Anime like Kimitachi wa Dou Ikiru ka

Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi

Also known as Spirited Away.

Studio: Studio Ghibli , Studio Hibari , Walt Disney Studios , GKIDS
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Fantasy , Supernatural

On the way to their new home, 10-year-old Chihiro Ogino's family stumbles upon a deserted theme park. Intrigued, the family investigates the park, though unbeknownst to them, it is secretly inhabited by spirits who sleep by day and appear at night. When Chihiro's mother and father eat food from a restaurant in the street, angry spirits turn them into pigs. Furthermore, a wide sea has appeared between the spirit world and the human one, trapping Chihiro, the sole human, in a land of spirits. Luckily for her though, a mysterious boy named Haku appears, claiming to know her from the past. Under his instructions, Chihiro secures a job in the bathhouse where Haku works. With only her courage and some new found friends to aid her, Chihiro embarks on a journey to turn her parents back to their original forms and return home.

Tags: Female Protagonist , Youkai , Shapeshifting , Magic , Urban Fantasy , Coming of Age , Work , Mythology , Curses , Gods , Witch , Anthropomorphism , Isekai , Memory Manipulation , Travel , Dragons , Trains , Primarily Child Cast , Twins

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

Kaze Tachinu

Also known as The Wind Rises.

Studio: Studio Ghibli , Walt Disney Studios
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance

Although Jirou Horikoshi's nearsightedness prevents him from ever becoming a pilot, he leaves his hometown to study aeronautical engineering at Tokyo Imperial University for one simple purpose: to design and build planes just like his hero, Italian aircraft pioneer Giovanni Battista Caproni. His arrival in the capital coincides with the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, during which he saves a maid serving the family of a young girl named Naoko Satomi; this disastrous event marks the beginning of over two decades of social unrest and malaise leading up to Japan's eventual surrender in World War II.

Tags: Aviation , Historical , Work , Biographical , Male Protagonist , Tragedy , Time Skip , War , Primarily Adult Cast , Heterosexual , Foreign , Marriage , Natural Disaster , Drawing , Trains

Ginga Tetsudou no Yoru

Also known as Night on the Galactic Railroad.

Studio: Group TAC , TV Asahi , Nippon Herald Eiga , Asmik Ace , Asahi Shimbun
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Mystery

Based on a short story by the popular children’s writer Kenji Miyazawa, Galactic Railroad offers viewers a slow-paced, dreamlike journey through space and time. When Giovanni, a lonely boy in a hill town, goes to get milk for his ailing mother, he finds himself crossing the Milky Way on a faster-than-light steam railroad. The stations he visits in various constellations, like the planets explored by St. Exupery’s Little Prince, offer curious adventures and an assortment of human "types." Reality and fantasy blur aboard the train, and its travels across the light-years sometimes suggests the journey through life. The characters are depicted as cats, presumably to avoid the problems of animating humans.



Tags: Afterlife , Philosophy , Trains , Classic Literature , Tragedy , Anthropomorphism , Primarily Animal Cast , Travel , Astronomy , Animals , Space , Religion , Mythology , Male Protagonist , Kids , Historical , Bullying

Paprika

Also known as Paprika.

Studio: MADHOUSE , Sony Pictures Entertainment , Techno Sound , Chaos Union , Manga Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Fantasy , Mystery , Psychological , Sci-Fi , Thriller

Prepare to enter the realm of fantasy and imagination where reality and dreams collide in a kaleidoscopic mindscape of sheer visual genius. The magical tale centers on a revolutionary machine that allows scientists to enter and record a subject's dream. After being stolen, a fearless detective and brilliant therapist join forces to recover the device before it falls into the hands of a dream terrorist.



Note: The film received an early premiere at the 63rd Venice International Film Festival on September 2, 2006.

Tags: Dissociative Identities , Body Horror , Primarily Adult Cast , Female Protagonist , Meta , Terrorism , Denpa , Crime , Conspiracy , Software Development , Philosophy , Detective , Mythology , Police , Heterosexual , Circus , Unrequited Love , Cyberpunk , Nudity

Kaijuu no Kodomo

Also known as Children of the Sea.

Studio: Studio 4°C , Madman Entertainment , GKIDS , DMM pictures
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Mystery , Supernatural

One summer vacation, Ruka meets two boys, "Umi" and "Sora," whose upbringing contains strange and wonderful secrets. Drawn to their beautiful swimming, almost more like flying, Ruka and the adults who know them are intertwined in a complex mesh...
Meanwhile, an unexplained anomaly is occurring all over the world: fish are disappearing. Thus begins a marine adventure of boys and girls to captivate all the senses!

Tags: Philosophy , Primarily Child Cast , Animals , Environmental , Cosmic Horror , Space , Female Protagonist , Swimming , Mythology , Coming of Age , Seinen , CGI , Ships , Bullying , Urban , Monster Boy , Astronomy , Amnesia , Handball , 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 , Female Protagonist , Angels , Amnesia , Coming of Age , Urban Fantasy , Survival , Fairy Tale , No Dialogue , Foreign , Tanks , Cultivation , Body Horror

Kaze no Tani no Nausicaä

Also known as Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.

Studio: Studio Hibari , Topcraft , Walt Disney Studios , GKIDS
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Fantasy , Sci-Fi

A thousand years after a global war, a seaside kingdom known as the Valley Of The Wind remains one of only a few areas still populated. Led by the courageous Princess Nausicaä, the people of the Valley are engaged in a constant struggle with powerful insects called ohmu, who guard a poisonous jungle that is spreading across the Earth. Nausicaä and her brave companions, together with the people of the Valley, strive to restore the bond between humanity and the Earth.



Tags: Environmental , Post-Apocalyptic , Female Protagonist , Lost Civilization , Philosophy , War , Aviation , Military , Eco-Horror , Kaiju , Survival , Primarily Adult Cast , Cosmic Horror , Guns , Politics , Anachronism , Travel , Tanks , Orphan , Revenge , Cult , Nudity , Elderly Protagonist

Majo no Takkyuubin

Also known as Kiki's Delivery Service.

Studio: Studio Ghibli , Studio Hibari , Walt Disney Studios , GKIDS
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Fantasy , Slice of Life

Kiki is an enterprising young girl who must follow tradition to become a full-fledged witch. Venturing out with only her chatty black cat, Jiji, Kiki flies off for the adventure of a lifetime. Landing in a far-off city, she sets up a high-flying delivery service and begins a wonderful experience of independence and responsibility as she finds her place in the world.



Tags: Coming of Age , Witch , Urban Fantasy , Female Protagonist , Magic , Primarily Female Cast , Work , Coastal , Kids , Urban , Primarily Adult Cast , Aviation , Animals , Travel , Drawing , Iyashikei , Motorcycles , Pregnancy

Tenkuu no Shiro Laputa

Also known as Castle in the Sky.

Studio: Studio Ghibli , Tokuma Shoten , Walt Disney Studios , GKIDS
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Fantasy , Sci-Fi

This high-flying adventure begins when Pazu, an engineer's apprentice, finds a young girl, Sheeta, floating down from the sky wearing a glowing pendant. Together they discover both are searching for a legendary floating castle, Laputa, and vow to unravel the mystery of the luminous crystal around Sheeta's neck. Their quest won't be easy, however. There are greedy air pirates, secret government agents and astounding obstacles to keep them from the truth, and from each other.



Tags: Lost Civilization , Steampunk , Environmental , Aviation , Pirates , Fugitive , Female Protagonist , Military , Travel , Male Protagonist , Primarily Adult Cast , Heterosexual , Robots , Guns , Primarily Male Cast , Trains , Shounen , Elderly Protagonist