10 best anime to watch if you like Drifting Home

Drifting Home, a visually stunning adventure film, has captured the hearts of anime fans worldwide with its nostalgic and emotional coming-of-age story. It follows two childhood friends trapped in an abandoned apartment building drifting through a mysterious ocean.

As they struggle to survive this surreal predicament, the two kids confront their strained relationship and learn poignant lessons about forgiveness and the significance of human connection. It combines slice-of-life with adventure, exploring youth rediscovering themselves through nostalgia and friendship.

For fans who fell in love with its vibrant animation, fantastical narrative, and moving themes of friendship and reconciliation, here are 10 more anime films and series that will resonate with them.

10 best anime for fans of Drifting Home

1) A Whisker Away

A Whisker Away (Image via Studio Colorido)

With its shapeshifting premise and endearing protagonists, A Whisker Away has strong thematic parallels to Drifting Home. The movie centers on middle schooler Miyo Sasaki, who acquires a magical cat mask that allows her to transform into a feline.

Miyo uses this power to get closer to her aloof classmate Kento Hinode, whom she has a crush on. However, spending too much time as a cat risks her becoming permanently trapped in feline form. Miyo navigates friendship, romance, and her troubled home life.

Much like Drifting Home’s lead characters, Miyo undergoes meaningful personal growth throughout her supernatural adventure. With its vibrant pastel palette and fluid animation, A Whisker Away creates a whimsical atmosphere tinged with emotional weight.

2) Children Who Chase Lost Voices

Children Who Chase Lost Voices (Image via CoMix Wave Films)

For viewers who love mysterious fantasy worlds, Children Who Chase Lost Voices offers a haunting, atmospheric journey to a richly imagined subterranean realm. When young Asuna encounters Shun, who saves her from a monster, she is pulled into an adventure, exploring long-lost ancient civilizations.

Along the way, she meets Shun’s younger brother, Shin, and learns about Agartha, a mystical land where the dead may be resurrected. Asuna also processes painful emotions surrounding past tragedies and forges meaningful connections with new friends.

She demonstrates resilience and maturity despite her youth, winning over allies and outwitting threats. With its detailed visuals and sense of perilous wonder, Children Who Chase Lost Voices captures the escapist thrills and sincere character writing that define Drifting Home.

3) Summer Wars

Shy math enthusiast Kenji visits Natsuki’s family as her fake boyfriend and accidentally solves a puzzle that jeopardizes the virtual world OZ’s security. The resulting AI threat, Love Machine, forces Kenji and the Jinnouchi family to band together to protect global networks.

Kenji and Natsuki reconnect over an extraordinary adventure, overcoming external threats through trust and teamwork. Summer Wars depicts the value of family connection through the sprawling Jinnouchi clan, who lend their expertise in fighting the technological crisis.

The film’s vibrant animation and balancing of real danger with infectiously optimistic characters make it a must-see for Drifting Home devotees. Viewers will be won over by the charismatic personalities, increasing emotional stakes, and final messages extolling communication.

4) The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (Image via Madhouse)

After a near-death accident involving a mysterious walnut-shaped device, Makoto Konno gains the power to “leap” through time and rewrite recent events. However, she faces consequences that jeopardize her relationships and the world around her.

Like Drifting Home’s central duo, Makoto must navigate personal drama alongside the responsibilities and self-knowledge gained from her supernatural gift. The story plays with time travel tropes while emphasizing poignant ideas about fate, memory, and learning from past mistakes.

With its naturalistic dialogue and imagery of Makoto racing across town, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time aptly balances human-scale stakes with the wonder of time manipulation. Fans will be captivated by Makoto’s everyday adventures turned extraordinary.

5) Weathering With You

Weathering With You (Image via CoMix Wave Films)

Makoto Shinkai’s Weathering With You is a meteorological fantasy about human connections defying mystical forces. Protagonist Hina possesses the supernatural ability to clear cloudy skies, though using her power comes at the cost of her own life force.

Runaway Hodaka meets Hina in Tokyo, and the two develop a deep bond as they face the consequences of her gift. Like the kids navigating magical ocean worlds in Drifting Home, Hodaka and Hina build trust by facing ethereal wonders beyond most human comprehension.

This film finds hope and meaning through the leads’ evolving bond, even as environmental havoc looms. Shinkai’s signature hyper-realistic animation painting urban landscapes makes Weathering With You equally appealing to Drifting Home aesthetic admirers.

6) Ride Your Wave

From visionary Masaaki Yuasa comes a romance tinged with magical realism. Passionate surfer Minato saves college student Hinako from a fire, sparking an intense connection.

However, after Minato’s untimely death, he begins to appear to Hinako in water, allowing their bond to transcend physical limitations. Like Drifting Home’s leads, Hinako withstands confusion and grief to rediscover their relationship’s profundity.

Yuasa’s fluid animation visualizes emotional states through swirling water and fluid character acting. Ride Your Wave balances impressionistic style with resonating interpersonal themes, mirroring elements that captivate fans seeking artistic vision.

7) Ponyo

The legendary Hayao Miyazaki crafted this contemporary fairy tale centered on friendship enduring against mystical chaos. Inspired by the classic story The Little Mermaid, Ponyo follows a young magical fish Ponyo, the daughter of a sea wizard and sea goddess, who transforms into a human girl and befriends gentle Sosuke.

However, her transformation threatens the balance of nature, potentially causing a tsunami. Recalling Drifting Home’s supernatural dilemmas and central childhood bond, Ponyo depicts whimsical early friendship tested by external consequences.

Hand-drawn visual splendor and empathetic leads make this a charming, family-friendly choice for viewers wanting to recapture a storybook-esque adventure.

8) From Up on Poppy Hill

From Up on Poppy Hill (Image via Studio Ghibli)

Set in post-war Japan, this historical drama from acclaimed Studio Ghibli exudes nostalgic warmth perfect for supernatural fans. Protagonist Umi forges a bond with school newspaper editor Shun as they work to save their building, the Latin Quarter, from demolition.

Meanwhile, a subplot unfolds where Umi and Shun investigate whether they might be related, adding a layer of emotional complexity. Like Drifting Home, From Up on Poppy Hill explores adolescent self-discovery amid nostalgic landscapes.

Umi’s strength in facing loss while finding new directions resonates with Kosuke and Natsume’s complicated friendship.

9) Patema Inverted

Patema Inverted (Image via Studio Rikka)

Akinori Nagaosa’s inventive sci-fi fantasy centers on unlikely friends overcoming persecution in intricately realized worlds. Patema, while exploring forbidden areas, falls into the surface world, where gravity operates in the opposite direction.

She meets Age, a surface dweller, and the two navigate the challenges of their contrasting realities. Rivaling Drifting Home’s visual innovation with immersive setting design, Patema Inverted develops Patema and Age’s rapport amid escalating danger reminiscent of Kosuke and Natsume overcoming distrust.

The themes of Patema Inverted examine sociopolitical repression and rivalry’s irrationality. Spectacular aerial sequences and imaginative architecture showcase animators’ artistry, complementing emotional relationship-building.

10) Barakamon

For slice-of-life comedy mixed with poignancy, check out the anime series Barakamon. It chronicles the experiences of Seishu Handa, an initially uptight calligrapher who moves from the city to a quirky rural island village after a career setback caused by punching a respected critic.

While first finding the community overwhelming, he eventually connects with the villagers, especially with a mischievous young girl named Naru. This show depicts an initially reluctant protagonist rediscovering himself and forging meaningful relationships in an unfamiliar setting far from home.

Viewers who enjoyed the character growth in Drifting Home set against a strange new backdrop will relate to Seishu's enriching island adventures.

Conclusion

With resonant messages about growing up, self-discovery, and the magic of human connection packaged in creative fantasy settings, Drifting Home captures the timeless power of poignant anime storytelling.

These 10 films and series all share similar emotional and thematic notes, so fans hungry for more nostalgic tales of youth, adventure, and lasting bonds should give them a watch next. No matter where one may drift in life, grasping onto people and places that feel like home is key—and that is what all these anime impart.