Anime like Kuragehime

Paradise Kiss

Studio: MADHOUSE , Aniplex , Fuji TV , Dentsu
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Romance , Slice of Life

Hayasaka Yukari is a typical high-school student who listens to her parents and attends school every day. As she starts to question her way of life, she encounters a group of fashion design students who have a clothing label known as "Paradise Kiss." The group needs to find a model to showcase their designs in an up-coming fashion show and decides to pick Yukari. Initially reluctant to be associated with this seemingly eccentric group, she eventually realizes they are really nice people. Furthermore, their passion and enthusiasm to follow their ideals make Yukari realize she has not been enjoying her life and thus motivates her to pursue her own dreams. The story follows Yukari as she gets involved in the group and eventually falls in love with the leader, George.



Tags: Fashion , Coming of Age , Josei , Female Protagonist , Makeup , Ensemble Cast , School Club , LGBTQ+ Themes , Love Triangle , Crossdressing , Heterosexual , Transgender , School , Boys' Love , Bisexual , Gender Bending

Ouran Koukou Host Club

Also known as Ouran High School Host Club.

Studio: bones , VAP , Nomad , Funimation , Nippon Television Network , Hakusensha
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Romance , Slice of Life

Fujioka Haruhi wins a scholarship to attend Ouran Academy, a school reserved for only the most rich and prestigious. Despite what other students may think of her, she cares little for physical appearances or the fact that she is a commoner.

Unfortunately for Haruhi, her high school days take a sudden turn when she stumbles upon the Host Club, an elite club filled with super rich and beautiful boys who use their specific traits and charms to entertain young ladies. Even worse, Haruhi accidentally breaks an 8-million yen vase in the club. Since she is unable to repay her debt with money, Haruhi finds herself with no choice but to work for the Host Club, becoming a male host herself.

Tags: School Club , Shoujo , Parody , Crossdressing , School , Female Protagonist , Primarily Teen Cast , Male Harem , Primarily Male Cast , Ensemble Cast , Tomboy , Cute Boys Doing Cute Things , Surreal Comedy , Femboy , Meta , Episodic , Twins , LGBTQ+ Themes , Mixed Gender Harem , Heterosexual , Found Family , Love Triangle , Unrequited Love , Chibi , Ojou-sama , Food , Martial Arts , Delinquents , Gangs , Yakuza

NANA

Also known as NANA.

Studio: MADHOUSE , VAP , Shueisha , Nippon Television Network , Sentai Filmworks
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Music , Romance , Slice of Life

Two twenty-somethings seemingly share nothing in common apart from their first name, but a chance meeting on a train bound for Tokyo sets Nana Komatsu and Nana Oosaki on a collision course with destiny. Nana Komatsu, a love-at-first-sight dreamer, aims to find enduring happiness in the big city. Nana Oosaki, neo punk rock vocalist, pursues her burning ambitions of musical stardom and worldwide fame. As their fates increasingly intertwine, they each chase their dreams — until the harsh realities of life in big city Tokyo threaten to tear everything apart.



Tags: Female Protagonist , Primarily Adult Cast , Band , Coming of Age , Tragedy , Love Triangle , Shoujo , Rock Music , Netorare , Heterosexual , Fashion , Ensemble Cast , College , Kuudere , Age Gap , Nudity , Mahjong , Gyaru , Noir

Howl no Ugoku Shiro

Also known as Howl‘s Moving Castle.

Studio: Studio Ghibli , d-rights , Tokuma Shoten , Walt Disney Studios , GKids
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Fantasy , Romance

Sophie, a quiet girl working in a hat shop, finds her life thrown into turmoil when she is literally swept off her feet by a handsome but mysterious wizard named Howl. The vain and vengeful Witch of the Waste, jealous of their friendship, puts a spell on Sophie. In a life-changing adventure, Sophie climbs aboard Howl's magnificent flying castle and enters a magical world on a quest to break the spell.



Tags: Magic , Female Protagonist , Elderly Protagonist , Steampunk , Witch , War , Monster Boy , Shapeshifting , Heterosexual , Disability , Fairy Tale , Found Family , Travel , Philosophy , Rural , Time Manipulation , Politics , Maids , Demons , Aviation , CGI , Curses , Coming of Age

Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge♥

Also known as The Wallflower.

Studio: Nippon Animation , Funimation
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy

Takano Kyohei, Oda Takenaga, Toyama Yukinojo, and Morii Ranmaru are going to rent a house to go to school for free on the condition that they make the girl of the house a "lady". However, Nakahara Sunako, the girl living there, is gloomy, weird, and horror movie maniac. She has a trauma of when she was told she was ugly by the boy whom she loved when she was in junior high school. She doesn't like beautiful things and gets a nosebleed when she looks at something beautiful.



Tags: Shoujo , Hikikomori , Primarily Teen Cast , Female Protagonist , Chibi , Parody , Episodic , Male Harem , Surreal Comedy , Heterosexual , Makeup , School , Otaku Culture , Crossdressing , Educational , Tragedy

Runway de Waratte

Also known as Smile Down the Runway.

Studio: Ezo’la , DMM pictures
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Slice of Life

Chiyuki Fujito has a dream: to become a Paris Collection model. The problem is, she's too short to be a model, and everyone around her tells her so! But no matter what they say, she won't give up. Her classmate, a poor student named Ikuto Tsumura, also has a dream: to become a fashion designer. One day Chiyuki tells him that it's "probably impossible" for him, causing him to consider giving it up...?! This is the story of two individuals wholeheartedly chasing after their dreams in spite of all the negativity that comes after them!



Tags: Fashion , Work , Family Life , Coming of Age , Male Protagonist , Shounen , Female Protagonist , School , Nudity , Primarily Teen Cast

Gokinjo Monogatari

Studio: Toei Animation , Asahi Housou , ASATSU
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Romance , Slice of Life

The protagonist, Mikako Kouda, is a student of "Yaza Gaku." Specialising in fashion design, Mikako dreams of becoming a fashion designer with her own brand. Living next to her is her childhood friend, Tsutomu Yamaguchi. Even though they have been close since they were young, they share a platonic friendship. However, Tsutomu has been gaining popularity, especially with the girls, because he seems to resemble a popular vocalist from a band and somehow, Mikako begins to see him in a different light.

This is a story about how youths cope with dreams, love and friendship.



Tags: Female Protagonist , Shoujo , Fashion , School Club , Ensemble Cast , Heterosexual , Makeup , College , Drawing , Gyaru

Hourou Musuko

Also known as Wandering Son.

Studio: Aniplex , AIC , Dentsu , Fuji TV , Magic Capsule , Enterbrain
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance , Slice of Life

Fifth grader Shuuichi Nitori is considered by most to be one of the prettiest girls in school, but much to her dismay, she is actually biologically male. Fortunately, Shuuichi has a childhood friend who shares similar feelings of gender dysphoria: the lanky tomboy Yoshino Takatsuki, who, though biologically female, does not identify as a girl. These two friends share a similar secret and find solace in one another; however, their lives become even more complicated when they must tread the unfamiliar waters of a new school, attempt to make new friends, and struggle to maintain old ones. Faced with nearly insurmountable odds, they must learn to deal with the harsh realities of growing up, gender identity, relationships, and acceptance.

Lauded as a decidedly serious take on gender identity and LGBT struggles, Takako Shimura's Hourou Musuko is about Shuuichi and Yoshino's journey to discover their true selves as they enter puberty, make friends, fall in love, and face real and difficult choices.

Note: The full version of Hourou Musuko was originally intended to be 12 episodes, but the programming block it aired on only had space for 11 episodes. Therefore, episodes 10 and 11 were edited together and aired on TV as episode 10. Episode 12 was aired on TV as episode 11. The full versions of episodes 10 and 11 were included on the BD & DVD releases and are included in the Hourou Musuko Specials entry.

Tags: LGBTQ+ Themes , Transgender , Coming of Age , Gender Bending , Female Protagonist , School , Crossdressing , Primarily Child Cast , Bullying , Family Life , Iyashikei , Love Triangle , Seinen , Acting , Bisexual , Writing , Photography , Basketball

Watashi ga Motenai no wa Dou Kangaetemo Omaera ga Warui!

Also known as WataMote: No Matter How I Look At It, It's You Guys' Fault I'm Not Popular!.

Studio: Square Enix , SILVER LINK. , Sentai Filmworks
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Slice of Life

At the tender age of 15, Tomoko Kuroki has already dated hundreds of boys — or at least in dating games she has. The sad truth is that she gets tongue-tied just talking to people, which makes her entrance into the social pressure cooker of high school especially odious and riddled with anxiety. Can Tomoko overcome her crippling social anxiety and finally have the popular high school life she’s always dreamed of? Or will she merely get caught in the downward spiral that is her awkward life?



Tags: Bisexual , Hikikomori , Female Protagonist , Disability , Psychosexual , Satire , Otaku Culture , School , Parody , Slapstick , Meta , Achronological Order , Chuunibyou , Video Games , Rehabilitation , Shounen

Arakawa Under the Bridge

Also known as Arakawa Under the Bridge.

Studio: Shaft , Square Enix , Starchild Records , Rakuonsha , NIS America Inc.
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Romance

Ko Ichinomiya's family motto is "Never be indebted to anyone," but after losing his pants and falling into the Arakawa River, he quickly finds himself in debt to his savior, the cutely insane Nino (who happens to live under the bridge). To repay her, he vows to help her with her desire to "experience love." Along the way he'll meet the river's other residents, including a hot-blooded kappa, a Sister in drag, and a literal rock star. Sorry, Ko—when you fell into that river, I guess you really got in over your head!



Tags: Surreal Comedy , Seinen , Ensemble Cast , Philosophy , Male Protagonist , Outdoor , Nun , Homeless , Episodic , Kuudere , Heterosexual , Love Triangle , Samurai