The Tale of the Princess Kaguya - Recommendations

• Movie (1 ep x 45 min)
• 2011

While visiting her uncle for the summer, six year old Hotaru gets lost in the woods outside the village. Scared, the crying girl is eventually rescued by a gentle youkai named Gin, who is burdened with a curse that will cause him to disappear if ever touched by a human. Though they are barred from physical contact, the two become close friends. But after a few short years it becomes apparent that Gin ages more slowly than humans, so while Hotaru is growing up and changing, Gin remains in stasis. How will Hotaru adapt to the complicated emotions she develops as her and Gin's ages gradually converge?

• TV (26 eps)
• 2005 - 2006

It isn't unusual for a person to feel that the world around them is strange and has unexpected secrets lying just beyond their sight. However, for most people this is just an occasional sensation that greets them upon awakening or chases them into sleep. For the mushi researcher Ginko, it isn't a feeling at all; it is a knowledge which guides his travels and motivates his life. Found in the cracks between what is conceivable and what is not, are the varied life forms collectively known as mushi. They surround us and affect us, but their intensely different nature makes them unrecognizable to most. Ginko brings these life forms into perspective for the lives of those most affected and most in need of an explanation.

• Movie (1 ep x 125 min)
• 2001

Chihiro and her family are on their way to their new home, when they discover an abandoned amusement park. After Chihiro's family mysteriously turn into pigs, she is thrown into a surreal world of magic and fantasy. Join her as she struggles to survive in the bathhouse of the gods, ruled by an evil witch who has stolen not only her name, but her way back to the real world.

• Movie (1 ep x 78 min)
• 1958

In ancient China, a supernatural, powerful storm transforms a magical white serpent into a beautiful maiden named Bai-Niang. She is drawn to the music of Xu-Xian, a young man who befriended her as a child, while she was still in her serpentine form. Having been the best of friends in the past, the two quickly fall in love and are happy to be together. However, the townsfolk distrust Bai-Niang and the lovers are torn apart once more. Will Bai-Niang and Xu-Xian ever be able to be together?

• Movie (1 ep x 88 min)
• 1988

With their father serving overseas in the Navy towards the end of the World War 2, Seita and his younger sister Setsuko are living as normally as they can. One day during a firebomb raid on the city their mother suffers fatal wounds and the two siblings' lives are turned upside down as they go to live with a relative. After suffering the cruel treatment of their aunt, who makes it clear that their very presence is a nuisance, Seita and Setsuko decide to leave and go to live in an abandoned bomb shelter. With no one else to rely on, Seita and Setsuko try their hardest to live from day to day. Though when food becomes ever more scarce and no one is willing to sell what little provisions they have, life for the pair is increasingly difficult. Then when Setsuko falls ill, Seita begins to realize just how fragile life is...

• Movie (1 ep x 101 min)
• 2008

Ponyo is a goldfish who lives in the sea, and has an over-protective magician for a father. Soon Ponyo runs away from home and is rescued by a five-year-old boy named Sosuke. As she wants nothing more than to understand what it's like to be a human being, Ponyo uses magic to transform into a human girl, and the two begin to form a special bond. However, this magic results in drastic consequences, and one final test stands in Ponyo's way before she can truly be human. Can Ponyo fulfill her dream, or is she destined to return to the sea?

• Movie (1 ep x 130 min)
• 2016

Based on the award-winning manga by Fumiyo Kouno, In This Corner Of The World tells the emotional story of Suzu, a young girl from Hiroshima, who's just become a bride in the nearby city of Kure during World War II. Living with her husband's family, Suzu has to adjust to her new life, which is made especially difficult by regular air raids. But life must go on, and Suzu — through the help of her new family and neighbors — begins to discover the joys of everyday life in Kure. Much is gained in Kure, but with war, many things cherished are also lost.

• TV (12 eps)
• 2017

In the distant future, microscopic organisms have left the planet desolate and given way to a new life form: Houseki. However, all is not peaceful. The 28 Houseki must fight against the Moon Dwellers, beings who attack them without discrimination and use their shattered bodies as decorations. For this reason, each Houseki is assigned a role, whether it be a fighter or a medic. Phosphophyllite, or Phos, is the youngest of their kin, and has not been given an assignment due to a lack of skill. Everything changes when Kongou, the leader of the Houseki, assigns Phos the task of creating an encyclopedia of natural history.

• Web (1 ep)
• 2021

A historical fantasy that unfolds a mysterious story between a high school girl from Urasoe and Satto, the king of the Ryukyu Kingdom.

• Web (1 ep)
• 2022