Anime like Hi no Tori

Fumetsu no Anata e

Also known as To Your Eternity.

Studio: Brain's Base , NHK Enterprises , NHK
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Fantasy , Psychological , Supernatural

In the beginning, an "orb" is cast unto Earth. "It" can do two things: change into the form of the thing that stimulates "it"; and come back to life after death. "It" morphs from orb to rock, then to wolf, and finally to boy, but roams about like a newborn who knows nothing. As a boy, "it" becomes Fushi.

Through encounters with human kindness, Fushi not only gains survival skills but grows as a "person". But his journey is darkened by the inexplicable and destructive enemy Nokker and cruel partings with the people he loves.



Tags: Shapeshifting , Tragedy , Coming of Age , Philosophy , Rural , Travel , Survival , Ensemble Cast , Body Horror , Agender , Foreign , Gore , Shounen , Animals , Time Skip , Afterlife , Prison , Language Barrier , Historical , Primarily Female Cast , Memory Manipulation , CGI , Snowscape , Orphan , Zombie , Adoption , Demons , Battle Royale , Yandere

ayakashi: Japanese Classic Horror

Also known as Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales.

Studio: Toei Animation , Discotek
Status: Finished
Genres: Horror , Psychological , Supernatural

A collection of three classic Japanese horror stories: "Yotsuya Kaidan," the story of a wife betrayed by her husband who seeks vengeance even in death. "Tenshu Monogatari," the story of forbidden love between a goddess and a human, and "Bakeneko," the story of a mysterious cat monster with a vendetta against a certain family.

Tags: Historical , Youkai , Anthology , Demons , Revenge , Tragedy , Philosophy , Gods , Nudity , Travel , Swordplay , Samurai , Love Triangle

Tezuka Osamu no Kyuuyaku Seisho Monogatari

Also known as In The Beginning: The Bible Stories.

Studio: Tezuka Productions
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama

Through the Italian National Broadcasting Network, Tezuka Osamu received an ardent request from the Vatican to make the Bible into animated form. This request was probably made to see how the Bible would be depicted by the non-Christian Tezuka Osamu. Tezuka Osamu accepted the request and spent an entire two years to complete a pilot film. It was about the story of Noah's ark, with the enthusiastic Tezuka Osamu not only writing the scenario but also drawing pictures by himself. During production, however, he unfortunately passed away, so Director Dezaki took over the film and completed it.



Tags: Classic Literature , Historical , Religion , Mythology , Episodic

Metropolis

Studio: MADHOUSE , Kadokawa Shoten
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Romance , Sci-Fi

In the great city of Metropolis, severe community structures and prejudice dominate a world where humans and robots live together. Unrest and violence increase with each new day.

Searching for the scientist Dr. Laughton, suspected to violate human rights by trading organs, the Japanese detective Shunsaku Ban and his nephew Kenichi arrive at Metropolis. In the scientist's laboratory, Kenichi discovers a girl without any memory of her past life. He decides to help her, so they run away together. His uncle follows him and penetrates the dark secrets of the city to find Duke Red, the man ruling from the shadows. Meanwhile, Kenichi desperately tries to protect the mysterious girl from the people hunting her. However, Duke Red and his adoptive son have their own deep reasons for chasing the girl. These reasons are connected to her true identity and the struggle for the domination of Metropolis...

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Tags: Robots , Dystopian , Artificial Intelligence , Fugitive , Urban , Detective , Politics , Cyberpunk , Police , Male Protagonist , Crime , Class Struggle , Terrorism , Kids , Foreign , CGI

Hi no Tori: Eden no Sora

Also known as Phoenix: Eden17.

Studio: Studio 4°C
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Sci-Fi

The anime follows a woman named Romi and her partner as they depart from the devastated Earth and head for a new life on the planet Eden17. However, life has already been made extinct on the new world, so Romi finds herself eking out an even harsher life there.



Note: The anime has a film version with an alternative ending titled "Hi no Tori: Eden no Hana" that released in Japan on November 3rd, 2023.

Tags: Space , Time Skip , Female Protagonist , Tragedy , Cosmic Horror , Post-Apocalyptic , Aliens , Age Regression , Robots , Fugitive , Environmental , Shapeshifting , Agriculture , Animals , Drugs

Takahashi Rumiko Gekijou: Ningyo no Mori

Also known as Mermaid Forest (TV).

Studio: TV Tokyo , TMS Entertainment , Studio 4°C
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Horror , Mystery

According to an ancient legend, mermaid's flesh can grant immortality if eaten. 500 years ago, Yuta unknowingly ate a piece of mermaid's flesh. For centuries, he travels across Japan, hoping to find a mermaid, thinking she may be able to make him a normal human again. When he finally finds one, he discovers that she and her companions have been raising a girl to be their food so they can eat her and take on her youthful looks. That is how mermaids stay young. Yuta kills the mermaids and rescues her, but she has already eaten some of the mermaid's flesh. Although he had to kill the mermaids, Yuta isn't too disappointed. Yuta's once lonely existence is now over, as he has found a companion in Mana. And Mana, who had been trapped in a small hut her whole life, finds delight in even the simplest of things. Together, Yuta and Mana attempt to seek out more mermaids, trying to become normal humans again.



Tags: Mermaid , Historical , Rural , Episodic , Gore , Body Horror , Mythology , Shounen , Male Protagonist , Female Protagonist , Tragedy

Hidamari no Ki

Studio: MADHOUSE , VAP
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

A story set in the mid-1800's about a young doctor who has been trained in Western-style medicine and a young samurai who is trying to live up to the old traditions of his class and culture. The story is actually based upon real people - the doctor, Ryo-an, was Tezuka's great grandfather.

During the Second Year of Ansei (1855) in Edo's Koishigawa are two young men, Manjiro Ibutani and Ryoan Tezuka. Ibutani is a low-ranking samurai who is a gifted swordsman and has a straightforward and strong sense of justice. Tezuka has a more carefree attitude. He has an eye for the ladies, but he is passionate about becoming a doctor. The two opposite characters come of age during the backdrop of the turbulent end of the Tokugawa Period (1600-1868 CE).



Tags: Medicine , Historical , Male Protagonist , Primarily Adult Cast , Conspiracy , Pandemic , Seinen , Samurai , Coming of Age , Swordplay , Work , Time Skip , Biographical , Nudity

Akuemon

Studio: Tezuka Productions
Status: Finished
Genres: Fantasy , Romance

A fortuneteller tells Hidari Taisho that he must hunt down 1000 foxes in order to conquer the country. So Akuemon, who is disliked by everybody, is hired to do the foxhunting. In response, the foxes send a female fox to Akuemon's house disguised as his wife. A story unfolds between Akuemon, who has never loved anyone, and the female fox, who slowly discovers true love in him even while tormented by sorrow over her comrades' death. This is the 6th work in "The Lion Books" series. It is also the first attempt by visualist Tezuka Makoto, Tezuka's older son, to render an original of his father's into an animated version.



Tags: Historical

Jungle Taitei (1989)

Also known as The New Adventures of Kimba The White Lion.

Studio: TV Tokyo , Tezuka Productions
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Drama

Leo is a young ambitious lion cub who takes his father's place as emperor of the jungle when is father is killed by poachers. Even though his father's fate was met by the hands of humans, Leo is one of the few animals in the Jungle that doesn't fear or feel hatred toward humans. He is not alone either, he is guided by friends of his father to help create the best animal kingdom there can be.



Tags: Animals , Foreign , Kids , Male Protagonist

Daishizen no Majuu: Bagi

Also known as Bagi, the Monster of Mighty Nature.

Studio: Tezuka Productions
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Romance , Sci-Fi

Ryo is sent out by the people of a village to kill the monster which has been attacking the villagers. It is rumored that this monster is a cat-woman named Bagi. As Ryo waits for the monster to come to its watering hole, he thinks back to how he first met Bagi as a kitten who learned how to write, and later reenters his life on a quest to discover who and what she really is. But now she has gone wild, and as the time of her arrival approaches, he strengthens his resolve to kill her.



Tags: Animals , Achronological Order , Chimera , Kemonomimi , Monster Girl , Nekomimi , Revenge , Foreign , Motorcycles , Male Protagonist , Tragedy , Female Protagonist , Time Skip , Delinquents , Heterosexual , Guns