Anime like Kimi no Iro

Liz to Aoi Tori

Also known as Liz and the Blue Bird.

Studio: Kyoto Animation , Animation Do , Kyoto Animation
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Music , Slice of Life

Students and best friends Mizore Yoroizuka and Nozomi Kasaki prepare to play a complex musical duet, Liz and the Blue Bird, for oboe and flute. Though they play beautifully together and have been friends since childhood, Mizore and Nozomi find that with graduation looming and the duet proving difficult, their friendship begins to buckle under the pressure. Interspersed with their story is the fantasy tale of Liz, drawn like a storybook, contrasting with the crisp realism of the school.



Tags: Coming of Age , Female Protagonist , Band , Primarily Female Cast , Fairy Tale , Yuri , Classical Music , LGBTQ+ Themes , Primarily Teen Cast , School Club , School , Unrequited Love

Koe no Katachi

Also known as A Silent Voice.

Studio: Kyoto Animation , ABC Animation , Kodansha
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance , Slice of Life

After transferring into a new school, a deaf girl, Shouko Nishimiya, is bullied by the popular Shouya Ishida. As Shouya continues to bully Shouko, the class turns its back on him. Shouko transfers and Shouya grows up as an outcast. Alone and depressed, the regretful Shouya finds Shouko to make amends.



Tags: Disability , Bullying , Rehabilitation , Language Barrier , Coming of Age , Suicide , Male Protagonist , Tragedy , Primarily Teen Cast , School , Time Skip , POV , Heterosexual , Female Protagonist , Photography , Philosophy , Urban , Unrequited Love

K-ON!

Also known as K-ON!.

Studio: Kyoto Animation , Pony Canyon , TBS , Movic , Rakuonsha , Animation Do , Sentai Filmworks
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Music , Slice of Life

Hirasawa Yui, a young, carefree girl entering high school, has her imagination instantly captured when she sees a poster advertising the ‘Light Music Club’. Being the carefree girl that she is, she quickly signs up. However, Yui has a problem, she is unable to play an instrument.

When Yui goes to the clubroom to explain, she's greeted by the other members: Ritsu, Mio and Tsumugi. Although disheartened at Yui’s lack of musical know-how, they still try to convince her to stay to prevent the club’s disbandment. After playing Yui a short piece which re-ignites her imagination, they succeed in keeping their new member and guitarist.

Along with the tasks of school and homework, Yui begins to learn the guitar with the help of the other band members, experiencing many mishaps along the way. However, with the school-festival drawing near and Yui getting stuck with her practice, will the Light Music Club be ready in time for their debut?



Tags: Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , School Club , Band , Primarily Female Cast , Female Protagonist , School , Primarily Teen Cast , Iyashikei , Episodic , Rock Music , Coming of Age , Seinen , Ensemble Cast , Slapstick , Food , Tomboy , Tsundere

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 , Heterosexual , Shoujo , Animals , Fairy Tale , Primarily Teen Cast , School , Tsundere , Crossover , Cycling , Love Triangle , Kemonomimi , Band , Nekomimi , Unrequited Love

Sakamichi no Apollon

Also known as Kids on the Slope.

Studio: Dentsu , Fuji TV , Tezuka Productions , Toho , DAX Production , Sentai Filmworks , MAPPA , Sony Music Entertainment , Hanabee Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Music , Romance , Slice of Life

The beginning of summer, 1966.

Because of his father's job situation, freshman high school student Kaoru Nishimi moves by himself from Yokosuka to Kyushu to live with relatives. Until then, Kaoru was an honor roll student who tended to keep to himself, but meeting notorious bad boy Sentaro Kawabuchi starts to change him. Through his devil-may-care classmate, Kaoru learns the attractions of jazz and finds the first person he can call a "friend". He also discovers how much fun it is to play music with a pal.

Other characters include Sentaro's kind childhood chum, Ritsuko, who is the daughter of a record shop owner; the mysterious upperclassman, Yurika; and Brother Jun, the much-admired leader among their peers. Set against the backdrop of a seaside town with a scent of American culture, this series is a drama about young people coming into their own, crossing each other's paths, and finding friendship, love, and music!



Tags: Coming of Age , Band , Love Triangle , Josei , Jazz Music , Male Protagonist , Heterosexual , Found Family , Primarily Male Cast , School , Rural , Religion , Historical , Primarily Teen Cast , Unrequited Love , Age Gap , Time Skip , Politics

Garden of Remembrance

Studio: Science SARU , Avex Pictures
Status: Finished
Genres: Music

Beer cans and a whisky glass are placed in an open space on the floor. Though a bit disorganized, ”Your” room is filled with art supplies and an electric guitar lining the perimeter of the room.

The alarm on a phone goes off, and “You” leisurely wake up to start your day.

The anemone flower that “I” liked. A precious flower that holds memories which tie “You” and “I” together. After opening your bedroom closet one day, “You” become engrossed in your memories of "Me." A story that represents “Me,” “You,” our “Childhood Friend,” and our goodbyes.



Tags: No Dialogue , Heterosexual , Drawing , Female Protagonist , Food

Hibike! Euphonium

Also known as Sound! Euphonium.

Studio: Kyoto Animation , Pony Canyon , Lantis , Rakuonsha
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Music , Slice of Life

Spring in the first year of high school. Kumiko, a member of the brass band in junior high school, visits the high school brass band club with classmates Hazuki and Sapphire. There, she comes across Reina, her former classmate from junior high. Hazuki and Sapphire decide to join the club, but Kumiko can’t make up her mind. She recollects her experience with Reina at a competition in junior high school.



Tags: Band , School Club , Female Protagonist , Coming of Age , Classical Music , School , Primarily Teen Cast , Primarily Female Cast , Ensemble Cast , Yuri , Unrequited Love , LGBTQ+ Themes , Love Triangle , Heterosexual

Ikoku Nikki

Also known as Journal with Witch.

Studio: Shuka , Pony Canyon , ABC Animation , Movic , TOKYO MX , BS Asahi
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Slice of Life

Reclusive novelist Makio Koudai has always preferred the company of books—but when her sister and brother-in-law pass away, Makio unexpectedly becomes the guardian of her 15-year-old niece, Asa Takumi. As they navigate grief, clashing personalities, and the challenges of living together, the two slowly open their hearts to each other, discovering warmth, understanding, and the meaning of family.



Tags: Female Protagonist , Adoption , Coming of Age , Estranged Family , Josei , Family Life , Orphan , Parenthood , Found Family , Writing , Tragedy , Primarily Female Cast , Urban , School , LGBTQ+ Themes , Heterosexual , Band , Yuri , Aromantic

TARI TARI

Also known as Tari Tari.

Studio: Bandai Visual , Dentsu , Sotsu , Lantis , P.A.WORKS , Pony Canyon , Sentai Filmworks , Hakuhodo DY Music & Pictures
Status: Finished
Genres: Music , Slice of Life

The last year of high school is always a time of both looking forward and looking back. Before you lives the future, alternately bright and scary. Behind you lie memories, both happy and sad. And somehow, in the course of one year, you have to reconcile those two and decide where your life is going to go.

For Wakana Sakai, who had started studying music, it's time to face the tragedy that made her abandon that path. For Sawa Okita, it's about her dreams of riding professionally. And for Konatsu Miyamoto, it's about bringing her friends together through the magic of a song. Can something as simple as the formation of a choir club really help solve the hurts and pangs that come with growing up? Can music bring people together despite their differences?



Tags: Ensemble Cast , Coming of Age , Coastal , School Club , Band , School , Animals , Family Life , Tragedy , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Female Protagonist

Awajima Hyakkei

Also known as A Hundred Scenes of AWAJIMA.

Studio: MADHOUSE , KADOKAWA , MADHOUSE , Fuji TV , Rakuten , BS Fuji
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Music , Romance

At Awajima Opera School, girls from across Japan strive to earn a place on stage. Wakana is driven by her love of musical theater, while Kinue studies with quiet discipline. Scholarship student Emi draws attention from all—but especially from Keiko, who struggles with admiration and comparison. Through shifting perspectives, their intertwined days explore ambition, friendship, and self-discovery.



Tags: Achronological Order , Primarily Female Cast , Ensemble Cast , School , Josei , Boarding School , Episodic , Acting , Musical Theater , Tragedy , Bullying , Coming of Age , Yuri , Time Skip , Family Life , Writing , Dancing , LGBTQ+ Themes , Suicide , Heterosexual , Religion , Meta , CGI