20 Best Anime series like Wolf Children (2012)

After a family tragedy turns her life upside down, 16-year-old high school student Tohru Honda takes matters into her own hands and moves out… into a tent! Unfortunately for her, she pitches her new home on private land belonging to the mysterious Soma clan, and it isn't long before the owners discover her secret. But, as Tohru quickly finds out when the family offers to take her in, the Somas have a secret of their own—when hugged by the opposite sex, they turn into the animals of the Chinese Zodiac!

Chihayafuru is  about a school girl, Chihaya Ayase, who is inspired by a new classmate to take up Hyakunin Isshu karuta competitively.

When Yadomi Jinta was a child, he was a central piece in a group of close friends. In time, however, these childhood friends drifted apart, and when they became high school students, they had long ceased to think of each other as friends.One of the friends from that group, Honma Meiko, now has a wish she asks Jinta to fulfil. The problem is, she can't remember what her wish is anymore. As Meiko won't cease to bother Jinta about it, he gives in and decides to try to grant this wish he knows nothing of; for that, however, the help of his other former friends, now all very estranged from himself and from each other, may turn out to be necessary. He hasn't spoken to Anjou Naruko, Matsuyuki Atsumu, Tsurumi Chiriko, or Hisakawa Tetsudou in a long time; as he struggles to grant Meiko's wish and gathers his old friends together in the process, all the old feelings that still exist between them and have long been stashed away are bound to come up again.

Akira Tachibana is a 17-year-old high school student. She was once a promising athlete, but an injury has prevented her from taking part in track and field. One day, Akira Tachibana goes to a family restaurant and the manager talks to her in a tender voice. This makes Akira Tachibana begin working part-time at the restaurant. The manager is 45-year-old Masami Kondo and he is divorced with a child. Akira Tachibana falls in love with him. --asianwiki

In a futuristic society, Japan has implemented a complex system referred to as "The Red Threads of Science" to encourage successful marriages and combat increasingly low birthrates. Based on a compatibility calculation, young people at the age of 16 are assigned marriage partners by the government, with severe repercussions awaiting those who disobey the arrangement. For Yukari Nejima, a teen that considers himself average in every way, this system might be his best shot at living a fulfilling life.However, spurred by his infatuation for his classmate and long-time crush, Misaki Takasaki, Yukari defies the system and confesses his love. After some initial reluctance, Misaki reciprocates his feelings in a moment of passion. Unfortunately, before the two can further their relationship, Yukari receives his marriage notice. He is then thrown into a confusing web of love and lies when his less-than-thrilled assigned partner, Ririna Sanada, becomes fascinated with his illicit romance.

Fashionable Yuzu imagined the first day at her new school she transferred to after her mother's remarriage a bit differently; she didn't know it'd be an ultra-strict and conservative girls' school. So instead of a sweet high-school romance, she butts heads with the stern student council president Mei—who turns out to be her new step sister. And she has to learn that hate and attraction are often not that far apart.

Iwatani Naofumi was summoned into a parallel world along with 3 other people to become the world's Heroes. Each of the heroes respectively equipped with their own legendary equipment when summoned, Naofumi received the Legendary Shield as his weapon. Due to Naofumi's lack of charisma and experience he's labeled as the weakest, only to end up betrayed, falsely accused, and robbed by on the third day of adventure. Shunned by everyone from the king to peasants, Naofumi's thoughts were filled with nothing but vengeance and hatred. Thus, his destiny in a parallel World begins...

Tsukasa, a college student, is rescued from an attack by a devil, one of many vampires that can blend in among the human population. Anzai, her savior, is a half-devil who exploits his supernatural gifts as a member of a shadowy police task force that specializes in devil-related crime in Tokyo. As Anzai continues to keep guard over Tsukasa, the two quickly forge a tentative bond—one that Anzai fears will test his iron-clad rule of never drinking human blood...

Chise Hatori, 15 years old. Lost, without hope, and without family, she is bought for money – not by another person, but by a non-human sorcerer named Elias. Though she hesitates, she begins life anew as his apprentice and future wife.

Set in the city of Nagasaki, the story takes place in a world where a miniscule amount of magic remains in everyday life. Hitomi Tsukishiro is a 17-year-old descendant of a witch family who grew up with stale emotions, as she lost her sense of color at a very young age. Feeling sorry for her granddaughter's future, Kohaku, a great witch, sends Hitomi to past, the year 2018. Through exchanges with her 17-year-old grandmother and her club members, the story follows Hitomi's growth as a person.

All thanks to the special ability that he developed, Yuu was able to cheat his way into a very prestigious high school. With his power, he thought nothing was going to stand in his way, until he met a mysterious girl named Nao Tomori and other students with special abilities just like him. It was the beginning to a new life.

The story revolves around a first-year high school student, Teiichi Niiya who had just enrolled at Seikyou Private Academy. When he gets lost in one of the school's old building, he meets a girl named Yuuko Kanoe who reveals herself as a ghost with no memories. Teiichi then decides to investigate her death by delving deep into the infamous Seven Mysteries of the storied school along with Kirie Kanoe, Yuuko's relative, and the oblivious second year Momoe Okonogi. Throughout the story, Teiichi and Yuuko discover the truth about these ghost stories and help those who are troubled all the while inching closer to the truth behind Yuuko's death.

Seventeen-year-old Hajime Nagumo is your average, everyday otaku. However, his simple life of pulling all-nighters and sleeping in school is suddenly turned upside down when he, along with the rest of his class, is summoned to a fantasy world! They're treated like heroes and tasked with the duty of saving the human race from utter extinction. But what should have been any otaku's wet dream quickly turns into Hajime's nightmare. While the rest of his class are blessed with godlike powers, Hajime's job, Synergist, only has a single transmutation skill. Ridiculed and bullied by his classmates for being weak, he soon finds himself in despair. Will he be able to survive in this dangerous world of monsters and demons with only a glorified blacksmith's level of strength?

Yukito Kunisaki is on a journey in search of the Winged Maiden who was bound to the sky centuries ago, after hearing an old childhood tale from his mother. As Yukito shows his puppet show to people in an attempt to make some money, he finds himself in a small town in which he did not expect to stay very long. However, when he meets an unusual girl named Misuzu, things take a drastic turn as he is invited to stay with her. By staying in the quaint town, Yukito soon becomes friends with the locals. As he gets to know them better, he learns of their problems and decides to help, putting his search for the Winged Maiden on hold. With his search on hold, and his growing attachment to Misuzu and the small town, will Yukito ever find the Winged Maiden, or is she closer than he thought? [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Kogarashi has the ability to see supernatural, and has been possessed by ghosts since he was a kid but now he has learned to fight back against them! Unfortunately, he's now also very poor, homeless, and hoping for a happier, more normal, high school life. In his search for housing, he's introduced to a very cheap boarding house called Yuragi Manor, which was formerly a hot springs inn. It's so cheap because the house is haunted by the spirit of a high school student whose corpse was found there.Kogarashi doesn't think this is going to be a problem for him. Soon he finds that Yuragi Manor's ghost is a 16-year-old girl named Yuna, who lives in his room. Kogarashi has no desire to hurt a ghost girl, and instead he ends up agreeing to help her to figure out her unfinished business so that she can move onto the afterlife before turning evil. Once it is clear that he is fine with Yuna, the other tenants reveal their own secrets—his life in Yuragi Manor is going to be far from ordinary!

Considered a genius due to having the highest grades in the country, Miyuki Shirogane leads the prestigious Shuchiin Academy's student council as its president, working alongside the beautiful and wealthy vice president Kaguya Shinomiya. The two are often regarded as the perfect couple by students despite them not being in any sort of romantic relationship.However, the truth is that after spending so much time together, the two have developed feelings for one another; unfortunately, neither is willing to confess, as doing so would be a sign of weakness. With their pride as elite students on the line, Miyuki and Kaguya embark on a quest to do whatever is necessary to get a confession out of the other. Through their daily antics, the battle of love begins!

Keiichi Morisato is looking forward to university life. But in reality, he has no luck in anything, and he has trouble with clubs, love, etc. The truth is that he has an unlucky star above his head. One day, Keiichi is stuck watching the dorm while his sempai are away, and has a mountain of chores to do to boot. But Keiichi is a good-natured person, and is set about doing his duties. As he is about to finish his final chore, he makes a phone call to his sempai. But the words that came through the receiver are, 'Goddess Help Line.' Shortly afterwards, a beautiful goddess named Belldandy appears in front of him from the mirror of his room.

Nakano is an employee of an exploitative "black" company, who meets a divine fox spirit named Senko. While she looks like a young girl, Senko is in fact 800 years old. She offers to spoil Nakano as much as possible, and begins looking after him.

In the story, Mitsuyoshi Tada, a boy who has never known love, is taking pictures of the cherry blossoms in full bloom when he meets Teresa Wagner, a transfer student from Luxembourg. Upon arriving in Japan, she got lost, separated from her travel companion. Mitsuyoshi helps her and brings her to his grandfather's coffee shop.

Segawa Yuta is a freshman of a university. He lost his parents when he was small and was raised by his sister Yuri. Yuta has been living alone since Yuri got married to a middle aged man when Yuta was a junior high student.  One day, Yuri visited Yuta's apartment and asked him to take care of her three daughters while Yuri and her husband were on a trip. He unwillingly accepted the job but the plane Yuri took went missing. In order to prevent the daughters from being adopted separately by relatives, Yuta decided to take in all three girls.  A life of a strange family in a tiny apartment begins.

After failing his college entrance exams, 18 year-old Tsukasa Mizugaki is offered a position at the renowned SAI Corporation, known for its production and management of Giftia, androids that possess human emotions. Tsukasa’s position is in the terminal service department where the main job is to recover Giftias that are close to their expiration, a graveyard department in every sense. To make matters worse, Tsukasa is ordered to work with Isla, a female Giftia who is never given any responsibility other than serving tea to co-workers.

Scenery that we have never seen. Sounds that we have never heard. Scent that we have never smelled. Food that we have never tasted. And the surge of emotion that we have never experienced. This is the expedition of recollecting the pieces torn apart and sensation left alone. When we reach that place, what will we think? Howling, 40 degree angle. Raging, 50 degree angle. Shouting, 60 degree angle. A wilderness beyond the heavy sea. The furthest south, far from civilization. At the top of the Earth. We will find lights through the girls' eyes to live tomorrow.

The Vision of Escaflowne is a 26-episode Japanese anime television series produced by Sunrise Studios and directed by Kazuki Akane. It premiered in Japan on April 2, 1996 on TV Tokyo, with the final episode airing on September 24, 1996. Sony's anime satellite channel, Animax also aired the series, both in Japan and on its various worldwide networks, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, and South Asia. The series is licensed for Region 1 release by Bandai Entertainment.The series follows a teenage high school girl named Hitomi, who finds herself pulled from Earth to the planet Gaea when a boy named Van appears on the high school track while battling a dragon. In Gaea, she is caught in the middle of a war as the Zaibach Empire attempts to take over Gaea. Van, with aid from Allen, commands his mystical mech Escaflowne in the struggle to stop the Zaibach Empire. Hitomi's fortune telling powers blossom in Gaea as she becomes the key to awakening Escaflowne and to stopping Zaibach's plans.While the anime series was in production, two very different manga retellings were also developed and released: a shōnen version of the story entitled The Vision of Escaflowne and a shōjo retelling titled Hitomi—The Vision of Escaflowne. In addition, a second shōjo adaptation called Escaflowne—Energist's Memories was released as a single volume in 1997. The story was novelized in a series of six light novels by Yumiko Tsukamoto, Hajime Yatate, and Shoji Kawamori. A movie adaptation, Escaflowne: The Movie was released on June 24, 2000, but bears only a basic resemblance to the original series. Four CD soundtracks and a drama CD have also been released in relation to the series.

Touya Mochizuki was accidentally killed, and as an apology, God allows him to be reborn in a fantasy world and will grant him any one wish he desires. And so, Touya chooses to keep his smartphone in the next world. In his second chance at life, he befriends many important figures and comes across the world's secret. He inherits the legacy of an ancient civilization and travels around nonchalantly while possessing powers that rival this world's kings.

Since the graduation of the senior members of the club, Takezou ends up being the sole member of the "Koto" (traditional Japanese string instrument) club. Now that the new school year has begun, Takezou will have to seek out new members into the club, or the club will become terminated. Out of nowhere, a new member barges into the near-abandoned club room, demanding to join the club. How will Takezou be able to keep his club alive and deal with this rascal of a new member?

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Koudo Ikusei Senior High School is a leading prestigious school with state-of-the-art facilities where nearly 100% of students go on to university or find employment. The students there have the freedom to wear any hairstyle and bring any personal effects they desire. Koudo Ikusei is a paradise-like school, but the truth is that only the most superior of students receive favorable treatment. Ayanokouji Kiyotaka is a student of D-class, which is where the school dumps its "inferior" students in order to ridicule them. For a certain reason, Kiyotaka was careless on his entrance examination, and was put in D-class. After meeting Horikita Suzune and Kushida Kikyou, two other students in his class, Kiyotaka's situation begins to change.

When she was a little girl, Atsuko "Akko" Kagari saw a magic show performed by a witch named Shiny Chariot. From that day on she wanted to be just like her. Enrolling at Luna Nova Magical Academy and having no magical background, can she become a witch like her idol Shiny Chariot?

Kotarou Azumi and Akane Mizuno became third year students at junior high school and are classmates for the first time. These two, along with fellow classmates, Chinatsu Nishio and Takumi Hira, relate to their peers through mutual understandings and feelings. As their final year at junior high school progresses, the group overcome their challenges to mature and become aware of changes in themselves.

Invertia was a meteor storm that caused an unprecedented disaster during the 20th century. Because of this disaster, numerous cities around the world were destroyed. However, within the meteor, an unknown element called mana was discovered. It allowed human technology to make rapid strides giving rise to a new species of super-powered humans, the Star Pulse Generation (Genestella). The Festas (Star Warrior Festivals) host battles between Genestella at a city of six academies called “Rikka,” also commonly known as “Asterisk.”Scholarship student Ayato Amagiri transferred into Seidoukan Academy in order to fulfill his own wish, swearing he too will fight in this city.

Yuichi hasn’t seen his cousin Nayuki in years. Now that he’s back, all knowledge of ever visiting has vanished. He tries to adjust to the vaguely familiar surroundings, but the gaps in his memory haunt him as time grows short. The pieces of the puzzle have appeared – an eerily silent beauty with blazing tresses, the mysterious girl with the winged backpack, and the sword-wielding demon slayer – but it’s up to Yuichi to discover how they fit together.

Fuutarou Uesugi is a poor, antisocial ace student who one day meets the rich transfer student Itsuki Nakano. They argue but when Uesugi realizes he is to be her tutor, he tries to get on better terms. While trying to do so he meets four other girls.

Tohru Honda is 16 year old orphaned girl who gets invited to live in the house of her classmate, the handsome boy Sohma Yuki, and his cousins, 16 year old Kyo and 27 year old Shigure. However, these young men and parts of the rest of their family (both close and distant) hold a curse; if they are hugged by the opposite gender, they transform into animals of the Chinese Zodiac. Everyday is an adventure for sweet Tohru, as she gets to know everyone in the large family better (especially Yuki and Kyo), in both common and bizarre situations. But, the Sohma Family curse is certainly no laughing matter... it also holds horrible cruelty and heartbreak.

During the events of the original Rozen Maiden, after circling "yes" on a paper and agreeing to wind an unknown "something," a traumatized Jun Sakurada fights alongside the lifelike dolls known as the Rozen Maidens. But what would have happened if Jun had circled "no"?Jun, having gotten over his school trauma from his younger days, spends his time attending college and working in a bookstore. However, he does not feel as though he belongs anywhere. One day, he finds a book containing instructions on how to make a Rozen Maiden. Mysteriously, when he arrives home that night, the second volume in the book series has been delivered to his house, along with some pieces of a doll. But as suddenly as they started arriving, the books stop coming, and Jun gets a notice that says that the books have ceased being published. With an incomplete doll in hand, and a message from his other self in another world, this Jun also finds his way into the world of the Rozen Maidens.

The story takes place in the year 1614. Two ninja clans, Tsubagakure of the Iga and Manjidani of Kouga, battle each other to determine which grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu will become the next shogun. The deadly competition between 10 elite ninja from each clan unleashes a centuries-old hatred that threatens to destroy all hope for peace between them.

Moriko Morioka is a 30-year-old single NEET woman. After dropping out from reality, she has taken off in search for a fulfilling life and ended up in a net game or "netoge." In the netoge world, she began her new life as a refreshing and handsome character named Hayashi. While starting out as a beginner, a pretty character named Lily reached out to help her. Meanwhile, in the real world, awaits a shocking encounter with a good-looking elite company employee, a mysterious blue-eyed blonde.

There is a place after death that’s neither heaven nor hell. A bar that serves you one chance to win. You cannot leave until the game is over, and when it is, your life may be too. From Studio Madhouse (Death Note, Black Lagoon) comes a thrilling new series where the stakes are high and the rules are simple: your life is on the line.

Natsume Takashi has the ability to see spirits, which he has long kept secret. However, once he inherits a strange book that belonged to his deceased grandmother, Reiko, he discovers the reason why spirits surround him.

Aya Asagiri is a middle school girl who has problems both at school with bullying and at home from physical abuse by her brother. While browsing online, a website pops up on her computer featuring a creepy looking person. This person appears to take pity on her, and announces that she has granted Asagiri magical powers.