Anime like Romeo no Aoi Sora

Ie Naki Ko

Also known as Nobody's Boy Remi.

Studio: TMS Entertainment , MADHOUSE
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Slice of Life

Remi is a boy living happily with his mother in the French countryside. But everything changes when his estranged father comes home and, in desperate need of money, reveals that Remi is adopted, and sells him. Heartbroken, Remi ends up with Vitalis, a traveling musician, and his troupe of animal entertainers. Together, they travel the country trying to make a living, along the way learning the harsh lessons of life. A deeply moving story about friendship, loss and the pursuit of happiness.



Tags: Coming of Age , Tragedy , Survival , Classic Literature , Foreign , Musical Theater , Philosophy , Rural , Agriculture , Family Life , Travel , Homeless , Male Protagonist , Historical , Animals , Band , Outdoor Activities , Teacher , Urban , Dancing , Guns , Crime , Adoption , Disability , Acting , Orphan

Ie Naki Ko Remi

Also known as Remi, Nobody's Girl.

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

Remy, a cheerful and tender-hearted girl, lives with her mother in a French country town. One day her father returns to the town after a long period working away from home in a city. Her father tells Remy that she isn't their real daughter, and Remy is almost sold to an evil slave trader. It is Vitalis, a strolling entertainer, who helps Remy. Vitalis discovers her talent for singing and decides to take her in with his troupe.



Tags: Classic Literature , Historical , Coming of Age , Philosophy , Found Family , Travel , Survival , Kids , Female Protagonist , Foreign , Work , Tragedy , Animals , Episodic

Akage no Anne

Also known as Anne of Green Gables.

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

Anne is an orphan full of imagination. When she arrives at her new home she learns that sometimes you have to be a sensible person too; at the same time her unique character changes, or at least attracts, the people around her. The story covers Anne's growth from about eleven to seventeen years old as she makes friends, goes to school and studies. At a difficult point in her life, Anne will have to make a hard choice and perhaps find a new dream.

Tags: Coming of Age , Classic Literature , Female Protagonist , Historical , Family Life , Orphan , Rural , Adoption , Iyashikei , Found Family , Time Skip , School , Tragedy , Foreign , Religion , Agriculture , Primarily Female Cast , Kids , Primarily Child Cast , School Club , College , Elderly Protagonist , Musical Theater , Tsundere , Trains

Alps no Shoujo Heidi

Also known as Heidi, Girl of the Alps.

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

After becoming an orphan, Heidi is forced to live with her grandfather Öhi, who lives in the Alps. She learns he's a very bitter man who only accepted by force to take her in. But Heidi's kindness may be able to open his heart. Together with the shepherd Peter and invalid Klara, she has lots of adventures.



Tags: Classic Literature , Rural , Foreign , Rehabilitation , Female Protagonist , Historical , Kids , Primarily Child Cast , Coming of Age , Animals , Urban , Family Life , Agriculture , Orphan , Philosophy , School

Princess Sara

Also known as A Little Princess Sara.

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

Sara, a pretty girl born into a rich British family in India, is treated like a little princess at a dormitory school in London. Sara’s sweet school life turns to tragedy when she learns of her father’s death and the family’s bankruptcy. However, Sara endures her hard luck with kindness and imagination and escapes from her misery through fantasies.



Based on the novel "A Little Princess" by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

Tags: Bullying , Historical , Class Struggle , Boarding School , Maids , Classic Literature , Female Protagonist , Primarily Female Cast , Tragedy , Primarily Child Cast , Foreign , Ojou-sama , Coming of Age , War , Work , Villainess , Food , Urban , Time Skip , Trains , Ships

Les Misérables: Shoujo Cosette

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

Based on the famous classic novel Les Miserables.

Being a single mother is hard in early 19th Century France. When young Cosette was traveling with her mother trying to find a job and a place to live, they were always shunned away because very few employers hire single mothers. When she is promised with the prosperity of working in the big city, Cosette is separated from her mother in the hopes a caretaker will watch over her while her mother earns some money. Unfortunately this was a trick and the caretaker is a corrupt man who makes Cosette his indentured servant. Then the kind mayor of the town that Cosette makes her new home in sees how winds of change are so detrimental for children and families, and decides to do something about it.



Tags: Historical , Classic Literature , Coming of Age , Tragedy , Bullying , Female Protagonist , Heterosexual , Foreign , Time Skip , Inn , Male Protagonist , Fugitive , Love Triangle , Guns , Police , Animals , Marriage , Religion

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

Omoide no Marnie

Also known as When Marnie Was There.

Studio: Studio Ghibli , Madman Entertainment , GKids
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Mystery , Psychological

Suffering from frequent asthma attacks, young Anna Sasaki is quiet, unsociable, and isolated from her peers, causing her foster parent endless worry. Upon recommendation by the doctor, Anna is sent to the countryside, in hope the cleaner air and more relaxing lifestyle will improve her health and help clear her mind. Engaging in her passion for sketching, Anna spends her summer days living with her aunt and uncle in a small town near the sea.

One day while wandering outside, Anna discovers an abandoned mansion known as the Marsh House. However, she soon finds that the residence isn't as vacant as it appears to be, running into a mysterious girl named Marnie. Marnie's bubbly demeanor slowly begins to draw Anna out of her shell as she returns night after night to meet with her new friend. But it seems there is more to the strange girl than meets the eye—as her time in the town nears its end, Anna begins to discover the truth behind the walls of the Marsh House.

Omoide no Marnie tells the touching story of a young girl's journey through self-discovery and friendship, and the summer that she will remember for the rest of her life.



Tags: Female Protagonist , Rural , Ghost , Outdoor Activities , Tragedy , Time Manipulation , Drawing , Disability , Estranged Family , Amnesia , Classic Literature , Bullying , Ojou-sama , Kids , Coastal

Yakusoku no Neverland

Also known as The Promised Neverland.

Studio: CloverWorks , Aniplex , Dentsu , Fuji TV , Shueisha , Aniplex of America
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Horror , Mystery , Psychological , Thriller

Emma, Norman and Ray are the brightest kids at the Grace Field House orphanage. And under the care of the woman they refer to as “Mom,” all the kids have enjoyed a comfortable life. Good food, clean clothes and the perfect environment to learn—what more could an orphan ask for? One day, though, Emma and Norman uncover the dark truth of the outside world they are forbidden from seeing.



Tags: Dystopian , Survival , Primarily Child Cast , Orphan , Tragedy , Found Family , Demons , Coming of Age , Ensemble Cast , Female Protagonist , Male Protagonist , Shounen , Gore , Tanned Skin

Hitomi no Naka no Shounen: Juugo Shounen Hyouryuuki

Also known as The Story of Fifteen Boys.

Studio: Nippon Animation , Fuji TV
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure

A two-week summer vacation has turned out to be a long struggle for survival.

“The Story of 15 Boys” is based on "Deux Ans de Vacances", a unique masterpiece and the only novel that Jules Verne wrote especially for children. Now this story has been animated through the use of leading-edge techniques.

A drifting sailboat carrying 15 boys is overtaken by a storm and cast ashore on a desert island, where the fifteen boys begin their struggle. Their tough days-full of danger, thrills and fear-drive the boys to distress at times, but also shape them into strong independent people.

The boys' extraordinary experiences on the island will bring to all young viewers the excitement that they always dream of experiencing themselves.



Tags: Historical , Coming of Age , Primarily Child Cast