Anime like Skip Beat!

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 , Crossdressing , Parody , School , Male Harem , Female Protagonist , Primarily Teen Cast , Primarily Male Cast , Ensemble Cast , Tomboy , Cute Boys Doing Cute Things , Surreal Comedy , Twins , Meta , Episodic , LGBTQ+ Themes , Femboy , Mixed Gender Harem , Unrequited Love , Heterosexual , Found Family , Love Triangle , 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 , Ensemble Cast , Rock Music , Netorare , Heterosexual , Fashion , College , Kuudere , Nudity , Age Gap , Yuri , Mahjong

Kaichou wa Maid-sama!

Also known as Maid-Sama!.

Studio: J.C.STAFF , NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan , Hakusensha , Half H.P Studio , Sentai Filmworks
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Romance

Being the first female student council president isn't easy, especially when your school just transitioned from an all boys high school to a co-ed one. Aptly nicknamed "Demon President" by the boys for her strict disciplinary style, Misaki Ayuzawa is not afraid to use her mastery of Aikido techniques to cast judgment onto the hordes of misbehaving boys and defend the girls at Seika High School.

Yet even the perfect Ayuzawa has an embarrassing secret—she works part-time as a maid at a maid café to help her struggling family pay the bills. She has managed to keep her job hidden from her fellow students and maintained her flawless image as a stellar student until one day, Takumi Usui, the most popular boy in school, walks into the maid café. He could destroy her reputation with her secret... or he could twist the student council president around his little finger and use her secret as an opportunity to get closer to her.



Tags: Shoujo , Female Protagonist , School , Maids , Work , Tsundere , Primarily Teen Cast , Heterosexual , Episodic , School Club , Femboy , Otaku Culture , Love Triangle , Restaurant , Chibi , Kuudere , Crossdressing

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

Glass no Kamen (2005)

Also known as Glass Mask (2005).

Studio: MediaNet , Sentai Filmworks , TMS Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

Two Girls. One Dream. And the entire world for a stage.

At 13 years old, Maya Kitajima seems destined to spend the rest of her life toiling in a crowded restaurant alongside her bitter and unstable mother. But when her incredible acting talent is discovered by the legendary diva Chigusa Tsukikage, Maya finds a new future filled with both golden opportunities and terrifying risks.

For Ayumi Himekawa, success has always been assured, yet she longs to be recognized for her own talents and skills, not her famous parents' connections.

For both, the ultimate prize is the role of The Crimson Goddess in the play of the same name, a part created by Chigusa. To achieve this goal, both Maya and Ayumi must seek out and conquer every acting challenge, pushing the limits of their talent and endurance to the utmost, until they are worthy of the part…

But for one to win, the other must fail!



Tags: Acting , Work , Shoujo , Coming of Age , Female Protagonist , Primarily Female Cast , Age Gap , Tragedy , Idol

Full Moon wo Sagashite

Also known as Full Moon.

Studio: Studio DEEN , Viz Media , NAS
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Mahou Shoujo , Music , Romance , Supernatural

Twelve-year-old Kouyama Mitsuki was devastated when she was diagnosed with a malignant tumor of the throat. She had made a promise to the boy she loves that she would one day become a singer, but her illness made singing impossible. To make matters even worse, two angels of death, Takuto and Meroko, appeared to Mitsuki and informed her that she only had one year left to live. This news provides an even greater motivation for Mitsuki to fulfill her dreams, and with a little bit of divine intervention, she begins her quest to become a professional singer so she can be reunited with Eichi before time runs out.



Tags: Female Protagonist , Afterlife , Idol , Musical Theater , Shoujo , Angels , Tragedy , Heterosexual , Urban Fantasy , Work , Unrequited Love , Henshin , Youkai , Rehabilitation , Age Gap , Found Family , Kemonomimi , Orphan , Disability , Primarily Child Cast , Suicide , Mythology , Nekomimi , School , Denpa , Animals , Philosophy , Love Triangle , Reincarnation

[Oshi no Ko]

Also known as Oshi No Ko.

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

When a pregnant young starlet appears in Gorou Amemiya’s countryside medical clinic, the doctor takes it upon himself to safely (and secretly) deliver Ai Hoshino’s child so she can make a scandal-free return to the stage. But no good deed goes unpunished, and on the eve of her delivery, he finds himself slain at the hands of Ai’s deluded stalker — and subsequently reborn as Ai’s child, Aquamarine Hoshino! The glitz and glamor of showbiz hide the dark underbelly of the entertainment industry, threatening to dull the shine of his favorite star. Can he help his new mother rise to the top of the charts? And what will he do when unthinkable disaster strikes?



Note: Episode 1【推しの子】Mother and Children was pre-screened in advance in Japanese theaters on March 17, 2023. The regular TV broadcast began on April 12, 2023. The first episode has an extended runtime of ~82 minutes.

Tags: Acting , Tragedy , Idol , Revenge , Twins , Male Protagonist , Urban , Reincarnation , Pregnancy , Detective , Seinen , Tsundere , Boys' Love , Female Protagonist , Coming of Age , Anti-Hero , Time Skip , Age Regression , Orphan , Filmmaking , Ensemble Cast , Bullying , Love Triangle , Family Life , Urban Fantasy , Primarily Female Cast , Heterosexual , Fake Relationship , School , Suicide , Otaku Culture , Female Harem , Bowling

Lovely★Complex

Also known as Lovely Complex.

Studio: Toei Animation , TBS , TAP , Discotek , Sony Music Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Romance , Slice of Life

Love is unusual for Koizumi Risa and Ootani Atsushi, who are both striving to find their ideal partner in high school—172 cm tall Koizumi is much taller than the average girl, and Ootani is much shorter than the average guy at 156 cm. To add to their plights, their crushes fall in love with each other, leaving Koizumi and Ootani comically flustered and heartbroken. To make matters worse, they're even labeled as a comedy duo by their homeroom teacher due to their personalities and the stark difference in their heights, and their classmates even think of their arguments as sketches.

Lovely★Complex follows Koizumi and Ootani as they encourage each other in finding love and become close friends. Apart from their ridiculous antics, they soon find out an unexpected similarity in their music and fashion tastes. Maybe they possess a chemistry yet unknown, but could love ever bloom between the mismatched pair?



Tags: Female Protagonist , Shoujo , School , Slapstick , Primarily Teen Cast , Heterosexual , Tsundere , Tomboy , Netorare , Basketball , LGBTQ+ Themes , Transgender , Gender Bending , Femboy

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 , Makeup , Josei , Female Protagonist , Ensemble Cast , School Club , LGBTQ+ Themes , Crossdressing , Heterosexual , Love Triangle , Transgender , School , Bisexual , Boys' Love , Gender Bending

Itazura na Kiss

Also known as ItaKiss.

Studio: Bandai Visual , TMS Entertainment , Trinity Sound , Discotek
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Romance

Ever since she entered high school, Kotoko Aihara wanted to be in the same class as Naoki Irie. The only problem is that Irie is the smartest student in school in contrast to Kotoko being one of the dumbest. Now in her 3rd year of high school, she still isn't there. However, one day her home gets destroyed and the only place left to go to is Irie's home. Now that she lives close to him, will their relationship be the same, or will it become greater than it is?

Tags: Tsundere , Shoujo , Love Triangle , Coming of Age , Primarily Adult Cast , Female Protagonist , Primarily Teen Cast , Heterosexual , Medicine , School , Marriage , Male Protagonist , Work , College , Time Skip , Language Barrier , Tennis , Family Life , LGBTQ+ Themes