Giovanni's Island

What is true happiness? For Giovanni, the answer is as far away as the stars. Mired in hardship, the young kitten faces problems that should be unknown to someone his age. At school, his classmates mock and ridicule him, and after the bell rings, Giovanni toils at a job to earn enough money for bread. Then at home, instead of being taken care of by his mother, he must take care of her. The sole bright spot is that of the Festival of Stars, where he hopes to run into Campanella, his only friend. When they finally meet up, however, it isn't while looking up at the stars, but rather traveling amongst them... as the Galactic Railroad whisks the two away for parts unknown! (Source: Discotek)

After coming out to his parents, aspiring novelist Shun Hashimoto has no one to turn to, until the day he meets high schooler Mio Chibana on the beach. The two instantly click—just before Mio has to leave for the mainland. Now three years later, Mio returns with a confession. But after all this time, will Shun feel the same? (Source: Funimation)

Ex-convict Keiji Ueji appears in Sapporo, causing all the different factions to travel to the city in hopes of obtaining part of the map to the Ainu gold that is tattooed on his skin. At the same time, a figure who appears to be a copycat of Jack the Ripper terrorizes the streets of Sapporo. Saichi Sugimoto, Asirpa, and Yoshitake Shiraishi—joined by Fusatarou "Boutarou the Pirate" Oosawa and Vasily Pavlichenko—temporarily ally themselves with Toshizou Hijikata, as his faction's motives are somewhat less disturbing than those of Seventh Division's First Lieutenant Tokushirou Tsurumi. Asirpa attempts to collect all the information needed to tell apart the fake skins from the real ones, but she cannot decipher the map with certainty. Sugimoto swears never to part with Asirpa again, b

When timid eleventh-grader and math genius Kenji Koiso is asked by older student and secret crush Natsuki to come with her to her family's Nagano home for a summer job, he agrees without hesitation. Natsuki's family, the Jinnouchi clan, dates back to the Muromachi era (1336 to 1573), and they've all come together to celebrate the 90th birthday of the spunky matriarch of the family, Sakae. That’s when Kenji discovers his "summer job" is to pretend to be Natsuki's fiance and dance with her at the birthday celebration. As Kenji attempts to keep up with Natsuki's act around her family, he receives a strange math problem on his cell phone which, being a math genius, he can't resist solving. As it turns out, the solution to the mysterious equation causes Oz, the program t

Since long ago, human civilization had lived on the ocean floor. However, there were many humans who wanted to live above the surface and they moved to land creating a fundamental separation between the two. After their school closes down, four 14-year-old middle school students from the sea village, Shioshishio, have to attend Mihama Middle School on the surface. What follows is their struggles to adjust to a new environment and the relationships between the sea and land people, while dealing with their own newfound feelings that have just started appearing with the end of their childhood. (Source: Wikipedia)

A sci-fi, summer story filled with suspense set on a small island with Shinpei Aijiro, whose childhood friend Ushio Kofune died. He returns to his hometown for the first time in two years for the funeral. Sou Hishigata, his best friend, suspects something's off with Ushio's death, and that someone can die next. A sinister omen is heard as an entire family next door suddenly disappears the following day. Furthermore, Mio implicates a "shadow" three days before Ushio's death. (Source: Disney+)

In the aftermath of a World War II bombing, two orphaned children struggle to survive in the Japanese countryside. To Seita and his four-year-old sister, the helplessness and indifference of their countrymen is even more painful than the enemy raids. Through desperation, hunger and grief, these children's lives are as heartbreakingly fragile as their spirit and love is inspiring. (Source: Sentai Filmworks)

Based on a hit light novel series by Keiichi Sigsawa, the philosophical Kino's Journey employs the time-honored motif of the road trip as a vehicle for self-discovery and universal truth. Deeply meditative and cooler than zero, the series follows the existential adventures of the apt marksman Kino along with talking motorcycle Hermes as they travel the world and learn much about themselves in the process. Imaginative, thought-provoking, and sometimes disturbing, Kino's journey is documented in an episodic style with an emphasis on atmosphere rather than action or plot, though still prevalent.