Top Drawing Anime Recommendations

Darling in the Franxx

Also known as DARLING in the FRANXX.

Studio: TRIGGER , CloverWorks
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Mecha , Psychological , Romance , Sci-Fi

The distant future: Humanity established the mobile fort city, Plantation, upon the ruined wasteland. Within the city were pilot quarters, Mistilteinn, otherwise known as the “Birdcage.” That is where the children live... Their only mission in life was the fight. Their enemies are the mysterious giant organisms known as Kyoryu. The children operate robots known as FRANXX in order to face these still unseen enemies. Among them was a boy who was once called a child prodigy: Code number 016, Hiro. One day, a mysterious girl called Zero Two appears in front of Hiro. “I’ve found you, my Darling.”



Tags: Orphan , Super Robot , Cohabitation , Post-Apocalyptic , Dystopian , Coming of Age , Primarily Teen Cast , Tragedy , Robots , Demons , Kaiju , Heterosexual , Conspiracy , Environmental , Found Family , Psychosexual , Monster Girl , Lost Civilization , Memory Manipulation , Aliens , Female Protagonist , Male Protagonist , Love Triangle , Femdom , Military , Unrequited Love , Monster Boy , Politics , Travel , Family Life , Space , Survival , Clone , Virginity , Body Horror , Yandere , Tsundere , Time Skip , Marriage , Fishing , Drawing , Agriculture , Medicine , Reincarnation , Aviation , Gore , Pregnancy , Pandemic

Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo

Also known as The Pet Girl of Sakurasou.

Studio: J.C.STAFF
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Romance , Slice of Life

The first time he saw her, it was love at first sight. Unfortunately for Sorata Kanda, "she" was a cat named Hikari and his school's rules forbid keeping pets in the regular dorms. As a result, Sorata is banished to the infamous Sakura Hall alongside other troublesome and unusual students like Jin, overzealous playboy, Ryuunosuke, the reclusive hermit, and Mashiro, a brilliant artist who's so unfocused and clueless about the real world that dorm supervisor Ms. Sengoku assigns Sorata the task of taking care of her along with his ever-growing collection of stray cats!



Tags: Kuudere , Heterosexual , School , Found Family , Coming of Age , Ensemble Cast , Love Triangle , Work , Drawing , Yandere , Cohabitation , Disability , Nudity , Male Protagonist , Boarding School , Female Protagonist , Software Development , Tsundere , Family Life , Hikikomori , Video Games , Crossdressing , Ghost

Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san

Also known as DON'T TOY WITH ME, MISS NAGATORO.

Studio: Telecom Animation Film
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Romance , Slice of Life

"A girl in a lower grade just made me cry!"

One day, Senpai visits the library after school and becomes the target of a super sadistic junior! The name of the girl who teases, torments, and tantalizes Senpai is "Nagatoro!" She's annoying yet adorable. It's painful, but you still want to be by her side. This is a story about an extremely sadistic and temperamental girl and you'll feel something awaken inside of you.



Tags: Male Protagonist , Slapstick , Bullying , School , Heterosexual , Tsundere , Episodic , Primarily Teen Cast , Tanned Skin , Primarily Female Cast , Gyaru , School Club , Drawing , Shounen , Female Protagonist , Yandere , Kemonomimi , Tomboy , Nekomimi

Kotonoha no Niwa

Also known as The Garden of Words.

Studio: CoMix Wave
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological , Romance , Slice of Life

Some people revel and play in the rain; others dread it and hide at the first drop. For high school student Takao, a summer shower is a source of artistic inspiration… but when he skips school in order to sketch in a rainy garden, Takao finds an even greater muse in Yukino, an older woman who seems adrift in the world. Despite the difference in their ages and lives, they strike up a comfortable relationship that slowly evolves as they randomly meet in the same garden whenever it rains. But with the rainy season coming to a close, Takao wonders if there's enough time left to put his feelings into actions and words.



Tags: Coming of Age , Age Gap , Teacher , Feet , Male Protagonist , Heterosexual , Urban , Drawing , Bullying , School , CGI , Psychosexual

Nichijou

Also known as Nichijou - My Ordinary Life.

Studio: Kyoto Animation
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Slice of Life

Nichijou primarily focuses on the daily antics of a trio of childhood friends—high school girls Mio Naganohara, Yuuko Aioi and Mai Minakami—whose stories soon intertwine with the young genius Hakase Shinonome, her robot caretaker Nano, and their talking cat Sakamoto. With every passing day, the lives of these six, as well as of the many people around them, experience both the calms of normal life and the insanity of the absurd. Walking to school, being bitten by a talking crow, spending time with friends, and watching the principal suplex a deer: they are all in a day's work in the extraordinary everyday lives of those in Nichijou.



Tags: Surreal Comedy , Episodic , Slapstick , School , Female Protagonist , Ensemble Cast , Primarily Teen Cast , Primarily Female Cast , Parody , Achronological Order , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Robots , Camping , Shounen , Body Horror , Drawing , Tsundere , Love Triangle , Football , Guns

GREAT PRETENDER

Also known as Great Pretender.

Studio: WIT STUDIO
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Comedy , Drama , Thriller

Self-styled “Japan's greatest swindler” Makoto Edamura is mainly targeting elder people and occasional foreign travelers. But when he tries to scam an apparently clueless French tourist in Tokyo, he can't possibly imagine that what looked like just another ordinary job is going to take him all the way to Los Angeles, tied upside-down on the famous Hollywood sign… And he is yet to find out what fate awaits him!



Tags: Crime , Foreign , Anti-Hero , Primarily Adult Cast , Male Protagonist , Urban , Work , Language Barrier , Mafia , Acting , Triads , Filmmaking , Drawing , Drugs , Gangs , Heterosexual , Aviation , Guns , Bisexual , Tragedy , Slavery , Tomboy , Detective , Nudity , LGBTQ+ Themes , Episodic , War , Mahjong , Baseball , Tanned Skin , Terrorism , Football

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun

Also known as Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun.

Studio: Doga Kobo
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Romance , Slice of Life

You know how the story goes: girl crushes on guy, girl confesses feelings to guy, guy mistakes confession for a job application. Okay, maybe that's not how it usually goes, but that's what happens when Chiyo Sakura finally gets up the nerve to tell her classroom crush Nozaki how she feels. Since she doesn't know that he's secretly a manga artist who publishes under a female pen name, and he doesn't know that she doesn't know, he misunderstands and offers her a chance to work as his assistant instead of a date! But while it's not flowers and dancing, it is a chance to get closer to him, so Chiyo gamely accepts. And when Nozaki realizes how useful Chiyo can be in figuring out what girls find romantic, he'll be spending even more time with her "researching" while remaining completely clueless. Could Chiyo's romantic frustration possibly get any more drawn out of proportion?



Tags: Parody , Slapstick , Drawing , Ensemble Cast , School , Unrequited Love , Otaku Culture , Female Protagonist , Work , Gender Bending , Tomboy , Primarily Teen Cast , Heterosexual , School Club , Shounen , Tsundere , Educational , Crossdressing

Eromanga Sensei

Also known as Eromanga Sensei.

Studio: A-1 Pictures
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Ecchi , Romance , Slice of Life

The "new sibling romantic comedy" revolves around Masamune Izumi, a light novel author in high school. Masamune's little sister is Sagiri, a shut-in girl who hasn't left her room for an entire year. She even forces her brother to make and bring her meals when she stomps the floor. Masamune wants his sister to leave her room, because the two of them are each other's only family.

Masamune's novel illustrator, penname “Ero Manga Sensei,” draws extremely perverted drawings, and is very reliable. Masamune had never met his illustrator, and figured he was just a disgusting, perverted otaku. However, the truth is revealed … that his “Ero Manga Sensei” is his own younger sister! To add to the chaos that erupts between the siblings, a beautiful, female, best-selling shoujo manga creator becomes their rival!



Tags: Inseki , Primarily Child Cast , Writing , Drawing , Hikikomori , Tsundere , Otaku Culture , Heterosexual , Female Harem , Nudity , Assassins , Male Protagonist , Primarily Female Cast , Work , Meta , Parody , Love Triangle , Unrequited Love , Video Games , Feet , Crossover , Female Protagonist , Primarily Teen Cast

Majo no Takkyuubin

Also known as Kiki's Delivery Service.

Studio: Studio Ghibli
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Drama , Fantasy , Slice of Life

Kiki is an enterprising young girl who must follow tradition to become a full-fledged witch. Venturing out with only her chatty black cat, Jiji, Kiki flies off for the adventure of a lifetime. Landing in a far-off city, she sets up a high-flying delivery service and begins a wonderful experience of independence and responsibility as she finds her place in the world.



Tags: Coming of Age , Witch , Urban Fantasy , Female Protagonist , Magic , Primarily Female Cast , Work , Coastal , Kids , Urban , Primarily Adult Cast , Aviation , Animals , Travel , Drawing , Iyashikei , Motorcycles , Pregnancy

Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata

Also known as Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend.

Studio: A-1 Pictures
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Romance , Slice of Life

The life of Tomoyo Aki, a highschool otaku working part time to support his BD hoarding. With remarkable luck, he bumps head-first into Megumi Kato, the most beautiful girl he has ever seen. Naturally, the meeting twists his life into a complicated torrent of relationships. Eriri Spencer Sawamura, his half-foreigner childhood friend who’s always valued her relationship with MC. Kasumigaoka Utaha, a cold, composed renowned literary genius who shoves everyone aside from our protagonist. What is this? An eroge introduction?

The tale of a small not quite doujin circle, but not quite indie studio’s journey through the tough territory of comiket and beyond.

Note: Includes episode 0.

Tags: Otaku Culture , Female Harem , Heterosexual , Software Development , Male Protagonist , Meta , Primarily Female Cast , School Club , Writing , Video Games , Kuudere , Tsundere , Love Triangle , Ensemble Cast , School , Nudity , Drawing , Crossover

Josee to Tora to Sakanatachi

Also known as Josee, the Tiger and the Fish.

Studio: bones
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance , Slice of Life

The story centers on the relationship between Tsuneo and Josee. Tsuneo is a university student, and Josee is a young girl who has rarely gone out of the house by herself due to her being unable to walk. The two meet when Tsuneo finds Josee's grandmother taking her out for a morning walk.



Tags: Disability , Male Protagonist , Female Protagonist , Tsundere , Coming of Age , Heterosexual , Primarily Adult Cast , Rehabilitation , Drawing , Scuba Diving , College , Love Triangle , Mermaid , Coastal , Unrequited Love , CGI , Time Skip

[Oshi no Ko] 2nd Season

Also known as Oshi no Ko Season 2.

Studio: Doga Kobo
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Mystery , Psychological , Supernatural

The second season of [Oshi no Ko].

Aqua’s desire for revenge takes center stage as he navigates the dark underbelly of the entertainment world alongside his twin sister, Ruby. While Ruby follows in their slain mother’s footsteps to become an idol, Aqua joins a famous theater troupe in hopes of uncovering clues to the identity of his father — the man who arranged their mother’s untimely death, and the man who once starred in the same troupe Aqua hopes to infiltrate.



Tags: Acting , Revenge , Twins , Idol , Seinen , Male Protagonist , Anti-Hero , Heterosexual , Tragedy , Reincarnation , Love Triangle , Urban , Tsundere , Urban Fantasy , Drawing , Time Skip , Swordplay

Blue Period

Also known as Blue Period.

Studio: Seven Arcs
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Slice of Life

The studious Yatora leaves a dry life of study and good manners behind for a new passion: painting. But untethering yourself from all your past expectations is dangerous as well as thrilling…



Note: The anime premiered on Netflix on Sep 25, 2021 in Japan. The TV broadcast started on Oct 2, 2021.

Tags: Drawing , Coming of Age , Male Protagonist , School , Educational , Seinen , Primarily Teen Cast , Philosophy , School Club , Bisexual , Time Skip , Transgender , Urban , LGBTQ+ Themes , Crossdressing , Femboy , Nudity

Re:CREATORS

Also known as Re:CREATORS.

Studio: TROYCA
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Fantasy , Mecha , Thriller

People have created many stories. Joy, sadness, anger, deep emotion. Stories stir up emotion and captivate. However, those emotions are nothing more than the feelings of a spectator. What if the characters in the stories had their own "will"? In their eyes, are we, the creators of the stories, like gods? Revolution for our world. Punishment for the land of the gods.

Re:CREATORS. Everyone becomes a Creator.



Tags: Crossover , Writing , Urban Fantasy , Isekai , Meta , Otaku Culture , Magic , Drawing , Ensemble Cast , Tragedy , Reverse Isekai , Super Power , Super Robot , Alternate Universe , Battle Royale , Robots , Suicide , Swordplay , Video Games , Guns , Spearplay

Bakuman.

Also known as Bakuman..

Studio: J.C.STAFF
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Romance , Slice of Life

Moritaka Mashiro and Akito Takagi are pretty much foils of each other. Mashiro, an average 9th grade student but talented artist, and Takagi, an overall advanced 9th grader and aspiring writer. After great convincing, Takagi convinces Mashiro to join him in becoming the greatest mangakas Japan has ever seen. Takagi, with his gift of writing, hopes to become a successful mangaka, and Mashiro, with his gift of art, hopes to marry the girl of his dreams, Azuki Miho.



Tags: Work , Writing , Drawing , Coming of Age , Ensemble Cast , Male Protagonist , Heterosexual , Meta , Shounen , School , Primarily Teen Cast

NEW GAME!

Also known as NEW GAME!.

Studio: Doga Kobo
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Slice of Life

Fresh out of high school, 18-year-old Aoba Suzukaze is bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, and ready for her first day of work at her dream job. She’s joining the character design team at Eagle Jump, the company that makes her favorite video games! But the real world of office culture can be a challenge for a total noob. From her awkward first day to her first game’s debut, she’s got a lot of skills to master. Luckily, her charming determination wins over even her quirkiest of coworkers, and before she knows it, Aoba has joined the party!



Tags: Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Work , Primarily Female Cast , Software Development , Video Games , Office Lady , Female Protagonist , Seinen , Ensemble Cast , Office , Primarily Adult Cast , Urban , Drawing , Episodic , Tomboy , LGBTQ+ Themes , Politics , Airsoft , Tanned Skin , Tsundere , College , Cosplay

Eizouken ni wa Te wo Dasu na!

Also known as Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!.

Studio: Science SARU
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Comedy , Slice of Life

First year high schooler Midori Asakusa loves anime so much, she insists that "concept is everything" in animation. Though she draws a variety of ideas in her sketchbook, she hasn't taken the first step to creating anime, insisting that she can't do it alone. The producer-type Sayaka Kanamori is the first to notice Asakusa's genius. Then, when it becomes clear that their classmate, charismatic fashion model Tsubame Mizusaki, really wants to be an animator, they create an animation club to realize the "ultimate world" that exists in their minds.



Tags: Drawing , School Club , Primarily Teen Cast , Primarily Female Cast , Female Protagonist , Urban , Otaku Culture , Surreal Comedy , Coming of Age , Educational , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Urban Fantasy , Filmmaking , Seinen , Tanned Skin , Ensemble Cast , Meta , Tomboy

SHIROBAKO

Also known as SHIROBAKO.

Studio: P.A.WORKS
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Slice of Life

Once upon a time, five girls made an animated film and it was so much fun that they pledged to get jobs in animation so that someday they could make another film together. Now, two years later, Aoi, Shizuka, Ema, Misa and Midori have learned the truth about the anime industry: it's not always fun, it's anything but easy, and having talent isn't always enough to open the right doors.

Which is why Aoi's overwhelmed by her job as a production assistant, Shizuka's waiting on tables between auditions, Midori's currently scriptless, Misa's switched to C.G., and Ema's working long hours as a key animator. Is it what they imagined? No. But are they ready to give up? Not just yet! Sometimes, when things happen in animation, they can happen in the most wonderful ways!



Tags: Work , Primarily Adult Cast , Drawing , Female Protagonist , Ensemble Cast , Meta , Otaku Culture , Educational , Office Lady , Primarily Female Cast , Coming of Age , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Office , Acting , Cars , Bowling , Kuudere , Primarily Teen Cast

Kaze Tachinu

Also known as The Wind Rises.

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

Although Jirou Horikoshi's nearsightedness prevents him from ever becoming a pilot, he leaves his hometown to study aeronautical engineering at Tokyo Imperial University for one simple purpose: to design and build planes just like his hero, Italian aircraft pioneer Giovanni Battista Caproni. His arrival in the capital coincides with the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, during which he saves a maid serving the family of a young girl named Naoko Satomi; this disastrous event marks the beginning of over two decades of social unrest and malaise leading up to Japan's eventual surrender in World War II.

Tags: Aviation , Historical , Work , Biographical , Male Protagonist , Tragedy , Time Skip , War , Primarily Adult Cast , Heterosexual , Marriage , Natural Disaster , Foreign , Drawing , Trains

Kakushigoto

Also known as Kakushigoto.

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

Single father Kakushi Gotou has a secret. He’s a top-selling artist of popular erotic manga, but his impressionable young daughter, Hime, can never find out! Now he’s having to bend over backwards just to keep her inquisitive little mind from discovering what he does for a living. A father-daughter tale of love and laughter.



Tags: Family Life , Work , Drawing , Coming of Age , Parenthood , Time Skip , Meta , Tragedy , Primarily Adult Cast , Slapstick , Male Protagonist , Female Protagonist , Amnesia , Shounen , Achronological Order