Haru Yoshioka is your ordinary high school girl who has trouble making decisions for herself. One day, she spots a strange cat crossing the road with a small present... and a truck headed straight for it! Haru doesn’t even stop to think before jumping in front of the truck and getting them both to safety.
This one selfless act initiates a chain of events that sends Haru on an epic adventure. The cat she saved turns out to be no ordinary feline, but Lune, Prince of the Cats. In honour of her bravery and for saving his life, he offers to marry her. Haru mutters a reply which is taken to be a "yes", and for better or for worse, her fate is sealed.
Alongside her cat companions Muta and the Baron, she's aided from above by a raven named Toto, and must travel to the cat world in order to rectify this misunderstanding. Her journey is tougher than it seems: If she cannot escape from the claws of the King of the Cats and find her true self, she will be turned into a cat forever.
Haru may start off as an everyday girl, but after her descent into the world of cats, she returns a different beast entirely.
The Cat Returns has finished airing and it has 1 Episodes. It is also Known as: Neko no Ongaeshi, 猫の恩返し, The Cat's Repayment
Genres: Contemporary Fantasy , Earth , Fantasy World , Japan , Asia , Fantasy , Comedy , High School , Adventure
Try our anime quiz: Anime Characters Guessing Quiz/Game
Top 10 Anime Like The Cat Returns [2024 List]
10. Dekiru Neko wa Kyou mo Yuuutsu
When Saku took in a stray black cat, she never expected that he would become the equivalent of a housekeeping life partner. But Yukichi, a giant cat who towers over Saku, is not your ordinary feline. He takes great pride in his culinary skills, and a good sale at the supermarket always gets his whiskers twitching. Saku may not have her act together yet, but at least she has Yukichi!
The Masterful Cat Is Depressed Again Today has finished airing and it has 13 Episodes. It is also Known as: デキる猫は今日も憂鬱, Dekiru Neko wa Kyou mo Yuuutsu
9. Howl's Moving Castle
Sophie, a quiet girl working in a hat shop, finds her life thrown into turmoil when she is literally swept off her feet by a handsome but mysterious wizard named Howl. The vain and vengeful Witch of the Waste, jealous of their friendship, puts a spell on Sophie. In a life-changing adventure, Sophie climbs aboard Howl's magnificent flying castle and enters a magical world on a quest to break the spell.
Howl's Moving Castle has finished airing and it has 1 Episodes. It is also Known as: Howl no Ugoku Shiro, ハウルの動く城, Howl's Moving Castle
8. Ginga Tetsudou no Yoru
Based on a short story by the popular children's writer Kenji Miyazawa, Galactic Railroad offers viewers a slow-paced, dreamlike journey through space and time. When Giovanni, a lonely boy in a hill town, goes to get milk for his ailing mother, he finds himself crossing the Milky Way on a faster-than-light steam railroad. The stations he visits in various constellations, like the planets explored by St. Exupery's Little Prince, offer curious adventures and an assortment of human "types." Reality and fantasy blur aboard the train, and its travels across the light-years sometimes suggests the journey through life. The characters are depicted as cats, presumably to avoid the problems of animating humans.
Night on the Galactic Railroad has finished airing and it has 1 Episodes. It is also Known as: 銀河鉄道の夜, Ginga Tetsudou no Yoru
7. Majo no Takkyuubin
Kiki, a 13-year-old witch-in-training, must spend a year living on her own in a distant town in order to become a full-fledged witch. Leaving her family and friends, Kiki undertakes this tradition when she flies out into the open world atop her broomstick with her black cat Jiji.
As she settles down in the coastal town of Koriko, Kiki struggles to adapt and ends up wandering the streets with no place to stay—until she encounters Osono, who offers Kiki boarding in exchange for making deliveries for her small bakery. Before long, Kiki decides to open her own courier service by broomstick, beginning her journey to independence. In attempting to find her place among the townsfolk, Kiki brings with her exciting new experiences and comes to understand the true meaning of responsibility.
Kiki's Delivery Service has finished airing and it has 1 Episodes. It is also Known as: 魔女の宅急便, Witch's Express Delivery
6. Nagagutsu wo Haita Neko
A comic adaptation of Charles Perrault's classic fairy tale about a clever musketeer feline in boots. His goal is to help the weak and defenseless, but his saving a mouse makes him the most wanted in all Catdom. On the run from the notorious Three Blunderers, Perro befriends a young miller's boy, Pierre, and together, they decide to seek their fame and fortune. When they cross paths with the lovely Princess Rosa, Perro determines to get Pierre hitched to Her Royal Highness. But the wicked ogre, Lucifer, also has his sights on Rosa. Nonetheless, with the help of a band of comic mice thieves, Perro manages to get Pierre to become engaged to Rosa. But on the night of the full moon, Lucifer kidnaps the princess, and Pierre, Perro, and the mice bandits set off to rescue her.
Nagagutsu wo Haita Neko has finished airing and it has 1 Episodes. It is also Known as: 長靴をはいた猫, Puss-in-Boots, Puss in the Boots, The Wonderful World of Puss 'n Boots
5. Nyan Koi!
On his way home from school one day, Junpei Kousaka idly kicked a can into a trashcan, missed miserably, and broke off the head of a cat deity statue. Now he’s cursed. After incurring the wrath of the great cat guardian, Junpei can suddenly hear what all cats say, and it’s rarely anything nice.
To break the curse, Junpei must do 100 good deeds for cats. It doesn’t help that he’s allergic to cats, or that his crush Kaede Mizuno loves cats, but is terrible at dealing with them. As he works to atone for breaking the guardian cat statue, he must keep his curse a secret from others or it will grow stronger. He might have a thing for Kaede, but working through this curse makes him more aware of all the other wonderful people (and girls) around him.
Guided by his fat cat Nyamusas and joined by a number of catty personalities around his neighborhood, Junpei works towards fulfilling 100 cat wishes, or he is doomed to become a cat himself－a fate which means certain death due to his allergies.
Nyan Koi! has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: にゃんこい！, Nyankoi
4. Spirited Away
Stubborn, spoiled, and naïve, 10-year-old Chihiro Ogino is less than pleased when she and her parents discover an abandoned amusement park on the way to their new house. Cautiously venturing inside, she realizes that there is more to this place than meets the eye, as strange things begin to happen once dusk falls. Ghostly apparitions and food that turns her parents into pigs are just the start—Chihiro has unwittingly crossed over into the spirit world. Now trapped, she must summon the courage to live and work amongst spirits, with the help of the enigmatic Haku and the cast of unique characters she meets along the way.
Vivid and intriguing, Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi tells the story of Chihiro's journey through an unfamiliar world as she strives to save her parents and return home.
Spirited Away has finished airing and it has 1 Episodes. It is also Known as: Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi, 千と千尋の神隠し, Sen and Chihiro's Spiriting Away
3. Totsuzen! Neko no Kuni Banipal Witt
Fifth-grader, Toriyasu, and his little sister, Meeko, have a dog named Papadoll who has been missing for the past week. One night, two cats take the two children to the distant cat land of Banipal Witt, where Papadoll was abducted. Because of his long exposure to Banipal Witt's sun, Papadoll mutated into a giant dog monster, terrorizing the city under the control of the evil Princess Buburina, who has the curse of turning anyone she touches into balloons. Toriyasu, Meeko, and the cats have until the next sunrise to turn Papadoll and the ballooned citizens of Banipal Witt back to normal and return to their home planet—or end up with the same fate as their dog.
Catnapped has finished airing and it has 1 Episodes. It is also Known as: とつぜん！猫の国 バニパルウィット, Totsuzen! Neko no Kuni Banipal Witt
2. Whisper of the Heart
Shizuku Tsukishima is a free-spirited and cheerful 14-year-old girl who is currently enjoying her summer vacation. She loves spending her free time at the local library where she notices that the books she reads are often checked out by a boy named Seiji Amasawa.
One day while riding the local train, Shizuku notices a strange cat sitting near her. Why would an ordinary cat ride a train? Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it can also seriously harm a young girl. Shizuku decides to follow the mysterious cat to see where it goes, and soon stumbles upon an antique shop run by a violin maker named Nishi, the grandfather of the mystery boy who shares her taste in literature. Seiji and Shizuku soon become friends and while Seiji is sure of his dreams and how to follow them, Shizuku is still unsure of her own talents. However, when she sees a strange cat statuette, “The Baron”, in the shop, it seems as if that statuette whispers something to her, tugging at her heart and giving her the inspiration she so desperately needed. One voice pushes Shizuku further than she could have ever imagined, changing her life forever.
Whisper of the Heart has finished airing and it has 1 Episodes. It is also Known as: Mimi wo Sumaseba, 耳をすませば, If You Listen Carefully, Ghibli Movie 10I sospiri del mio cuore, Si tu tends l`oreille, Stimme des Herzens - Whisper of the Heart, Sussurro do Coração, Sydämen kuiskaus, Szept serca, Yüreğinin Sesi, Širdies Šnabždezys, Шёпот сердца, לחישת הלב
1. Nakitai Watashi wa Neko wo Kaburu
Miyo "Muge" Sasaki is a peculiar second-year junior high student who has fallen in love with her classmate Kento Hinode. Muge resolutely pursues Kento every day, but he takes no notice of her. Nevertheless, while carrying a secret she can tell no one, Muge continues to pursue Kento. Muge discovers a magic mask that allows her to transform into a cat named Tarō. The magic lets Muge get close to Kento, but eventually it may also make her unable to transform back to a human.
A Whisker Away has finished airing and it has 1 Episodes. It is also Known as: 泣きたい私は猫をかぶる, Nakitai Watashi wa Neko wo Kaburu
