And Yet the Town Moves - Recommendations

• TV (13 eps)
• 2010

Holding strictly to his family's creed, Kou Ichinomiya has never once, in his life of privilege, owed anything to anyone – that is, until a self-proclaimed Venusian named Nino saves him from drowning in the wake of a dire accident involving Kou's pants. Eternally indebted to the supposed extraterrestrial, Kou moves into her little community under the bridge along the Arakawa river. Ripped from his life of luxury and success, the young Tokyo U graduate now must adjust to his well-appointed hovel, strange new neighbors, and peculiar lover, Nino.

• TV (13 eps)
• 2010

Self-professed lover of all things small and cute, Souta Takanashi finds himself dragooned into working at the Wagnaria family restaurant by the diminutive and vivacious Poplar Taneshima. Though the pay is reasonable and the clientele polite, the high school student is often at his wits' end when dealing with the quirky staff. If the indifferent and street-tough manager, katana-carrying floor chief, and terminally weak Poplar weren't enough, Souta frequently fears for his life, as every encounter with the violently androphobic Inami ends in injury. How long can he survive before the combined stress and harm do him in?

• TV (13 eps)
• 2009

When thirteen-year-old Hajime goes to stay with his grandfather he gets lost and wanders into the Ark Cafe. There he meets Arashi, a sixteen-year-old girl with a big secret, and is immediately drawn to her. When a large private detective clad in camouflaged trousers and dark sunglasses walks into the cafe looking for Arashi, Hajime manages to help make him back off - for now. In thanks, Arashi goes to shake his hand but as she does so the pair connects and Arashi takes Hajime back in time to show him how the town used to look... while she was still alive! Now, after being ‘won' in a bet by the con artist currently managing the cafe, Hajime is working alongside the ‘ghostly' Arashi and fellow middle-schooler Jun who also suffered the same losing fate. As his life takes this unexpected turn, Hajime's stormy summer filled with strawberry bombs, moped races, and plenty of time travelling is only just beginning.

• TV (13 eps)
• 2009

It's the first day of high school, and plenty of school clubs are doing their best to recruit new members, but for ditzy Yui, none of them seem to fit the bill. However, when she accidentally signs up to join the light music club, Yui begins a hilarious adventure to become a world class guitarist! There's just one problem: she's never played the guitar before in her life! Joined by bassist Mio, drummer Ritsu and keyboardist Tsumugi, Yui and the gang will juggle their studies with buying instruments, learning how to read music and even performing in the school festival, all in the hopes of someday becoming a successful band!

• TV (24 eps)
• 2007

In present day Japan, the life of a school girl is never dull. The easily-bored Konata never finds time to study because of her otaku habits, which frustrates hard-working Kagami to no end. On the other hand, laid-back Tsukasa always manages to go with the flow, while Miyuki is concerned with keeping her status as resident know-it-all. Join these four girls as they muse and meander their way through everyday events such as eating chocolate cones, doing homework, gaming, and trips to the beach galore.

• TV (12 eps)
• 2010

Incensed at the damage done to the sea and its wildlife at the the hands of humanity, Squid Girl rises from the depths of the ocean to enslave humanity! Her mission proves more difficult than it first seems, however, when she gets dragooned into working at the Aizawa beach restaurant. Will the easily distracted, blissfully ignorant, and slightly thick Ika-Musume convert her managers' humble house into her base? Will she use the power of her mighty tentacles to bring all of humanity to heel? Or will she at least learn how to properly wait tables?

• TV (13 eps)
• 2008

Kamizono Academy is so spacious that transfer student Ayumi Nonomura and long time resident Tatsuki Iizuka find themselves lost together in the corridors. With the addition of fiery Torako Kageyama and quirky, somber Suzume Saotome, the four quickly become friends and comrades in arms against boredom. Whether it's being a last minute Morals Officer with bisexual Nene or constructing robots with Kageyama, there's plenty of fun to go around at Kamizono Academy!

• TV (26 eps)
• 2011

Ohana Matsumae is a sixteen-year-old girl with no purpose or direction in life. One day, however, she gets the chance to reinvent herself when her mother and her boyfriend do a moonlight flit to escape his debts. Left alone, Ohana goes to live with her estranged grandmother, but when she arrives she finds herself forced to work at the family’s hot spring resort, the Kissuiso Inn. With her grandmother considering her nothing more than an employee and a roommate who hates her, Ohana’s happy dream of a new life soon turns into a nightmare. Now the wide-eyed girl must learn the value of hard work as she attempts to make friends and familiarise herself with life at the resort.

• TV (23 eps)
• 2007

The studious and uptight Chiaki is well-known as the top pianist of his school, and dreams of becoming a world-class conductor like his idol, Viera; but his fear of flying (which makes studying abroad impossible) combined with a recent break-up and dismissal from his piano instructor causes that future to seem both bleak and unlikely. After collapsing outside of his apartment, drunk, Chiaki inadvertently meets a young woman named Nodame who, while quite talented at the piano, is unclean, clumsy, and haphazard. Despite being almost polar opposites, the two begin to grow closer and work, together, to overcome the obstacles in their careers.

• TV (26 eps)
• 2002

Ten-year-old genius Chiyo, animal-loving Sakaki, loudmouth Tomo, athletic Kagura, weight-conscious Yomi and dim-witted Osaka are six friends who share laughs, good times, and a high school homeroom. With scary (and sometimes perverted) teachers, school festivals, penguin suits and general hilarity abounding, you can be sure that there's never a dull day in the life of one of these students!