The Wolf Children anime movie is one of the most heart-warming anime there is where a single mother is raising her children in a country area of Japan after their father’s demise. The movie narrates more than a single parent raising children as the children in The Wolf Children anime movie can, you guessed it turn into Wolfs.
They take up after their father, who could turn into Wolf at any time he wanted. The Wolf Children, at the start of the movie, tells a romantic story of a normal girl attending college and a boy who could turn into a wolf. Later, raising children in the country of Japan is met with more hardship when her children find it hard to behave like normal children as they are part-wolf. It is a story that will stir up emotions in you and will leave your heart warm.
It is no surprise that fans would like anime movies like The Wolf Children to stir up those emotions again and warm their heart to a fantasy story. Well, there might not be exactly a movie like The Wolf Children, but there are some who have the same theme as the movie and has a way of telling the story, just like The Wolf Children.
So, here is a list of 14 Anime Movies Like The Wolf Children That You Will Love To Watch. Caution: the anime movies mentioned below are in random order.
1) Princess Mononoke
Princess Mononoke is one of the most famous anime movies of all time, and there are high chances that you have seen this anime movie or at least heard about it. If you haven’t watched this movie then it is the right time to do so as it shares a lot of similarities with Wolf Children.
Just as the children in the Wolf Children find it hard to live in a society of man and wolves, the central character in Princess Mononoke also finds herself in the middle of the two worlds. While the children raised in Wolf Children are wolves, Princess Mononoke features a human raised by a Wolf.
This movie might be perfect for you if you are looking for a similar anime movie to The Wolf Children, as it features two worlds, magic of transformation, classic animation, and wolves.
2) My Neighbor Totoro
If we are speaking about Princess Mononoke, then how can we forget about My Neighbor Totoro, which is directed by the same director and from the same studio? My Neighbor Totoro is an 80s anime film, and like Wolf Children, the former also focuses on the relationship between siblings while learning about something new.
Although unlike The Wolf Children, My Neighbor Totoro does not focus on motherhood but rather the sibling relationship while featuring a weird and cute creature. Being an 80s anime movie, it also has a classic animation like The Wolf Children, and you will have a great time watching this anime movie.
3) Pom Poko
Still talking about the anime movies being produced by the infamous studio Ghibli, Pom Poko is another 90s Studio Ghibli film that has a lot to showcase. You may not have heard about this classic anime movie because it was not marketized compared to other classic Studio Ghibli films. And just like My Neighbor Totoro, this anime also attracts a younger audience, but the older audience will also enjoy this film due to its classic animation.
The similarity Pom Poko has with The Wolf Children also showcases shape-shifting elements on top of that, focusing on animals more than humans. In addition, Pom Poko has a strong message that it narrates about protecting the environment as the raccoons go to war against humans to save their living forest from going into development.
4) A Whisker Away
A Whisker Away is a straight-up movie for cat lovers. If you have any love for cats whatsoever, A Whisker Away, which is pretty similar to The Wolf Children, will also give you an adventure that will have you entertained for an hour and a half. It is a 2020 anime film so there is no doubt that you are going to love the animation of the movie.
"A Whisker Away"" – New PV!!
Netflix will stream the film on June 18.pic.twitter.com/WJFE63PPd6
— Anime Trending (@AniTrendz) June 12, 2020
The plot of A Whisker Away focuses on a girl who gains the ability to shapeshift into a cat and spends her time with her beloved crush, who didn’t pay attention to her previously. However, these abilities come at a price, and our protagonist faces the consequences of gaining this power. Like the Wolf Children, our main character also straddles between the human and animal worlds.
5) The Cat Returns
Speaking of Cats, how can we forget about the classic anime “The Cat Returns,” which is also a movie for cat lovers? If you haven’t developed a loved for cats yet, you will after watching The Cat Returns. The movie features a female protagonist like The Wolf Children, who can talk to cats, and upon saving a cat, she learns that she has saved the prince of the Cat Kingdom, who in return asks her to be her wife.
Also like Wolf Children, The Cat Returns also features shape-shifting as the central characters start to transform into a cat. Furthermore, just like the children in the Wolf Children, the protagonist of The Cat Return is stranded between the human and animal realms.
6) Maquia: When The Promised Flower Blooms
If you loved The Wolf Children for the motherhood and parenting that is showcased, then you are definitely gonna love this 2018 anime film that focuses on the same thing. Just as Wolf Children stirred up emotions in you while watching the seeing the hardship of single parenting of Maquia in Maquia: When The Promised Flower Blooms.
Furthermore, just as the children in Wolf Children had a difficult upbringing, Maquia’s adopted son goes through somewhat the same situations where society won’t accept him and her mother as they are. In addition, the emotion of letting children go at some point is also narrated in Maquia: When The Promised Flower Blooms with beautiful animation that will warm your heart.
7) The Forest Of Firefly Lights
An anime film that could be finished in one sitting, we have The Forest of Firefly Lights with a run time of 45 mins that shares the similarity with The Wolf Children’s elements like magic realism and coming-of-age. Also features a female character as a protagonist, it is a girl meeting a spirit in a forest.
The girl and the spirit, whose appearance is of a boy growing up together and bonding. However, there is a catch in their relationship. The spirit mentions that if he ever touched another human, then he would disappear. With a condition in their relationship, you will learn how a relationship between individuals goes beyond realism.
8) The Boy and The Beast
While this anime movie does not have motherhood like The Wolf Children, The Boy, and The Beast come from the same director Mamoru Hosoda thus, both anime films have quite a similar animation. On top of coming from the same director, The Boy And The Beast also features a character who has the same inner conflict settling in the two worlds.
Movie: The Boy and the Beast (2015)#theboyandthebeast #Anime pic.twitter.com/TuFqACAgEI
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When a young boy ventures into the Beast Kingdom during an accident, he meets a bear who acts as his master, and over the course of the film, they develop a family bond despite being different species. The classic animation filled with action will give you a great watch.
9) Mirai
Talking about Mamoru Hosoda, we have Mirai, a 2018 anime film that has the elements of The Wolf Children besides similar animation, such as a coming-of-age story and magical realism. In addition, Mirai also narrates a bond between the siblings while also showcasing a pet dog who can shapeshift that will adore your heart.
The plot for this 2018 anime film is focused on a four-year-old boy who has to deal with the changes in the family when a baby sister is brought into their home. The four-year-old is jealous of all the love his baby sister is getting. However, the boy’s new adventure begins when his sister from the future comes to greet him. What could this unexpected meeting be about?
10) Song of the Sea
Here is an anime movie similar to The Wolf Children that you should watch because I bet you may not have watched this one. Let’s get you out of the Japanese dub comfort zone and watch this European anime production that shares a good similarity with The Wolf Children. Shapeshifting, siblings, magical realism, and inner conflict regarding the settlement between the two worlds, Song of the Sea has got it all.
The premise of Song of the Sea is focused on the siblings and their adventure the elder sister has inner conflict determining whether to live with her mother, who is a selkie and abandoned her family years ago or with the rest of the family, especially her brother. Since the elder sister is also more like her mother, she has a difficult time choosing one realm. All of this is backed up by Irish lore and fantasy.
11) Grave of the fireflies
I almost did not put this anime film in this listicle as it does not have major similarities to The Wolf Children, like Shapeshifting, motherhood, magic, and not to forget Wolves. However, it has only one thing that is common with the Wolf Children: the siblings’ bond. The emotions that you felt in The Wolf Children will be doubled while you are watching Grave of the Fireflies.
You may want to have a pack of tissues beside you as it will make you cry like no other ever did when you see the bond the siblings form over their adventure after the repercussions of the World War and how tough it is for the ones who have lost their families. This movie is still broadcasted on the Japanese Local Networks on a national day to remind the citizens about the repercussions that war brings.
12) Spirited Away
A 95% chance that you may have watched this movie, and probably this movie is the reason that you are watching the Japanese animated movie but if you have by any chance, then it is the movie to go. This movie will take you on an adventure and see what the fantasy world with the finest animation produced by Studio Ghibli in 2001 is like. Furthermore, Spirited is the first non-English animated film to win an oscar. It is worth trying to watch this film at least twice.
While there might not be a lot of similarities between the two movies but both anime movies will tell narrate a Japanese aesthetic with unbelievable animation. The story follows a girl who stumbles into an abandoned theme park and meets the spirit residing there, and learns an unbelievable truth, all the while trying to get her parents back into humans after they gulped on some food and transformed into pigs.
13) From Up On Poppy Hill
From Up on Poppy Hill is a straight-up family and romance genre anime which we saw in The Wolf Children when the protagonist meets the mysterious part-wolf and later takes care of her family. This is what From Up on Poppy Hill does, all the while with a mission at hand in the movie.
The movie features a female protagonist like The Wolf Children, Umi, who does her best to provide for her siblings and her grandmother, all the while managing to go to school and live her common life as well. Umi’s character is later explored more when she meets a boy named Shun in the school, who she gradually falls in love with, all the while trying to save the school’s clubhouse.
14) Ponyo
Coming from the famous Studio Ghibli, there is again a high chance that you may have seen the last entry in this listicle article about anime movies similar to The Wolf Children. This fantasy anime film features family, magic, shapeshifting, and top-notch animation like The Wolf Children that must be watched at least once.
🎥 "Movie: Ponyo(TraiLer)" pic.twitter.com/ZCs0dOuLah
— GerLie Mae G. jabLa (@GerMaejaB) May 19, 2016
The plot for this anime movie is about a boy who rescues a golf fish trapped in a bottle and names it Ponyo. However, Ponyo is more than just a normal goldfish as he transforms into a human when she accidentally sucks Sosuke’s blood. It turns out that Ponyo is the daughter of the wizard who lives underwater and is searching for her, however, Ponyo refuses to let go of Sosuku, who she has fallen in love with, even if it meant the moon comes crashing to earth.
Well, that was it for the list of anime movies like The Wolf Children. If you do have other anime movies like The Wolf Children that you think must be mentioned, please comment below. If you want other information about anime, movies, series, and much more, then look up the search bar, and we are sure that you will find relevant information.
