the astounding talent they have continuously displayed; thus, new students lack the courage to even consider approaching the club, fearing the rigorous training that might lie ahead.

Amid her worries, club leader and co-founder Kanon Shibuya meets first-year student Kinako Sakurakouji and tells her about the world of school idols. This leaves Kinako in awe, but being fairly average herself, she feels she would not be capable of matching the spirited performances of the brilliant Liella! members. Nonetheless, Kinako receives encouragement to join the group and comes to share their dream of reaching for the stars once again in the grand Love Live! Competition.



Tags: Idol , Primarily Female Cast , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Primarily Teen Cast , Dancing , Female Protagonist , School Club , School , Ensemble Cast , Meta , LGBTQ+ Themes , Surreal Comedy , CGI , Tsundere

Oshi ga Budoukan Ittekuretara Shinu

Also known as If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan, I Would Die.

Studio: 8-bit , TBS
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Music , Slice of Life

Passionate music-lover Eripiyo only wants to see her favorite underground pop group, ChamJam, make it to the big stage at Budokan. Because they’ve enriched her life by their very existence, Eri is willing to dedicate everything she has to see this dream fulfilled – even her health. At their last performance she got a crazy nosebleed. Hey, no one said being a super-fan was easy!



Tags: Idol , Otaku Culture , Primarily Female Cast , Yuri , Female Protagonist , Unrequited Love , LGBTQ+ Themes , Seinen , Work

Love Live! Superstar!! 3rd Season

Also known as Love Live! Superstar!! Season 3.

Studio: Sunrise , Bandai Namco Filmworks , Bandai Namco Music Live , Bushiroad Creative
Status: Finished
Genres: Music , Slice of Life

As the Love Live! Competition draws to a close, Kanon Shibuya takes an offer to study abroad and bids farewell to her friends and fellow members of the school idol group Liella!. Although they will live on opposite sides of the world, both Kanon and the group remain motivated to continue their idol activities.

Unbeknownst to Kanon, however, her plans are cut short by Wien Margarete's parents, who request that Kanon remain in Japan for another year so that their daughter can learn from her. While Kanon finds herself in awkward limbo, Wien cannot bring herself to join her once fierce rival Liella! and decides to start a group of her own.

Not wanting Wien's determination to go to waste, Kanon joins the new group, recruiting her former group member's sister Tomari Onitsuka in the process. As the newfound unit strives to wash off Wien's controversial past, the new Liella! is also wrestling with the struggles of losing their irreplaceable center.



Tags: Idol , Dancing , School Club , Primarily Teen Cast , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Primarily Female Cast , Female Protagonist , Ensemble Cast , CGI , School , Shrine Maiden , Tsundere

Lapis Re:LiGHTs

Also known as Lapis Re:LiGHTs.

Studio: Yokohama Animation Lab , Studio Mausu
Status: Finished
Genres: Fantasy , Music

Tiara has just been accepted to the Flora Girls Academy for young witches. Her lifelong dream of becoming a powerful “light” to cleanse the world of magical beasts is now possible. But not before she hits the magical music books! Oh, and little did Tiara know that she’s about to take center stage in a classroom full of potential dropouts. Challenge accepted.



Tags: Primarily Female Cast , School , Magic , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Ojou-sama , Ensemble Cast , Female Protagonist , Creature Taming , Yuri , Idol , Primarily Teen Cast , Ghost , LGBTQ+ Themes , CGI , Witch , Athletics

Love Live! School idol project 2nd Season

Also known as Love Live! School Idol Project 2nd Season.

Studio: Sunrise
Status: Finished
Genres: Music , Slice of Life

At the intersection of three cities—Akihabara, Kanda, and Jinbocho—the traditional Otonokizaka High was facing a crisis of being closed down. Second-year student, Honoka Kosaka, decided to become a school idol, a trend that has been growing in popularity, in order to increase the number of students applying for her school. With her childhood friends, Kotori Minami and Umi Sonoda, they combined their efforts to form the group, μ's.

A while later, Maki Nishikino, a songwriter, Hanayo Koizumi, who always dreamed of being a school idol, Rin Hoshizora, Hanayo's friend, and Nico Yazawa, the president of the Idol Study Club, joined the group, all with the aim of entering the school idol festival, Love Live.

Additionally, Eli Ayase, the student council president, and Nozomi Tojo, the student council vice president, joined μ's, bringing the group to a total of nine members. After overcoming many problems, ranging from the closing of the school to Kotori's study-abroad incident to μ's going on hiatus, what will the girls aim for next!?



Tags: Idol , Primarily Female Cast , Coming of Age , Ensemble Cast , Dancing , School Club , School , Female Protagonist , Urban , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Primarily Teen Cast , CGI , Tomboy , Shrine Maiden , Tsundere , Bowling

Wake Up, Girls!

Also known as Wake Up, Girls!.

Studio: Ordet , Tatsunoko Production , Ultra Super Pictures , DIVE II Entertainment , Wake Up, Girls! Partners , AT-X , Toho , TV Tokyo , Sotsu , Avex Entertainment , Sega Games , Good Smile Company
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Music , Slice of Life

The gateway to Idol stardom might have opened for the newly formed singing group Wake Up, Girls, but the path to fame is full of perils and pitfalls. And for Mayu, Airi, Minami, Yoshino, Nanami, Kaya and Miyu, it's going to be especially difficult knowing who to trust, as their manager Matsuda's lack of experience could give other, less scrupulous, individuals a chance to take advantage.

That's a situation that quickly comes to a head when Green Leaves' president suddenly disappears with most of the money, and things only get worse when the replacement producer seems more interested in getting the girls into revealing swimsuits than promoting their music.

As malicious gossip begins to surface regarding Mayu's past membership in a rival group, and internal tensions begin to tear the team apart, they'll need more than just ambition to survive. Singing may be a business, but friendship and a love of music is what will keep everything together.



Tags: Idol , Primarily Female Cast , Ensemble Cast , Urban , Female Protagonist , Work , Otaku Culture , Musical Theater , Dancing , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , School , Primarily Teen Cast