20 Best Anime movies like Twelve Months (1980)

List of the best anime movies like Twelve Months (1980): Soul, Pok?mon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle, Natsume's Book of Friends: Ephemeral Bond, Stand by Me Doraemon, Castle in the Sky, Hans Christian Anderson's The Little Mermaid, Mei and the Kittenbus, Puss 'n Boots Travels Around the World, Horus: Prince of the Sun, Kiki's Delivery Service.

Tags: movies similar to Twelve Months (1980) - full list

Markimdb: 8.1
Genreadventure, family, cartoon, music
CountryUSA

Joe Gardner is a middle school teacher with a love for jazz music. After a successful gig at the Half Note Club, he suddenly gets into an accident that separates his soul from his body and is transported to the You Seminar, a center in which souls develop and gain passions before being transported to a newborn child. Joe must enlist help from the other souls-in-training, like 22, a soul who has spent eons in the You Seminar, in order to get back to Earth.

Markimdb: 6.4
Genrefantasy, adventure, family, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan

The story of Koko, a young boy raised by Pok?mon, and the creation of a new bond between humans and Pok?mon.

Markimdb: 7.1
Genrefantasy, drama, family, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan
Duration02:51

The movie of Natsume's Book of Friends series. Natsume has been busy, navigating between humans and Yokai when he coincidentally reunites with an old classmate, Yuki. It brings back painful memories of a certain Yokai. Meanwhile, Natsume also became acquainted with Yorie Tsumura, a woman in the memories of a Yokai whose name he had returned. Yorie knew much about Reiko, but now lived a peaceful life with her only son, Mukuo. Being with this family was comforting for Natsume, but apparently a mysterious Yokai has been lurking in their town. On the way back from investigating, a "Yokai seed" that had latched itself to Nyanko Sensei drops into the Fujiwaras' garden and grows overnight into a fruit tree. When Nyanko Sensei eats a fruit that is somehow shaped like himself, he suddenly splits into three!

Markimdb: 7.3
Genrefantasy, comedy, adventure, family, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan

In the suburbs of Tokyo some time ago, there lived a clumsy boy about 10 years old. There appeared in front of him named Sewashi, Nobita's descendant of four generations later from the 22nd century, and Doraemon, a 22nd century cat-type caretaker robot who helps people with its secret gadgets. Sewashi claims that his family is suffering from the debts Nobita made even to his generation, so in order to change this disastrous future, he brought along Doraemon as Nobita's caretaker to bring happiness to his future, although Doraemon is not happy about this. And so Sewashi installed an accomplishment program into Doraemon forcing him to take care of Nobita. Unless he makes Nobita happy, Doraemon can no longer go back to the 22nd century. This is how the life of Doraemon and Nobita begins. Will Doraemon succeed this mission and return to the 22nd century?

Markimdb: 8
Genrefantastic, fantasy, adventure, family, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan
Duration02:04

A young boy and a girl with a magic crystal must race against pirates and foreign agents in a search for a legendary floating castle.

Markimdb: 7.4
Genrefantasy, melodrama, family, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan
Duration01:14

The story of a beautiful mermaid who gave up a kingdom for her beloved prince.

Markimdb: 8
Genrefantasy, family, cartoon, short, anime
CountryJapan

Mei has an adventure with a Kittenbus and her relatives. Totoro appears.

Markimdb: 6.7
Genrefantasy, comedy, melodrama, adventure, family, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan

Brave cat Pero once had a bet with treacherous multimillionarie Grumon that he can travel around the world in 80 days. The stake is high, in case of success Grumon will give all of his fortune to Pero, but in case of failure Pero becomes slave of Grumon for the rest of his life. Pero departs together with his faithful friends behemoth Kato and brave Small Mouse. Grumon tries everything to prevent their arrival to the finish.

Markimdb: 6.6
Genreaction, fantasy, drama, adventure, family, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan

Horus, a kid living in an unnamed Scandinavian/Eastern Europe culture of the Iron Age, recovers the Sword of the Sun from the rock giant Maug and learns from his dying father that he must return to his ancestral territory. In the process, he defends a village from the attacks of Grunwald, a warlord/ice demon and befriends the enigmatic Hilda, a lonely and beautiful girl who sings haunting songs (and who hides a terrible secret).

Markimdb: 7.8
Genrefantasy, comedy, adventure, family, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan
Duration01:43

A young witch, on her mandatory year of independent life, finds fitting into a new community difficult while she supports herself by running an air courier service.

Markimdb: 8.1
Genrefantasy, adventure, family, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan
Duration01:26

Two sisters move to the country with their father in order to be closer to their hospitalized mother, and discover the surrounding trees are inhabited by Totoros, magical spirits of the forest. When the youngest runs away from home, the older sister seeks help from the spirits to find her.

Markimdb: 7.2
Genrefantasy, adventure, family, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan
Duration01:15

Haru, a schoolgirl bored by her ordinary routine, saves the life of an unusual cat and suddenly her world is transformed beyond anything she ever imagined. The Cat King rewards her good deed with a flurry of presents, including a very shocking proposal of marriage to his son! Haru embarks on an unexpected journey to the Kingdom of Cats where her eyes are opened to a whole other world.

Markimdb: 6.5
Genrefantasy, family, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan

As a young boy, Xu-Xian is forced to free his pet, a small snake. Unbeknownst to him, the snake is actually a young snake goddess named Bai-Niang and she is in love with him. Many years later, when they are both adults, the princess is magically transformed into a human and sets out to find her love. But the local wizard believes her to be a vampire, and banishes Xu-Xian from the village in order to save him. Xu-Xian's pet pandas Panda and Mimi set out to save him and bring him, in the process becoming leaders of an animal gang.

Mark
Genreaction, fantasy, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan

Tanjiro finds his family slaughtered and the lone survivor, his sister Nezuko Kamado, turned into a Demon. To his surprise, however, Nezuko still shows signs of human emotion and thought. Thus begins Tanjiro's journey to seek out the Demon who killed their family and turn his sister human again. A recap film of Kimetsu no Yaiba, covering episodes 1-5 with extra footage.

Markimdb: 7.7
Genrefantasy, adventure, family, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan
Duration01:41

The son of a sailor, 5-year old Sosuke lives a quiet life on an oceanside cliff with his mother Lisa. One fateful day, he finds a beautiful goldfish trapped in a bottle on the beach and upon rescuing her, names her Ponyo. But she is no ordinary goldfish. The daughter of a masterful wizard and a sea goddess, Ponyo uses her father's magic to transform herself into a young girl and quickly falls in love with Sosuke, but the use of such powerful sorcery causes a dangerous imbalance in the world. As the moon steadily draws nearer to the earth and Ponyo's father sends the ocean's mighty waves to find his daughter, the two children embark on an adventure of a lifetime to save the world and fulfill Ponyo's dreams of becoming human.

Markimdb: 6.6
Genrefantasy, comedy, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan

In order to take over her grandmother's Dagashi store, art student Kumi Honamanuma moved to Kyoto. She met Harami Mino, K Kusanagi, Mai Haisaka, and a dog who lives in the store, which supposed to be empty. Kumi ended up living with these girls, who claim that they are heroes reincarnated to contemporary period to chase after the demon king. Harami and others seem to live in a peaceful life with no missions to to do anymore, Ran, who was demon king in the past and appears to be an elementary school girl from failing to reincarnate, one day. The story begins with Ran requesting to collect demon king's fragments.

Markimdb: 6.3
Genreadventure, family, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan
Duration01:45

Magic Tree House is a 2011 Japanese anime drama film based on the American children fantasy series of the same name. The film is directed by Hiroshi Nishikiori, and the film's screenplay was adapted from the Japanese version of the novel series Magic Tree House by Ichiro Okouchi. The film stars actress Keiko Kitagawa as Jack, and also stars child actress Mana Ashida as Annie. Magic Tree House debuted at the 24th Tokyo International Film Festival on 23 October 2011. It was subsequently released in Japanese cinemas on 7 January 2012.

Markimdb: 7.6
Genreaction, fantasy, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan
Duration02:22

Shimazu Toyohisa is a real-life samurai who fought in the pivotal Battle of Sekigahara. In his dying moments, Shimazu is transported to a world of magic with other famous warriors throughout history. These warriors are forced to fight each other in an endless battle.

Markimdb: 7.8
Genrefantasy, melodrama, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan

Shirayuki was a young girl born with unique apple-red hair. She meets a famous but foolish Prince Raji, who falls in love with her at first sight and orders her to become his concubine. With nowhere else to go, Shirayuki cuts her hair and escapes to a neighboring country. While traversing through the forests, she meets a young boy, Zen, who helps her after she boldly cures his wounds but then gets poisoned by an apple given to Shirayuki. Meanwhile, Prince Raji sends out henchmen to search for her. What will happen to Shirayuki? What is Zen's true character? A refreshing fantasy story between an optimistic heroine and a prince who constantly stays on her watch.

Markimdb: 7
Genrefantasy, comedy, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan, USA

12-year-old Oriko Seki, who lost her parents in a car accident, ended up living in her grandmother's Onsen Ryokan "Haru no Ya." With the ghost "Uribou" cohabitating with her and all the other odds, she ended up training to be a young female innkeeper. At first, she didn't like the training, but gradually felt her admiration for her title and began to train seriously. Thus, the growth of the young warrior Oriko begins.

Markimdb: 6.6
Genrefantasy, adventure, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan

Luca follows in his father's footsteps to rescue his mother from evil Ladja. Finding the heavenly hero who wields the Zenithian sword is his only hope.

Markimdb: 7.1
Genrefantasy, adventure, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan
Duration01:39

A fourth-grader investigates the mysterious reason behind the sudden appearance of penguins in his village, which is somehow related to a power from a young woman working at a dental clinic.

Markimdb: 6.7
Genrefantasy, comedy, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan

The story follows 27-year-old Tokyo office worker Mire Yoshizuki who just returned to Japan, 22-year-old fourth-year college student Sora Nagase who aspires to be a teacher, and 20-year-old boyish, part-time Hiroshima okonomiyaki shop worker and freelancer Reika Kawatani. What draws together these three women from completely different walks of life is a magic gem. A "New Magical Story" begins when they are mysteriously brought together by chance and embark on a journey.

Markimdb: 6.6
Genrefantasy, adventure, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan

The strongest Hunters that once existed in the Hunters Association were split into "light" and "dark", and each walked down their respective paths. The "dark" side begins moving in order to massacre all Hunters! What actions will Gon take when the many crimes of Netero and the Hunters Association are unveiled...?!

Markimdb: 6.2
Genreaction, fantasy, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan

Rikka is a ninja descendant. Her grandfather Hyoe is the last chief of their ninja clan and her father is a cyborg researcher. Both are killed when a weapons' company raids his lab to use his research. Rikka sets out to avenge their deaths.

Markimdb: 7.1
Genreaction, fantasy, adventure, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan
Duration01:31

Traveling in search of the rare ingredient, “sky fish” Meliodas and Hawk arrive at a palace that floats above the clouds. The people there are busy preparing a ceremony, meant to protect their home from a ferocious beast that awakens once every 3,000 years. But before the ritual is complete, the Six Knights of Black—a Demon Clan army—removes the seal on the beast, threatening the lives of everyone in the Sky Palace.

Markimdb: 6.8
Genrefantasy, adventure, cartoon, music, anime
CountryJapan, USA
Duration01:02

In an small fishing village, a gloomy middle school student named Kai meets a mermaid named Lu.

Markimdb: 7.3
Genreaction, fantasy, melodrama, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan

Magic Knights are modern magic-users who fight with weapons converted from their souls. Ikki Kurogane goes to a school for these Magic Knights, but he is the "Failed Knight" or "Worst One" who is failing because he has no magical skills. However, one day, he is challenged to a duel by Stella, a foreign princess and the "Number One" student. In this duel, "the loser must be obedient for life."

Markimdb: 6.4
Genrefantasy, adventure, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan

Shun Asanaga is a 15-year-old junior high school student with an optimistic and bright personality. One day, he finds a mysterious crystal in the office of his father, who is a scientist and businessman. When he touches it, the world becomes distorted, and he is sent into the world of Endra. Emilio, a prince of the kingdom of Endra is nearing his 16th birthday and despises the reigning king Delzain. Since Emilio is now at the age when he can inherit the throne, he takes up a weapon and attempts revenge. However, because Emilio is too weak, he is captured by Delzain and put in prison. When Emilio is in grief, the wall of his cell becomes distorted and Shun appears from there with two goals: return to his own world, and complete his revenge. What future lies ahead for the two boys trying to survive in Endra, yet raised in two different worlds?

Markimdb: 7.6
Genrefantasy, adventure, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan
Duration01:36

Kyuta, a boy living in Shibuya, and Kumatetsu, a lonesome beast from Jutengai, an imaginary world. One day, Kyuta forays into the imaginary world and, as he's looking for his way back, meets Kumatetsu who becomes his spirit guide. That encounter leads them to many adventures.

Markimdb: 5.9
Genrefantasy, adventure, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan

Sword and magic rule in the continent of Kuna'ahn. In this continent are three powerful nations: the Holy Kingdom of Amoria, the Kingdom of Ishilfen, and the Kingdom of Vanrodis, which share a delicate balance of power. Should disaster befall any one of the three nations, war would spread throughout the continent. Also residing there is the feared "Evil Dragon" Daganzord, an unstoppable force that leaves nothing but scorched land and destruction wherever he goes. Hiiro's parents, Bairo and Kismitete, joined other sorcerers in a magic ritual ten years ago in an attempt to seal Daganzord, but failed when someone interfered. The ritual would later become known as the "Balbagoa Tragedy." After being rescued by Giruu, young Hiiro set out to learn swordsmanship so that he could avenge his parents. Now, ten years later, sixteen-year-old Hiiro leaves home on a journey to slay the Evil Dragon, and Giruu feels he has no choice but to accompany him. In the search for the Evil Dragon, Hiiro encounters people of various races who join in his quest to eliminate Daganzord... but will Hiiro really succeed in overcoming the destiny he took upon himself and defeating Daganzord?!

Markimdb: 7
Genrefantasy, comedy, melodrama, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan

Devoted to her family’s rice-cake–making business and the high school baton club, Tamako is a little slow when it comes to love. She’s oblivious to her childhood friend Mochizo’s affections, even though all their friends know. With graduation closing in and Mochizo leaving for Tokyo, will Tamako realise her feelings and tell him in time?

Markimdb: 7.1
Genreaction, fantasy, adventure, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan
Duration01:12

A story set alongside the video game Final Fantasy XV, starring one of its main characters, Noctis, and his friends.

Markimdb: 7.1
Genrefantasy, drama, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan

Covered in ice and snow, Elior Forest is the home to dangerous magical beasts and 50 elves frozen in ice. One day, the great spirit Puck helps a young girl break out of her ice prison. Her name is Emilia, a half-elf born with silver hair, long ears, and amethyst eyes—features that resemble the evil Witch who destroyed half the world long ago. Shunned by society because of her appearance, Emilia dwells in the forest with Puck as her sole companion and family. Burdened with a sin of destruction she does not remember committing, she spends her days trying to find a way to help her frozen kin. But when the great spirit Melakuera, the Arbitrator of the world, finds Emilia, her right to stay alive is brought into question. Will the bonds of ice she formed with Puck prove to be the warm thread that defies fate?

Markimdb: 7.4
Genrefantasy, comedy, adventure, family, cartoon, anime
CountryCanada

The enchantment of L. Frank Baum's classic "Wizard of Oz" books is captured in the exciting Emerald City of Oz, based on the sixth book in Baum's timeless series. The Nome King plots his revent against the Oz people, who narrowly defeated him in "Ozma of Oz." Working with the help of Guph, an invasion specialist, the Nome King and his troops tunnel under the Deadly Desert with the aim of enslaving the people of the Emerald City. Dorothy, the Tin Woodsman, the Scarecrow and their friends fear the worst, as Princess Ozma insists on finding a non-violent solution. Narrated by Margot Kidder, the Lightyear Wizard of Oz series was featured exclusively on HBO.

Markimdb: 7.8
Genrefantastic, action, fantasy, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan

Earth is peaceful following the Tournament of Power. Realizing that the universes still hold many more strong people yet to see, Goku spends all his days training to reach even greater heights. Then one day, Goku and Vegeta are faced by a Saiyan called 'Broly' who they've never seen before. The Saiyans were supposed to have been almost completely wiped out in the destruction of Planet Vegeta, so what's this one doing on Earth? This encounter between the three Saiyans who have followed completely different destinies turns into a stupendous battle, with even Frieza (back from Hell) getting caught up in the mix.

Markimdb: 5.6
Genrefantastic, action, fantasy, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan, USA
Duration02:03

Gorilla Grodd's time displacement machine transports many of Batman's worst enemies to feudal Japan —along with the Dark Knight and a few of his allies. The villains take over the forms of the feudal lords that rule the divided land, with the Joker taking the lead among the warring factions. As his traditional high-tech weaponry is exhausted almost immediately, Batman must rely on his intellect and his allies —including Catwoman and the extended Bat-family— to restore order to the land, and return to present-day Gotham City.




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