Anime like Eiga Daisuki Pompo-san

Eizouken ni wa Te wo Dasu na!

Also known as Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!.

Studio: Science SARU , Crunchyroll , NHK Enterprises , Shogakukan , Warner Bros. Japan
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Comedy , Slice of Life

First year high schooler Midori Asakusa loves anime so much, she insists that "concept is everything" in animation. Though she draws a variety of ideas in her sketchbook, she hasn't taken the first step to creating anime, insisting that she can't do it alone. The producer-type Sayaka Kanamori is the first to notice Asakusa's genius. Then, when it becomes clear that their classmate, charismatic fashion model Tsubame Mizusaki, really wants to be an animator, they create an animation club to realize the "ultimate world" that exists in their minds.



Tags: Drawing , School Club , Primarily Teen Cast , Primarily Female Cast , Female Protagonist , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Otaku Culture , Urban , Surreal Comedy , Coming of Age , Educational , Urban Fantasy , Seinen , Tanned Skin , Filmmaking , Ensemble Cast , Meta , Tomboy

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

SHIROBAKO

Also known as SHIROBAKO.

Studio: P.A. Works
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Slice of Life

Once upon a time, five girls made an animated film and it was so much fun that they pledged to get jobs in animation so that someday they could make another film together. Now, two years later, Aoi, Shizuka, Ema, Misa and Midori have learned the truth about the anime industry: it's not always fun, it's anything but easy, and having talent isn't always enough to open the right doors.

Which is why Aoi's overwhelmed by her job as a production assistant, Shizuka's waiting on tables between auditions, Midori's currently scriptless, Misa's switched to C.G., and Ema's working long hours as a key animator. Is it what they imagined? No. But are they ready to give up? Not just yet! Sometimes, when things happen in animation, they can happen in the most wonderful ways!



Tags: Work , Primarily Adult Cast , Drawing , Female Protagonist , Ensemble Cast , Meta , Otaku Culture , Educational , Office Lady , Primarily Female Cast , Coming of Age , Office , Acting , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Cars , Kuudere , Primarily Teen Cast

Look Back

Also known as LOOK BACK.

Studio: Studio Durian , Avex Pictures
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Slice of Life

Ayumu Fujino is a fourth grader who draws a manga strip for the school newspaper. Her art makes her the star of the class, but one day she's told that Kyomoto, a student who refuses to come to school, would also like to submit a manga for the paper...



Tags: Drawing , Tragedy , Female Protagonist , Coming of Age , Otaku Culture , Primarily Female Cast , Time Manipulation , Meta , Hikikomori , Work , Rotoscoping , Autobiographical , School , Shounen

SHIROBAKO Movie

Also known as SHIROBAKO the Movie.

Studio: P.A. Works , Infinite
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Slice of Life

The story is set four years after the events of the original Shirobako anime. Aoi Miyamori keeps busy dealing with the ordinary troubles in her daily work at Musashino Animation. After a morning meeting, Watanabe talks to Aoi and puts her in charge of a new theatrical anime project for the studio. The project has unexpected problems, and Aoi is unsure if the company can proceed with a theatrical anime with its current state of affairs. While dealing with that anxiety, Aoi meets a new colleague named Kaede Miyai. She and the MusAni team work together to complete the project.



Tags: Primarily Adult Cast , Work , Drawing , Female Protagonist , Ensemble Cast , Meta , Educational , Otaku Culture , Primarily Female Cast , Acting , Office Lady , Mahjong , Kuudere

PERFECT BLUE

Also known as Perfect Blue.

Studio: MADHOUSE , Rex Entertainment , ONIRO , Techno Sound , GKids
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Horror , Psychological , Thriller

Rising pop star Mima has quit singing to pursue a career as an actress and model, but her fans aren’t ready to see her go... Encouraged by her managers, Mima takes on a recurring role on a popular TV show, when suddenly her handlers and collaborators begin turning up murdered. Harboring feelings of guilt and haunted by visions of her former self, Mima’s reality and fantasy meld into a frenzied paranoia. As her stalker closes in, in person and online, the threat he poses is more real than even Mima knows, in this iconic psychological thriller that has frequently been hailed as one of the most important animated films of all time.



Note: The film received an early premiere at the Fantasia Film Festival on August 5, 1997.

Tags: Dissociative Identities , Denpa , Female Protagonist , Acting , Idol , Primarily Adult Cast , Meta , Work , Philosophy , Tragedy , Filmmaking , Gore , Nudity , Noir

Blue Period

Also known as Blue Period.

Studio: Seven Arcs , DMM music , Kodansha , DMM pictures , Mainichi Broadcasting System , Bit Grooove Promotion , Netflix
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Slice of Life

The studious Yatora leaves a dry life of study and good manners behind for a new passion: painting. But untethering yourself from all your past expectations is dangerous as well as thrilling…



Note: The anime premiered on Netflix on Sep 25, 2021 in Japan. The TV broadcast started on Oct 2, 2021.

Tags: Drawing , Coming of Age , Male Protagonist , School , Primarily Teen Cast , Educational , Seinen , Philosophy , School Club , Time Skip , Urban , Bisexual , Transgender , LGBTQ+ Themes , Crossdressing , Femboy , Nudity

Zenshuu.

Also known as ZENSHU.

Studio: MAPPA , MAPPA , Twin Engine , TV Tokyo , Movic , Bushiroad , Rakuten
Status: Releasing
Genres: Comedy , Romance

After graduating from high school, Natsuko Hirose starts her career as an animator. Her talent quickly flourishes, and she makes her debut as a director in no time. Her first anime becomes a massive hit, sparking a social phenomenon and earning her recognition as an up-and-coming genius director. Her next project is set to be a romantic comedy movie themed around first love! However, having never been in love herself, Natsuko struggles to understand the concept of first love, and as a result, she’s unable to create the storyboard, causing the movie production to come to a standstill.



Tags: Magic , Isekai , Super Power , Female Protagonist , Drawing , Anthropomorphism , Gods , Primarily Adult Cast , Heterosexual , Meta , Otaku Culture , Work , Office Lady , Desert , Elf , Robots , Animals , Archery , Yuri , Tokusatsu , Henshin , Office

[Oshi no Ko] 2nd Season

Also known as Oshi no Ko Season 2.

Studio: KADOKAWA , Doga Kobo , Shueisha , Doga Kobo , CyberAgent
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Mystery , Psychological , Supernatural

The second season of [Oshi no Ko].

Aqua’s desire for revenge takes center stage as he navigates the dark underbelly of the entertainment world alongside his twin sister, Ruby. While Ruby follows in their slain mother’s footsteps to become an idol, Aqua joins a famous theater troupe in hopes of uncovering clues to the identity of his father — the man who arranged their mother’s untimely death, and the man who once starred in the same troupe Aqua hopes to infiltrate.



Tags: Acting , Revenge , Twins , Idol , Anti-Hero , Seinen , Male Protagonist , Tragedy , Reincarnation , Love Triangle , Urban , Tsundere , Urban Fantasy , Drawing , Time Skip , Swordplay

Comic Party

Also known as Comic Party.

Studio: OLM , KSS , The Right Stuf International
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama

Destiny or delusion? It's a hilarious rollercoaster of laughter and confusion when Taishi, the ultimate otaku, drags his friend Kazuki into the swirling world of ambition, hatred, and love - the world of fan comics! Poor clueless Kazuki must sink or swim when he's dumped straight into the middle of a massive comic convention. Lost amidst hoards of buyers, sellers, and cosplayers, Kazuki is about to be baptized by fire, all in order to lead him toward his true calling: to take over the world through fan comics!

Meanwhile, Kazuki's childhood friend Mizuki isn't about to let him be dragged from his normal life without a fight! But will she be able to stop the addictive draw of the new world that lies before Kazuki? Little by little, Kazuki is slipping down the path towards destiny - and Taishi is shoving him every step of the way!



Tags: Otaku Culture , Work , Drawing , Cosplay , Male Protagonist , Tsundere , School , Female Harem , Kuudere , Unrequited Love , Ojou-sama