Anime like Tonari no Youkai-san

Natsume Yuujinchou

Also known as Natsume's Book of Friends Season 1.

Studio: Aniplex , Brain's Base , NAS , NIS America Inc. , TV Tokyo Music , Sony Music Entertainment , Trilogy Future Studio
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Slice of Life , Supernatural

Natsume has always been an outcast because he inherited his grandmother's ability to see yokai. After moving to his grandmother's hometown and accidentally releasing a yokai imprisoned in a Lucky Cat statue, he learns about his grandmother's "Book of Friends," which contains the names of the yokai she defeated, and allows its wielder to command the yokai named within. Since then, yokai now visit him on a daily basis, seeking to either get their names back or take possession of the Book of Friends.



Tags: Youkai , Iyashikei , Episodic , Male Protagonist , Found Family , Rural , Adoption , Shoujo , Urban Fantasy , Estranged Family , Bullying , Primarily Male Cast , Primarily Teen Cast , Coming of Age , Shapeshifting , Outdoor Activities , Exorcism , Tsundere , School

Mushishi

Also known as MUSHI-SHI.

Studio: Artland , Marvelous Entertainment , Funimation , Delfi Sound
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Fantasy , Mystery , Psychological , Slice of Life , Supernatural

Neither good nor evil, they are life in its purest form. Vulgar and strange, they have inspired fear in humans since the dawn of time and have, over the ages, come to be known as "mushi." The stories of the Mushi and the people they affect are all linked together by a traveling Mushi-shi, or "Mushi Master," who seeks rare Mushi sightings and uses his shaman-like knowledge of Mushi to help the affected people.

What are the Mushi and what do they want?



Tags: Environmental , Iyashikei , Youkai , Mythology , Episodic , Philosophy , Travel , Rural , Male Protagonist , Outdoor Activities , Exorcism , Seinen , Tragedy , Eco-Horror , Historical , Animals , Wilderness , Urban Fantasy , Snowscape , Amnesia , Primarily Adult Cast , Coastal , Cult , Monster Girl , Time Skip , Suicide

Kamisama Hajimemashita

Also known as Kamisama Kiss.

Studio: TV Tokyo , Dentsu , TMS Entertainment , Funimation , Pony Canyon , Sotsu , DAX Production , Hakusensha
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Fantasy , Romance , Supernatural

Nanami Momozono is alone and homeless after her dad skips town to evade his gambling debts and the debt collectors kick her out of her apartment. So when a man she's just saved from a dog offers her his home, she jumps at the opportunity. But it turns out that his place is a shrine, and Nanami has unwittingly taken over his job as a local deity!

Nanami has all kinda of new responsibilities she doesn't understand, dangers she's unaware of, and a cranky ex-familiar who's... actually pretty hot. What's a new-fledged godling to do?



Tags: Gods , Shoujo , Female Protagonist , Youkai , Kemonomimi , Heterosexual , Urban Fantasy , Age Gap , Time Manipulation , Episodic , Cohabitation , Demons , Male Harem , School , Tsundere , Monster Boy , Love Triangle , Meta , Bullying , Slavery , Anthropomorphism

Toumei Otoko to Ningen Onna: Sonouchi Fuufu ni Naru Futari

Also known as The Invisible Man and His Soon-to-Be Wife.

Studio: project No.9 , Pony Canyon , Futabasha , Crunchyroll , Sunrise , BS Nittele , Bit grooove promotion
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Romance , Supernatural

Akira Tounome is an invisible gentleman who runs a detective agency, and Shizuka Yakou is a mild-mannered human female who works there. Shizuka can always find Akira even when he turns completely invisible. A quiet love begins to blossom between them as the invisible man and blind girl grow closer to each other…



Tags: Iyashikei , Female Protagonist , Disability , Male Protagonist , Urban , Detective , Kemonomimi , Urban Fantasy , Interspecies , Office Lady , Anthropomorphism , Monster Girl , Monster Boy , Heterosexual , Primarily Adult Cast , LGBTQ+ Themes , Elf , Seinen , Work , Boys' Love , Pregnancy , Aliens , Tsundere

Neko to Ryuu

Also known as The Cat and the Dragon.

Studio: OLM , Docomo Anime Store , Yomiuri TV , MAGNET , TOKYO MX , Pia , BS Nittele , HIKE , NTV Music , Bushiroad Move , KLOCKWORX , Takarajimasha
Status: Releasing
Genres: Adventure , Fantasy

The story follows a fire-breathing, human-hating dragon raised by a mother cat in a forest. The dragon, known affectionately as "Uncle Wing," watches over the many curious cats — such as one that goes on an adventure with a human prince, and another that lives in the city and people-watches as a hobby — and gradually warms up to humans along the way.



Note: Each episode streamed 1 week early on ABEMA and dAnimeStore. The original TV broadcast started on July 4, 2026.

Tags: Dragons , Animals , Found Family , Time Skip , Primarily Animal Cast , Episodic , Magic , Medieval , Iyashikei , Anthropomorphism , Royal Affairs , Shapeshifting , Parenthood , Family Life , Orphan , Witch , School , Environmental , Ensemble Cast , Wilderness , Survival

Fukigen na Mononokean

Also known as The Morose Mononokean.

Studio: Studio Signpost , Docomo Anime Store , Square Enix , Tokuma Japan Communications , AT-X , Studio Pierrot , Ray , Age Global Networks , Kanon , Yomiuri TV Enterprise , Crunchyroll
Status: Finished
Genres: Supernatural

Ashiya has spent the first seven days of high school stuck in the infirmary because of a youkai attaching itself to him. He ends up asking the owner of a small tea room called the "Mononokean" for help. This is a tale involving the very morose owner of Mononokean guiding the youkai that happened to wander into this world go to the next world.



Tags: Youkai , Episodic , Male Protagonist , Cute Boys Doing Cute Things , Shounen , Exorcism

Mokke

Studio: MADHOUSE , Kodansha , Tezuka Productions
Status: Finished
Genres: Mystery , Slice of Life , Supernatural

This is a story about two sisters: Shizuru, is a high school student who is able to see ghosts while her younger sister, Mizuki, is haunted by these apparitions. Frustrated by their abilities, their parents decided to entrust the sisters into the care of their grandparents who live in the countryside. As they adapt to life in the countryside, Shizuru and Mizuki begin to learn about the importance of coexisting nature with these apparitions.



Tags: Iyashikei , Female Protagonist , Rural , Episodic , Youkai , Urban Fantasy , Demons , Seinen

Zettai Shounen

Studio: Ajiado , Mellow Head , Genco , Ginga Ya , Trilogy Future Studio , Bandai Visual
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Mystery , Sci-Fi

Aizawa Ayumu is a young boy, who is sent to a small town called Tana to live with his father for a while. Even though he doesn't want to go, he agrees to do so when his mother offers him a mountain bike. Ayumu used to live in Tana before, and now his memories of the time are shrouded in mystery - apparently something happened when he was a child. Enter Miku, a young girl who knows more than she tells, weird glowing lights floating around, reflections of UFOish objects in the eyes of cats and dogs, a nosy female announcer, a forest with a mysterious past, and a weird boy called Wakkun, who wears the clothes Ayumu used to when he was a child, and you get the world of Zettai Shonen, where mysteries remain mysteries amidst a slow, normal, everyday life.



Tags: Aliens , Rural , Urban , Philosophy , Ensemble Cast , Iyashikei , Hikikomori , Coming of Age , Urban Fantasy , Love Triangle , Denpa , Time Skip , Veterinarian , Kuudere

Kami no Niwatsuki Kusunoki-tei

Also known as Kusunoki's Garden of Gods.

Studio: KADOKAWA , TV Asahi , JUVENAGE , Nippon Columbia , Contents Seed , BS Asahi
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Fantasy , Slice of Life

Minato Kusunoki is assigned to manage his family’s haunted, abandoned countryside estate. However, thanks to his overwhelming spiritual power, Minato accidentally purifies the entire place, turning the once-cursed property into a peaceful haven for wandering gods and deities! As Minato settles in, he finds himself surrounded by quirky divine neighbors and the lively chaos of life among the gods.



Tags: Gods , Youkai , Iyashikei , Exorcism , Rural , Episodic , Male Protagonist , Animals , Food , Mythology

Doukyonin wa Hiza, Tokidoki, Atama no Ue.

Also known as My Roommate is a Cat.

Studio: Zero-G , AT-X , TOKYO MX , Avex Pictures , ABC Animation , Q-Tec , BS11 , GYAO! , BookLive , NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Slice of Life

Mystery writer Mikazuki Subaru, who isn't good at dealing with people, finds them to be a disturbance when it comes to building his imaginary world. One day, he chances upon a stray cat and feels inspiration strike, so he brings the cat home as his muse.

Can watching the inexplicable behaviors of a cat form material for a novel?

Tags: Animals , Iyashikei , Hikikomori , Family Life , Male Protagonist , Writing , Primarily Adult Cast , Rehabilitation , Tsundere , Female Protagonist , Shoujo , Tragedy , Primarily Male Cast , Found Family