Anime like Sparks of Tomorrow

What is Sparks of Tomorrow about?

Studio: Kyoto Animation
Status: Releasing

The novel takes place in the summer of 1907, the 40th year of the Meiji era. 15-year-old Inako Momokawa lives in the Fushimi area of Kyoto, and is the second daughter of a sake brewer. Nothing she does ever comes out right, and she receives a scolding from her father every day. Her only relief is the trust she places in her prayers to the gods. One day while at Fushimi Inari shrine, she meets a freewheeling young man named Kihachi Sakamoto. He rejects the gods, and boasts of the incoming age of electricity.

The topic of marriage suddenly comes up in Inako's household. Her father is one-sidedly making all the decisions for her, and Inako is about to give up hope. It is then that Kihachi draws out Inako's true feelings of wanting to run away from her family. The only way to stop her marriage is to find an unusual book called the "Electricity Catalog." The book is a prediction book about electricity that Kihachi wrote when he was a child, but his older brother Seiroku took the book, and its current whereabouts are unknown. Inako and Kihachi together go in search of the book across Kyoto and Shiga prefectures.

Tags: Steampunk , Male Protagonist , Historical , Heterosexual , Female Protagonist , Arranged Marriage , Advertisement , War , Software Development

Where to watch?

Netflix

Chi. Chikyuu no Undou ni Tsuite

Also known as Orb: On the Movements of the Earth.

Studio: MADHOUSE , SKY Perfect Pictures , Shogakukan , NHK Enterprises , MADHOUSE , Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

The setting is 15th-century Europe. It was a time when heretical ideas lead those to who possessed such a mindset to being burned at the stake for their beliefs.

The protagonist, Rafał, a child prodigy, is expected to major in theology, the most important subject at the time, at the university where he plans to skip a grade. One day, however, he comes across a mysterious man, and is now studying a possible "truth" in the midst of heretical thought!

Tags: Astronomy , Philosophy , Religion , Ensemble Cast , Seinen , Historical , Foreign , Tragedy , Medieval , Time Skip , Fugitive , Conspiracy , Torture , Primarily Male Cast , Female Protagonist , Male Protagonist , Politics , Meta , Suicide , Gore , Swordplay , Assassins , Alternate Universe , Rural

Where to watch?

Netflix

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Violet Evergarden

Also known as Violet Evergarden.

Studio: Kyoto Animation , Lantis , Pony Canyon , Rakuonsha , Madman Entertainment , ABC Animation
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Slice of Life

A certain point in time, in the continent of Telesis. The great war which divided the continent into North and South has ended after four years, and the people are welcoming a new generation. Violet Evergarden, a young girl formerly known as “the weapon”, has left the battlefield to start a new life at CH Postal Service. There, she is deeply moved by the work of “Auto Memories Dolls”, who carry people's thoughts and convert them into words. Violet begins her journey as an Auto Memories Doll, and comes face to face with various people's emotions and differing shapes of love. There are words Violet heard on the battlefield, which she cannot forget. These words were given to her by someone she holds dear, more than anyone else. She does not yet know their meaning but she searches to find it.

Tags: Rehabilitation , Writing , Tragedy , Female Protagonist , Coming of Age , Kuudere , War , Work , Orphan , Disability , Episodic , Military , Philosophy , Travel , Historical , Primarily Adult Cast , Steampunk , Heterosexual , Age Gap , Foreign , Assassins , Trains , Guns

Where to watch?

Netflix

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Vanitas no Carte

Also known as The Case Study of Vanitas.

Studio: bones , Aniplex , Hakuhodo DY Music & Pictures , Square Enix , Contents Seed
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Fantasy , Mystery , Supernatural

It’s 19th-century Paris, and young vampire Noé hunts for the Book of Vanitas. Attacked by a vampire driven insane, a human intercedes, rescues Noé, and heals the sick creature. Commanding the book and calling himself Vanitas, this doctor tempts Noé with a mad crusade to “cure” the entire vampire race. Allying with one who wields arcane power so easily may be dangerous, but does he have a choice?

Tags: Vampire , Male Protagonist , Conspiracy , Foreign , Steampunk , Tragedy , Heterosexual , Primarily Adult Cast , Anti-Hero , Anachronism , Tsundere , Historical , Gore , Tanned Skin , Chibi , Religion , Shounen , Assassins , Surreal Comedy , Primarily Male Cast , LGBTQ+ Themes , Henshin , Coming of Age , Drugs , Adoption , Super Power

Where to watch?

Hulu

iQ

Crunchyroll

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Koukaku Kidoutai: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG

Also known as Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG.

Studio: Production I.G , Bandai Visual , Dentsu , Victor Entertainment , Bandai Entertainment , Tokuma Shoten
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Mystery , Psychological , Sci-Fi

In a futuristic world where the internet and cybernetics has blurred the borders between societies; the members of Public Security Section 9 are reinstated to assist in solving numerous cases of cyber crime.

A spate of similar crimes committed by separate suicidal groups known as "The Individual Eleven" becomes the core focus for Section 9 as war approaches in the form of refugees flooding into the country.

Tags: Police , Politics , Cyberpunk , Terrorism , Military , Philosophy , Conspiracy , Urban , Artificial Intelligence , Seinen , Female Protagonist , Robots , Cyborg , Primarily Adult Cast , Primarily Male Cast , Ensemble Cast , Episodic , Guns , Crime , Dystopian , Real Robot , Kuudere , CGI , Memory Manipulation , Drugs , Gore

Where to watch?

Adult Swim

Netflix

Hoopla

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Kyoto Animation: Meiji-hen

Studio: Kyoto Animation
Status: Finished
Genres:

Commercial for the Kyoto Animation studio using characters from Nijuuseiki Denki Mokuroku

Tags: Female Protagonist , Advertisement , Historical , Trains

Where to watch?

No streaming links available

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Appare-Ranman!

Also known as APPARE-RANMAN!.

Studio: P.A.WORKS , AT-X , KADOKAWA , Docomo Anime Store , Sammy , Bit grooove promotion , Kadokawa Media House , Bandai Namco Arts
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Comedy

After a certain mishap, the brilliant but socially inept engineer Apare Sorano and the shrewd but cowardly samurai Kosame Isshiki find themselves drifting on a boat from Japan to America. Broke, the two decide to compete in the Trans-America Wild Race to win the prize and return to Japan. The two battle crazy rivals, outlaws, and the great outdoors itself as they race through the wild West from the starting line in Los Angeles to the finish line in New York - in the steam-powered car they built.

The first two episodes pre-aired on select platforms starting from March 21st. Regular broadcast started on April 10.

Tags: Cars , Historical , Foreign , Steampunk , Primarily Male Cast , Travel , Male Protagonist , Guns , Anachronism , Swordplay , Samurai , Martial Arts , Tanned Skin

Where to watch?

Hulu

Crunchyroll

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Tenmaku no Jaadugar

Also known as Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia.

Studio: Science SARU , TV Asahi , Science SARU , CyberAgent , Akita Shoten , TV Asahi Music , BS Asahi
Status: Releasing
Genres: Drama

After losing her mother and her homeland, Sitara’s despair transforms into determination with the power of knowledge. New possibilities unfold when a family of scholars takes her in, deepening her education. Meanwhile, Genghis Khan’s Mongol Empire conquers nation after nation, nearing Sitara’s new home. After the Fourth Prince of the empire takes her captive, a flame of revenge is ignited.

Tags: Indigenous Cultures , Politics , Tragedy , Female Protagonist , Revenge , Historical , War , Foreign , Educational , Royal Affairs , Josei , Slavery , Coming of Age , Survival , Kingdom Management , Time Skip , Espionage , Conspiracy , Class Struggle , Desert , Orphan , Travel , Religion , Biographical , Philosophy , Suicide , Terrorism , Language Barrier

Where to watch?

Crunchyroll

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World Is Dancing

Also known as The World Is Dancing.

Studio: Shouchiku , Cypic , CyberAgent , Cygames , Toy's Factory , arma bianca , TOKYO MX , BS Asahi , Happinet Media Marketing
Status: Releasing
Genres: Drama

Born into a life of acting and dance with a traveling theater troupe in 14th-century Japan, 12-year old Oniyasha has one problem—he doesn't know what the point of any of it is. "Why must I step with the left foot here instead of the right? Why is one performance good and another, bad? Why do people dance at all?" It all seems perfectly arbitrary, until a chance encounter in a run-down shack sets him down a path to revolutionizing the art form and influencing much of Japanese culture to come. A fictionalized account of the early life of Zeami Motokiyo (Oniyasha), the founder of modern Noh theater—the world's oldest surviving theater art—this coming-of-age artist's journey vividly brings to life a man far ahead of his time during one of Japan's most culturally and socially vibrant eras.

Note: World Is Dancing is streaming 3 days in advance of the TV broadcast on Prime Video and HIDIVE beginning June 29th, 2026. Regular broadcasting begins on July 2nd, 2026.

Tags: Dancing , Historical , Coming of Age , Acting , Musical Theater , Male Protagonist , Biographical , Nudity , Tragedy , Seinen , War

Where to watch?