Anime like Radio City Fantasy: Machikado no Märchen

Bobby ni Kubittake

Studio: MADHOUSE , Kadokawa Shoten , Project Team Argos
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance

The "Bobby" referred to in the title is actually 17-year-old Akihiko Nomura, an underachieving high school kid with a deep love for motorcycles. His grades are failing, and his father – traditional and strict (but who must have also at some point gave in and allowed him to have a motorcycle) – is trying everything he can think of to get the kid to apply for college. His mother is so silent, she might as well not even exist. Really, his support system lies entirely in his twinkle-toed little sister, who's nosy but cheers him on in her own way.

Bobby really does little else but work on his bike. He cleans his bike. He tunes up his bike. He rides his bike. One would call him a motorcycle otaku. His most recent achievement seems to have been getting photos of himself on a road trip printed in a motorcyclist hobby magazine. This leads to an unexpected result: a girl his age, who picked up that issue on a whim, decides to write him a letter. A long, rambling letter, but dreamily romantic just the same. Bobby admits to his sister that he's never gotten a letter from a girl before. He writes back, "I got your letter. I'm happy 'cause it was from a girl."

Bobby is not a well-rounded kid. He barely speaks – even to his own family – and the "letters" he writes back to the mystery girl usually consist of a single sentence or so. His motorcycle obsession is all-consuming, to the point where he happily quits school to work at a biker bar. Of course, his father, at a loss, kicks him out of the house. Staying with a friend, he's delighted when his female pen pal says she'll call him. On that day, his boss at the bar decides to take him to a motocross track. But that's a day that wouldn't end in a way that anybody would expect.



Note: Based on the novel of the same name by Yoshio Kataoka.

Tags: Motorcycles , Tragedy , Male Protagonist , Coming of Age , Foreign

Inu-ou

Also known as Inu-Oh.

Studio: Science SARU , Asmik Ace , Aniplex
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Music , Supernatural

Musical fantasy film based on Hideo Furukawa's Heike Monogatari: Inu-Ou no Maki (Tales of the Heike: Inu-Ou) novel.

Inu-Oh is born with unique physical characteristics. His parents cover every inch of his body with garments, including a mask on his face. One day, Inu-Oh meets a blind boy named Tomona, a biwa player. As Tomona starts to sing and play, Inu-Oh is amazed to discover he has an incredible ability to dance. The two become inseparable. Tomona and Inu-Oh start sharing their talent with audiences. Their performances quickly gain acclaim and draw crowds. But why is Tomona blind? Why was Inu-Oh born looking like he does? A story about a legendary artist from 14th-century Japan, who defied fate to forge his own destiny. An anime in the form of a rock operetta with spectacular music and dance sequences.



Note: The film received an early premiere at the 78th Venice International Film Festival on September 9, 2021.

Tags: Anachronism , Band , Musical Theater , Male Protagonist , Primarily Male Cast , Dancing , Tragedy , Historical , Disability , Rock Music , Acting , Time Skip , Samurai , Demons , Gender Bending

FLCL

Also known as FLCL.

Studio: Gainax , Production I.G , Starchild Records , Funimation , GANSIS
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Comedy , Mecha , Sci-Fi

Naota is a detached sixth grader afflicted by the pangs of puberty. He's fooling around with his brother's ex-girlfriend when a crazed girl on a motor scooter runs him over, brains him with a bass guitar, and moves into his house. This pink-haired girl, Haruko - who claims she's an alien - hurls Naota into the middle of a mega-corporation's secret agenda. Oh, and now giant battling robots shoot from his skull. Mix in mind-bending animation and tunes that echo through your cerebellum to top off the trip that will have you falling hard for FLCL.



Tags: Coming of Age , Surreal Comedy , Psychosexual , Male Protagonist , Age Gap , Female Protagonist , Meta , Philosophy , Primarily Teen Cast , Robots , Slapstick , Denpa , Aliens , Love Triangle , Parody , Mopeds , Heterosexual , Vore , Amnesia , Guns , Kaiju , Urban , Gods , Super Robot , Body Horror , Real Robot , Nudity , Episodic , Baseball , CGI

Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer

Also known as Urusei Yatsura Movie 2: Beautiful Dreamer.

Studio: Studio Pierrot , Kitty Film , Studio Kyuuma , Discotek , Toho
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Romance , Sci-Fi

In Urusei Yatsura: Beautiful Dreamer, Tomobiki High is in a frenzy to get ready for the school festival. Props need to be made, costumes designed, and maybe somewhere sleep to be had! Ataru, Lum, Shutaro, Shinobu, and the rest of Class 2-4 are determined to not be outdone this year, and they're rushing to make the final preparations for tomorrow's grand opening.

Once they wake up the next morning, they continue their mad rush to get ready for tomorrow's grand opening. And then the next day... hey, isn't something strange going on? Silence lingers over the city, the buildings filled with nothing but dust and mold. Is this a dream? Or have the kids (and a few related adults) of Class 2-4 finally woken up? If they can spend each day having fun with each other, does it matter?



Tags: Time Manipulation , Memory Manipulation , Aliens , Male Protagonist , Female Protagonist , Tanks , Heterosexual , Space , Amnesia , Tomboy , Demons , Ensemble Cast , Shrine Maiden , Meta

BIRTH

Also known as BIRTH.

Studio: ADV Films , Victor Entertainment , Kaname Production
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Comedy , Fantasy , Mecha , Psychological , Sci-Fi

Aqualoid was a prosperous planet, but an attack from a mysterious life force, the Inorganics, transforms it into a post-apocalyptic shell of its former self. When Nam finds a mysterious sword, he is suddenly the object of a planet-wide chase. With the Inorganics closing in, will Nam and his friends discover the secret of the sword and save their world? Or will they destroy Aqualoid in favor of a new Birth?


Tags: Aliens , Robots , Ensemble Cast , Lost Civilization , Space , Aviation , Desert , Shounen , Survival , Guns , Reincarnation , Afterlife , Female Protagonist

A-Girl

Studio: MADHOUSE , Shueisha
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance

Sisters Mariko and Mayu, along with Mariko's bad-tempered boyfriend, become involved with Ichiro, an arrogant, womanizing male model.

A-Girl has very few lines of dialogue and is performed against a background of Japanese pop songs composed by Okada Tooru and sung in English! by SEIKA. Intertiles provide continuity, like in old silent films.

Tags: Female Protagonist , Acting , No Dialogue , Love Triangle , Shoujo , Heterosexual , School

Tenshi no Tamago

Also known as Angel's Egg.

Studio: Studio Gallop , Studio DEEN , Studio Hibari , Tokuma Shoten
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Psychological

In a desolate and dark world full of shadows, lives one little girl who seems to do nothing but collect water in jars and protect a large egg she carries everywhere. A mysterious man enters her life... and they discuss the world around them.



Tags: Philosophy , Dystopian , Lost Civilization , Mythology , Post-Apocalyptic , Tragedy , Religion , Cosmic Horror , Angels , Female Protagonist , Amnesia , No Dialogue , Coming of Age , Urban Fantasy , Survival , Foreign , Fairy Tale , Tanks , Cultivation , Body Horror

Chibi Maruko-chan: Watashi no Suki na Uta

Studio: Nippon Animation , Sakura Production
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Slice of Life

Sakura Momoko's teacher assigns the third grade to draw an image based on their favorite song to enter a contest. Momoko loves a song she recently learned during her music class and is anxious to make a good drawing based on it. On her way to meet her relatives in Shizuoka, she meets Shouko Kimura, a university student who occasionally draws portraits at the local train station and plans to also participate in an art contest. Fascinated by her illustrations, Sakura meets Kimura once again. Shouko is enchanted by Momoko's sympathy and honesty. They quickly become friends and end up inspiring each other in their own way.



Tags: Chibi , Female Protagonist , Family Life , Drawing , Iyashikei , Musical Theater

Interstella 5555: THE 5TORY OF THE 5ECRET 5TAR 5YSTEM

Also known as Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem.

Studio: Toei Animation , EMI
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Music , Sci-Fi

This film is a visual companion piece to "Discovery", an album by Daft Punk. It tells the story of a band of four extraterrestrial musicians who are kidnapped and brought back to Earth by an evil manager. Their only hopes lie with a space pilot from their home planet who, after receiving a distress call broadcasted during the abduction, seeks out to rescue them.

Tags: Band , Aliens , No Dialogue , Primarily Adult Cast , Cyberpunk , Female Protagonist , Ensemble Cast , Space , Tragedy , Space Opera , Memory Manipulation , Amnesia , Primarily Male Cast , Crime , Male Protagonist , Conspiracy , Dancing , Fashion , Cars , Elderly Protagonist

Ongaku

Also known as ON-GAKU: OUR SOUND.

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Music , Slice of Life

When you’re a bored teenager looking for thrills, sometimes the only thing you can turn to is rock ‘n roll. Having no skill, money, or even a full set of drums, a feared trio of high school delinquents nevertheless decide they are destined for musical glory in a quest to impress their only friend Aya, avoid a rival gang, and – most importantly – jam out. Animated almost entirely by director Kenji Iwaisawa, and featuring a lead performance by Japanese alt-rock legend Shintaro Sakamoto, ON-GAKU: OUR SOUND brings its own sound and vision to the Hiroyuki Oohashi manga from which it was adapted. With pitch-perfect deadpan humor, the film presents a highly original take on the beloved slacker comedy: a lo-fi buddy film with a blaring musical finale that will leave you wanting an immediate encore.



Tags: Band , Delinquents , Rotoscoping , Coming of Age , Primarily Teen Cast , Rock Music , Male Protagonist , Primarily Male Cast , School