What do you want to watch tonight?
Each title says who it's good for, and who it isn't. Tap what you want tonight, or say no to one and why.
Closest to Ocean Waves first
Whisper of the Heart 1995
Anime
Shizuku lives a simple life, dominated by her love for stories and writing. One day she notices that all the library books she has have been previously checked out by the same person: "Seiji Amasawa."
The sides of Whisper of the Heart
- A girl who reads every library book
- A boy learning to make violins
- A cat riding a train
Good for you if
- you want a quiet summer in the Tokyo suburbs.
- you like a first love that starts with a name on library cards.
- you like a girl figuring out if she can really write.
Bad for you if
- you don't watch anime.
- you need action to stay hooked. Here a girl writes a story and a boy builds violins.
About: first love · ambition · growing up
5 Centimeters per Second 2007
Anime
Three moments in Takaki's life: his relationship with Akari and their forced separation; his friendship with Kanae, who is secretly in love with him; the demands and disappointments of adulthood, an unhappy life in a cold city.
The sides of 5 Centimeters per Second
- A train delayed by snow on the way to a first love
- A surfer girl in love with a boy who looks elsewhere
- An adult life in a cold city
Good for you if
- you want falling cherry blossoms and snow drawn in detail.
- you like an hour of trains, letters and silences.
- you can take a love story about distance and time pulling people apart.
Bad for you if
- you don't watch anime.
- you need a happy ending. This one is about letting go.
About: distance · first love · growing apart
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time 2006
Anime
When 17-year-old Makoto Konno gains the ability to 'leap' backwards through time, she immediately sets about improving her grades and preventing personal mishaps. However, she soon realises that changing the past isn't as simple as it seems, and eventually, will have to rely on her new powers to shape the future of herself and her friends.
The sides of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
- A schoolgirl who leaps back through time
- A summer playing catch with two friends
- Small fixes with big costs
Good for you if
- you like Makoto leaping back in time to redo a test or sing karaoke for hours.
- you like three friends who don't want anything to change.
- you like being moved by a girl learning that every choice costs someone something.
Bad for you if
- you don't watch anime.
- you need time travel rules that hold up.
About: time · friendship · choices
A Silent Voice: The Movie 2016
Anime
Shouya Ishida starts bullying the new girl in class, Shouko Nishimiya, because she is deaf. But as the teasing continues, the rest of the class starts to turn on Shouya for his lack of compassion. When they leave elementary school, Shouko and Shouya do not speak to each other again... until an older, wiser Shouya, tormented by his past behaviour, decides he must see Shouko once more. He wants to atone for his sins, but is it already too late...?
The sides of A Silent Voice: The Movie
- A boy who bullied a deaf girl at school
- Years later, his attempt to make amends
- Conversations in sign language
Good for you if
- you want a film that breaks your heart and mends it.
- you like a guilty boy who can't look people in the face.
- you like teenagers learning to forgive themselves.
Bad for you if
- you can't watch bullying and suicide attempts on screen.
- you don't watch anime.
About: guilt · forgiveness · disability
From Up on Poppy Hill 2011
Anime
Yokohama, 1963. Japan is picking itself up from the devastation of World War II and preparing to host the 1964 Olympics—and the mood is one of both optimism and conflict as the young generation struggles to throw off the shackles of a troubled past. Against this backdrop of hope and change, a friendship begins to blossom between high school students Umi and Shun—but a buried secret from their past emerges to cast a shadow on the future and pull them apart.
The sides of From Up on Poppy Hill
- Yokohama in 1963, before the Olympics
- Students saving their old clubhouse
- A first love shadowed by a family secret
Good for you if
- you like breakfast for the whole boarding house and flags raised every morning.
- you like 1960s Japan rebuilding itself, with trams, harbors and old school buildings.
- you like a shy first love between two high school students.
Bad for you if
- you don't watch anime.
- you need action. The big fight here is students saving their old clubhouse.
About: first love · the past · tradition
Your Lie in April 2014
Anime
Kousei Arima was a genius pianist until his mother's sudden death took away his ability to play. Each day was dull for Kousei. But, then he meets a violinist named Kaori Miyazono who has an eccentric playing style. Can the heartfelt sounds of the girl's violin lead the boy to play the piano again?
The sides of Your Lie in April
- A pianist who can no longer hear his own playing
- A violinist who strays from the score
- A spring of competitions and recitals
Good for you if
- you want a story that leaves you crying on the last episode.
- you want Chopin and Beethoven played as if they were dialogue.
- you like petals, light and a concert hall drawn in detail.
Bad for you if
- you don't watch anime.
- you won't read subtitles.
- you'd rather not watch grief, illness and a hard childhood.
About: grief · music · first love
Horimiya 2021
Anime
A secret life is the one thing they have in common. At school, Hori is a prim and perfect social butterfly, but the truth is she's a brash homebody. Meanwhile, under a gloomy facade, Miyamura hides a gentle heart, along with piercings and tattoos. In a chance meeting, they both reveal a side they've never shown. Could this blossom into something new?
The sides of Horimiya
- A popular girl who is a homebody at home
- A gloomy classmate with piercings and tattoos
- A couple who get together before the confession
Good for you if
- you like a couple who get together early and stay together.
- you want an easy, warm watch with nothing cruel in it.
- you like last school years, clubs and goodbyes.
Bad for you if
- you don't watch anime.
- you won't read subtitles for a Japanese school romance.
About: first love · appearances · growing up
Your Name. 2016
Anime
High schoolers Mitsuha and Taki are complete strangers living separate lives. But one night, they suddenly switch places. Mitsuha wakes up in Taki’s body, and he in hers. This bizarre occurrence continues to happen randomly, and the two must adjust their lives around each other.
The sides of Your Name.
- A boy and a girl who swap bodies in their sleep
- Tokyo and a mountain town
- A comet in the sky
Good for you if
- you like a film carried by RADWIMPS songs.
- you like two people searching for someone they've never met.
- you like skies and light painted with breathtaking detail.
Bad for you if
- you don't watch animated films.
- you won't read subtitles. It's in Japanese (a dub exists).
About: connection · memory · fate
The Garden of Words 2013
Anime
Takao, who is training to become a shoemaker, skipped school and is sketching shoes in a Japanese-style garden. He meets a mysterious woman, Yukino, who is older than him. Then, without arranging the times, the two start to see each other again and again, but only on rainy days. They deepen their relationship and open up to each other. But the end of the rainy season soon approaches.
The sides of The Garden of Words
- A teenage boy sketching shoes in a park
- An older woman drinking beer at dawn
- Meetings only on rainy mornings
Good for you if
- you want rain on leaves drawn drop by drop.
- you like a story told in quiet mornings under a shelter.
- you like a bond between two lonely people that has no name.
Bad for you if
- you don't watch anime.
- you want a full evening's film. This one lasts forty-six minutes.
About: loneliness · age difference · rain
I Want to Eat Your Pancreas 2018
Anime
After his classmate and crush is diagnosed with a pancreatic disease, an average high schooler sets out to make the most of her final days.
The sides of I Want to Eat Your Pancreas
- A diary found in a hospital waiting room
- A loner and the dying girl who picks him
- A trip together off her bucket list
Good for you if
- you want to cry over a shy boy and a girl living her last months to the full.
- you like a love that is never quite named between two opposite teenagers.
- you like a closed-off boy slowly opened up by a girl who laughs at her illness.
Bad for you if
- a teenager's terminal illness is too much for you.
- you don't watch anime.
About: death · living fully · connection
Sailor Moon 1992
Anime
One day, Usagi Tsukino, clumsy 2nd-year middle school student, stumbles upon a talking cat named Luna. Luna tells her that she is destined to be Sailor Moon, "champion of love and justice", and she must search for the fabled Moon Princess. Usagi finds friends that turn out to be destined senshi as well, and together they fight to save the world from the certain doom brought upon by the Dark Kingdom.
The sides of Sailor Moon
- A clumsy schoolgirl who turns into a guardian
- A talking cat who hands out the missions
- A search for a lost moon princess
Good for you if
- you like five schoolgirls who become a team and stay one.
- you want a monster beaten each episode and everyone home for dinner.
- you are looking for something to watch with a child who likes transformations.
Bad for you if
- five seasons of a monster a week is too much for you.
- you don't watch animated series.
- you find early nineties animation dated.
About: friendship · duty · first love
Puberty Syndrome—a rumored, mysterious syndrome that only affects those in their puberty. For example, a bunny girl suddenly appeared in front of Sakuta Azusagawa. The bunny girl's real identity is Mai Sakurajima, a teenage celebrity who is currently an inactive high school senior. For some reason, her charming figure does not reflect in the eyes of others. In the course of revealing the mystery behind this phenomenon, Sakuta begins to explore his feelings towards Mai. Set in a city where the skies and seas shine, Sakuta unfolds the meaning behind his bizarre encounters on women with the said syndrome.
The sides of Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai
- A girl in a bunny costume nobody can see
- A high schooler who says what he thinks
- A seaside town and its little train line
Good for you if
- you like a couple that actually talks to each other.
- you like long walks home filled with sharp back-and-forth.
- you like an invented syndrome used to say something true about teenagers.
Bad for you if
- you don't watch anime.
- you won't read subtitles.
- you need the physics talk to hold up.
About: loneliness · first love · adolescence
Kamisama Kiss 2012
Anime
Nanami was just a normal high school girl down on her luck until a stranger’s lips marked her as the new Land God and turned her world upside down. Now, she’s figuring out the duties of a deity with the help of Tomoe, a reformed fox demon who reluctantly becomes her familiar in a contract sealed with a kiss. The new responsibilities—and boys—are a lot to handle, like the crow demon masquerading as a gorgeous pop idol and the adorable snake spirit who’s chosen the newly minted god to be his bride. As the headstrong Tomoe tries to whip her into shape, Nanami finds that love just might have cute, pointed fox ears. With romance in the air, will the human deity be able to prove herself worthy of her new title?
The sides of Kamisama Kiss
- A homeless high schooler made a land god
- A fox familiar bound by a kiss
- A shrine with spirits to look after
Good for you if
- you like a slow thaw between a girl and her reluctant fox familiar.
- you like Japanese spirits, shrines and demon courts.
- you want a warm episode before bed, with jokes between the stakes.
Bad for you if
- you don't watch anime.
- you won't read subtitles for a Japanese shoujo series.
About: first love · duty · belonging
Slam Dunk 1993
Anime
Sakuragi Hanamichi is a junior high punk used to getting into fights and being rejected by girls but upon entering high school he meets the girl of his dreams, Haruko Akagi. He will do anything in order to win her heart including joining the school basketball team that is aiming to conquer the nation lead by Haruko's brother. The problem is that Sakuragi has never played basketball before and a freshman sensation is stealing the spotlight and Haruko's affection from him.
The sides of Slam Dunk
- A redhead who joins the team to impress a girl
- A high school basketball club
- Practice before glory
Good for you if
- you like basketball drawn play by play.
- you like a loudmouth beginner who is wrong about everything.
- you like a team that slowly makes room for a rookie.
Bad for you if
- you don't watch anime.
- you won't read subtitles through a long sports run.
- you find nineties animation hard to look at now.
About: growing up · teamwork · pride
Weathering with You 2019
Anime
The summer of his high school freshman year, Hodaka runs away from his remote island home to Tokyo, and quickly finds himself pushed to his financial and personal limits. The weather is unusually gloomy and rainy every day, as if taking its cue from his life. After many days of solitude, he finally finds work as a freelance writer for a mysterious occult magazine. Then, one day, Hodaka meets Hina on a busy street corner. This bright and strong-willed girl possesses a strange and wonderful ability: the power to stop the rain and clear the sky.
The sides of Weathering with You
- A runaway boy in rainy Tokyo
- A girl who can clear the sky
- A city slowly going under water
Good for you if
- you like a first love between two kids on their own in Tokyo.
- you want rain and sunlight drawn so they almost shine.
- you like a prayer that opens a patch of blue sky.
Bad for you if
- you don't watch anime.
- you roll your eyes at big teenage declarations in the rain.
About: first love · sacrifice · the weather
When Marnie Was There 2014
Anime
Upon being sent to live with relatives in the countryside due to an illness, an emotionally distant adolescent girl becomes obsessed with an abandoned mansion and infatuated with a girl who lives there - a girl who may or may not be real.
The sides of When Marnie Was There
- A lonely girl sent to the seaside to recover
- An abandoned mansion across the marsh
- A blonde girl who may or may not be real
Good for you if
- you like the story of a girl who feels unloved, told gently enough to bring you to tears.
- you like long summer days of sketching, tides and rowing across the marsh.
- you like a friendship between two girls that heals one of them.
Bad for you if
- you don't watch anime.
- you need chases or fights to stay with a film. Here everything happens in two girls' hearts.
About: loneliness · belonging · memory

Rebelde 2004
Series
A group of young adults will spend their adolescence at the Elite Way School, where they will learn about love, life and live their passion for music.
The sides of Rebelde
- Students at a private school in Mexico City
- A scholarship girl among rich kids
- A school band that became RBD
Good for you if
- you like a teen drama where the students form a pop band.
- you like first loves between rich kids and scholarship students.
- you like growing up at boarding school, with parties and parents far away.
Bad for you if
- you won't read subtitles for a Spanish telenovela.
- three seasons of daily telenovela episodes is too much for you.
About: first love · class · friendship · music

Fighting Spirit 2000
Anime
Makunouchi Ippo is an ordinary high school student in Japan. Since he spends most of his time away from school helping his mother run the family business, he doesn't get to enjoy his younger years like most teenagers. Always a target for bullying at school (the family fishing business grants him a distinct odor), Ippo's life is one of hardship. One of these after-school bullying sessions turns Ippo's life around for the better, as he is saved by a boxer named Takamura. He decides to follow in Takamura's footsteps and train to become a boxer, giving his life direction and purpose. Ippo's path to perfecting his pugilistic prowess is just beginning...
The sides of Fighting Spirit
- A bullied boy who takes up boxing
- A gym run by an old trainer
- A punch learned over months of training
Good for you if
- you like training, weigh-ins and the walk to the ring.
- you want fights where every punch is explained as it lands.
- you like a shy boy who only knows who he is inside the ropes.
Bad for you if
- you don't watch anime.
- you won't read subtitles.
- you need momentum. a single fight can run across several episodes of commentary and inner monologue.
About: perseverance · self-worth · training
Mob Psycho 100 2016
Anime
Shigeo Kageyama, a.k.a. "Mob," is a boy who has trouble expressing himself, but who happens to be a powerful esper. Mob is determined to live a normal life and keeps his ESP suppressed, but when his emotions surge to a level of 100%, something terrible happens to him! As he's surrounded by false espers, evil spirits, and mysterious organizations, what will Mob think? What choices will he make?
The sides of Mob Psycho 100
- A boy with psychic powers who wants to be ordinary
- A fake exorcist and his consultation office
- A body improvement club
Good for you if
- you like animation that goes loose and wild when a fight starts.
- you like a con man mentor who gives surprisingly good advice.
- you want a shy kid to learn that powers are not a personality.
Bad for you if
- you don't watch anime.
- you won't read subtitles.
About: self-esteem · growing up · friendship
Millennium Actress 2002
Anime
Documentary filmmaker Genya Tachibana has tracked down the legendary actress Chiyoko Fujiwara, who mysteriously vanished at the height of her career. When he presents her with a key she had lost and thought was gone forever, the filmmaker could not have imagined that it would not only unlock the long-held secrets of Chiyoko’s life... but also his own.
The sides of Millennium Actress
- An actress telling her life to a film crew
- A key she promised to give back
- Her films and her memories running into each other
Good for you if
- you want images that cross a century without a cut.
- you like working out which scene is a memory and which is a film.
- you like a whole life spent looking for one person.
Bad for you if
- you don't watch animated films.
- you won't read subtitles for ninety minutes.
About: memory · love · cinema