Best movies like Drifting Home
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Sixth-graders Kosuke and Natsume grew up in the same apartment building as childhood friends. During summer break, while playing in the apartment building that is set to be demolished, they find themselves caught in a strange phenomenon. All they can see around them is a vast sea. Will Kosuke and the others make it back to their world? A journey of farewells in summer has just begun.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Animation, Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: anime, epic fantasy, complex
Best tv shows and movies like Drifting Home (2022):
Similar in 89%
Pop in Q (2016)
Plot Summary:
The story begins the day before the graduation ceremony. Five middle school girls each are preoccupied with their real everyday lives. These girls meet each other in a fantasy world after being sent there through a sudden occurrence. There, they learn about the impending crisis that this world is facing. The way to avert this crisis is for the five to collaborate and bring their five hearts together as one through dance. However, the five cannot come to love the world, and cannot tell their true feelings to one another, so their hearts are unable to unite. The time limit is fast approaching. Can the dance of the five girls save the world? And will they be able to graduate?.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 44
Genere: Animation, Adventure, Fantasy, Musical
Country: Japan
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: anime
Similar in 78%
The Great Adventure of Horus, Prince of the Sun (1968)
Plot Summary:
Horus, a kid living in a unnamed Scandinavian/Eastern Europe culture of the Iron Age, recovers the Sword of the Sun from the rock giant Moog and learns from his dying father that he must returns to his ancestral territory. In the process, he defends a village from the attacks of Grundewald, a warlord/ice demon and befriends the enigmatic Hilda, a lonely and beautiful girl who sings haunting songs (and who hides a terrible secret).
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Animation, Action, Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: anime, cult classic, exciting, serious, whimsical, 2d animation
Similar in 82%
For Whom the Alchemist Exists: The Movie (2019)
Plot Summary:
Set in the continent of Babel, where the Tower of Babel looms large over seven nations. After the invention of alchemy led to its use as a tool of war that brought humanity to the brink of extinction, the seven nations struck an uneasy peace that led to a prohibition on alchemy for hundreds of years since. In the Continental Year 911, the nation of Lustrice broke the pact by assembling an army bolstered by alchemy, with ambitions of conquest over the continent. Led by Envylia, the six nations allied and struck down the rogue nation, casting alchemy once again to darkness. But 20 years after the war, alchemy once again begins to cause chaos in the land.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 42
Genere: Animation, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration:
Plot tags: anime, mecha
Similar in 87%
Goodbye, Don Glees! (2021)
Plot Summary:
Teen misfits Roma, Toto, and Drop call themselves the “Don Glees,” an informal name for their backyard adventures. One day, when the trio gets blamed for a nearby forest fire, they set off into the woods to prove their innocence. As disaster strikes their expedition, tensions flare between the friends as they realize that growing up has taken them on wildly different paths in life.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 437
Genere: Animation, Adventure, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: anime, feel good, captivating, entertaining, semi serious
Similar in 80%
Coral Reef Legend: Elfie of the Blue Sea (1986)
Plot Summary:
In the future, the oceans have risen to flood all the continents due to humanity's negligence of the environment. Only a few bits of land have been spared, and one of those is the city-island where Elfie lives with her grandfather. One day, due to an underwater incident, she discovers that she can breathe underwater. Her grandfather reveals that in truth she is one of the mythical sea-people. Using the city folk's xenophobia, local politicians spark a war with this hidden people to distract people from their current resource problems, and Elfie is caught in the middle of it.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 71
Genere: Animation, Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Country: Japan
Duration: 72 min
Plot tags: anime, vintage
Similar in 77%
Napping Princess (2017)
Plot Summary:
Hirune Hime is set in the Kojima region of Okayama Prefecture in the year 2020, two days after the scheduled Tokyo Olympics. Kokone lives together with her father, who is always working on modifying cars. As she begins to investigate a strange dream has been seeing over and over, Kokone learns a secret about her family.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Animation, Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Country: Japan
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: anime, captivating, entertaining, unusual plot structure, mecha
Similar in 88%
Child of Kamiari Month (2021)
Plot Summary:
A year after losing her mother, a young girl learns that she must journey across Japan to the annual gathering of gods in the sacred land of Izumo.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Animation, Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Mystery
Country: Japan
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: anime, psychological, captivating, disturbing
Similar in 83%
Unico in the Island of Magic (1983)
Plot Summary:
Based on "Unico and the Kingdom of the Sun," which was newly written as a theater version, this animated film features a battle between the wizard Kukuruku and Unico. Kukuruku builds a castle using dolls transformed from men as building parts. The story revolves around the sorrow and terror of men who have been transfigured into dolls, and a girl named Cherry who wishes to recover the kindness in her brother, who is a student of Kukuruku. This work reminds us of the fact that "transformation" or "transfiguration" --- favorite themes of Tezuka Osamu --- involves not only material aspects, but also man's immaterial heart [Taken from AniDB].
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 574
Genere: Animation, Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: anime
Similar in 84%
Children of the Sea (2019)
Plot Summary:
Ruka is a young girl whose parents are separated and whose father works in an aquarium. When two boys, Umi and Sora, who were raised in the sea by dugongs, are brought to the aquarium, Ruka feels drawn to them and begins to realize that she has the same sort of supernatural connection to the ocean that they do. Umi and Sora's special power seems to be connected to strange events that have been occurring more and more frequently, such as the appearance of sea creatures far from their home territory and the disappearance of aquarium animals around the world. However, the exact nature of the boys' power and of the abnormal events is unknown, and Ruka gets drawn into investigating the mystery that surrounds her new friends.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Animation, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Country: Japan, China, Hong Kong
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: anime, exciting, captivating, disturbing, entertaining, seinen
Similar in 77%
Mai Mai Miracle (2009)
Plot Summary:
In 1955 in western Japan, nine-year-old Shinko knows she comes from a family that dates back to over a thousand years. This long genealogy and stories about it feed her daydreams: she invents an imaginary friendship with a young girl in the Japan of a thousand years ago. One day, Kiiko, a timid child from Tokyo, is transferred into Shinko's class at school. Struggling to fit in, she finds a friend in Shinko. They set off together on a magical adventure into a story from ancient history.Adapted from the Takagi Nobuko novel Mai Mai Shinko — winner of the prestigious Akutagawa Prize —, this animated feature film portrays the relationship of two children linked not only by friendship, but also by that power that transcends eras: imagination. And perhaps it might become reality?.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Animation, Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: anime, feel good, light, captivating, entertaining, touching, offbeat, social, manga, semi serious
Similar in 77%
A Letter to Momo (2011)
Plot Summary:
Clinging to an unfinished letter written by her recently deceased father, young Momo moves with her mother from bustling Tokyo to the remote Japanese island of Shio. Upon their arrival, she begins to explore her new habitat, meeting local children and learning their routines and customs. However, it's not long before several bizarre occurrences crop up around the previously tranquil island. Orchards are found ransacked, prized trinkets start disappearing and, worst of all, each morning after her mother leaves for work, Momo hears strange mumblings coming from the attic of their home. Annoyed by these creepy goings-on and her mother's refusal to believe them, Momo embarks on a strange and supernatural adventure to discover the source of the mischief, which leads her to a trio of troublesome imps: the flatulent lizard Kawa, the childlike Mame and their hulking ogre leader Iwa. Momo also learns that her visit to the island is in some way connected to her father's mysterious letter.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: anime, touching, humorous, semi serious, stylized, captivating, uplifting, epic, whimsical
Similar in 78%
Mirai (2018)
Plot Summary:
The movie follows a 4-year old boy who is struggling to cope with the arrival of a little sister in the family until things turn magical. A mysterious garden in the backyard of the boy's home becomes a gateway allowing the child to travel back in time and encounter his mother as a little girl and his great-grandfather as a young man. These fantasy-filled adventures allow the child to change his perspective and help him become the big brother he was meant to be.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Animation, Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: anime, touching, sincere, entertaining, manga, funny, thought provoking, enigmatic, feel good, humorous
Similar in 78%
Okko's Inn (2018)
Plot Summary:
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.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Animation, Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: anime, exciting, feel good, captivating, light, thought provoking, manga, crying
Similar in 83%
Summer Days with Coo (2007)
Plot Summary:
A small, lone Kappa miraculously survives over 200 years into modern day Japan, when he is found by young Koichi. Coo, who is secretly adopted by Koichi's family, searches with his new human friend for unpopulated places in hopes of finding any remaining of his kind.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration: 138 min
Plot tags: captivating, humorous, anime, sincere, manga, adult animation, entertaining, light
Similar in 77%
Non Non Biyori: The Movie - Vacation (2018)
Plot Summary:
The movie for Non Non Biyori series. Summer vacation is drawing to an end. When Suguru wins a free trip to Okinawa, all of the five students of Asahigaoka branch school are excited to end their vacation with a bang. Along with Hikage, Konomi, and their teacher and the candy store owner, everyone goes to Okinawa for a fun three-day trip. There, Natsumi makes friends with Aoi, the girl who helps out at the hotel they stay in.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 390
Genere: Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 71 min
Plot tags: anime, light, touching, feel good, humorous, sweet, captivating, visually appealing, seinen, crying
Similar in 89%
The Faraway Paladin (2021)
Plot Summary:
In a city of the dead, long since ruined and far from human civilization, lives a single human child. His name is Will, and he's being raised by three undead: the hearty skeletal warrior, Blood; the graceful mummified priestess, Mary; and the crotchety spectral sorcerer, Gus. The three pour love into the boy, and teach him all they know. But one day, Will starts to wonder: "Who am I?" Will must unravel the mysteries of this faraway dead man's land, and unearth the secret pasts of the undead. He must learn the love and mercy of the good gods, and the bigotry and madness of the bad. And when he knows it all, the boy will take his first step on the path to becoming a Paladin.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Animation, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration:
Plot tags: anime, psychological, captivating, disturbing
Similar in 84%
Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day - The Movie (2013)
Plot Summary:
A year has passed since Menma's ghostly return to the Super Peace Busters. Although the time they spent together during that summer was short, the five members reminisce about what happened as they each write a letter to their lost friend.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Animation, Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Mystery, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: anime, psychological, emotional, sentimental, touching, serious, stylized, islamic, seinen
Similar in 82%
The Anthem of the Heart (2015)
Plot Summary:
A young girl had her voice magically taken away so that she would never hurt people with it, but her outlook changes when she encounters music and friendship. Will Naruse be able to convey the anthem of her heart?.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Animation, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: anime, sincere, touching, psychological, sentimental, romantic, epic
Similar in 85%
Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms (2018)
Plot Summary:
A story of encounters and partings interwoven between people; this is a human drama with feelings that touch one's heart gradually, which everyone has experienced at least once.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Animation, Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: anime, touching, thought provoking, sentimental, exciting, sincere, manga, epic fantasy, josei, 2d animation
Similar in 75%
The Wonderland (2019)
Plot Summary:
The story follows Akane, a girl with no self-confidence. On the day before her birthday, she meets a mysterious alchemist Hippocrates and their student Pipo, who both tell her they're on a mission to save the world. Together, they set out from the basement for "Wonderland," and Akane finds herself labelled Wonderland's savior.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 998
Genere: Animation, Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: anime, light, captivating, entertaining, visually appealing, 2d animation
Similar in 78%
Yo-kai Watch Jam: Yo-kai Academy Y - Can a Cat Be a Hero? (2019)
Plot Summary:
Set in Y-Academy, an elite school that only allows students with top class abilities to enter. The protagonist, Jinpei Jiba, and his unique friends take on the mysteries of the school as transforming heroes.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 24
Genere: Animation, Action, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: anime, captivating, entertaining, satirical, semi serious
Similar in 85%
To the Forest of Firefly Lights (2011)
Plot Summary:
One hot summer day a little girl gets lost in an enchanted forest of the mountain god where spirits reside. A young boy appears before her, but she cannot touch him for fear of making him disappear. And so a wondrous adventure awaits.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Animation, Drama, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: anime, exciting, touching, captivating, sincere, sad, manga, art house, deep, cute
Similar in 79%
Modest Heroes (2018)
Plot Summary:
From director Hiromasa Yonebayashi: “Kanini & Kanino”; “Life Ain’t Gonna Lose” directed by Yoshiyuki Momose; and “Invisible” directed by Akihiko Yamashita. These leaders of animation draw tales of modest heroes of our times.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Animation, Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration: 53 min
Plot tags: anime, anthology, light, feel good, captivating, entertaining, whimsical
Similar in 87%
A Whisker Away (2020)
Plot Summary:
Miyo "Muge" Sasaki is a peculiar second-year junior high student who has fallen in love with her classmate Kento Hinode. Muge resolutely pursues Kento every day, but he takes no notice of her. Nevertheless, while carrying a secret she can tell no one, Muge continues to pursue Kento. Muge discovers a magic mask that allows her to transform into a cat named Tarō. The magic lets Muge get close to Kento, but eventually it may also make her unable to transform back to a human.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Animation, Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: anime, captivating, feel good, unusual plot structure, visually appealing, manga
Similar in 75%
The Little Mermaid (1975)
Plot Summary:
The story of a beautiful mermaid who gave up a kingdom for her beloved prince.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Animation, Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Musical, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 68 min
Plot tags: anime, sweet, fairy tale, 2d animation
Similar in 79%
Belle (2021)
Plot Summary:
Suzu is a 17-year-old high school student living in a rural town with her father. Wounded by the loss of her mother at a young age, Suzu one day discovers the massive online world "U" and dives into this alternate reality as her avatar, Belle. Before long, all of U's eyes are fixed on Belle, when, suddenly, a mysterious dragon-like figure appears before her.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Animation, Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Music, Musical, Sci-Fi
Country: Japan
Duration: 121 min
Plot tags: anime, captivating, disturbing, visual, adult animation, manga, 2d animation
Similar in 85%
Welcome to the Space Show (2010)
Plot Summary:
Five children save the life of a dog-like alien while at a self-run summer camp. He attempts to reward them by taking them to an alien colony on the Moon. Events take a turn for the worse when his report on that attack that injured him causes passage from the Moon to the Earth to be banned, and children are stranded in space. The children need to find a way back home before camp ends and their parents discover that they are missing. They also have to avoid the poachers that injured their alien friend, and now seem to be stalking them all.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Animation, Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Country: Japan
Duration: 136 min
Plot tags: anime, feel good, humorous, semi serious, sincere, captivating, light, futuristic, exciting, urban fantasy
Similar in 81%
Children Who Chase Lost Voices (2011)
Plot Summary:
The film centers on Asuna, a young girl who spends her solitary days listening to the mysterious music emanating from the crystal radio she received from her late father as a memento. One day while walking home she is attacked by a fearsome monster and saved mysterious boy named Shun. However, Shun disappears and Asuna embarks on a journey of adventure to the land of Agartha with her teacher Mr. Morisaki to meet a Shun again. Through her journey she comes to know the cruelty and beauty of the world, as well as loss.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Animation, Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: anime, touching, captivating, sentimental, serious, manga, suspense, spiritual, educational, sad
Similar in 89%
Wolf Children (2012)
Plot Summary:
After her werewolf lover unexpectedly dies in an accident, a woman must find a way to raise the son and daughter that she had with him. However, their inheritance of their father's traits prove to be a challenge for her.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 48000
Genere: Animation, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: anime, heartbreaking, sweet, atmospheric, colorful, sentimental, touching, manga, depressing, epic
Similar in 77%
Luca (2021)
Plot Summary:
In a beautiful seaside town on the Italian Riviera, two young boys experience an unforgettable summer filled with gelato, pasta and endless scooter rides. But all the fun is threatened by a deeply-held secret: they are sea monsters from another world just below the water’s surface.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 185000
Genere: Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: captivating, funny, entertaining, 3d animation, sexy, sad, anime, cute, light, psychotronic