Bakemono No Ko or also known as The Boy and the Beast is an incredible classic anime movie of all time that is loved by fans and it is always a go-to anime film for beginners also. It is hard to depict what made this anime film stand out from the others as it features a lot of great things like parentage in a fictional world to the adventure of a delinquent aka a lost child and as well as the incredible animation and fighting sequence in the film.
With so many things featured in a single movie, it is really hard to pick faults in the movie and hate it. Having said that, a great movie always has the fans and the viewers wanting more from the movie or movies similar to it. Well, to quench this thirst there might not be a sequel to the Bakemono No Ko anime movie but there are sure a lot of other similar anime that are a must and you will love watching them as much as you did watch Bakemono No Ko.
So, without any further ado, let’s dive into it. Here are 13 anime movies like Bakemono No Ko that you should give a try. Caution: the list is in random order and does not rank by number.
1) Wolf Children (Ookami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki)
Starting the list of 13 anime movies similar to Bakemono No Ko or The Boy And The Beast, we have a movie from the same director Mamoru Hosoda who directed the famous movie Wolf Children. This movie was released three years earlier than Bakemono No Ko in 2012 and it is one of the best anime films by Mamoru Hosoda.
The similarity between the said two movies is the fictional world where the parentage is done. While we have a bear taking care of the child in the Bakemono No Ko movie, in Wolf Children we have human taking care of two part-wolf and part-human children that she gave birth to after a fictional romance with a part-wolf and part-human. The adventure in this movie is sweet and you will love it just as much as did The Boy and The Beast.
2) Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi)
There is a 95% chance that you may have watched this film already. Well, if you have not watched this anime movie then there is no excuse now to not watch it. Spirited Away is one of the most renowned anime films of all time and is loved by fans all over the world.
It ranks in the top 10 anime films of all time and is always a go-to anime film for new watchers. The similarity between Bakemono No Ko and Spirited Away is they both feature a protagonist who ventures into a fictional world and we follow their incredible journey. To be honest, Studio Ghibli’s animation for the movie is enough to watch this anime film of all time.
3) To The Forest of Firefly Lights (Hotarubi no Mori e)
Speaking of spirits and girls wondering of to meet Spirits, we have Hotarubi no Mori e also known as To The Forest of Firefly Lights anime that is similar to both Spirited Away and Bakemono No Ko where it features a protagonist who has an encounter with a fictional character.
This anime has a runtime of only 45 mins so if you think you haven’t got the time to watch a long movie or an anime similar to Bakemono no ko, then Hotarubi no Mori e is the best anime movie to watch as it won’t only save time but also give you the feeling that The Boy and The Beast anime movie gave you.
4) Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms (Sayonara no Asa ni Yakusoku no Hana wo Kazarou)
Here is an anime film that is not very known but has a similarity to Bakemono No Ko where love between a parent and a child is not bound by blood but beyond that. While Sayonara no Asa ni Yakusoku no Hana wo Kazarou may not feature a beast but it does feature a girl different from a common human.
Maquia is from a realm of Iolph where the people have a long life span and are blessed to have an appearance of their teenage throughout their life. When Maquia is forced to escape this realm due to the people who want their secret of long life, she finds an orphan boy in the streets and decides to raise him. As the boy grows up he finds the truth about his mother and a relationship that goes beyond blood is met with a lot of things.
5) Sword of the Stranger (Stranger: Mukô hadan)
Sword of the Stranger is very similar to Bakemono No Ko as it features a boy, animal, and sword fight as well. While it may not feature a parentage between like the beast and the boys in Bakemono No Ko, it features a dog and owner’s adventure as they try to get by and live in the cruel world.
Sword of the Stranger features a main with a dog who steals from a nearby village to meet their ends and live. However, the current dynasty has accused the boy of something which he not did do, he runs and on the verge of death, the boy and the dog meet a ronin who helps them in return for a fee. The adventure in this movie is just as good as in Bakemono No Ko and you will watch it just as much as you did the said movie.
6) Mirai (Mirai of the Future; Mirai no Mirai)
Directed by the same director as Bakemono No Ko, Mirai anime movie is also Mamoru Hosoda’s film that has the elements used in his previous films including The Boy and The Beast. Although it may not feature the beast in the movie, Mirai does have the parentage narration in this anime film.
The anime features a family in the countryside of Japan where a four-year-old boy named Kun is jealous after his baby sister comes into the family and thinks that she has taken all the parent’s love away from him. However, Kun meets a future version of his baby sister and they embark on a new journey. Why could there be a feature version of Kun’s baby sister in the present? Check out the anime film easily on Netflix.
7) Summer Wars
Written and Directed by Mamoru Hosoda, Summer Wars is another great anime film by the same director of Bakemono No Ko that is a must-watch film if you want to see some more work of Mamoru Hosoda. While the story of Summer Wars is not the same as Bakemono No Ko where it features a beast and parentage with action sequences, it does have the same storytelling as The Boy and The Beast, with the same humor and animation for the anime film.
The plot of the Summer Wars anime film is about a boy who is an avid math lover who is invited by her friend to her grandmother’s house in the country to pretend as her boyfriend. Although, this summer vacation is turned out into a world-saving adventure when the main character receives a text and has to solve a math problem.
8) The Legend of Hei
The Legend of Hei is very similar to Bakemono No Ko as it not only features a relationship between two different species but it also features an urban setting where the characters grow to love each other as the older character becomes the guardian of the younger character and teaches him to survive in the world. In addition, similar to The Boy and The Beast anime film, the characters in The Legend of Hei also do not like each other at first and they both grow their relationship as the story progresses.
9) Brave Story
Brave Story anime film has a run time of 112 min and was released in 2006. The similarity between this anime movie and Bakemono No Ko is about how the protagonist of the story has family issues and they find themselves in a mysterious new world very different from their own on an adventure.
Brave story follows a boy who ventures off into a mysterious building hoping to find a ghost. However, instead, he finds a boy from another world who can use magic and teaches him about this new world and how the Goddess of Destiny can grant any wish.
When the boy returns home that day he finds that his parents are getting a divorce in addition to his mother falling ill and getting hospitalized. Wataru is determined to gain an audience in front of the Goddess of Destiny to save his family and sets on an epic journey.
10) Weathering With You (Tenki No Ko)
Even though there is a high chance that you have seen this anime movie and now are concerned about how could Weathering With You might be similar to The Boy and The Beast, then I have just the answer for you. Just like The Boy and The Beast or Bakemono No Ko, Tenki No Ko also features characters who are runaways.
They have family problems and when they someone new on their adventure, they become close to them like one would to a family. If you haven’t seen this movie then you must because it is one of the best anime movies of all time and has broken several records for its great takes action and story, it is worth a watch.
11) Princess Mononoke (Mononoke Hime)
Princess Mononoke also known as Mononoke Hime a 1997 anime film, is also a fantasy movie of all time that is known for its great animation, and narration, and one of the earliest works of Studio Ghibli. However, Princess Mononoke is more than just a Studio Ghibli film, and the similarity between it and Bakemono No ko is canny.
Just as the main character in The Boy and The Beast has a relationship with a mythical creature (an animal who can talk) Princess Mononoke also follows the same development. If you loved the relationship of the characters in The Boy and The Beast, you will surely love it in Princess Mononoke as well.
12) A Whisker Away (Nakitai Watashi wa Neko wo Kaburu)
Speaking of developing relationships between an animal and humans, A Whisker Away anime movie takes a different approach yet in a satisfying way. Furthermore, this anime film also features our main character wandering off into a fantasy world and finding an adventure that will affect their life.
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The anime plot focuses on a girl who is not fond of her family a lot and after meeting a strange cat in an alley who gives her the power to transform into a cat, she uses this transformation to get close to her crush and spend her day with him which she couldn’t do when she was in her human form. However, this power comes with a price when Miyo wanders off to a new world filled with mystical creatures and faces this new world.
13) Big Fish And Begonia (Da Yu Hai Tang)
Last but not list for the anime movies like Bakemono No Ko, we have Big Fish And Begonia, Chinese anime which shares a lot of good similarities with Bakemono No Ko. This anime movie is more than just a movie as it narrates a touching fantasy story and it will touch us a lesson that you should follow your heart if it’s the last thing you will ever do.
Da Yu Hai Tang combines the Spirit and the Human realm where the former must oversee the order of life and natural laws. Among them is a spirit named Chun who has come of age and now must go through a ceremony where she must experience the Human World.
Chun transforms into a Fish and ventures off into the human world. However, she gets caught in a fishing net, and a boy without thinking twice jumps into her rescue and dies in the process. Feeling guilty for the boy’s death, Chun returns to the spirit realm and decides to revive the boy and meets the soul keeper. Thus follows an adventure that goes beyond the realm of the spirit and Chun will do anything to save this boy even if it meant breaking natural laws.
Well, that was it for the list of top anime movies similar to Bakemono No Ko that you should watch if you loved the other anime film. Take a stroll through Otakukart’s website and you will a lot of other reliable information about anime, movies, series, and more.
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