Top Calligraphy Anime Recommendations

THE GOD OF HIGH SCHOOL

Also known as The God of High School.

Studio: MAPPA
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Comedy , Supernatural

It all began as a fighting tournament to seek out for the best fighter among all high school students in Korea. Mori Jin, a Taekwondo specialist and a high school student, soon learns that there is something much greater beneath the stage of the tournament.



Tags: Martial Arts , Gods , Super Power , Urban Fantasy , Shounen , Male Protagonist , Cult , Rotoscoping , Foreign , Primarily Teen Cast , Ensemble Cast , Swordplay , Urban , CGI , Battle Royale , Terrorism , Calligraphy , Kemonomimi , Adoption

Barakamon

Also known as Barakamon.

Studio: Kinema Citrus
Status: Finished
Genres: Slice of Life

Seishuu Handa is an up-and-coming calligrapher: young, handsome, talented, and unfortunately, a narcissist to boot. When a veteran labels his award-winning piece as "unoriginal," Seishuu quickly loses his cool with severe repercussions.

As punishment, and also in order to aid him in self-reflection, Seishuu's father exiles him to the Goto Islands, far from the comfortable Tokyo lifestyle the temperamental artist is used to. Now thrown into a rural setting, Seishuu must attempt to find new inspiration and develop his own unique art style—that is, if boisterous children (headed by the frisky Naru Kotoishi), fujoshi middle schoolers, and energetic old men stop barging into his house! The newest addition to the intimate and quirky Goto community only wants to get some work done, but the islands are far from the peaceful countryside he signed up for. Thanks to his wacky neighbors who are entirely incapable of minding their own business, the arrogant calligrapher learns so much more than he ever hoped to.



Tags: Calligraphy , Rural , Found Family , Iyashikei , Episodic , Male Protagonist , Rehabilitation , Family Life , Seinen , Philosophy , Coming of Age , Teacher , Coastal , Slapstick , Tsundere , Fishing

Cider no You ni Kotoba ga Wakiagaru

Also known as Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop.

Studio: Signal.MD , Sublimation
Status: Finished
Genres: Romance , Slice of Life

Cherry is a quiet boy who loves to make haikus based off of the things he sees. One summer day in a city in the Japanese countryside…

At a shopping mall, he meets Smile, a beautiful girl in a mask. Cherry has trouble speaking in anything but haikus, and Smile wears a mask to hide her big, braces-covered front teeth. The two of them get closer as the south wind blows. One day, the two of them learn from Old Man Fujiyama, a master of Haiku who’s started going senile, that he’s searching for a certain record.

“If I can hear this record again, I can remember… Something I don’t want to forget, but can’t remember…”

Cherry and Smile decide to help. This is the story of their summer, set in a shopping mall…



Tags: Coming of Age , Primarily Teen Cast , Rural , Male Protagonist , Heterosexual , Female Protagonist , Calligraphy , Classic Literature , Philosophy , CGI , Delinquents , Dancing

Kawaikereba Hentai demo Suki ni Natte Kuremasu ka?

Also known as Hensuki: Are you willing to fall in love with a pervert, as long as she’s a cutie?.

Studio: GEEKTOYS , Seven
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Ecchi , Mystery , Romance

After cleaning the Calligraphy Club room one afternoon, Kiryuu Keiki found a love letter addressed to him on the club's desk. Eager at the possibility of finally getting a girlfriend, he opens the envelope only to find the words, "I like you" along with a pair of the sender's panties.

With only these panties as evidence, Keiki narrows down the identity to the four girls who helped him clean the club room that day: Tokihara Sayuki the lazy third-year president of Calligraphy Club, Koga Yuika a library committee member of foreign descent, Nanjou Mao, Keiki's slightly tsundere fellow classmate, and most awkwardly, Kiryuu Mizuha, Keiki's clean freak of a younger sister. Among at least three of these girls, Keiki believes is the one who left him the letter and their panties so with determination in his heart, he sets out to uncover which of these seemingly unorthodox ladies will become his girlfriend!

Tags: Female Harem , Heterosexual , Sadism , Human Pet , Incest , School , Male Protagonist , Parody , Exhibitionism , School Club , Meta , Primarily Female Cast , Tsundere , Bondage , Detective , Feet , Calligraphy , Photography

Handa-kun

Also known as Handa-kun.

Studio: diomedéa
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Slice of Life

Hated by everyone around him, Sei Handa goes about his high school life regarded as an outcast—or at least that's what he believes. In reality, Sei is the most popular student on campus, revered by all for his incomparable calligraphy skills, good looks, and cool personality. However, due an endless series of misunderstandings, Handa perceives the worship he receives from his legions of fans as bullying, leading the school's idol to shut himself off from the rest of his classmates.

But distancing himself from his peers doesn't deter them from adoring him; in fact, his attempts at drawing attention away from himself often end up unintentionally converting even the most skeptical of students into believers. Fashion models, shut-in delinquents, obsessive fangirls, and more—none can stand against the brilliance that is Sei Handa.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Tags: School , Male Protagonist , Primarily Teen Cast , Episodic , Calligraphy , Shounen , Satire , Delinquents , Yandere , Meta , Circus

Kaguya-hime no Monogatari

Also known as The Tale of The Princess Kaguya.

Studio: Studio Ghibli
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Romance

Okina is a bamboo cutter in ancient rural Japan. One day in the forest, he finds a tiny baby in the folds of a bamboo shoot. He brings the creature home to his wife Ounaa and they decide to keep her and raise her as a princess. She is clearly not of this world. Kaguya grows at an unnatural rate, soon maturing into an uncommonly beautiful young woman. Since Okina has now also found a cache of gold and treasure in the forest, every suitor wants Kaguya. But this is not a fairy tale of courtship and marriage.



Tags: Philosophy , Classic Literature , Tragedy , Fairy Tale , Historical , Female Protagonist , Rural , Family Life , Gods , Religion , Primarily Adult Cast , Amnesia , Travel , Adoption , Heterosexual , Agriculture , Unrequited Love , Environmental , Calligraphy

Senryuu Shoujo

Also known as Senryu Girl.

Studio: CONNECT
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Romance , Slice of Life

Eiji Busujima was a delinquent in middle school, but now that he’s in high school, he’s trying to put all that behind him. He’s even joined the literature club! Unfortunately, while Eiji’s heart might be in the right place, his face didn’t get the memo, and if his scowling, slit-like eyes don’t scare people away, then his attempts at senryu poetry probably will. But there’s one member of the literature club who isn’t easily intimidated: Nanako Yukishiro, an odd but cheerful young woman who never speaks and communicates only through senryu poetry! So, when the meddling president of the club decides to encourage a relationship between this strange literary pair, the haiku is sure to fly!



Tags: School , Male Protagonist , School Club , Language Barrier , Calligraphy , Female Protagonist , Heterosexual , Surreal Comedy , Drawing , Delinquents , Shounen , Primarily Female Cast

Mononoke: Karakasa

Also known as Mononoke The Movie: The Phantom in the Rain.

Studio: EOTA
Status: Finished
Genres: Fantasy , Horror , Mystery , Psychological , Supernatural

The first movie in the Mononoke movie trilogy.

Asa and Kame strike up an immediate friendship when they arrive at the same time for their first day of duty at the Ooku, the splendid pleasure palace housing the harem of Lord Tenshi. The two young women are there to join the many hundreds of other maidservants—men are barred from entering, with immediate beheading the price of trespassing. It soon becomes clear that behind the luxurious lifestyle and ritualized routines of the Ooku lie sinister schemes and cynical rivalries. Meanwhile, a mysterious wandering potion-peddler known only as the Medicine Seller subtly insinuates himself into the Ooku, just as an uncanny, otherworldly menace begins to reveal itself.



Tags: Youkai , Primarily Female Cast , Exorcism , Historical , Male Protagonist , Suicide , Bullying , Tragedy , Primarily Adult Cast , Ghost , Female Protagonist , LGBTQ+ Themes , Cosmic Horror , Calligraphy , Matriarchy , Samurai

Smile Precure!

Also known as Glitter Force.

Studio: Toei Animation
Status: Finished
Genres: Fantasy , Mahou Shoujo

Once upon a time, there was a kingdom of fairy tales called "Märchenland", where many fairy tale characters live together in joy. Suddenly, the evil emperor Pierrot made an invasion on Märchenland, sealing its Queen in the process. To revive the Queen, the symbol of happiness called Cure Decor, "the Queen's scattered power of light of happiness", is required. To collect the Cure Decor, a fairy named Candy searches for the Pretty Cures on Earth. There, Candy meets a girl, who decides to collect the Cure Decor. Now, will the world earn a "happy ending"?

Tags: Primarily Female Cast , Female Protagonist , Magic , Henshin , Superhero , Episodic , Urban , Urban Fantasy , Calligraphy , Kids , Fairy , Super Power , Fairy Tale , Tokusatsu , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Isekai , School , Demons , Restaurant , Primarily Child Cast , Witch , Samurai , Dragons , Werewolf , Primarily Teen Cast , Robots , Volleyball , Football , Drawing , Swordplay , Language Barrier , Rural , Super Robot , Chibi , Age Regression , Basketball , Body Swapping

Magic-kyun! Renaissance

Also known as Magic-Kyun! Renaissance.

Studio: Sunrise
Status: Finished
Genres: Music , Romance

A world where art becomes magic. In this world, people who can inspire passion with their Magic Arts are called Artistas, and are employed in show business. In Hoshinomori Private Magical Arts High School, where Artistas are taught, a strange new student named Ohana Aigasaki transfers into the school.

Ohana is placed on the planning committee for the school's yearly Hoshinomori Summer Festa cultural festival. She spends her romantic school life with six other boys who aim to become entertainers in the future.

Each of the boys specializes in his own Arts, and aims to make Hoshi Fes a success. In addition, the boys also aim to be chosen alongside Ohana as the school's Artista Prince and Princess, only chosen once a year.

A Magic-kyun for you! A new renaissance starts here! Magic-kyun! Renaissance is a multimedia project where you can create great memories with Artistas of greatly varying personalities!



Tags: Male Harem , Magic , School , Ensemble Cast , Primarily Teen Cast , Female Protagonist , Primarily Male Cast , School Club , Idol , Calligraphy , Musical Theater , Fairy Tale , Tsundere

Aquarion Logos

Also known as Aquarion Logos.

Studio: Satelight , C2C
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Fantasy , Mecha , Sci-Fi

Once upon a time, human voices had defined the true nature of all things, yet the invention of text changed the status quo, while creating a "Logos World" between the voice and the truth. Millennia have passed since then, advancements of civilizations have made the "Logos World" too big to control "texts." A group of young people dedicate themselves to counter chaotic "texts" with "Creative Voice Power," and among them, a boy named Akira Kaibuki living in Asagaya.



Tags: School Club , Super Robot , Primarily Teen Cast , Calligraphy , Rakugo

Katsudou Shashin

Also known as Katsudou Shashin.

Status: Finished
Genres:

The film consists of a series of cartoon images on fifty frames of a celluloid strip and lasts three seconds at sixteen frames per second. It depicts a young boy in a sailor suit who writes the kanji characters "活動写真" (katsudou shashin, or "moving picture"), then turns towards the viewer, removes his hat, and offers a salute. The fragment was discovered in 2005, having been purchased with a private collection in Kyoto. The film was likely created between 1905 and 1911. If so, the film may be the oldest known piece of animation from Japan.



Tags: Meta , No Dialogue , Writing , Calligraphy , Historical , Male Protagonist

Galaxy Angel X

Also known as Galaxy Angel X.

Studio: MADHOUSE
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Sci-Fi

Starting out with the new Galaxy Angel, Chitose Karasuma, the Angel Troupe continue their search for The Lost Technology while running into different kinds of mishaps.



Tags: Surreal Comedy , Kemonomimi , Parody , Slapstick , Space , Primarily Female Cast , Artificial Intelligence , Lost Civilization , School , Calligraphy , Alternate Universe , Assassins , War , Villainess , Delinquents , Female Protagonist , Chibi , Dissociative Identities , Boxing , Crossover , Acting , Love Triangle , Economics , Kuudere , CGI

Sakura Taisen: Gouka Kenran

Also known as Sakura Wars: The Radiant Gorgeous Blooming Cherry Blossoms.

Studio: Radix
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Mecha , Romance , Sci-Fi

The end of the demon wars has ended and now the Flower Division has been able to rest up after their fighting. The second Sakura Wars develops studies on every Flower Division Combatee in every episode while they go on their miscellaneous adventures around Japan.



Tags: Shounen , Acting , Ojou-sama , Real Robot , Demons , Ensemble Cast , Heterosexual , Military , Steampunk , Primarily Female Cast , Assassins , Guns , Magic , Martial Arts , Swordplay , Crossdressing , Cosplay , Tanned Skin , Calligraphy , Dragons

Shoka

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Fantasy

The story is set during the turbulent years of the shogunate, as dark forces try to undermine the shogun's power in Edo-era Tokyo. Shirou Sumiya is the leader of the "Way of the Paper Drawing" clan which captures the chaos of the struggles with rapid brush strokes. Sumiya is summoned to Edo, and his disciples, who have extraordinary powers in their secret drawing techniques, become part of the ensuring battles with giant drawn creatures.



Tags: Historical , Super Power , Youkai , Calligraphy , Guns

Mi Bao Zhi Guo

Also known as Nation of Treasure.

Studio: 2:10 Animation
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Fantasy , Mystery

In the multiverse called the "data realm", everything corresponding to the real world is stored. Within it, the data from relics of human culture gained self-awareness, and a secret group of spirits established an alliance: The Country of Rare Treasure.
The restorers, while investigating their own origins, lead the secret spirits against the forgotten viruses that will devour everything.



Tags: CGI , Historical , Isekai , Wuxia , Calligraphy

Qi Hou Bilu

Also known as Spirits In Chinese Brushes.

Studio: L² Studio
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy

When the Epang Palace was burned to the ground two thousand years ago, the School of Naturalists' ancestors lamented that Qin Shihuang had degraded Confucians and burned books, saying that "if you don't teach the world, all the talents will be wasted." When the literati died, he started to concentrate their souls. To ensure that his skills are passed down to future generations, finish the Chinese brush. A normal college student named Luo Zhongxia accidently acquired Li Bai's Qinglian posthumous Chinese brush two thousand years later, and ever then, he has held the superpowers provided by the brush spirit. The happy times did not endure, however, as other forces were drawn to the potent influence of Qinglian's works, which frequently put Luo Zhongxia in danger. Luo Zhongxia dedicated himself to finding a way to retract his essay in order to prevent conflicts, but he kept running across roadblocks. He instead developed a strong bond with the "Seven Lords in charge of the city"...



Tags: CGI , Martial Arts , Calligraphy , College , Super Power