Anime like MINKY MOMO in Yume ni Kakeru Hashi

Kino no Tabi: the Beautiful World

Also known as Kino's Journey.

Studio: WOWOW , Genco , A.C.G.T. , Sentai Filmworks , Studio Wombat
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Fantasy , Psychological , Slice of Life

Based on a hit light novel series by Keiichi Sigsawa, the philosophical Kino's Journey employs the time-honored motif of the road trip as a vehicle for self-discovery and universal truth. Deeply meditative and cooler than zero, the series follows the existential adventures of the apt marksman Kino along with talking motorcycle Hermes as they travel the world and learn much about themselves in the process. Imaginative, thought-provoking, and sometimes disturbing, Kino's journey is documented in an episodic style with an emphasis on atmosphere rather than action or plot, though still prevalent.

Tags: Philosophy , Episodic , Travel , Female Protagonist , Foreign , Tragedy , Meta , Motorcycles , Achronological Order , Dystopian , Guns , Rural , Steampunk , Agender , Denpa , Snowscape , Seinen , Mopeds , Politics , Cannibalism , Robots , Kuudere , Battle Royale , Aviation , War , Tanks

Mahou Shoujo Madoka☆Magica

Also known as Puella Magi Madoka Magica.

Studio: Aniplex , Shaft , Mainichi Broadcasting System , Movic , Nitroplus , Aniplex of America , Madoka Partners , Houbunsha , Manga Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Fantasy , Mahou Shoujo , Psychological , Thriller

One night, 14-year-old Madoka Kaname has a terrible nightmare - against the backdrop of a devastated city, she witnesses a girl fight a losing battle against a dreadful being lingering above, while a cat-like magical creature tells Madoka the only way to change such tragic outcome is for her to make a contract with him and become a magical girl.

The next day, the teen's dream seemingly becomes reality as the girl she saw in her dream - Homura - arrives at Mitakihara Middle School as a transfer student, mysteriously warning Madoka to stay just the way she is; but when later on she and her best friend Sayaka encounter the same cat-like magical creature from her dream - who introduces himself as Kyubey - the pair discovers that magical girls are real, and what's more, they can choose to become one. All they must do is sign a contract with Kyubey and agree to take on the duty to fight abstract beings called 'witches' that spread despair to the human world, and in return, each one of them will be granted any single wish they desire. However, as Homura's omen suggests, there might be far more to becoming a magical girl than Madoka and Sayaka realize...

Notes:
Due to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, the broadcasts of episodes 11 and 12 were delayed and were later aired as a double feature on April 21, 2011.

Tags: Tragedy , Magic , Female Protagonist , Witch , Primarily Female Cast , Time Manipulation , Urban Fantasy , Philosophy , Alternate Universe , Primarily Teen Cast , Kuudere , Archery , Time Loop , Coming of Age , Henshin , Survival , Aliens , Primarily Child Cast , LGBTQ+ Themes , Urban , Ensemble Cast , Gods , Anti-Hero , Spearplay , Suicide , Love Triangle , Guns , School , Tomboy , Achronological Order , Anthropomorphism

Princess Tutu

Also known as Princess Tutu.

Studio: Hal Film Maker , ADV Films , Memory-Tech , GANSIS , Marvelous , Sentai Filmworks
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Mahou Shoujo , Mystery , Psychological , Romance

In a fairy tale come to life, the clumsy, sweet, and gentle Ahiru (Japanese for 'duck') seems like an unlikely protagonist. In reality, Ahiru is just as magical as the talking cats and crocodiles that inhabit her town - for Ahiru really is a duck! Transformed by the mysterious Drosselmeyer into a human girl, Ahiru soon learns the reason for her existence. Using her magical egg-shaped pendant, Ahiru can transform into Princess Tutu - a beautiful and talented ballet dancer whose dances relieve people of the turmoil in their hearts. With her newfound ability, Ahiru accepts the challenge of collecting the lost shards of her prince's heart, for long ago he had shattered it in order to seal an evil raven away for all eternity.

Princess Tutu is a tale of heroes and their struggle against fate. Their beliefs, their feelings, and ultimately their actions will determine whether this fairy tale can reach its "happily ever after."

Princess Tutu aired in two parts. The first part included 13 25-minute-long episodes, while the second part consisted of 24 12-minute-long episodes with a 25-minute-long final episode for a total of 38 episodes.

Tags: Fairy Tale , Dancing , Meta , Henshin , Writing , Female Protagonist , Boarding School , Surreal Comedy , Tragedy , Magic , Anthropomorphism , Love Triangle , Heterosexual , Animals , Episodic , Dissociative Identities , Unrequited Love , Shapeshifting , Foreign , School , Tsundere , Reincarnation , Ghost

Kino no Tabi: the Beautiful World - Byouki no Kuni: For You

Studio: Shaft
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Fantasy

The film adapts a story from volume 5 of the Kino no Tabi light novel series and tells of another country Kino travels through.

Tags: Philosophy , Female Protagonist , Tragedy , Foreign , Motorcycles , Agender , Agriculture , Kuudere

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 , Space , Animals , Religion , Mythology , Male Protagonist , Kids , Historical , Bullying

Omoide Poro Poro

Also known as Only Yesterday.

Studio: Studio Ghibli , Tokuma Shoten , GKids
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance , Slice of Life

Taeko Okajima is a typical "office lady" in a big company in a big city. When she takes a sabbatical to the countryside in Yamagata Prefecture, the hometown of her brother-in-law, the journey recalled her memory of her 5th grade year. During her stay in Yamagata, she works hard and happily as a farmer and is surrounded by friendly relatives and villagers, bringing up more memories. Their hospitality makes her to reconsider her choice of life.



Tags: Female Protagonist , Iyashikei , Rural , Coming of Age , Biographical , Philosophy , Family Life , Josei , Historical , Agriculture , Travel , School , Heterosexual , Acting , Baseball

ARIA The NATURAL

Also known as ARIA The NATURAL.

Studio: Hal Film Maker , The Right Stuf International
Status: Finished
Genres: Fantasy , Sci-Fi , Slice of Life

Akari Mizunashi continues her training to become a Prima Undine (a professional tour guide gondolier) along with her friends Aika and Alice in the peaceful city of Neo Venezia. Despite the fact that these three girls are from competing companies, they are constantly together, learning more about how to become better tour guides and more about the mysteries of Neo Venezia.

As the group continues to meet interesting and unforgettable people through their daily routines, they will also come closer to the secrets that make the enigmatic and ever beautiful city of Neo Venezia so warm and alive.

Welcome back to Neo Venezia: the city where miracles can be created by hand.

Tags: Iyashikei , Work , Foreign , Urban Fantasy , Philosophy , Primarily Teen Cast , Female Protagonist , Primarily Female Cast , Coming of Age , Animals , Ensemble Cast , Episodic , Ships , Urban , Chibi , Space , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Magic , Shounen , Gender Bending , Tanned Skin , Ghost