Anime like Heisei Tanuki Gassen Ponpoko

Uchouten Kazoku

Also known as The Eccentric Family.

Studio: Bandai Visual , Lantis , P.A.WORKS , YTV , Magic Capsule
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Fantasy , Slice of Life , Supernatural

In Kyoto, there are three kinds of residents: humans, raccoon dogs, and tengu. Shimogamo Yasaburou is the third son of the Shimogamo raccoon dog family. His father, Souichirou, had been the head of Kyoto raccoon dog community until he was eaten by the human members of "Friday Club". While taking care of old tengu, fighting with other raccoon dogs, and playing with a psychic human girl, Yasaburou approaches the truth of his father's death.

Tags: Mythology , Urban Fantasy , Family Life , Male Protagonist , Shapeshifting , Youkai , Philosophy , Animals , Primarily Adult Cast , Gender Bending , Age Gap , Surreal Comedy , Crossdressing , Tragedy , Twins , Love Triangle , Bar , Archery , Nudity

Mononoke-hime

Also known as Princess Mononoke.

Studio: Studio Ghibli , Tokuma Shoten , GKIDS , Nippon Television Network
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Fantasy

A calm village residing in the mountains comes under attack from a demon-possessed boar one day.

Ashitaka, a young man and prince of the tribe, engages the creature in an attempt to save his village. During the battle, the boar bites him on the arm, leaving it blackened and cursed. Following his village's traditions, Ashitaka is exiled and becomes a wanderer, looking for a solution to the curse before it engulfs him.

Iron Town is a fortress under the leadership of Lady Eboshi. Through the clearing of the surrounding forests, Iron Town produces large amounts of Ironsand, used for gunpowder and other machinery. However, because of the forests destruction, nearby animal clans seek revenge led by a human girl of the Wolf clan called San.

When Ashitaka comes to Iron Town, he discovers the area consumed in battle. Horrified, he attempts to create peace and befriend the Wolf Clan. However, after the forest's eradication and the ongoing war between Human and Beast, will the Spirit of the Forest be forgiving and accept Ashitaka's request to expel his curse?

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Tags: Environmental , Animals , Mythology , Philosophy , Eco-Horror , War , Gods , Wilderness , Demons , Rural , Youkai , Revenge , Female Protagonist , Curses , Historical , Primarily Adult Cast , Male Protagonist , Guns , Disability , Travel , Urban Fantasy , Samurai , Archery , Tomboy , Outdoor Activities , Body Horror , Gore , Slavery , Swordplay , Kaiju , Indigenous Cultures

Kaze no Tani no Nausicaä

Also known as Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.

Studio: Studio Hibari , Topcraft , Walt Disney Studios , GKIDS
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Fantasy , Sci-Fi

A thousand years after a global war, a seaside kingdom known as the Valley Of The Wind remains one of only a few areas still populated. Led by the courageous Princess Nausicaä, the people of the Valley are engaged in a constant struggle with powerful insects called ohmu, who guard a poisonous jungle that is spreading across the Earth. Nausicaä and her brave companions, together with the people of the Valley, strive to restore the bond between humanity and the Earth.



Tags: Environmental , Post-Apocalyptic , Female Protagonist , Philosophy , Lost Civilization , War , Aviation , Military , Eco-Horror , Kaiju , Survival , Primarily Adult Cast , Cosmic Horror , Travel , Anachronism , Guns , Politics , Orphan , Tanks , Cult , Revenge , Nudity , Elderly Protagonist

Neko no Ongaeshi

Also known as The Cat Returns.

Studio: Studio Ghibli , Walt Disney Studios , GKIDS
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Comedy , Drama , Fantasy

The Cat Returns is something of a loose spin-off of "Whisper of the Heart" as it features two characters from that film: Muta (the cat from "Whisper") and the Baron (the cat statue from "Whisper"). There is no other connection between the two movies and this is not a sequel. The story is based on Neko no Danshaku (Baron of Cat) by Hiiragi Aoi.

The main character of the story, Haru, is a clueless, ordinary 17-year-old girl. She has no special abilities and neither is she an extraordinary beauty. When faced with reality, she is unable to make decisions for herself, thus often sways to others' opinions to avoid challenge. One day, Haru saves the life of a cat without considering her own safety. The cat turns out to be the Cat Prince from the Kingdom of Cats, however as a result, Haru is trapped in the world of cats. Can Baron and Muta rescue Haru who has wandered into the world of cats?



Tags: Animals , Anthropomorphism , Nekomimi , Fairy Tale , Female Protagonist , Kemonomimi , Isekai , Primarily Animal Cast , Royal Affairs , Heterosexual , Arranged Marriage , Shoujo , Urban Fantasy , Male Protagonist , Swordplay , Crossover , Body Horror , School

Kappa no Coo to Natsuyasumi

Also known as Summer Days with Coo.

Studio: Aniplex , Shin-Ei Animation , Sony Music Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Comedy , Drama , Supernatural

Kouichi Uehara is a fourth grade student living in the suburb of Tokyo. One day, he picks up a large stone which turns out to be a fossil of a baby "Kappa" sleeping underground for the past 300 years, and names it "Coo". Koichi and Coo become good friends and starts living with his family. However, Coo could not adjust to the life style in Tokyo and starts to miss his family. On a hot summer day, Koichi and Coo decide to go on an adventurous road trip to find his peers.



Tags: Youkai , Environmental , Coming of Age , Male Protagonist , Bullying , Rural , Family Life , Kaiju , School , Historical , Natural Disaster

Uchi no Shishou wa Shippo ga Nai

Also known as My Master Has No Tail.

Studio: Pony Canyon , LIDENFILMS , Mainichi Broadcasting System , TMS Entertainment , Studio Pierrot , Yostar , BS Asahi , Sentai Filmworks
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Fantasy , Slice of Life

Throughout time, supernatural, shapeshifting tanuki loved playing tricks on humankind. One plucky tanuki, Mameda, is no different. But there's one big problem. She wasn’t born in the days of yore — she was born in modern, more cynical times! How can she fulfill her mischievous tanuki destiny when supernatural hijinks are a thing of the past? She finds an angle when she meets Bunko, a master of the Japanese art of rakugo, which uses storytelling to beguile its audience. Mameda is determined to use rakugo to cast a spell on humanity, but first this tanuki trickster must convince the no-nonsense Bunko to take her on as an apprentice.



Tags: Rakugo , Primarily Female Cast , Female Protagonist , Kuudere , Historical , Shapeshifting , Youkai , Acting , Seinen , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Kemonomimi , Mythology , Animals , Tsundere , LGBTQ+ Themes , Age Gap , Ojou-sama , Disability , Found Family

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 , Animals , Kemonomimi , Tragedy , Male Protagonist , Urban , Agriculture , Mythology , School , Heterosexual , Urban Fantasy

Wan Wan Chuushingura

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

The homeless dog Rock swears to take to revenge on a tiger named Killer in the zoo, who had killed his mother. The dogs in town, troubled by the atrocities of Killer, join forces to support Rock. Changing the target of revenge to the murderer of the main character's mother made it easier for kids to empathize with the character.



Tags: Revenge , Animals , Male Protagonist , Primarily Male Cast , Urban , Primarily Animal Cast , Kids , Rural , Coming of Age , POV

Chikyuu Shoujo Arjuna

Also known as Arjuna.

Studio: Bandai Visual , Satelight , Bandai Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Fantasy , Sci-Fi

Juna was just an ordinary high-school girl, right up until the day she died in a motorcycle accident. But there, in the twilight of death, she saw the future of the barren earth destroyed by the Raaja, and was offered a second chance at life if she would stop them. Now she must learn to cast aside her thoughtlessly destructive ways and face her destiny as the Avatar of Time, the one being who can decide the fate of the planet.



Tags: Environmental , Eco-Horror , Urban Fantasy , Magic , Female Protagonist , CGI , Gods , Super Power , Mixed Media , Philosophy , Reincarnation , Educational , Archery , Rural , Motorcycles , Coastal , Pandemic , Henshin , Estranged Family , Orphan , Disability , Military , Love Triangle , Agriculture , School , Heterosexual , Body Horror , Necromancy , Cultivation

Miyori no Mori

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

After being deserted by her parents, 11-year-old Miyori shuts her heart from the rest of the world and denies any form of human relationships. She was entrusted in the care of her grandmother who lives near a forest. Miyori will take a walk in the forest where she felt a strong sense of loneliness in the forest which seems to have nothing. However, she soon encounters unbelievable things and gradually realizes that the forest is more than what it seems...



Tags: Female Protagonist , Youkai , Rural , Shoujo , Environmental