Anime like Neko no Ongaeshi

Nakitai Watashi wa Neko wo Kaburu

Also known as A Whisker Away.

Studio: Studio Colorido , Tohokushinsha Film Corporation , BS Fuji , KDDI , KADOKAWA , Twin Engine , Dentsu Meitetsu Communications , Fuji Creative Corporation , Fuji TV , Toho , Universal Music Japan
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Romance

Miyo Sasaki is an energetic high school girl who comes from a broken family consisting of her unconfident father and an overly invested stepmother, whose attempts at connecting with Miyo come across as bothersome. Seeing Kento Hinode as a refuge from all her personal issues, she can't help herself from forcing her unorthodox demonstrations of love onto her crush.

While Miyo is unable to get Kento's attention as herself, she manages to succeed by interacting with him in the form of a white cat, affectionately nicknamed ""Tarou"" by Kento. But Miyo soon realizes that she can't help Kento with the various problems she overhears in her cat form and is now caught between two tough choices. Will she continue her relationship with him as a cat, or will she reveal her identity and risk what they have, in order to help him as her human self?

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Note: The film was slated to open in theaters in Japan on June 5, but was postponed due to COVID-19 and received an exclusive streaming on Netflix beginning on June 18.

Tags: Shapeshifting , Animals , Female Protagonist , Henshin , Kemonomimi , Family Life , Urban Fantasy , Heterosexual , School , Anthropomorphism , Youkai , Bullying , Tragedy , Nekomimi , CGI , Coming of Age , Rural , Feet

Mimi wo Sumaseba

Also known as Whisper of the Heart.

Studio: Studio Ghibli , Tokuma Shoten , Walt Disney Studios , GKIDS
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Romance , Slice of Life

During summer vacation, a schoolgirl named Shizuku, who longs to discover her true talents, observes an ordinary-looking cat riding by himself on the train. Intrigued, she decides to follow him. This chance encounter leads her to the mysterious Seiji, a boy who is determined to follow his dreams, and The Baron, a magical cat figurine who helps her listen to the whispers in her heart. Soon, Shizuku's exciting adventures carry her far beyond the boundaries of her imagination.



Tags: Coming of Age , Writing , Female Protagonist , Shoujo , Heterosexual , Animals , Fairy Tale , Primarily Teen Cast , School , Tsundere , Crossover , Cycling , Love Triangle , Kemonomimi , Nekomimi , Unrequited Love

Karigurashi no Arrietty

Also known as The Secret World of Arrietty.

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

Arrietty, a tiny but tenacious 14-year-old, lives with her parents in the recesses of a suburban garden home, unbeknownst to the homeowner and her housekeeper. Like all little people, Arrietty remains hidden from view, except during occasional covert ventures beyond the floorboards to "borrow" scrap supplies like sugar cubes from her human hosts. But when 12-year-old Shou, a human boy who comes to stay in the home, discovers his mysterious housemate one evening, a secret friendship blossoms. If discovered, their relationship could drive Arrietty's family from the home and straight into danger.



Tags: Rural , Family Life , Classic Literature , Female Protagonist , Coming of Age , Work , Iyashikei , Horticulture

Tonari no Totoro

Also known as My Neighbor Totoro.

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

Follow the adventures of Satsuki and her four-year-old sister Mei when they move into a new home in the countryside. To their delight they discover that their new neighbor is a mysterious forest spirit called Totoro who can be seen only through the eyes of a child. Totoro introduces them to extraordinary characters, including a cat that doubles as a bus, takes them on a journey through the wonders of nature.



Tags: Family Life , Primarily Child Cast , Rural , Youkai , Wilderness , Female Protagonist , Urban Fantasy , Kids , Gods , Primarily Female Cast , Iyashikei , Environmental , Horticulture

Heisei Tanuki Gassen Ponpoko

Also known as Pom Poko.

Studio: Kyoto Animation , Studio Ghibli , Daiei , Walt Disney Studios , GKIDS
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Fantasy

Faced with the destruction of their habitat due to the growth of Tokyo, a group of tanuki try to defend their homes. They decide to use their transforming talents to try to hold back the new development. Two of them, especially skilled at transforming, are sent to Shikoku to enlist the help of three sages. Meanwhile, the rest of them do their best to disrupt the construction site, at first causing accidents, and then actually haunting the site. However, the humans are very persistent, and soon the tanuki are forced to use more and more extreme measures to save their home.



Tags: Environmental , Mythology , Ensemble Cast , Animals , Rural , Primarily Animal Cast , Anthropomorphism , Shapeshifting , Primarily Male Cast , Youkai , Male Protagonist , Henshin , Slapstick , Revenge , Kids , Travel , Tragedy , Transgender

Totsuzen! Neko no Kuni Banipal Witt

Also known as Catnapped! The Movie.

Studio: Triangle Staff , Pioneer LDC , AC Create , Bandai Visual
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure

Ever wonder where your cat runs off to when you let them out? There is a place, a whole world that belongs only to the cats. A hidden world known as Banipal Witt where the sun changes people into cats and dogs into monsters.

Travel there as two young children set off on a fanciful trip with a desperate group of feline engineers to save Banipal Witt from the evil sorceror cat Bubulina, whose very touch turns any living thing into a balloon!

With this talent and the monster dog, Papdoll, Bubulina hopes to control all of Banipal Witt and only Toriyasu, Papdoll's former owner, has a chance of returning Papadoll back to normal. But can they rescue Papadoll and defeat Bubulina before the sun rises?



Tags: Animals , Isekai , Coming of Age , Nekomimi , Kemonomimi , Primarily Animal Cast , Anthropomorphism

Birthday Wonderland

Also known as The Wonderland.

Studio: Signal.MD
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Fantasy

The story follows Akane, a girl with no self-confidence. On the day before her birthday, she meets a mysterious alchemist Hippocrates and their student Pipo, who both tell her they're on a mission to save the world. Together, they set out from the basement for "Wonderland," and Akane finds herself labelled Wonderland's savior.

Tags: Isekai , Magic , Environmental , Female Protagonist , Animals , Cars , CGI

Uchuu Show e Youkoso

Also known as Welcome to THE SPACE SHOW.

Studio: Aniplex , A-1 Pictures , NYAV Post
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Fantasy , Sci-Fi

A tiny mountain village in a remote woodland region. Five primary school kids have come together in this idyllic spot in order to spend their summer holidays at a camp. At first the children enjoy carefree days amidst unspoiled nature far away from adult supervision. But their life changes dramatically when they come across what they believe to be a small dog, badly in need of help. The creature – known as Pochi – turns out not to be a dog at all but an alien on an important mission.

It seems there is a mysterious substance on earth that is coveted throughout the universe. Pochi had almost found it but was so badly injured during a fight that he had to give up his search. Thanks to the children's help, the alien survives – and decides to reward them generously. “Where would you most like to travel?” is the question Pochi puts to his rescuers. Their answer is prompt, if vague:
“As far as possible!” Pochi suggests they try the moon first of all, and so, the alien whisks away the kids to the satellite next door. This marks the beginning of an absolutely amazing adventure.

During the course of their travels they discover that the substance coveted throughout the universe is in fact also integral to Japanese cuisine – and it just so happens that one of the kids has some of this mysterious substance in his pocket.



Tags: Space , Aliens , Primarily Child Cast , Urban Fantasy , Rural , Kids , Travel , Tomboy , Animals

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

Kanojo to Kanojo no Neko: Everything Flows

Also known as She and Her Cat -Everything Flows-.

Studio: LIDENFILMS , Lantis , CoMix Wave
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Slice of Life

For the longest time, it's just been the two of them. "Kanojo" and her cat Daru are inseparable, having grown up together. Now a junior in college, Tomoka—her roommate of a year and a half—moves out of their shared apartment, and in order to keep her living space, Kanojo must find a job. Day by day, Daru watches her continued efforts from a cat's-eye view, eagerly awaiting his owner's return. When she gets back, once again, it's just she and her cat.

Kanojo to Kanojo no Neko: Everything Flows is a charming short series about the bond between a pet and his owner.

Tags: Animals , Tragedy , Reincarnation , Female Protagonist , Time Skip , Iyashikei , Primarily Adult Cast , Episodic