Wouldn't anime be a much better scenery if all it showed were rainbows, butterflies, and sugarcoated escapist dreams? Not entirely it seems because some of the best anime deal with reality and social problems. Even something as mundane as the everyday life of a yuppie or a high school girl isn't prone to social issues and that's what Higehiro deals with.
The newcomer anime dabbles in topics like poverty, prostitution, and pedophilia along with the usual 21st-century adult diet of depression, anxiety, and failed relationships. In short, it's mature and realistic in a contemporary, everyday life context. Too bad it only goes by one episode per week so if viewers are aching for a more realistic slice-of-life drama like Higehiro, they might want to check these out.
Updated December 18th, 2022 by Sid Natividad: It has been several months since Higehiro concluded yet its subject matter remains a popular and daring backdrop for a lot of viewers. Waiting around for season 2 (assuming there even is one) can be daunting so more anime like Higehiro should sate everyone's craving for a slice-of-life series that doesn't shy away from adulthood problems. Thankfully, there are more shows like Higehiro than viewers might have anticipated. There's no shortage of realistic slice-of-life anime that tackle relatable subject matters— matters mostly adults are fond of or are drowning in. As such, there are plenty more anime like Higehiro. So here are even more titles to choose from. Because at the moment, there's no news yet regarding Higehiro's renewal.
20 Kotaro Lives Alone
- Release year: 2021
- Available on Netflix
Get ready to cry on this one, because Kotaro Lives Alone is about a little boy who lost his parents and decided to live alone using insurance money in an apartment with dysfunctional adults. That's the premise, the actual execution of the story is a thought-provoking experience that will make any adult re-evaluate their lives and their upbringing.
And despite Kotaro's innocence and naivete, he had a certain idealist wisdom that changed the lives of all the other struggling adult neighbors around him. To that end, Kotaro has easily become one of the most popular child characters in anime, right next to Anya from Spy x Family.
19 Wotakoi: Love Is Hard For Otaku
- Release year: 2018
- Available on Amazon Prime
If Kotaro Lives Alone or even Higehiro is a little too heavy on the eyes and the heart, then here's something a little light-hearted. Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku is a slice-of-life anime about working adults. There's not much drama or struggle happening here since it's a relaxing romance run.
The premise is that a former otaku and cosplayer named Narumi Momose has had a disastrous love life after all her exes eventually found out that she was an otaku, so she dated childhood friend Hirotaka Nifuji out of a casual agreement. It was rough at the start since they were not each other's types, but inevitably, spring comes to make all the flowers bloom.
18 Barakamon
- Release year: 2014
- Available on Amazon Prime
Barakamon is a meditative anime about calligraphy. But even so, don't expect it to be alienating or mundane. The plot here is relatable as a young, arrogant, and talented adult named Seishuu Handa was brought back down to the humble Earth after his father sent him to live in the countryside as punishment for his hubris.
But Seishuu got more than he bargained for, as he found out that he has a lot more to learn about life outside of his bourgeois comfort zone. For any struggling yuppie, artist or otherwise, this anime might easily provide a good perspective on life and healing from the hustle and bustle of modern life.
17 Josee, the Tiger and the Fish
- Release year: 2020
- Available on Netflix
Josee, the Tiger and the Fish is an anime film about dreams and chasing them despite the odds and hindrances. That sounds a bit cliche, but the film executes its subject matter more dramatically and thoughtfully compared to others with the same theme. It's a drama/romance that follows the story of a hopeful diver and budding marine biologist named Tsuneo.
By a twist of fate, Tsuneo managed to become acquainted with Josee, an artistic paraplegic tsundere girl who has no other family other than her grandmother. If this film were to be adapted into a Hollywood production, it could easily turn into Oscar bait due to its wonderful premise.
16 Bunny Drop
- Release year: 2011
- Available on Amazon Prime
For something that sounds similar enough to Higehiro's premise, Bunny Drop is a good recommendation. It's about an aimless and lost 30-year-old yuppie named Daikichi who goes back to his grandfather to pay respects but is welcomed by a young girl named Rin. It turns out Rin is Daikichi's grandfather's illegitimate daughter, technically making her his aunt.
Even more surprising is that Rin was considered an embarrassment by the rest of the family, so it was up to Daikichi to take care of his younger "kid" aunt. This story of impromptu fatherhood will surely melt hearts and heal some scars previously thought to have not existed.
15 Blend S
- Release year: 2017
- Available on Crunchyroll
If any anime fan loves the prospect of an unfortunate adult circumstance pushing a teenager to mature early trope (albeit in a cute manner), then Blend S hits all the right notes. The anime revolves around 16-year-old Maika Sakuranomiya who desperately wants to study abroad and has compelled herself to apply for a part-time job.
The only problem is, her resting face is a little too menacing or intimidating for the adult world, making it very difficult for her to find a job. That is until the eccentric Cafe Stile catches her gaze. There, she gets a place among anime personality stereotypes where she assumes the role of the sadistic but clumsy maid.
14 After the Rain
- Release year: 2018
- Available on Amazon Prime
After the Rain shares a similar plot with Blend-S, except the romance is more obvious here, which can be a bit worrying as the lead male is a 45-year-old working man while the lead female is a high school student. Things are handled sensibly, however, and no boundaries are crossed.
In any case, After the Rain sees the story of Akira Tachibana. Akira was a former school track athlete who became more reserved thanks to a foot injury that crushed her career path. While working in a cafe, Akira comes across a working man named Masami Kondou and the two of them develop a bond.
13 Rec
- Release year: 2006
- Available on "other" anime streaming sites
Before Higehiro started shaking up romantic dynamics in anime by portraying a platonic male and female live-in situation, there was Rec. It's an older anime that surprisingly has a familiar setup. Fumihiko Matsumaru is a working adult male who encounters a lively girl named Aka Onda. Due to unfortunate circumstances in Aka's life (her house burned down) she was invited to live with Fumihiko.
Their first night was eventful though they realized just how delicate their situation was and decided to keep everything platonic moving forward while living with each other. They then try to navigate the judgmental adult world while hiding their situation to protect their budding careers.
12 Koi Kaze
- Release year: 2004
- Available on "other" anime streaming sites
A few years before Rec introduced tiptoeing around a potentially forbidden relationship, Koi Kaze already went there. It's centered around a young man named Saeki Koushirou who doesn't really know much about love since his parents are divorced which makes his job as a wedding planner difficult.
One day though, he met a high school girl named Nanoka Kohinata. She wakes up something in him and Saeki believed that he finally knew the meaning of love. Too bad he also found out Nanoka is his sister and she's about to live with him and his father.
11 ReLIFE
- Release year: 2016
- Available on Netflix
ReLIFE is a little different as it doesn't really involve a young woman or an underaged girl living with an older man but it does involve the latter still. That man is Arata Kaizaki, who at 27, is having a poor chapter in his life and cannot keep a job. Thankfully, he gets another shot at life after being offered an experiment where he gets to live again as a 17-year-old but with his late-20s consciousness.
Initially, he thought he'd have an advantage but he couldn't be more wrong. So he gets assigned a girl who must observe his progress in high school while also annoying the heck out of him as he tries to fix what went wrong with his development.
10 Scum's Wish
- Release year: 2017
- Available on Netflix
Now, who doesn't enjoy love triangles? Scum's Wish takes that romantic notion, multiplies it by two, and then splices it with cheating, casual coitus, and hormones. Lots of hormones. It's a complicated love web involving two students whose unrequited love for their respective teachers turns them into "casual buddies."
The ending is pretty predictable but plenty of psychological scars were made and a fair amount of innocence destroyed. Things got more complicated as the love web expands into one of the messiest coping mechanisms for unrequited love.
9 Your Lie In April
- Release year: 2014
- Available on Hulu
For those looking for something a tamer, then maybe students from a junior high should be more family-friendly. Don't expect it to be forgiving despite the more PG rating though, a Your Lie in April deals with serious subject matter.
One of those is bone marrow cancer, something that one of the characters is unlucky enough to have. The other is clinical depression due to a delayed grieving process. When viewers consider the fact that it was only junior high students who had to deal with that, it's a pretty rough childhood.
8 Love And Lies
- Release year: 2017
- Available on Amazon Prime
Okay now back to something a little heavier, similar to Scum's Wish. Love and Lies is a good contender. The plot should have been pretty straightforward; high school boy is in love with high school girl, she also likes him. So what's the problem? Well, their government-mandated a predetermined match-making process, assigning a future partner to any person without their say.
Unfortunately for the high school boy, he was assigned to someone he doesn't like. Still, that didn't stop the original lovebirds from pursuing their lawfully forbidden romance all the while said high school boy is under a forced commitment to his government-assigned future wife. The government just had to ruin everything, didn't they?
7 Great Teacher Onizuka
- Release year: 1999
- Available on Netflix
Realistic and dysfunctional anime romance can get tiring. So why not switch to broader social issues instead? Great Teacher Onizuka has those in spades. Be it bullying, parental neglect, or conservative stigmas, this social satire is both entertaining and unconventionally profound.
It all begins when former Yakuza gang member Eikichi Onizuka decided to drop his destructive bad boy lifestyle and become a teacher instead. Not everything goes according to plan though there were plenty of obstacles along the way, mired by high school delinquents and judgmental faculty members.
6 Gokusen
- Release year: 2004
- Available on "other" anime streaming sites
Think of Gokusen as the gender-swapped version of Great Teacher Onizuka. Hence, the main character is a woman named Kumiko Yamaguchi who is also a member of the Yakuza except she didn't drop her gang affiliation after assuming a teaching duty.
Her goal? To lead her all-boys student section into a brighter future. Because somehow, all her students are borderline petty criminals so her work is to mold them into functioning members of society. Turns out she's the perfect person to do just that.
5 Koikimo
- Release year: 2021
- Available on Crunchyroll
Koikimo is quite like Higehiro when it comes to its story. In fact, it's actually one of the most similar; a 20-something yuppie gets his life entangled with a high school girl but the difference is that the male lead quickly falls in love with the female lead.
That's a pretty big nope for anyone who knows the law and therein lies the conflict as the two try to tiptoe around their tricky "situationship." While not as explicit as Higehiro, Koikimo still deals with mature themes.
4 Sing “Yesterday” For Me
- Release year: 2020
- Available on Crunchyroll
Sing "Yesterday" For Me is probably something a lot of 20-somethings these days can relate to. At its background is a foreboding theme of ennui and aimlessness as the young adult leads try to find their place in the world, all the while dealing with some past traumas.
At the forefront of it all is Rikuo, a male convenience store employee who has all but resigned himself to a hopeless dead-end. That is until she meets a stereotypical manic pixie dream girl named Haru. Together, they deal with the depression of post-college graduation as they traverse an unpredictable future. Oh, and Rikuo is also trying to get back with his ex-girlfriend while all this is happening, for added conflict.
3 Domestic Girlfriend
- Release year: 2019
- Available on Netflix
Speaking of huge conflicting relationship red flags, prepare for a migraine courtesy of Domestic Girlfriend. The male lead, Natsuo, being young and single as he is, decides to hook up with a girl named Rui. Several days later, he finds out that Rui is going to be his step-sister.
It's all because their divorcee parents decided to marry each other. To make matters worse, Natsuo develops a crush on Rui's older sister and, by extension, his step-sister. Guess what? The two sisters also develop feelings for Natsuo, their now step-brother. Conveniently exciting, right?
2 Nana
- Release year: 2006
- Available on Hulu
Nana is a whirlwind of a band drama. The anime features two girls, both named Nana, who have a chance encounter that causes their lives to intertwine.
One is looking for love while the other is looking for fame. Somehow, they end up living together, sharing their circle of friends and their lives. It's not all fun stuff, however, as both Nanas become subject to several love triangles, multiple partners, and even pregnancy scares. Band life ain't fun without sex, drugs, and rock and roll, no?
1 Garden Of Words
- Release year: 2013
- Available on Netflix
Lastly, a short masterpiece from Makoto Shinkai, Garden of Words. It's a 30-minute anime film that mostly feels like a one-shot anime with one episode. It doesn't have the same mystical elements as Your Name or Weathering With You.
What it does have is raw emotion, the kind that explodes into tears after several long months of being bottled up. That's pretty much the case with a socially distant teacher as she confides in her student. It's all platonic, though, unless one can insist on some sort of subtext.