Anime like Pika Don

Hadashi no Gen

Also known as Barefoot Gen.

Studio: MADHOUSE , RCC Chugoku Broadcasting , GEN Productions , Discotek
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

It's the summer of 1945. 3 years have elapsed since the war between Japan and USA began. Gen is a young boy living a struggling yet satisfying life in the city of Hiroshima, that has been strangely spared by the bombing taken in almost every other Japanese City. Food is scarce, and Gen's family is suffering from severe malnutrition, which endangeres his pregnant mother. There isn't much spare time as Gen and his little brother Shinji help their father and mother at work and try to make sure their family survives the tought times. Little do they know, what the Americans have in store for the city of Hiroshima and as of the 6th of August 1945, their lives are about to change dramatically.



Tags: Tragedy , Historical , War , Autobiographical , Body Horror , Gore , Male Protagonist , Primarily Child Cast , Nudity , Educational

Ushiro no Shoumen Daare

Also known as Who's Left Behind?.

Studio: Mushi Production
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Slice of Life

Kayoko is a young girl in 1940, just starting first grade. She's a bit of a crybaby, which is no secret to those around her. She loves playing with friends and singing cute schoolyard chants, and occasionally having fun with her three older brothers. Her mother is pregnant, and so she looks forward to being a big sister, only partially understanding the responsibility that might bring. Meanwhile, the war effort is growing, and it`s only the natural thing to do to be patriotic and support the country...

Kayoko goes so far as to contribute her favorite dolly, whose materials could help build explosives. Time passes, and as she grows older, Kayoko sees how the war has affected her life and those around her. Nothing can prepare her for 1945, however, and the bleak times that are soon to come. Based on original creator Kayoko Ebina's real life experience during World War 2 on Showa era.



Tags: Historical , Female Protagonist , War , Autobiographical , Tragedy , Family Life , Coming of Age , Survival , Time Skip

Hotaru no Haka

Also known as Grave of the Fireflies.

Studio: Studio Ghibli , Sentai Filmworks
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

In the aftermath of a World War II bombing, two orphaned children struggle to survive in the Japanese countryside. To Seita and his four-year-old sister, the helplessness and indifference of their countrymen is even more painful than the enemy raids. Through desperation, hunger and grief, these children's lives are as heartbreakingly fragile as their spirit and love is inspiring.



Tags: Tragedy , Survival , Orphan , War , Family Life , Historical , Primarily Child Cast , Homeless , Rural , Female Protagonist , Military , Male Protagonist , Autobiographical , Educational

Tsuru ni Notte: Tomoko no Bouken

Also known as On A Paper Crane: Tomoko's Adventure.

Studio: Mushi Production
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

A young girl named Tomoko visits the Hiroshima Peace Memorial. There she has a mysterious meeting with Sadako, the little girl who was 2 years old when the U.S. dropped the bomb on her city during WWII and 11 when she died from the effects of radiation poisoning. Sadako takes Tomoko on an eye-opening journey.





Tags: Kids , War , Historical

Hiroshima e no Tabi

Also known as Journey to Hiroshima.

Studio: Toei Animation
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

To spend the summer vacation, junior high school student Kazuki rides a bullet train to Hiroshima to stay with his aunt. Upon arrival in Hiroshima, his aunt narrates the tragic past of what happened the day the atomic bomb fell. From the aunt, who had to overcome a lot of hardships, Kazuki learns the value of peace and how to have the courage to lose.

Tags: Tragedy , War , Historical , Table Tennis

Hiroshima ni Ichiban Densha ga Hashitta

Studio: MADHOUSE , NHK
Status: Finished
Genres:

The story follows a girl who works on a streetcar both before and after the bomb drops on Hiroshima.

Tags: Historical

Natsufuku No Shoujotachi

Studio: MADHOUSE , NHK
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

In 1945, the second and third-year students of a Hiroshima girls' school are taken away to work in war factories. The remaining 220 girls of the first year try to make the best of their new-found status as the only teenagers in an almost deserted town, even amid the deprivations of wartime. On the 7th of August, an American bomber changes their lives forever. Broadcast on the 43rd anniversary of Hiroshima in memory of "the girls who lost their lives to the atom bomb."

Tags: Historical , War