Coming of age genre is very common when it comes to an anime series. Many wide anime genres lie shojo, shonen, josei, and many others can show the element of coming of age. The genre basically follows the life of a group of teens who, throughout their life, learn, grow and take every experience. The concept targets the character and personality growth of a character throughout the series. These types of anime series turn out super inspiring and interesting as well when blended with another genre. Sometimes, without even realizing it, we get into an anime and start to stream, and it turns out to be a coming-of-age anime. This theme gravitates viewers towards the protagonist, who is going to have a good life lesson throughout the series.
While getting into a coming-of-age anime, you will find them really heartwarming. They will have an effect on you that will unintentionally make your urge to do something great. You will end up making the protagonist your role model and will try to do the great things he or she has done. Not literally, but you will surely try to implement all the teachings in your real life. This is what makes coming-of-age anime really interesting. So, if you are looking anime great anime series to get some lessons along with the dose of entertainment, you are at the right place. Below is a list of a few coming to the age animes which you might find interesting.
Also Read: ‘Sing a Bit of Harmony’ Anime Film Review
10 Coming Of Age Anime
After so many advancements and the popularity of the anime industry, people throughout the world just do not stick to that popular genre. Why watch-only strictly action-based animes when you can go around and explore from the wide options avail to you by the anime industry. So, in order to refresh your mood and to dive into something new and super calming, here you will get a list of 10 coming to age anime. These anime are not ranked or compared on any basis. These are some of the most talked-about and famous coming to age anime series. All of these anime also centers on a wide genre too, which will go along with the concept of coming to age through all the anime.
10. I want to eat your Pancreas
The first anime we got on the list is “I want to eat your Pancreas,” also known as “Kimi no Suizo o Tabetai”. The anime is an adaptation of the popular novel series by Yoru Sumino, which later got adapted into a manga and then into an anime film. The movie goes around the life of a young high school boy named Haruki Shiga who befriended Sakura Yamauchi, who later dies in the movie because of getting murdered. Their friendship taught Haruki to open up around people as, dying Sakura left a letter and dairy for him that he broke down due to the sorrow he felt. The protagonist Haruki has a great development through the movie, and the anime turned out to e really heartwarming.
9. Silver Spoon
Silver Spoon or Gin no Saji is a Japanese manga series by Hiromu Arakawa and published by Shogakukan. The manga was released on 6th April 2011, and it ended on 27th November 2019 with 15 tankobon volumes. The anime adaption of the manga was released in two seasons, and each of them was directed by different directors. The anime was produced by A-1 Pictures and was released on 11th July 2013. An Iive action film based on the plot was also released on 7th March 2014. The plot of the anime is set around a student named Yuugo Hachiken who wants to move away from his family due to their strained relationship. As he moves, his will gradually adapt to his new environment, and that’s what is depicted in the anime.
8. Nana
You can address this anime as one of the most popular music and series. Now, this got its name in the list of coming-of-age anime series. The story of the anime goes around two totally different girls sharing the same name, ‘Nana’. Nana Komatsu is described as a very girly girl who tends to fall in love with someone at first sight. Whereas the other Nana, Nana Oaski, is a punk-styled lead vocalist of the Black Stones Band. Both the Nanas meet with each other completely by chance on a train to Tokyo. Komatsu was moving to Tokyo in order to join her friend and boyfriend, who are having their studies there, where Oosaki left to have a great musical career for herself. Even though having totally different personalities, both the Nanas got along quite well and had a sense of mutual respect.
7. Eureka Seven
Eureka Seven is a Japanese anime series that is produced by Bones Studio. The series is a Mecha, but as it has a young protagonist, it also gives out coming-of-age vibes. Eureka Seven plot takes place a lot ahead in the future, that is year 12005. Humanity from earth had to flee to another planet in order to exist. This is due to the arrival of the Scub Coral, an intelligent creature that merged earth and made it not suitable for humans. Now reaming human leaves a terraformed Earth but the surface of that planet is now affected by Scub Coral. The life of these humans has depicted in the story keeping the life of protagonist Renton Sasuton in the center.
6. Fruits Basket
The Japanese manga series Fruit Basket was, also known as Furutsu Basuketto, was created by Natsuki Takaya. It was published by Hakusensha and was released on 18th July 1998. It ended on 20th November 2006 with 23 volumes. The anime adaption of the manga was released by Studio Deen under the direction of Akitaro Daichi. When the mother and only family of Tohru Honda – the protagonist- dies, she decides to live at her grandfather’s place. However, from there, she was forced to move by her unkind family members. She refused to live with her two close friends, and she don’t want to be a burden on them. Finally, Tohru decided to live in a tent and start working to support herself.
Also Read: Top 10 Most Watched Anime In January 2022
5. Whisper of the Heart
The next anime on the list is a beautiful work of art from a very famous production studio, “Ghibli Studio”. Ghibli anime are very well known for their calming and soothing picturization, which comes together in a plot. The anime movie was released on 15th July 1995 and had a run time of 1 hour 51 minutes. The plot of the anime film follows the life of a 14-year-old girl named Shizuku Tsukishima, who is a student of Mukaihara Junior High School. Our protagonist, Shizuku, lives on the outskirts of Tokyo. Her adventures take her all the way to Italy.
4. Gurren Lagann
The anime series Gurren Lagann is a Mecha anime series that also targets the theme we are talking about. This anime series was created by Gainan studio and was released on 1st April 2007 on TXN. The anime ended with 27 episodes on 30th September 2007. Later a manga, light novel, and game were adapted from the anime, and all of these were equally enjoyed by the fans. The plot of the series takes place in fictional future earth, which is ruled by Spiral King, Lordgenome. The king has forced the human to live an isolated life in the subterranean village. The plot focuses on two main characters, Simon and Kamina, who want to go up from this isolated stage and explore the world.
3. Hunter X Hunter
Although having an image of a proper action anime series, Hunter X Hunter has also made its way into the coming-of-age anime. The plot of the anime follows the adventure of a young boy named Gon Freecss. His life comes to a change when Kite tells him that Ging Freecss, his father is still alive and is a Hunter. Gon leaves for Whale Island to take the Hunter Examination in order to become a Hunter like his father. Throughout his journey of becoming a Hunter, he befriended many other characters from the series who were teenagers just like him. This dual motive journey begins alongside his new friends as he gets to see and learn new things.
2. Clannad
The anime series Clannad was initially released as a visual novel game developed by Key. The game was released for Windows, Xbox, PSP, PS3, Android, PS Vita, and other platforms. The anime adaptation of the visual novel was created by Kyoto Animation and by directed by Tatsuya Ishihara. The screenplay of the anime was given by Fumihiko Shimo and music by Jun Maeda, Moagome Togoshi, and Shinji Orito. The anime was released on 4th October 2007 and ended with 47 episodes. The main characters of the anime include Tomoya Okazaki, Nagisa Furukawa, Kyou Fujibayashi, Ryou Fujibayashi, and many other characters. The roles of these characters are decided on the basis of the titles they had in the game.
1. Naruto
One of the most popular anime series on the list and surely one of the classics of all time. Even though the whole series of Naruto defines the shonen genre on a broader aspect, it includes other themes too. One of them is coming of age, and the theme is very well depicted in the series. The series goes around the life of a young boy named Naruto Uzumaki, who lived his whole life as an orphan. Being born in a world of ninjas, he wanted to grow up as the greatest shinobi and become the Hokage of village Konoha. He, along with his friends Sasuke and Sakura, are the center of the series as it follows every phase of their lives. Initially introduced as kids, the series will take the audience to their adulthood and having a family.
All these series are quite popular and are easily available on many leading websites. As for the suggestions, you can stream them on Crunchyroll, Hulu, and any other authentic anime streaming site.
Also Read: NieR: Automata Anime Announced: What is it About?
