Movies Similar to Happy Birthday: The Time When Life Shines

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind(1984)

After a global war, the seaside kingdom known as the Valley of the Wind remains one of the last strongholds on Earth untouched by a poisonous jungle and the powerful insects that guard it. Led by the courageous Princess Nausicaä, the people of the Valley engage in an epic struggle to restore the bond between humanity and Earth.

7.9

Princess Mononoke(1997)

Ashitaka, a prince of the disappearing Emishi people, is cursed by a demonized boar god and must journey to the west to find a cure. Along the way, he encounters San, a young human woman fighting to protect the forest, and Lady Eboshi, who is trying to destroy it. Ashitaka must find a way to bring balance to this conflict.

8.3

Akira(1988)

A secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psychic psychopath that only two teenagers and a group of psychics can stop.

7.9

Hikawa Maru Monogatari(2015)

Hirayama Jirou has lost his mother in the Great Kanto Earthquake and now runs a soba stall with his father. He decides to join the crew of the famous ocean liner Hikawa Maru and finds work cooking in the ship's galley. Through his eyes, the film explores the ship's 85-year history.

0.0

Steamboy(2004)

In 1860s Britain, a boy inventor finds himself caught in the middle of a deadly conflict over a revolutionary advance in steam power.

6.9

Hisashi Eguchi's Kotobuki Goro Show(1991)

In this anthology of animation parodies based on the manga of Hisashi Eguchi, an obscene family ascends to Japanese high society; a boxing prodigy faces his sex-crazed rival in the ring; and scientists get caught in a game of rock-paper-scissors with increasingly dangerous giant monsters.

4.7

What Is Happiness?(1991)

Based on a series of books authored by Ryuho Ookawa. Alto is going home from school, when he finds a girl who calls herself an angel.

4.0

Uma Musume: Pretty Derby - Road to the Top(2024)

Theatrical version of Uma Musume: Pretty Derby - ROAD TO THE TOP which includes new extra scenes.

7.4

Metropolis(2001)

In the midst of societal conflict in the futuristic city of Metropolis, Kenichi and his uncle Shunsaku Ban set out to uncover the mystery behind the first human-like robot, Tima.

7.2

Itsuka no Watashi yori(2025)

A short directed by loundraw. Made as a collaboration between Z-Kai Group, loundraw, and FLAT STUDIO.

4.0

Ghost in the Shell(1995)

In the year 2029, the barriers of our world have been broken down by the net and by cybernetics, but this brings new vulnerability to humans in the form of brain-hacking. When a highly-wanted hacker known as 'The Puppetmaster' begins involving them in politics, Section 9, a group of cybernetically enhanced cops, are called in to investigate and stop the Puppetmaster.

7.9

Revue Starlight: Rondo Rondo Rondo(2020)

The franchise centers on "Starlight," a dance and dance troupe beloved the world over. Karen and Hikari promised each other when they were little that one day they would perform together on that stage. Time passes and now they are both 16 years old. Karen is very excited about the dance lessons she takes every day, keeping her promise close to her heart. Hikari changed schools and now lives far away from Karen. But the gears of fate bring them together again, destined to meet again. The two, along with other hopefuls, will compete in a mysterious audition to become part of this great company.

8.1

Revue Starlight: The Movie(2021)

The stage emulates life and compresses it, setting free skills learned over lifetimes in brief but dazzling displays for the amusement and judgment of others. For the performers, it is the ultimate risk, and some will rise while others must fall. Nowhere is this truer than at the Seisho Music Academy, where music, dance and real weapons all come into play in the creation of the next great Star. Karen and Hikari’s destinies have been linked since a childhood promise, but their journeys here have taken very different paths. Now, after Hikari leaves, Karen must discover who she is without her opposite, while Hikari must rediscover her own course. Nor are they the only girls who must reassess and change if they want to achieve their dreams, as the dance, magic, and swordplay continue!

8.5

Zen - Grogu and Dust Bunnies(2022)

A hand drawn animated short by Studio Ghibli.

6.1

Rain in the Sunshine(2013)

Schoolboy Hinata has a big crush on his classmate Shigure, but is too shy to tell her. On the day Shigure is leaving, Hinata flies off on the wings of a bird chasing after her to tell how he feels!

6.9

Haikara-san: Here Comes Miss Modern Part 1(2017)

The story follows Benio "Haikara-san" Hanamura, who lost her mother when she was very young and has been raised by her father, a high-ranking official in the Japanese army. As a result, she has grown into a tomboy - contrary to traditional Japanese notions of femininity, she studies kendo, drinks sake, dresses in often outlandish-looking Western fashions instead of the traditional kimono, and is not as interested in housework as she is in literature. She also rejects the idea of arranged marriages and believes in a woman's right to a career and to marry for love.

6.1

DEEMO Memorial Keys(2022)

Deemo is a lonely individual who lives in solitude, playing the piano in a castle. One day, a girl who has lost her memory falls from the sky. Wanting to help her recover her memories and return to her world, Deemo discovers that a tree kept atop the piano will grow whenever the piano is played.

7.5

Perfect Blue(1998)

Rising pop star Mima quits singing to pursue a career as an actress. After she takes up a role on a popular detective show, her handlers and collaborators begin turning up murdered. Harboring feelings of guilt and haunted by visions of her former self, Mima's reality and fantasy meld into a frenzied paranoia.

8.3

Castle in the Sky(1986)

A young boy and a girl with a magic crystal must race against pirates and foreign agents in a search for a legendary floating castle.

8.0

Detective Conan: Black Iron Submarine(2023)

Many engineers from around the world gather at the Interpol marine facility "Pacific Buoy" on Hachijo-jima, in the sea south of central Tokyo Prefecture coast, to witness the launch of a new system that connects all law enforcement camera systems around the world and enables facial recognition worldwide. Conan, along with his friends Kogoro, Ran, Agasa, Haibara, and the Detective Boys, also heads to the island with an invitation from Sonoko to see the whales. He receives a message from Subaru, who says that a Europol agent has been murdered in Germany by Gin. Perturbed, Conan sneaks onto the police ship led by Kuroda, which is bringing them to the island to protect the completion work, and tours the new facility, just in time for the Black Organization to kidnap a female engineer, seeking a piece of important data in her USB drive. A terrifying howl of screws is heard from the ocean as an unknown person approaches Haibara.

7.0