Anime like Omoide Poro Poro

Sennen Joyuu

Also known as Millennium Actress.

Studio: MADHOUSE , Genco , WOWOW , KLOCKWORX , Kadokawa Shoten , Bandai Visual , Techno Sound , Chaos Union
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Romance

Millennium Actress blurs the lines between the past and the present, and truth and fiction, when a documentary filmmaker fulfills his quest to find the legendary actress Chiyoko Fujiwara, and learn why she mysteriously vanished at the height of her brilliant career. When Chiyoko grants the filmmaker’s request, he, in turn, presents her with a token – a key she had lost and thought was gone forever. The filmmaker could not have imagined that the key would not only unlock the long-held secrets of Chiyoko’s life, but also his own.



Note: The film received an early premiere at the Fantasia Film Festival on July 28, 2001.

Tags: Acting , Biographical , Historical , Meta , Primarily Adult Cast , Female Protagonist , Work , Unrequited Love , Time Skip , Heterosexual , Coming of Age , War , Snowscape , Filmmaking , Denpa , Anachronism , Fugitive , Swordplay , Age Gap

Kaguya-hime no Monogatari

Also known as The Tale of The Princess Kaguya.

Studio: Studio Ghibli
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Romance

Okina is a bamboo cutter in ancient rural Japan. One day in the forest, he finds a tiny baby in the folds of a bamboo shoot. He brings the creature home to his wife Ounaa and they decide to keep her and raise her as a princess. She is clearly not of this world. Kaguya grows at an unnatural rate, soon maturing into an uncommonly beautiful young woman. Since Okina has now also found a cache of gold and treasure in the forest, every suitor wants Kaguya. But this is not a fairy tale of courtship and marriage.



Tags: Philosophy , Classic Literature , Tragedy , Historical , Fairy Tale , Female Protagonist , Rural , Family Life , Gods , Religion , Primarily Adult Cast , Amnesia , Travel , Adoption , Heterosexual , Agriculture , Unrequited Love , Environmental , Calligraphy

Umi ga Kikoeru

Also known as Ocean Waves.

Studio: J.C. Staff , Studio Ghibli , GKids
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance , Slice of Life

Ocean Waves is high school love story set in Kochi, Japan. Morisaki Taku and Matsuno Yutaka are best friends when a girl from Tokyo named Muto Rikako transfers to their school. Excluding herself from group activities, she’s eventually labeled a snob. Matsuno has a crush on Rikako, so it’s no surprise that he gets a little jealous when Morisaki and Rikako start spending more time together. The rumors around school get worse, but Morisaki still insists there is nothing between him and Rikako.


Tags: School , Coming of Age , Male Protagonist , Heterosexual , Coastal , Female Protagonist , Love Triangle , Primarily Teen Cast , Travel , Historical , Time Skip , School Club

Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni

Also known as In This Corner of the World.

Studio: MAPPA , Genco , Animatsu Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Slice of Life

The story follows a young lady named Suzu Urano, who in 1944 moves to the small town of Kure in Hiroshima to live with her husband's family. Suzu's life is thrown into chaos when her town is bombed during World War II. Her perseverance and courage underpin this heart-warming and inspirational tale of the everyday challenges faced by the Japanese in the midst of a violent, war-torn country. This beautiful yet poignant tale shows that even in the face of adversity and loss, people can come together and rebuild their lives.



Tags: Historical , War , Family Life , Female Protagonist , Tragedy , Seinen , Rehabilitation , Drawing , Disability , Heterosexual

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 , Time Skip , Iyashikei , School , Tragedy , Foreign , Religion , Agriculture , Primarily Female Cast , Kids , Primarily Child Cast , School Club , College , Elderly Protagonist , Musical Theater , Tsundere , Trains

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

Barakamon

Also known as Barakamon.

Studio: Kinema Citrus , VAP , Nippon Television Network
Status: Finished
Genres: Slice of Life

Seishuu Handa is an up-and-coming calligrapher: young, handsome, talented, and unfortunately, a narcissist to boot. When a veteran labels his award-winning piece as "unoriginal," Seishuu quickly loses his cool with severe repercussions.

As punishment, and also in order to aid him in self-reflection, Seishuu's father exiles him to the Goto Islands, far from the comfortable Tokyo lifestyle the temperamental artist is used to. Now thrown into a rural setting, Seishuu must attempt to find new inspiration and develop his own unique art style—that is, if boisterous children (headed by the frisky Naru Kotoishi), fujoshi middle schoolers, and energetic old men stop barging into his house! The newest addition to the intimate and quirky Goto community only wants to get some work done, but the islands are far from the peaceful countryside he signed up for. Thanks to his wacky neighbors who are entirely incapable of minding their own business, the arrogant calligrapher learns so much more than he ever hoped to.



Tags: Calligraphy , Rural , Found Family , Iyashikei , Episodic , Male Protagonist , Rehabilitation , Family Life , Seinen , Philosophy , Coming of Age , Teacher , Coastal , Slapstick , Tsundere , Fishing

Junkers Come Here

Studio: Bandai Visual , Kadokawa Shoten , Bandai Entertainment , Triangle Staff
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Slice of Life

This heartwarming and unexpectedly mature story concerns a young girl named Hiromi Nozawa and her dog, Junkers (pronounced Yoon-kers). Hiromi walks us through her childhood troubles of love, schooling, and family bonds. Her companion Junkers accompanies her on this adventure. However, Junkers is no ordinary dog - he can talk and grant 3 wishes.

Tags: Family Life , Coming of Age , Female Protagonist , Animals

Tonari no Totoro

Also known as My Neighbor Totoro.

Studio: Studio Ghibli , Studio Fantasia , Walt Disney Studios , GKids
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Fantasy , Slice of Life , Supernatural

Follow the adventures of Satsuki and her four-year-old sister Mei when they move into a new home in the countryside. To their delight they discover that their new neighbor is a mysterious forest spirit called Totoro who can be seen only through the eyes of a child. Totoro introduces them to extraordinary characters, including a cat that doubles as a bus, takes them on a journey through the wonders of nature.



Tags: Family Life , Primarily Child Cast , Rural , Youkai , Female Protagonist , Urban Fantasy , Kids , Gods , Primarily Female Cast

Mimi wo Sumaseba

Also known as Whisper of the Heart.

Studio: Studio Ghibli , Tokuma Shoten , Walt Disney Studios , GKids
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Romance , Slice of Life

During summer vacation, a schoolgirl named Shizuku, who longs to discover her true talents, observes an ordinary-looking cat riding by himself on the train. Intrigued, she decides to follow him. This chance encounter leads her to the mysterious Seiji, a boy who is determined to follow his dreams, and The Baron, a magical cat figurine who helps her listen to the whispers in her heart. Soon, Shizuku's exciting adventures carry her far beyond the boundaries of her imagination.



Tags: Coming of Age , Writing , Female Protagonist , Heterosexual , Shoujo , Animals , Primarily Teen Cast , School , Tsundere , Fairy Tale , Crossover , Love Triangle , Kemonomimi , Nekomimi , Unrequited Love , Cycling