Anime like Ie Naki Ko

Akage no Anne

Also known as Anne of Green Gables.

Studio: Nippon Animation
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Slice of Life

Anne is an orphan full of imagination. When she arrives at her new home she learns that sometimes you have to be a sensible person too; at the same time her unique character changes, or at least attracts, the people around her. The story covers Anne's growth from about eleven to seventeen years old as she makes friends, goes to school and studies. At a difficult point in her life, Anne will have to make a hard choice and perhaps find a new dream.

Tags: Coming of Age , Classic Literature , Female Protagonist , Historical , Family Life , Orphan , Rural , Adoption , Iyashikei , Found Family , School , Time Skip , Foreign , Religion , Tragedy , Agriculture , Primarily Female Cast , Kids , Body Image , Horticulture , School Club , Primarily Child Cast , Trains , Tsundere , Musical Theater , College , Elderly Protagonist

Romeo no Aoi Sora

Also known as Romeo's Blue Skies.

Studio: Nippon Animation
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Slice of Life

Romeo, a young boy living in the Alps of Italian Switzerland, signs a contract with a shady individual to pay for his sick father's doctor, who will take him across the mountains to Italy, to Milan, where he will be sold as a chimney sweep's helper. Thus begins Romeo's journey, amidst abuse and violence, during which he will form lasting and deep bonds with other child chimney sweeps, coming to form a fraternity called "The Black Brothers," who will all learn to help each other in times of need.

Tags: Primarily Child Cast , Historical , Kids , Tragedy , Male Protagonist , Foreign , Work , Class Struggle , Philosophy , Urban , Coming of Age , Classic Literature , Bullying , Survival , Primarily Male Cast , Gangs , Slavery , Fugitive , Tomboy , Adoption

Haha wo Tazunete Sanzenri

Also known as 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother.

Studio: Nippon Animation
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Drama

Based on a short section of the novel Cuore by the Italian Edmondo de Amicis, Marco is a young boy living in Genoa, Italy, together with his father Pietro. But the family is not complete, for Marcos mother left for Argentina around a year earlier in order to find work. Letters from her arrive regularly until one day they suddenly stop. Worry for his mother and what might have happened to her overcomes the young boy. Marco thus decides to embark upon a journey to Argentina in the hope of being reunited with his mother. At first, Pietro is opposed to Marcos plan, but moved by his sons enthusiasm, he eventually allows the boy to go. So begins Marcos long journey of the heart. Marco encounters many people throughout his travels, and finds maturity and self-acceptance as a result of his experiences.



Tags: Classic Literature , Historical , Foreign , Male Protagonist , Kids , Travel , Coming of Age , Tragedy

Alps no Shoujo Heidi

Also known as Heidi, Girl of the Alps.

Studio: Fuji TV , Zuiyou Eizou
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Slice of Life

After becoming an orphan, Heidi is forced to live with her grandfather Öhi, who lives in the Alps. She learns he's a very bitter man who only accepted by force to take her in. But Heidi's kindness may be able to open his heart. Together with the shepherd Peter and invalid Klara, she has lots of adventures.



Tags: Classic Literature , Rural , Foreign , Rehabilitation , Female Protagonist , Historical , Kids , Primarily Child Cast , Coming of Age , Animals , Urban , Family Life , Agriculture , Orphan , Philosophy , School

Les Misérables: Shoujo Cosette

Studio: Nippon Animation
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Slice of Life

Based on the famous classic novel Les Miserables.

Being a single mother is hard in early 19th Century France. When young Cosette was traveling with her mother trying to find a job and a place to live, they were always shunned away because very few employers hire single mothers. When she is promised with the prosperity of working in the big city, Cosette is separated from her mother in the hopes a caretaker will watch over her while her mother earns some money. Unfortunately this was a trick and the caretaker is a corrupt man who makes Cosette his indentured servant. Then the kind mayor of the town that Cosette makes her new home in sees how winds of change are so detrimental for children and families, and decides to do something about it.



Tags: Historical , Classic Literature , Coming of Age , Female Protagonist , Foreign , Tragedy , Dystopian , Bullying , Time Skip , Heterosexual , Inn , Police , Military , Fugitive , Love Triangle , Male Protagonist , Guns , Animals , Marriage , Religion , Prison

Ashita no Nadja

Studio: Toei Animation
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Romance

This story takes place about one hundred years ago. Nadja is a bright, cheerful girl who was raised in an orphanage near London, England. Nadja was entrusted to the orphanage when she was a baby. So she thought her father and mother were dead. But before her thirteenth birthday, she found out that her mother might be alive.

Nadja sets out on a journey to find her mother! With all of Europe as the stage, Nadja's exciting adventure begins!

Tags: Foreign , Historical , Female Protagonist , Circus , Coming of Age , Twins , Episodic , Work , Found Family , Travel , Class Struggle , Heterosexual , Love Triangle , Disability , Dancing , Male Harem , CGI , Animals , Band , Detective , Shoujo

Ie Naki Ko Remi

Also known as Remi, Nobody's Girl.

Studio: Nippon Animation , Fuji TV
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Slice of Life

Remy, a cheerful and tender-hearted girl, lives with her mother in a French country town. One day her father returns to the town after a long period working away from home in a city. Her father tells Remy that she isn't their real daughter, and Remy is almost sold to an evil slave trader. It is Vitalis, a strolling entertainer, who helps Remy. Vitalis discovers her talent for singing and decides to take her in with his troupe.



Tags: Classic Literature , Historical , Coming of Age , Philosophy , Found Family , Travel , Survival , Kids , Female Protagonist , Foreign , Work , Tragedy , Animals , Episodic

Takarajima

Also known as Treasure Island.

Studio: MADHOUSE , Tokyo Movie Shinsha
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Mystery

Jim Hawkins is a young boy that is led by progressive events to embark on a journey searching for the legendary treasure of the once dreaded pirate, Captain Flint.



Tags: Historical , Pirates , Ships , Classic Literature , Foreign , Travel , Survival , Coming of Age , Male Protagonist , Primarily Male Cast , Primarily Adult Cast , War , Time Skip , Philosophy , Ghost

Perrine Monogatari

Studio: Nippon Animation , Bandai Visual , Fuji TV
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Slice of Life

Perrine is a young girl who lives in Bosnia with her Indian mother and beloved father – that is, until her father passes away, leaving her mother with a single wish: travel to France to be with his father. The over 1,000 kilometer journey seems unfathomable, but Perrine and her mother have a plan: they will photograph people in the towns along the way to support themselves. With their hardy donkey Palikare and faithful dog Baron, the two set forth for Paris; along the way they encounter kind souls, barren villages, and a number of hardships; will Perrine and her mother survive the long journey to France?

Tags: Photography , Classic Literature , Rural , Foreign , Kids , Work , Historical , Travel , Female Protagonist , Tragedy , Family Life

Versailles no Bara

Also known as Lady Oscar: The Rose of Versailles.

Studio: Tokyo Movie Shinsha , The Right Stuf International
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Romance

Raised from birth as a man, the Lady Oscar commands the palace guards at Versailles in the years before the French Revolution. Her beauty and noble spirit make her a shining figure in the eyes of both men and women but she is torn between her chosen life of service and duty to class and country and her own heart and desires. She lives as a noble amidst the opulence of Versailles but her keen senses and compassion are not blinded to the poverty of the French people.



Tags: Historical , Class Struggle , Tragedy , Royal Affairs , Foreign , Military , Politics , Shoujo , Female Protagonist , Ojou-sama , Crossdressing , Primarily Adult Cast , Gender Bending , Tomboy , Swordplay , Time Skip , War , Philosophy , Guns , Heterosexual , Maids , LGBTQ+ Themes , Religion , Unrequited Love , Love Triangle