Anime like Shika no Ou: Yuna to Yakusoku no Tabi

Mononoke-hime

Also known as Princess Mononoke.

Studio: Studio Ghibli , Tokuma Shoten , GKIDS , Nippon Television Network
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Fantasy

A calm village residing in the mountains comes under attack from a demon-possessed boar one day.

Ashitaka, a young man and prince of the tribe, engages the creature in an attempt to save his village. During the battle, the boar bites him on the arm, leaving it blackened and cursed. Following his village's traditions, Ashitaka is exiled and becomes a wanderer, looking for a solution to the curse before it engulfs him.

Iron Town is a fortress under the leadership of Lady Eboshi. Through the clearing of the surrounding forests, Iron Town produces large amounts of Ironsand, used for gunpowder and other machinery. However, because of the forests destruction, nearby animal clans seek revenge led by a human girl of the Wolf clan called San.

When Ashitaka comes to Iron Town, he discovers the area consumed in battle. Horrified, he attempts to create peace and befriend the Wolf Clan. However, after the forest's eradication and the ongoing war between Human and Beast, will the Spirit of the Forest be forgiving and accept Ashitaka's request to expel his curse?

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Tags: Environmental , Mythology , Animals , Philosophy , Eco-Horror , War , Gods , Rural , Youkai , Demons , Revenge , Primarily Adult Cast , Wilderness , Curses , Historical , Female Protagonist , Samurai , Male Protagonist , Guns , Urban Fantasy , Travel , Archery , Disability , Body Horror , Tomboy , Gore , Outdoor Activities , Swordplay , Slavery , Kaiju , Indigenous Cultures

Seirei no Moribito

Also known as Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit.

Studio: Production I.G , Media Blasters
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Fantasy

Balsa’s prowess in battle is legendary, but the weight of death bears heavily on the spear-wielding mercenary’s soul. To atone, she has sworn to save 8 lives, no matter what the cost, and now only one life remains. Prince Chagum has been blessed with the power to stave off the droughts that threaten to starve and destroy his father’s empire, but he has been accused of being possessed by evil spirits, and court officials have set his own father against him. Condemned to death, he is saved by Balsa’s intervention and now, together, the two must unravel the secret of Chagum’s powers and the spirit behind them… before the armies sent to murder them can succeed!



Tags: Spearplay , Fugitive , Mythology , Female Protagonist , Historical , Found Family , Primarily Adult Cast , Swordplay , Politics , Magic , CGI , Coming of Age , Rural , Cosmic Horror , Tomboy

Kemono no Souja Erin

Also known as Erin.

Studio: Production I.G , Trans Arts , NHK Enterprises
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy

In the land of Ryoza, the neighboring provinces of Shin-Ou and Tai-Kou have been at peace. Queen Shinou is the ruler of Ryoza and her greatest general, Grand Duke Taikou, defends the kingdom with his army of powerful war-lizards known as the "Touda." Although the two regions have enjoyed a long-standing alliance, mounting tensions threaten to spark a fierce civil war.

Within Ake, a village in Tai-Kou tasked with raising the Grand Duke's army, lives Erin, a bright girl who spends her days watching the work of her mother Soyon, the village's head Touda doctor. But while under Soyon's care, a disastrous incident befalls the Grand Duke's strongest Touda, and the peace that Erin and her mother had been enjoying vanishes as Soyon is punished severely. In a desperate attempt to save her mother, Erin ends up falling in a river and is swept towards Shin-Ou.

Unable to return home, Erin must learn to lead a new life with completely different people, all while hunting for the truth of both beasts and humanity itself, with tensions between the two regions constantly escalating.



Tags: Coming of Age , Tragedy , Animals , Conspiracy , Veterinarian , Female Protagonist , Environmental , Politics , Philosophy , Boarding School , Matriarchy , Teacher , Time Skip , Rural , War , Adoption , Historical , Kids

Fumetsu no Anata e

Also known as To Your Eternity.

Studio: Brain's Base , NHK Enterprises , NHK
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Fantasy , Psychological , Supernatural

In the beginning, an "orb" is cast unto Earth. "It" can do two things: change into the form of the thing that stimulates "it"; and come back to life after death. "It" morphs from orb to rock, then to wolf, and finally to boy, but roams about like a newborn who knows nothing. As a boy, "it" becomes Fushi.

Through encounters with human kindness, Fushi not only gains survival skills but grows as a "person". But his journey is darkened by the inexplicable and destructive enemy Nokker and cruel partings with the people he loves.



Tags: Shapeshifting , Tragedy , Coming of Age , Rural , Philosophy , Travel , Ensemble Cast , Survival , Agender , Body Horror , Foreign , Shounen , Animals , CGI , Medieval , Indigenous Cultures , Gore , Time Skip , Afterlife , Orphan , Adoption , Historical , Primarily Female Cast , Yandere , Prison , Language Barrier , Memory Manipulation , Snowscape , Zombie , Demons , Battle Royale

Hikari no Ou

Also known as The Fire Hunter.

Studio: WOWOW , Signal.MD
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Fantasy , Mystery

Outside the magical barriers lies a world overrun by fiery beasts known as Flame Demons, and the only ones who can protect humanity are the Fire Hunters. In the dark woods where the beasts roam is where Touko, a young villager, is rescued from attack by one of these skilled trackers, Koushi. But their meeting was no accident, and a new destiny begins.



Tags: Female Protagonist , Post-Apocalyptic , Steampunk , Animals , Wilderness , Male Protagonist , Environmental , Philosophy , Rural , Conspiracy , Tragedy , Gods , Swordplay , Monster Boy , Monster Girl , Urban , Denpa

Stranger: Mukou Hadan

Also known as Sword of the Stranger.

Studio: bones , Bandai Visual , Shouchiku , Sony Music Entertainment , Hakuhodo DY Music & Pictures , Bandai Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure

What qualifies a man as good or evil? Is it the amount of political power one attains, the quality of his swordsmanship, or how well he serves his lord? With the fall of the second shogunate Japan has sunk into a state of disarray historians now call the Sengoku period, or the era of Warring States. Civil wars rage on throughout the many feudal holdings, where a man may raise his station in life simply by killing his superior.

Whilst wandering this war-torn countryside a nameless ronin stumbles upon a young boy by the name of Kotarou, his dog, and the many Chinese assassins dispatched to claim the boy in some strange ritual for immortality. Seeing something of his own past within the child, the nameless swordsman chooses to act as his bodyguard, but can he truly keep Kotarou from the clutches of the Ming and their bloodthirsty blonde mercenary, Luo-Lang?



Tags: Swordplay , Fugitive , Historical , Samurai , Rural , Male Protagonist , Primarily Male Cast , Language Barrier , Gore , Primarily Adult Cast , Archery , Animals , Travel , Drugs , Snowscape , Assassins , Martial Arts , Tragedy , Guns , Suicide

Sayonara no Asa ni Yakusoku no Hana wo Kazarou

Also known as Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms.

Studio: P.A.WORKS , Lantis , Hakuhodo DY Music & Pictures , Bandai Visual , Rakuonsha , Cygames
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Psychological

The people of Iorph live far away from the lands of men, weaving the happenings of each day into a fabric called Hibiol. They live for centuries while maintaining their youthful appearance. Maquia, an orphaned Iorph girl, lives her life in an oasis surrounded by friends, yet somehow feels “alone”. But the tranquil lives of the Iorph are shattered in an instant when the Mezarte army invades their territory on a dragon fleet, seeking the blood that grants the Iorph long life. Maquia manages to escape, but loses her friends and her home in the chaos. She then encounters an orphaned baby who is “alone”. Maquia raises this boy "Ariel", with the help of some new friends. But as the era changes, the bond between Maquia and Ariel changes too, amidst a backdrop of racial tensions between the Iorph and the Mezarte. This is a story of irreplaceable time, woven by two lonely people who can only find solace in each other.



Tags: Parenthood , Family Life , Coming of Age , Female Protagonist , Adoption , Orphan , Urban Fantasy , Tragedy , Time Skip , Medieval , Work , Foreign , Travel , Fugitive , War , Heterosexual , Dragons , Ensemble Cast , Espionage , Photography , Assassins , Pregnancy , Found Family

Ookami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki

Also known as Wolf Children.

Studio: MADHOUSE , VAP , Dentsu , Yomiuri TV , Funimation , Kadokawa Shoten , Toho , Studio Chizu
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Romance , Slice of Life

The theme of the film is the love between parents and children. The story covers 13 years and begins with a 19-year-old college student named Hana who encounters and falls in "fairy tale-like" love with a "wolf man." After marrying the wolf man, Hana gives birth and raises two wolf children—an older sister named Yuki who was born on a snowy day, and a younger brother named Ame who was born on a rainy day. The four quietly lived in a corner of a city to conceal the existence of the "wolf children," but when the wolf man suddenly dies, Hana decides to move to a rural town far removed from the city.



Tags: Parenthood , Family Life , Werewolf , Coming of Age , Shapeshifting , Female Protagonist , Rural , Environmental , Kemonomimi , Animals , Mythology , Tragedy , Snowscape , Urban , Agriculture , Urban Fantasy , School , Heterosexual , Male Protagonist

Golden Kamuy

Also known as Golden Kamuy.

Studio: Geno Studio , Funimation , Good Smile Company , Twin Engine , TOKYO MX , JR Higashi Nihon Kikaku , Sammy , NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Comedy

In the early twentieth century, Russo-Japanese War veteran Saichi “Immortal” Sugimoto scratches out a meager existence during the postwar gold rush in the wilderness of Hokkaido. When he stumbles across a map to a fortune in hidden Ainu gold, he sets off on a treacherous quest to find it. But Sugimoto is not the only interested party, and everyone who knows about the gold will kill to possess it! Faced with the harsh conditions of the northern wilderness, ruthless criminals and rogue Japanese soldiers, Sugimoto will need all his skills and luck—and the help of an Ainu girl named Asirpa—to survive.



Tags: Historical , Outdoor Activities , Seinen , Survival , Military , Ensemble Cast , Snowscape , Primarily Adult Cast , Food , Guns , War , Primarily Male Cast , Gore , Educational , Anti-Hero , Indigenous Cultures , Wilderness , Assassins , Male Protagonist , Gender Bending , Crime , Body Horror , LGBTQ+ Themes , Episodic , CGI , Archery , Torture , Twins , Transgender , Medicine , Oiran