Tetsuro Araki's passion project, Bubble, is a gravity-defying science fiction anime spin-off of the classic Little Mermaid fairytale. Five years ago, enigmatic bubbles suddenly began cascading from the heavens, seemingly harmlessly, until Tokyo Tower explodes. The city floods and a giant sphere encapsulates Tokyo, altering the gravity fields within its walls. Orphans and the destitute begin to inhabit the abandoned city, forming their own parkour-obsessed society, making the best of a broken world.
Due to Hibiki's auditory hypersensitivity, he regularly avoids people and struggles to make a connection with his new friends. One day, a new girl appears, instantly infatuated with Hibiki, who names her Uta and, reluctantly, returns the sentiment. Alas, born of two separate worlds, their love is short-lived as sacrifices are made to save all of humanity.
10 Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop
This romantic Anime shows what happens when two worlds collide for the sake of love. Like Bubble's Hibiki, Yui "Cherry" Sakura also appears to struggle with auditory issues and has chosen a life of isolation over the struggles of awkward social interactions.
After a chance encounter with Yuki, better known as Smile, Yui cannot help but get pulled into her world of an influencer. The seemingly polar opposites find a common connection in haikus and volunteering at the local senior center, where they team up to help Fujiyama find a long-lost record with the last remnants of his wife's voice.
9 I Want To Eat Your Pancreas
This film may not possess the same sci-fi element as Bubble, but I Want To Eat Your Pancreas fits nicely into the tragic love story category. Sakura Yamauchi's time on Earth is limited, as she fights a losing battle with pancreatic cancer. Determined to remain positive, Sakura keeps her illness a secret from all her friends, save the anti-social bookworm, Haruki Shiga.
The shared secret transforms the pair from strangers into star-crossed lovers, and Haruki slowly forsakes his life of isolation for one of adventure as he helps Sakura squeeze the most joy from her last moments alive.
8 Sky Blue aka Wandering Days
In this post-apocalyptic future, the planet is in terrible shape, the skies so clogged that Earth's remaining population has almost forgotten what sunshine looks like. Ecoban is the only comfortably and habitable city left, protected from the toxic environment by a reinforced dome, however, entrance is not guaranteed for all. Those who don't make the cut are forced to withstand the elements and mine minerals for Ecoban's Delos System (like that of District 12 in the Hunger Games).
After living a pampered life, Shua finds himself banished outside Ecoban's walls but, as it turns out, his new lifestyle is preferable. Unfortunately, Shua knows that he must return to the city, for he has discovered a way to put an end to the Ecoban's tyrannous rule.
7 Josee And The Tiger Fish
Kumiko, aka Josee, is confined to a wheelchair, spending all her time obsessing over art and literature, that is, until she meets the scuba-diver enthusiast named Tsuneo Suzukawa. After saving Josee from a potentially catastrophic accident, Tsuneo is tasked with the job of caring for the girl, but is urged to keep her safely at home, no traveling permitted!
At first, Josee is abrasive and stubborn but eventually allows Tsuneo to push her out of her comfort zone and explore new avenues in life. The artist learns to lift the restrictions she has placed upon herself, defy her grandmother's smothering rules and build up the courage to venture out of her bubble, hand-in-hand with Tsuneo, and together they pursue their dreams.
6 A Whisker Away
This classically cute anime also tells the tale of a girl who transforms in order to win over the affections of an unsuspecting young boy. Much like Hibiki from Bubble, Kento Hinode is also completely unaware that he has an admirer, oblivious of Miyo Sasaki's (albeit strange) declarations of love. To get closer to her crush, Miyo strikes a deal with the Cat Mask Seller to obtain the power to transform into a cat at will, but at a price.
As the story progresses, the hidden loophole concerning Miyo's transformation becomes apparent and she must make a choice; remain as a cat forever and become Kento's pet, or return to her human form, and risk being ignored by the boy she loves.
5 A Silent Voice
Although it is unclear if Hibiki was a victim of much bullying, he certainly was an outcast due to his hearing disability. Shoko Nishimiya suffered the same fate, as a hearing-impaired high schooler who became the target of Shoya Ishida's cruelty. When things get too far and blood is spilled, the class turn on Ishida, suddenly disapproving of his actions and knocking the egotist off his pedestal.
Being picked on is a new experience for Ishida, and he does not take to it well, considering suicide to be his only escape. In an astonishing turn of events, it is Shoko who steps up to dry his tears, and the pair discover the true meaning of forgiveness.
4 Ride Your Wave
Hibiki and Hinako Mukaimizu have one thing in common; they both found love, but not long before it is ripped away from them. Hinako is a typical easy-going surfer girl who meets Minato Hinageshi when he rescues her from a burning building, and it is basically love at first sight. The reliable firefighter and the fun-loving student soon find symbiosis in their differences, bonding over surfing and cooking, and everything in-between.
Tragically, Minato risks his life to save another, drowning in the process, and Hinako struggles to come to terms with the loss. She begins to constantly see her lover's spirit reflected off the surface of the water, his ghost offering the heartbroken girl some much-needed comfort.
3 Nausicaä Of The Valley Of The Wind
This dystopian Studio Ghibli tale is set after the Seven Days of Fire that ravaged the Earth. Survivors are forced to endure the Sea of Decay, a thick forest overrun by gargantuan insects and noxious gases. The princess, Miyazaki's Nausicaä seems to be the only one capable of dealing with the bugs to which, strangely enough, she can talk to.
In a desperate attempt to save the natural world from the Tolmekia forces, Nausicaä studies her environment in search of a cure. As legend has it, a blue-clothed man with an aura of gold is capable of healing the planet and eliminating the divide between man and animal, and it's up to Nausicaä to find him.
2 Patema Inverted
Much like Bubble's star-crossed lovers, Patema and Age are from two worlds, but in a typical Romeo-and-Juliet fashion, their affections are forbidden. Patema lives beneath the Earth, but while searching for her lost friend, she finds herself plummeting towards the... Sky! Fortunately, the surface-dwelling boy named Age defies the laws and rescues Patema before her untimely demise.
Living on the same planet but on two separate gravity fields, Paterma and Age must maintain a physical connection, lest they drift apart. The pair navigate their way through the hostile Agia region as they search for a way to get Patema back home.
1 Ponyo
Much like Uta, Brunhilde wants nothing more than to be human, but alas, she is only a goldfish, confined to the sea. While out traveling with her father, Fujimoto, the little fish wanders off on her own and finds herself trapped in a glass jar on the way to the shoreline. Thankfully, Brunhilde is found by the sweet-natured Sōsuke, who makes it his personal mission to save his new friend.
He renames his companion Ponyo and is as surprised as anyone when she suddenly gains the ability to transform between fish and humans. Unbeknownst to the children, Ponyo's metamorphosis has environmental consequences, bringing a destructive tsunami to the small village, submerging everything but the treetops.