Hotarubi no Mori e - Recommendations

• OVA (1 ep x 25 min)
• 2002

Nagamine is a young high school student who lives a fairly typical teenage life: hanging out with friends, attending class, and falling in love with a wonderful boy. But when she enlists in the galactic army, who is desperate for candidates to fight an alien war, she finds herself drifting farther away from her first love, Noboru. In the depths of space, where a simple email takes eight years to be delivered, will their love truly flourish, or simply fade away?

• TV (12 eps)
• 2013

Gingitsune: Messenger Fox of the Gods follows the everyday life of Makoto Saeki, who is the 15th successor to her family’s shrine. As a result, Makoto is able to see Gintaro, a messenger of the gods who is the spirit of a sacred silver fox and has lived at the shrine for over 350 years. As a messenger of the gods, Gintaro has the ability to see into the future, and uses it to help Makoto only when she is truly in need. This is the story of friendship between a delicate teenager and a shy and stubborn messenger of the gods.

• TV (10 eps)
• 2014

Inari is a sweet and shy middle school girl with a HUGE crush on Tanbabashi, one of the cutest guys in her grade. She’s not smooth enough to tell him how she feels, and every time she tries things just keep getting worse! But when a beautiful goddess grants Inari the power to shape-shift, Inari uses her newfound powers to attempt to win over Tanbabashi.

• Movie (1 ep x 118 min)
• 2004

The responsible Sophie led a relatively normal life, safe within the walls of the hat shop in which she works; for outside, it is rumored, the evil wizard Howl roams the land in his mobile black castle. After a chance and mystical encounter, poor Sophie finds herself transformed by a witch's spell which makes her appear to be an old woman, and thus embarks on an adventure to find Howl’s castle and put an end to her curse. A mystical world of talking flames, sentient scarecrows, and magic aplenty awaits those who seek the legendary Howl...

• Movie (1 ep x 86 min)
• 2007

Teacher KANG takes his students to a school that sits at the base of a hill where Yobi lives, a five-tailed fox who can turn into any form. KANG and his students are there to train at a special center for honing their mental abilities. While the students test their courage at night, Yobi encounters dream-catcher HWANG Geum-yee. Yobi develops an interest in Geum-yee, and decides to join the students to stay closer to him. Living like a human being is fun, until she comes across the fox hunter. Rescued by a mysterious shadow, Yobi now faces the inevitable – by taking Geum-yee's spirit that will make her a real human being.

• Movie (1 ep x 107 min)
• 2016

Mitsuha and Taki are two total strangers living completely different lives. But when Mitsuha makes a wish to leave her mountain town and for the bustling city of Tokyo, they become connected in a bizarre way. She dreams she is a boy living in Tokyo while Taki dreams he is a girl from a rural town he’s never been to. What does their newfound connection mean? And how will it bring them together?

• OVA (1 ep x 10 min)
• 2002

Legend tells of a lone swordsman who lives in the Demon's Castle, the ruins near the Black Forest. This mysterious stranger only accepts rare books for his services, books from the ancient past. Comedy tells the story of a young girl who desperately wishes for her family and village to be saved from the coming English soldiers' wrath, and is willing to trade a precious book in exchange for the deed. With only her legs beneath her, she runs towards the Black Forest, hoping to get there in time...

• Movie (1 ep x 100 min)
• 2011

The war between the Levamme Empire and the Amatsukami Imperium has been raging for years. In the midst of this struggle, the prince of the Levamme Empire declares his love for Juana del Moral and vows to end the war in one year, as part of his marriage proposal. When the Amatsukami catch wind of this, they assault the del Moral residence, targeting Juana's life. As a last-ditch effort to bring the prince his bride, the San Maltilia Airforce employs a mercenary of mixed blood—a bestado—to fly Juana to the prince in secret.

• Movie (1 ep x 116 min)
• 2011

When she hears a strange song from a crystal radio, Asuna tunes into more than just a magical stream of music. Soon, she is transported to a mysterious world where mythical beasts roam and brave warriors fight for their lives. Agartha is a land of breathtaking beauty and unimaginable danger-a place where, it is believed, even the dead can be brought back to life. But at what cost?

• Movie (1 ep x 103 min)
• 2016

Beyond the human realm, there is a magical race of beings who control the tides and the changing of the seasons. One of these beings, a young girl named Chun, seeks something more—she wants to experience the human world! At sixteen, she finally gets her chance and transforms into a dolphin in order to explore the world that has her fascinated. But she soon discovers that it’s a dangerous place and nearly gets killed in a vortex. Luckily, her life is spared when a young boy sacrifices himself to save her. Moved by his kindness and courage, she uses magic to bring him back to life only to learn that this power comes at a serious price. On a new adventure, she’ll have to make her own sacrifices in order to protect his soul until it is ready to return to the human world.