Best tv shows like Wave, Listen to Me!
Last updated March 2024
Looking for tv shows like Wave, Listen to Me!? Leverage your insights to steer others toward films and tv series you've seen before that might similarly transfix them. Aid in increasing the cohort of people bringing up videos between each other. We encourage your contribution!
Plot Summary:
The stage is Sapporo, Hokkaido. One night, our heroine, Minare Koda, spills her heartbroken woes to a radio station worker she meets while out drinking one night. The next day, she hears a recording of her pitiful grumbling being played live over the air. Minare storms into the station in a rage, only to then be duped by the station director into doing an impromptu talk show explaining her harsh dialogue. With just one recording, the many eccentric facets of Minare's life begin to pull every which direction as she falls ever deeper into the world of radio.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 279
Genere: Animation, Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 24 min
Plot tags: anime, psychological, humorous, captivating, entertaining, seinen
Best tv shows and movies like Wave, Listen to Me! (2020):
Similar in 81%
Taisho Otome Fairy Tale (2021)
Plot Summary:
Tamahiko Shima has been exiled to the country because of his disability, but the sudden arrival of an arranged bride upends his lonely life.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 533
Genere: Animation, Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 23 min
Plot tags: anime, captivating, psychological, humorous, disturbing, shounen
Similar in 88%
Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju (2016)
Plot Summary:
When a certain man is released from prison, he knows exactly where he's heading first. After falling in love with a traditional comic storyteller's rendition of the story called "Shinigami," he is determined to become his apprentice. The performer, Yakumo, has never taken an apprentice before, but to everyone's surprise, he accepts the eager ex-prisoner, nicknaming him "Yotaro." As Yotaro happily begins his new life, he meets others in Yakumo's life, including Yakumo's ward Konatsu. Konatsu was the daughter of a famous storyteller, and Yakumo took her in after her father's tragic death. Konatsu loved her father's storytelling, and would love to become a performer in her own right—but that path is not available for women.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Animation, Comedy, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 26 min
Plot tags: anime, humorous, captivating, disturbing, josei
Similar in 84%
Dagashi Kashi (2016)
Plot Summary:
Shikada Kokonotsu's father owns a rural sweets shop, and his plan is for Kokonotsu to take it over one day. However, Kokonotsu wants to be a manga author instead! One day in summer, the cute but weird girl Shidare Hotaru, from the famous sweets company, comes to pay a visit. Apparently, Kokonotsu's father is famous and she wants him to join her family's company. However, he will only agree if she can convince Kokonotsu to take over the family business!.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 856
Genere: Animation, Comedy, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 24 min
Plot tags: anime, humorous, exciting, light, captivating, entertaining, shounen, parody
Similar in 81%
Shonen Maid (2016)
Plot Summary:
After the loss of his mother, Chihiro is left alone. With no known family left, he has to find a way to move on. Things aren’t looking good until a chance encounter with the young and handsome Madoka—who turns out to be his wealthy uncle! Madoka offers him his home and all Chihiro has to do is clean up after the messy, irresponsible man. The problem? This job requires a uniform—a maid outfit!.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 147
Genere: Animation, Comedy, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 24 min
Plot tags: anime, shoujo, humorous, captivating, entertaining
Similar in 76%
Kakushigoto (2020)
Plot Summary:
Kakushi Gotou is a somewhat popular manga artist whose works are known for inappropriate content. Because of this raunchiness, when his daughter Hime was born, he vowed to keep his profession hidden from her, believing that she will be disillusioned if she finds out. This paranoia-induced belief leads Kakushi into hectic situations. Despite being a single father, he does his best and often resorts to extreme ends just to protect his secret, such as guising as a salaryman every day or holding emergency drills in case Hime somehow finds her way to his workplace. This show tells the story of a father and daughter living side by side, maintaining their peaceful existence as the father attempts to preserve the status quo. However, there is a saying: "there are no secrets that time cannot reveal." In time, Hime must learn the reality behind the things she took for granted as she grew up.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 958
Genere: Animation, Comedy, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 23 min
Plot tags: anime, light, humorous, entertaining, sentimental, manga, sincere
Similar in 83%
Bottom-tier Character Tomozaki (2021)
Plot Summary:
Tomozaki is one of the best gamers in Japan, and in his opinion, the game of real life is one of the worst. No clear-cut rules for success, horribly balanced, and nothing makes sense. But then he meets a gamer who’s just as good as him, and she offers to teach him a few exploits….
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Animation, Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 24 min
Plot tags: anime, romantic, thought provoking, captivating, psychological
Similar in 84%
Wagnaria!! (2010)
Plot Summary:
Set in a family restaurant in Hokkaido, the northern prefecture of Japan, 16-year-old high school student Sōta Takanashi works part-time along with his strange co-workers: Popura Taneshima, a high school girl who—despite being a year older than Sōta—is easily mistaken for a elementary/middle schooler, and Kyoko Shirafuji, the 28-year-old store manager who does not bother to do any work at all.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 694
Genere: Animation, Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 24 min
Plot tags: anime, seinen, light, feel good, humorous, captivating, absurd
Similar in 80%
Hataraki Man (2006)
Plot Summary:
Hiroko Matsukata’s determined to work her way to the top, and at only 28, she’s now an editor at Jidai Weekly. But she’s had to dedicate her life to work while suppressing her feminine character traits to blend in with her uncouth male coworkers.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 85
Genere: Animation, Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration:
Plot tags: anime, seinen, super sentai
Similar in 75%
Kubo Won't Let Me Be Invisible (2023)
Plot Summary:
First year high schooler Junta Shiraishi is a mob character who goes unnoticed even when he's standing right next to you. But his classmate, "heroine-level beauty" Kubo, always notices him and is there to tease him. Anyone can become special to someone, but it might be a little too early to call these feelings "love." Perhaps this story is still two-steps from being a romantic comedy--let's call it a sweet comedy where a background character becomes visible!.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 547
Genere: Animation, Comedy, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 24 min
Plot tags: anime, seinen
Similar in 84%
Amanchu! (2016)
Plot Summary:
The hyperactive teenage scuba diver, Hikari Kohinata, lives in a small town near the sea. On her first day of high school she meets the shy transfer student, Futaba Oki, who is struggling to find a place after moving away from Tokyo. Hikari takes the lead, dragging Futaba into her hijinx, and the two soon become close friends.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 171
Genere: Animation, Comedy, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 24 min
Plot tags: anime, psychological, captivating, entertaining, satirical, disturbing, semi serious, shounen
Similar in 88%
Servant x Service (2013)
Plot Summary:
Imagine if three people suddenly found themselves as civil servants of the city Mitsuba. What sort of personalities and drives would they have to push them to seek out such careers? Lucy Yamagami, a serious young woman assigned to the Welfare Administrative Section, intends to use the job as a means of settling a vendetta against another civil servant. Yutaka Hasebe, a flirtatious young man assigned to the First Section of the Welfare Department, intends to slack off whenever he can and have a good time. And Saya Miyoshi, a college graduate assigned to the Second Section of the Welfare Department, intends to simply get through the first job she's had in her life as best she can. Servant x Service follows these three newcomers starting their jobs as government employees under their supervisor, Taishi Ichimiya, who is utterly clueless about how to direct them—despite having worked there for the last eight years. Nevertheless, he welcomes them as fellow civil servants and encourages them to work themselves like dogs for the sake of the citizens. We follow their day-to-day lives as they experience the rigors of government employment, including dealing with regulations, office romances, paperwork, and being the nearest punching bags when citizens need something to complain about.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 328
Genere: Animation, Comedy
Country: Japan
Duration: 23 min
Plot tags: anime, funny, light, feel good, captivating, entertaining, semi serious, parody, seinen
Similar in 77%
Blend S (2017)
Plot Summary:
High school girl Maika Sakuranomiya has trouble finding a part-time job because of how scary she looks when smiling. However, she is scouted one day by an Italian man who is also the manager of Stile, a café where its waitresses are given unique traits such as tsundere and younger sister. Maika is given a sadist trait because of her looks and has to adopt a dominant and cruel persona when servicing customers, particularly masochist ones.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Animation, Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 23 min
Plot tags: anime, touching, humorous, captivating, entertaining, unusual plot structure, fun
Similar in 87%
At the Mercy of the Sky (2009)
Plot Summary:
Sakura Ooyagi returns to his old hometown in order to start school at Sōei High School. On the first day, he runs into an old childhood friend: a junior named Mihoshi Akeno. As children, the two used to play together, with Mihoshi, or Mii-chan, being extremely fond of astronomy. After convincing Sakura to join the school's astronomy club, another girl, Hime Makita, joins the club in hopes of winning over Sakura. The anime tells the story of the 6 club members as they soar through their lives, each maturing and changing their outlooks on life.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 71
Genere: Animation, Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration:
Plot tags: anime, psychological, captivating, entertaining
Similar in 76%
We Never Learn (2019)
Plot Summary:
Nariyuki Yuiga is in his last and most painful year of high school. In order to gain the “special VIP recommendation” which would grant him a full scholarship to college, he must now tutor his classmates as they struggle to prepare for entrance exams. Among his pupils are “the sleeping beauty of the literary forest,” Fumino Furuhashi, and “the Thumbelina supercomputer,” Rizu Ogata–two of the most beautiful super-geniuses at the school! While these two were thought to be academically flawless, it turns out that they’re completely clueless outside of their pet subjects…!? As Nariyuki’s life is turned upside down by these quirky girls who just never learn, he must do everything he can to get them accepted into college! The stage is set for this romantic comedy featuring prodigies who never learn when it comes to studying and love!.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Animation, Comedy, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 23 min
Plot tags: anime, humorous, light, romantic, absurd, funny, captivating, entertaining, romantic comedy, shounen
Similar in 90%
YuruYuri: Happy Go Lily (2011)
Plot Summary:
On her first day attending the all-girls Nanamori Middle School in Takaoka, Toyama Akaza Akari oversleeps, to be awakened by her one-year-senior childhood friends: the level-headed Funami Yui and the often self-centered Toshinou Kyouko. Planning on exciting club activities at school, Akari joins the club her older friends have set up. But as it turns out Kyouko and Yui simply took over the former room of the now defunct tea ceremony club for their own Amusement Club. In regard to what the club does, Kyouko explains: "We just hang out and do whatever we want!" This is not exactly what the helpful and energetic Akari had hoped for. Surprisingly a few days later Yoshikawa Chinatsu joins the club even though she mistook it for the former tea ceremony club. And so the four fun-loving girls could enjoy spending their spare time at the club were it not for the student council, in person of vice president Sugiura Ayano, who does her very best to shut down this unauthorized club.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 708
Genere: Animation, Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 25 min
Plot tags: anime, yuri, light, humorous, captivating, entertaining
Similar in 79%
Komi Can't Communicate (2021)
Plot Summary:
At a high school full of unique characters, Tadano helps his shy and unsociable classmate Komi reach her goal of making friends with 100 people.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Animation, Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 24 min
Plot tags: anime, humorous, sincere, psychological, captivating, entertaining, shounen, teen comedy
Similar in 86%
Hitoribocchi no Marumaruseikatsu (2019)
Plot Summary:
Hitori Bocchi suffers from extreme social anxiety, she's not good at talking to people, takes pretty extreme actions, is surprisingly adept at avoiding people, her legs cramp when she overexerts herself, gets full of herself when alone, will vomit when exposed to extreme tension and often comes up with plans. Now she is entering middle school and her only friend, Yawara Kai, is attending a different school. This leaves Bocchi alone, surrounded by new classmates with whom she must make friends before Kai will talk to her again.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 468
Genere: Animation, Comedy, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 23 min
Plot tags: anime, humorous, captivating, entertaining, shounen
Similar in 86%
Rainy Cocoa (2015)
Plot Summary:
Aoi’s soaked by a sudden rainstorm and takes shelter at Rainy Color, a cozy café where the warmth of the staff compliments the sweet hot cocoa he’s served. When he falls into a job at the café he feels like things are finally looking up— until Keiichi Iwase, the man he couldn’t help but stare at on the train, shows up.
IMDB Rating: 3.8
IMDB Votes: 69
Genere: Animation, Comedy
Country: Japan
Duration: 2 min
Plot tags: anime, sincere, humorous, captivating, entertaining
Similar in 75%
This Art Club Has a Problem! (2016)
Plot Summary:
An art club in a certain middle school, and its members: Subaru Uchimaki, who is a genius at drawing faces, but only wants to draw the perfect 2D wife; Colette, a rich troublemaker who never stops making mischief; and the club president, who sleeps through sessions and collects sleeping aids. Mizuki Usami is the only person in the club who wants to do art club-like activities, and constantly struggles to do so.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 426
Genere: Animation, Comedy, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 24 min
Plot tags: anime, humorous, captivating, entertaining, satirical, semi serious, super sentai
Similar in 88%
Love Stage!! (2014)
Plot Summary:
Izumi was born in a family of celebrities. His father is a singer, his mother an artist, his older brother the lead vocalist for the popular band Crashers. Izumi himself, however, is just a nerdy college student. He loves the manga "Magical Girl Lala Lulu" and dreams of becoming a manga writer himself. One day he is roped into filming a commercial where he wears a dress. Another actor on the set, Ryoma Ichijo, mistakes him for a woman and falls in love at first sight. As it turns out, though, they met ten years in the past. And Ryoma feelings don't change when he finds out Izumi is a boy.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Animation, Comedy, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration:
Plot tags: yaoi, anime, light, feel good, humorous, captivating, entertaining, romantic comedy, super sentai
Similar in 86%
Shikimori's Not Just a Cutie (2022)
Plot Summary:
Shikimori seems like the perfect girlfriend: cute, fun to be around, sweet when she wants to be… but she has a cool dark side that comes out under the right circumstances. And her boyfriend Izumi loves to be around when that happens!.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Animation, Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 23 min
Plot tags: anime, captivating, entertaining, disturbing, romantic comedy, 2d animation
Similar in 81%
My Dress-Up Darling (2022)
Plot Summary:
Wakana Gojo is a high school boy who wants to become a kashirashi--a master craftsman who makes traditional Japanese Hina dolls. Though he's gung-ho about the craft, he knows nothing about the latest trends, and has a hard time fitting in with his class. The popular kids--especially one girl, Marin Kitagawa--seem like they live in a completely different world. That all changes one day, when she shares an unexpected secret with him, and their completely different worlds collide.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Animation, Comedy, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 24 min
Plot tags: anime, erotic, ecchi, captivating, entertaining, satirical, semi serious, seinen, 2d animation
Similar in 84%
Merman in My Tub (2014)
Plot Summary:
Tatsumi is a high school student who lives on his own, until a merman named Wakasa takes up residence in his bathtub. His solitary lifestyle is turned upside down by the self-centered (but handsome) new roommate.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 248
Genere: Animation, Comedy, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration:
Plot tags: anime, feel good, humorous, captivating, entertaining, satirical, semi serious, yaoi, shoujo, corny
Similar in 85%
My Senpai Is Annoying (2021)
Plot Summary:
Futuba Igarashi's new job would be great if her senpai, Harumi Takeda, wasn't so incredibly annoying! Futuba hates his laugh, she hates how big he is, and she really hates that he treats her like a little kid. Just because Futuba is short and looks young doesn't make her a kid, and just because she spends so much time with Takeda doesn't mean she sees him as anything but an annoying senpai...or does she?!.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Animation, Comedy, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration:
Plot tags: anime, sincere, humorous, captivating, disturbing
Similar in 86%
Life Lessons with Uramichi Oniisan (2021)
Plot Summary:
Being an adult is hard, and for Uramichi Omota, that truth weighs on him. While on TV, he’s the upbeat exercise instructor for a children’s show, but he and his coworkers keep revealing the plight of adulthood on air. At least they’re working through it.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 743
Genere: Animation, Comedy
Country: Japan
Duration:
Plot tags: anime, humorous, captivating, entertaining, josei
Similar in 88%
Ojisan and Marshmallow (2016)
Plot Summary:
Kusaka is an older man who loves marshmallows, and Wakabayashi is an OL (office lady) who loves Kusaka. Their relationship unfolds at their office.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 137
Genere: Animation, Comedy, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 4 min
Plot tags: anime, funny, feel good, humorous, captivating, entertaining, satirical, semi serious
Similar in 76%
Tonari no Seki-kun: The Master of Killing Time (2014)
Plot Summary:
In the middle of class at a certain school, Rumi Yokoi, a diligent student, has her in-class life turned upside down when her desk mate Toshinari Seki begins to play by himself at his desk in class. Although Rumi is irked by Toshinari's distracting yet intricate playtime, she finds herself being drawn into his interesting hobby. Never being able to focus, Rumi observes Seki's stunning ways of slacking off in class.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 590
Genere: Animation, Comedy
Country: Japan
Duration: 8 min
Plot tags: anime, humorous, captivating, entertaining, satirical, semi serious, seinen, super sentai
Similar in 78%
Aharen-san wa Hakarenai (2022)
Plot Summary:
The story follows the "indecipherable" daily life of the short and quiet Reina Aharen and Raidou who sits next to her in class. Aharen is not so good at gauging the distance between people (or personal boundaries), and Raidou initially sensed some distance between the two of them. Then one day, when Raidou picked up the eraser that Aharen had dropped, the distance between them suddenly became uncomfortably close. From "way too distant" to "way too close" ... Aharen is simply unpredictable.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Animation, Comedy
Country: Japan
Duration:
Plot tags: anime, captivating, entertaining, satirical, semi serious, feel good, humorous, funny
Similar in 89%
Skull-face Bookseller Honda-san (2018)
Plot Summary:
Honda is a skeleton, but more importantly, he is a bookseller. And he'll tell you from firsthand experience that the job of a bookstore employee is more challenging than it may seem to the average customer. Alongside his equally eccentric coworkers, Honda constantly deals with the stressful requirements of the bookselling industry. From the drama of receiving new titles without their bonus material to the struggle of providing quality service to customers who speak a different language, the work of a skeleton bookseller never ends. Nevertheless, despite the hardships he faces, Honda thoroughly enjoys his job and strives to bring the best book selections and service to his customers.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 246
Genere: Animation, Comedy
Country: Japan
Duration: 15 min
Plot tags: anime, light, feel good, captivating, entertaining, satirical, semi serious, sitcom, educational, shounen
Similar in 76%
Cute Executive Officer (2021)
Plot Summary:
She’s not a genius. She’s not a prodigy. Heck, she’s not even old enough to vote! But somehow Najimu Mujina scored a totally above-average job as the president and “CEO” of the Mujina Company, where she navigates the world of adults with infectious, bright-eyed charm and enthusiasm. Whether it’s golfing with colleagues, negotiating contracts or pestering her executive assistant, Yuki, her hilarious antics are sure to captivate audiences of all ages.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 19
Genere: Animation, Comedy
Country: Japan
Duration:
Plot tags: anime, funny, humorous, captivating, entertaining, satirical, semi serious