Kino's Journey

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.

Violet Evergarden

A certain point in time, in the continent of Telesis. The great war which divided the continent into North and South has ended after four years, and the people are welcoming a new generation. Violet Evergarden, a young girl formerly known as “the weapon”, has left the battlefield to start a new life at CH Postal Service. There, she is deeply moved by the work of “Auto Memories Dolls”, who carry people's thoughts and convert them into words. Violet begins her journey as an Auto Memories Doll, and comes face to face with various people's emotions and differing shapes of love. There are words Violet heard on the battlefield, which she cannot forget. These words were given to her by someone she holds dear, more than anyone else. She does not yet know their meaning but she searches to find it. (Source: Anime News Network)

Little Witch Academia (TV)

In a time when magic is on the decline amid society, Atsuko Kagari is a cheerful girl who enters Luna Nova Academy in order to accomplish her dream of becoming a witch like her idol, Shiny Chariot. Shiny is a famous witch who disappeared from public view many years ago. On her way to school, Kagari meets the kind Lotte Yanson and the mischevious Sucy Manbavaran and the three become friends as they share a bedroom in campus. At the academy, Atsuko soon discovers she is in serious disadvantage compared to the other girls since she doesn`t come from a magical family and is required to learn the magical curriculum from scratch. Having found an item that once belonged to Chariot, Atsuko must discover how to activate and properly use the mysterious Shiny Rod as she hopes it might lead to finding out what has truly happened to her vanished idol. (Source: Anime News Network)

Kino's Journey -the Beautiful World- the Animated Series

The story follows the travels of Kino, a young adventurer who rides a talking motorcycle named Hermes. They explore the people and cultures of different places throughout their adventures, spending only three days at each location. (Source: ANN)

Kiki's Delivery Service

Kiki is an enterprising young girl who must follow tradition to become a full-fledged witch. Venturing out with only her chatty black cat, Jiji, Kiki flies off for the adventure of a lifetime. Landing in a far-off city, she sets up a high-flying delivery service and begins a wonderful experience of independence and responsibility as she finds her place in the world. (Source: Disney)

Somali and the Forest Spirit

The world is ruled by a diversity of inhuman beings, who persecuted humans and drove them to near-extinction. One day, the forest guardian Golem meets a human girl. This is a chronicle of a journey that would bind a member of the dying "human" clan to the forest guardian Golem, as father and daughter. (Source: Crunchyroll)The first episode received an advance web distribution on January 3. The regular TV broadcast started on January 10.</i>

The Ancient Magus' Bride

Chise Hatori has lived a life full of neglect and abuse, devoid of anything resembling love. Far from the warmth of family, she has had her share of troubles and pitfalls. Just when all hope seems lost, a fateful encounter awaits her. When a man with the head of a beast, wielding strange powers, obtains her through a slave auction, Chise's life will never be the same again. (Source: Seven Seas Entertainment)

Flying Witch

Traditionally, when a witch turns 15, she's supposed to go out into the world alone to study magic. Makoto's parents, however, believe that their directionally-challenged daughter should get a high school degree. Instead of being sent out on her own, Makoto and her cat Chito find themselves traveling from the bustling city of Yokohama to Aomori Prefecture, where they'll stay with relatives until Makoto finishes school. It's going to be a big adjustment, and it only gets more complicated since "normal" people aren't supposed to know that witches exist… something that she tends to forget. (Source: Sentai Filmworks)

Spice and Wolf

The peddler Kraft Lawrence travels through the world selling all kinds of things. After visiting a village, he discovers a sleeping girl under the pelts in his cart. She has wolf ears and a tail. The wolf girl explains that she has been called a "god", but that her name is Holo and nothing more. Lawrence teases the girl a little, but after hearing more of her story, he is moved and decides to accompany her further north. On their travels the two have many adventures, often getting into trouble, but the bond between them grows stronger.

MUSHI-SHI

Neither good nor evil, they are life in its purest form. Vulgar and strange, they have inspired fear in humans since the dawn of time and have, over the ages, come to be known as "mushi." The stories of the Mushi and the people they affect are all linked together by a traveling Mushi-shi, or "Mushi Master," who seeks rare Mushi sightings and uses his shaman-like knowledge of Mushi to help the affected people. What are the Mushi and what do they want? (Source: Funimation)

Ascendance of a Bookworm

Anime adaptation of Part 1 of Honzuki no Gekokujou</i>. When a sickly young girl suddenly becomes obsessed with inventing new things, her family and friends are all puzzled. "What has gotten into Myne?" they wondered, never dreaming that the answer is not a "What" but a "Who": Urano Motosu, a book-loving apprentice librarian who died in an earthquake in Tokyo who somehow found herself in Myne's body! And since Myne's world is still in a medieval stage, where books can only be owned by the elite, the new Myne intends to do everything she can to bring her beloved books to the masses in the time she has left. (Source: Sentai Filmworks) Note: The first episode was included in a bonus DVD that came with the limited edition of the 8th volume of <a href="https://anilist.co/manga/110802">Part 4</a> of the light novel that was released on September 10th, 2019 prior to its TV premiere.</i>

Grimoire of Zero

The "grimoire fantasy" series follows a witch named Zero who is ignorant of the world and a half-beast half-human mercenary who longs to be human. Witches who practice sorcery exist in the world, however, in this era no one knows how about the art and study of witchcraft. Zero is going on a journey to search for a magical tome called "The Book of Zero" that hides a power that can destroy the world. The mercenary travels with her as her guard. (Source: Anime News Network)

Little Witch Academia

For young witches everywhere, the world-renowned witch Shiny Chariot reigns as the most revered and celebrated role model. But as the girls age, so do their opinions of her—now just the mention of Chariot would get a witch labeled a child. However, undeterred in her blind admiration for Chariot, ordinary girl Atsuko Kagari enrolls into Luna Nova Magical Academy, hoping to someday become just as mesmerizing as her idol. However, the witch academy isn't all the fun and games Atsuko thought it would be: boring lectures, strict teachers, and students who mock Chariot plague the campus. Coupled with her own ineptness in magic, she's seen as little more than a rebel student. But when a chance finally presents itself to prove herself to her peers and teachers, she takes it, and now it's up to her to stop a rampaging dragon before it flattens the entire academy. Little Witch Academia is one of the four anime works that each received 38 million yen (about US$480,000) from the "2012 Young Animator Training Project." Just like in 2010 and 2011, the animation labor group received 214.5 million yen (US$2.65 million) from the Japanese government's Agency for Cultural Affairs, and it distributed most of those funds to studios who train young animators on-the-job. Positive response to the movie led Studio Trigger to run a Kickstarter funding a sequel, which surpassed its funding goal.

Made in Abyss

The "Abyss" is the last unexplored place in the world. Strange and wonderful creatures roam within, and it is full of precious relics that present humans can't recreate. Those that dare to explore the depths are known as "Cave Raiders." An orphan girl named Riko lives on the rim. Her dream is to become a Cave Raider like her mother and solve the mysteries of the cave system. One day, Riko starts exploring the caves and discovers a robot who resembles a human boy. (Source: Anime News Network, edited) Note: The last episode aired with a runtime of ~48 minutes as opposed to the standard 24 minute long episode.</i>

Puella Magi Madoka Magica

One night, 14-year-old Madoka Kaname has a terrible nightmare - against the backdrop of a devastated city, she witnesses a girl fight a losing battle against a dreadful being lingering above, while a cat-like magical creature tells Madoka the only way to change such tragic outcome is for her to make a contract with him and become a magical girl. The next day, the teen's dream seemingly becomes reality as the girl she saw in her dream - Homura - arrives at Mitakihara Middle School as a transfer student, mysteriously warning Madoka to stay just the way she is; but when later on she and her best friend Sayaka encounter the same cat-like magical creature from her dream - who introduces himself as Kyubey - the pair discovers that magical girls are real, and what's more, they can choose to become one. All they must do is sign a contract with Kyubey and agree to take on the duty to fight abstract beings called 'witches' that spread despair to the human world, and in return, each one of them will be granted any single wish they desire. However, as Homura's omen suggests, there might be far more to becoming a magical girl than Madoka and Sayaka realize... Notes: - Due to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, the broadcasts of episodes 11 and 12 were delayed and were later aired as a double feature on April 21, 2011.</i>

Humanity Has Declined

For years, declining birth rates have forced what's left of the human race to cede more and more territory to other beings who have appeared to take advantage of the emptying ecological niche. Now, only a handful of humans remain among the remnants of civilization and Earth is dominated by faeries &mdash;tiny, ten-inch tall creatures of surprising intelligence. But humanity's importance isn't over quite yet, as young Watashi learns as she makes the decision to return to her hometown and assume her grandfather's position as an arbitrator between the races. Unfortunately, the job isn't going to be anywhere near as simple as she expected, and it's going to take a wisdom far beyond her years to achieve her most important mission. (Source: Sentai Filmworks)

SHADOWS HOUSE

High atop a cliff sits the mansion known as Shadows House, home to a faceless clan that pretends to live like nobles. They express their emotions through living dolls that also endlessly clean the home of soot. One such servant, Emilico, aids her master Kate as they learn more about themselves and the mysteries of the house.(Source: Funimation)

Natsume's Book of Friends Season 1

Natsume has always been an outcast because he inherited his grandmother's ability to see yokai. After moving to his grandmother's hometown and accidentally releasing a yokai imprisoned in a Lucky Cat statue, he learns about his grandmother's "Book of Friends," which contains the names of the yokai she defeated, and allows its wielder to command the yokai named within. Since then, yokai now visit him on a daily basis, seeking to either get their names back or take possession of the Book of Friends. (Source: NIS America)

Princess Principal

The "spy action" series follows five girls in 19th century London, a city within the Albion Kingdom divided into east and west by a large wall. The girls serve as undercover spies enrolled as students at the prestigious Queen's Mayfair school. The girls make use of their individual abilities to remain active in the underground world of disguise, espionage, infiltration, and car chases. (Source: Official Website)

Wistoria: Wand and Sword

A hard-working boy named Will enters a magic academy in hopes of becoming a great sorcerer. Unfortunately, there's a fatal flaw in his plan: he lacks the ability to use magic. Amid the cold stares of his classmates and instructors, Will feels discouraged at times, but he presses forward with unwavering determination. He can't use a wand, but he can wield a sword in his battle to reach the top of a magic-dominated world. He just needs to believe in his own unique strengths and remember the promise he made with someone precious to him... (Source: Crunchyroll)