Anime like Nijiiro Hotaru: Eien no Natsuyasumi

Mai Mai Shinko to Sennen no Mahou

Also known as Mai-Mai Miracle.

Studio: MADHOUSE , Avex Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Slice of Life

The story is set in 1955 in Kokuga, Hofu City, Yamaguchi Prefecture.

One thousand years ago it was the site of the ancient capital, Suo no Kuni, and traces of the Heian Period (year 794-1185) are passed down to us in the form of ruins and historical place names.

The protagonist is Shinko, a third grade elementary school student, who was born and raised in one of the town's venerable families. She is a little girl whose characteristic is a strange curl on her forehead (she calls it her "Mai Mai"), and her love for playing in the fields. On the other hand, her secret joy is to imagine and to daydream about the world of one thousand years ago. Her fantasies travel far into the days of the Heian Period…

One day, a girl called Kiiko transfers from Tokyo and enters Shinko's class. This girl from the big city has difficulty feeling at home in this small town, but gradually her friendship with Shinko deepens.

Before long, the two of them become engulfed in a strange incident of one thousand years earlier...?!

Tags: Primarily Child Cast , Rural , Historical , Female Protagonist , Tragedy , Coming of Age , Family Life , Autobiographical , Yakuza , Kids , Suicide

Kimi no Na wa.

Also known as Your Name..

Studio: CoMix Wave , Kadokawa Pictures Japan , Funimation , NYAV Post , Toho , Madman Entertainment , Selecta Visión
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance , Supernatural

Mitsuha Miyamizu, a high school girl, yearns to live the life of a boy in the bustling city of Tokyo—a dream that stands in stark contrast to her present life in the countryside. Meanwhile in the city, Taki Tachibana lives a busy life as a high school student while juggling his part-time job and hopes for a future in architecture.

One day, Mitsuha awakens in a room that is not her own and suddenly finds herself living the dream life in Tokyo—but in Taki's body! Elsewhere, Taki finds himself living Mitsuha's life in the humble countryside. In pursuit of an answer to this strange phenomenon, they begin to search for one another.

Kimi no Na wa. revolves around Mitsuha and Taki's actions, which begin to have a dramatic impact on each other's lives, weaving them into a fabric held together by fate and circumstance.



Tags: Body Swapping , Time Manipulation , Urban Fantasy , Memory Manipulation , Coming of Age , Female Protagonist , Tragedy , Urban , Gender Bending , Time Skip , Rural , Heterosexual , Primarily Teen Cast , Environmental , Mythology , Alternate Universe , Trains , Shrine Maiden , School

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

Mirai no Mirai

Also known as Mirai.

Studio: Studio Chizu
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Comedy , Drama , Fantasy , Slice of Life

One day, Kun’s mother brings home a new family member. For the four-year-old boy, joy quickly turns to disappointment when the little sister replaces her brother as the center of attention. The boy can’t bring himself to accept her as his sister. But things turn magical when, with a mysterious garden as his gateway, the boy encounters his mother as a little girl and his great-grandfather as a young man, and has a series of surprising adventures with his older sister from the future. These experiences change how he sees the world and help him grow into the big brother he was meant to be.



Tags: Family Life , Urban Fantasy , Time Manipulation , Coming of Age , Male Protagonist , Alternate Universe , Trains , CGI , Urban , Animals , Parenthood , Pregnant

Non Non Biyori: Vacation

Also known as Non Non Biyori Vacation.

Studio: SILVER LINK. , Sentai Filmworks
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Slice of Life

Even when you're fortunate enough to live in a place as beautiful as the country village of Asahigaoka, you should never turn down the chance to explore someplace else. So, when Suguru wins a free trip to Okinawa just as the summer vacation is coming to an end, the town's entire school… all 5 students and 1 teacher, plus the local candy shop owner… can hardly wait for their 3-day trip to begin! Between kayaking, swimming and meeting new people, there's always something fun happening, but the best part of all is that big city girl Hotaru and her new small-town friends all get to explore the wonders of Japan's famous vacation destination together.



Tags: Iyashikei , Rural , Primarily Female Cast , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Outdoor , Primarily Child Cast , Seinen , Ensemble Cast , Female Protagonist , Drawing , Badminton , Scuba Diving , Kuudere

Ookami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki

Also known as Wolf Children.

Studio: MADHOUSE , VAP , Dentsu , Yomiuri TV , Funimation , Kadokawa Shoten , Toho , Studio Chizu
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Romance , Slice of Life

The theme of the film is the love between parents and children. The story covers 13 years and begins with a 19-year-old college student named Hana who encounters and falls in "fairy tale-like" love with a "wolf man." After marrying the wolf man, Hana gives birth and raises two wolf children—an older sister named Yuki who was born on a snowy day, and a younger brother named Ame who was born on a rainy day. The four quietly lived in a corner of a city to conceal the existence of the "wolf children," but when the wolf man suddenly dies, Hana decides to move to a rural town far removed from the city.



Tags: Family Life , Werewolf , Coming of Age , Female Protagonist , Environmental , Rural , Shapeshifting , Snowscape , Parenthood , Kemonomimi , Tragedy , Animals , Male Protagonist , Urban , Agriculture , Mythology , School , Heterosexual

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 , LGBTQ+ Themes , School , Yuri , Unrequited Love

Digimon Adventure: Bokura no War Game!

Also known as Digimon: Our War Game.

Studio: Toei Animation
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Fantasy , Sci-Fi

This movie takes place after the Adventure series ends. It begins when a new Digimon Egg is found on the internet, and manages to penetrate into almost every computer system in Japan. When the egg hatches, it's identified as a new kind of Digimon, a Virus-type. It sustains itself by eating data from various system, and starts wreaking havok in Japan. As it consumes more and more data, it continues to evolve. And Taichi and Koushiro decide it's time to stop it.

They're off, sending Agumon and Tentomon through the internet to fight off this new enemy. But, with the Virus controlling systems like the American military, all too soon, this digital menace may become all too real. Calling in the help of Yamato and Takeru, they hope that they can stop what's already begun, and maybe save this world a second time.



Tags: Artificial Intelligence , Anthropomorphism , Male Protagonist , Virtual World , Primarily Child Cast , Animals , Kaiju , Henshin , Kids , Cyberpunk

Bakeneko Anzu-chan

Also known as GHOST CAT ANZU.

Studio: Shin-Ei Animation , Toho , Miyu Productions
Status: Finished
Genres: Fantasy , Slice of Life , Supernatural

Precocious tween Karin finds herself abandoned by her father in rural Japan. Living in a temple with her grandfather, she meets Anzu, a giant “ghost cat” and notorious layabout tasked with looking after her. Distrustful of her new guardian, Karin sabotages Anzu’s odd jobs for the townsfolk and befriends the eccentric local forest spirits. In an effort to win Karin over, Anzu accidentally makes a deal with the devil, and all Hell breaks loose.



Tags: Rotoscoping , Ghost , Female Protagonist , Youkai , Afterlife , Animals , Rural , Urban Fantasy , Urban , Mopeds , Gods