Post-Hotaru Kagayaku depression? We get it. Here are 20 shows the community actually stands behind for fans of Drama and Kids.
Reading manga? Similar manga
As World War II reaches its conclusion in 1945, Japan faces widespread destruction in the form of American bombings, devastating city after city. Hotaru no Haka, also known as Grave of the Fireflies, is the story of Seita and his sister Setsuko, two Japanese children whose lives...
Remi is a boy living happily with his mother in the French countryside. But everything changes when his estranged father comes home and, in desperate need of money, reveals that Remi is adopted, and sells him. Heartbroken, Remi ends up with Vitalis, a traveling musician, and his...
A Korean animation about a hen named Leafie who lives and works on an egg farm who dreams of freedom outside her cage. One day she fakes her own death to escape the farm.
Lolo is a penguin who loves to explore. With his friend Pepe, he has wonderful adventures. They discover together the wonders of their world from a puppy called Don and his owner a scientist who is studying the Antarctic environment. They also discover that not everything in...
The series covers the life of a Dutch duck named Alfred J Kwak from the day he is born. He lost his parents, brothers, and sisters when he was young and was raised by a mole. In his life, Alfred tries to help all sorts of animals all over the world. The series is meant to...
A long time ago, the people of Camaron Palace found themselves on the brink of destruction. Fortunately, they escaped it when Sir Aaron, the True Guardian of Aura, saved them. He sacrificed himself to stop a war between kingdoms. From that day on, a tournament is held every year...
As they continue their journey through the Johto region, Satoshi and his friends visit Altomare, an island city that hosts an annual racing event called the Pokémon Water Race. While Takeshi and Kasumi are enjoying themselves, strange things seem to be happening to Satoshi—he...
After being abused by her mother physically and mentally Asuka gets taken in by her grandparents. Slowly she learns her own worth as a human being and overcomes many obstacles.
The main character is a scientific genius boy named Kiteretsu, who has built a companion robot named Korosuke. He frequently travels in time with his friends and Korosuke in the time machine he built. Miyoko is a girl in his neighborhood who is basically his girlfriend. Tongari...
Serebii, a Legendary Pokémon known for its ability to traverse time, is hunted by an unnamed Pokémon poacher seeking to capture it. Yukinari, a young Pokémon trainer who enjoys drawing portraits of Pokémon, tries to protect Serebii after it stumbles upon him; but in the middle...
The story concerns Gauche, a professional cellist. During rehearsals for a performance, he is scolded by the conductor because his playing is not good enough. His timing is off and he seems to have no "feel" for the music. Gauche returns to his lonely cottage and starts...
Soon after birth a young squirrel comesc to a farm, and gets caught by a human. This human then tries to find him to their pet cat. However, the cat feels sorry for the squirrel and adopts him as their child and names the squirrel Banner. Banner and the cat live happily in the...
An educational film about the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Japan. In the movie's example, a group of children are practicing taiko (drums) for a recital at the community center. Local adult residents force them to stop, saying that it's selfish for kids to disturb...
Adaptations of numerous stories written by Hans Christian Andersen.
Time has come to a standstill. A whale appears from a glassy ocean and spends half a day soaring gracefully across the skies. What makes this works extraordinary is the artist's decision to use the transparency and visual bulk of 3D computer graphics only for the un-moving ocean...
Remi, an orphan kid gets hired out to a traveling street entertainer Vitalis when her foster parents fall on hard times. (Source: IMDb)
The story of an albino whale used in a circus, and the efforts of young children to free him from captivity. (Source: ANN)
The House, which echoes of the wildly surreal worlds seen in Spirited Away, focuses on Ga-young, a young woman who moves to an old town where she meets Zipsin, the spirit of a house that is soon to be demolished. Whisked away on an enchanted adventure, Ga-young and Zipsin seek...
The 24-26th episodes aired as a special the following year by itself.
Fans who liked Hotaru Kagayaku tend to recommend Grave of the Fireflies, Nobody's Boy Remi, Daisy: A Hen into the Wild the most. If you're into Drama and Kids, any of these are a solid pick.
Hotaru Kagayaku has a 5.46 on MAL from 710 ratings. Scores are mixed, but plenty of fans swear by it. Worth trying if the premise sounds interesting.
Beyond this list, you can dig deeper on MyAnimePulse. Try our browse page to filter by genre, score, and year, or check out our best anime by genre lists.
