The 15 Best Anime About Animals To Watch This Winter (2024)

Animals are frequent elements in anime; Many anime feature certain animals, some as comic relief and others as an important part of the story. But today we will talk about those anime that have a cast mostly made up of animals or have animals as central characters. We made sure to include anime from different genres for our readers to enjoy. So, let's see our list of 15 best animal anime.

Contents

6) Master Cat Is Still Depressed Today
7) The Sacrificed Princess and the King of Beasts
8) Princess Mononoke
9) Silver Fang
10) A Whisker Away
11) Aggretsuko
12) The Sweet Home of Chi
13) Rain of Wolves
14) The Return of the Cat
15) My Roommate is a Cat

The 15 Best Anime About Animals

1) Beastars

Beastars takes place in an anthropomorphic world where herbivores and carnivores live side by side in harmony, but an unspoken tension still persists between these two sides.

The protagonist, Legoshi , is a wolf with a reserved and sensitive temperament. But because of his appearance and his species, he is still seen as a threat.

When he meets a dwarf rabbit named Haru , he falls in love with her despite their differences. It's an animal anime that tackles prejudice and discrimination in an intriguing story.

2) Wolf Children

A heartbreaking animated film about animals, The Wolf Children , is a must-see. It follows a student named Hana who meets a strange man in her class and ends up falling in love with him. When she discovers that he is a different species capable of transforming into wolves, her love for him does not diminish.

The two marry and eventually have two children, Ame and Yuki . But when tragedy strikes and her husband is killed, she must care for her two wolf children alone.

3) Odd Taxi

Odd Taxi is an underrated animal anime that every anime fan needs to check out. It takes place in an anthropomorphic world and follows three eccentric individuals whose lives collide one day: the direct Hiroshi Odokawa , the unemployed Taichi Kabasawa , the mysterious Miho Shirakawa , and the delinquent Dobu .

When a girl disappears, the police investigation leads them to Odokawa, who is a taxi driver. Soon, Odokawa meets various people who indicate that there is more to the story.

4) BNA: Brand New Animal

BNA is an animal fantasy action anime where a species called Beastmen exists. They can transform into animals. But due to their strained relationship with humans, they hide their powers. But in Anima City , they can finally be themselves.

It's Anima City's 10th anniversary when Michiru Kagemori 's life changes. Living her entire life as a human, Michiru is shocked when she transforms into a tanuki. There seems to be more to her past than she knows.

5) The Boy and the Beast

This beautiful story revolves around two very different individuals suffering from different problems in life. One is Ren , an orphaned and lonely nine-year-old, and the other is Kumatetsu, who aspires to become the lord of his kingdom.

When their lives finally collide, they each see an opportunity to find something they desire. Ren wants to belong somewhere and Kumatetsu wants a disciple to train. As Kumatetsu takes Ren to his kingdom and spends years training him, they realize that their lonely days are over.

6) The Master Cat Is Still Depressed Today

Both fun and funny, The Big Cat Is Still Depressed Today is another great animal anime. It is about an active young woman, Saku Fukuzawa , who finds a black cat one day and takes it with her. Eventually, Yukichi , the cat she saved, becomes more of her household partner than a pet.

He takes care of their home, makes sure she eats proper meals, and is terribly excited about promotions at the supermarket. Look at the lives of these unlikely partners.

7) Sacrificial Princess And The King of Beasts

A new Spring 2023 anime, Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts is a fantasy romance series where the Kingdom of Ozmargo is home to beasts of all kinds and is ruled by the King of Beasts, Leonhart . After winning a years-long war against the neighboring human kingdom, Leonhart receives a human sacrifice from the neighboring king every year.

The final sacrifice is a young orphaned girl named Sariphi who neither fears Leonhart nor wants to escape. Intrigued by her, the king of beasts ends up falling in love with her.

8) Princess Mononoke

One of the great Studio Ghibli films that has stood the test of time is Hayao Miyazaki 's Princess Mononoke . The film explores the relationship between humans and nature and how technology affects this relationship. It's a story about finding balance through mutual acceptance.

The story follows a young prince Ashitaka cursed by a dying demon boar. In his quest to cure the curse, he meets a strange girl in a forest. The girl, Sen , is raised by wolves and considers herself one of them.

9) Silver Fang

This old animal anime focuses on the protagonist, Gin , the dog Akito who is born brindle. This leads his people to believe that Gin is destined to become a powerful bear-hunting dog. But when Gin's father is killed by a demonic bear named Akakabuto , Gin must face his destiny.

As Akakabuto begins to gather allies, Gin embarks on his own journey to become capable of defeating Akakabuto.

10) A Whisker Away

This Netflix romantic drama follows a teenager named Miyo Sasaki who lives an unhappy life with an overzealous stepmother in her quest to connect with Miyo and a father who barely cares about anything. The only bright spot in his life is his crush, Kento Hinode .

Miyo's attempts to show Kento her adoration fail every time. But when she turns into a cat, she has the opportunity to get closer to him. As Miyo learns that Kento's life has its own problems, she must choose between remaining a cat to be with him or remaining human to help him.

11) Aggretsuko

Aggretsuko is a workplace comedy set in an anthropomorphic world. A red panda named Retsuko works in an office where she is given too much work by co-workers who are too lazy to do their own jobs. She spends most of her evenings working in the office, filled with frustration.

The only way she channels her frustrations and anger is by singing aggressive death metal at a local karaoke bar. This anime is too relatable and hilarious to miss.

12) Chi's Sweet Home

An absolutely adorable and light-hearted anime, it's great morale-boosting viewing. It's a simple story about a little kitten named Chi who is found by a little boy named Youhei and his mother. They bring the kitten home and she finds a new home with this family.

The anime shows Chi's daily life through many little adventures and fun memories.

13) Wolf's Rain

This animal anime takes place in a decaying world where the gate to heaven is supposed to open at the end of the world. But only wolves can find their way to paradise. Unknown to most people, the legendary wolves still live, hiding in plain sight by disguising themselves as humans.

When young wolf Kiba is lured to Freeze City by a mysterious smell, he is completely unaware of how his life is about to turn upside down.

14) The Cat Returns

A spin-off of Studio Ghibli's Whisper of the Heart , The Cat Returns tells the story of Haru Yoshioka , a high school student who ends up saving the life of Lune , the prince of the Cat Kingdom . To thank her, the Cat King asks her to become Lune's wife.

Unable to communicate with cats, Haru unwittingly agrees and finds himself in one misunderstanding after another. The more time she spends in the Cat Kingdom, the more cat-like she becomes. Now Haru must find his true nature to stop his transformation.

15) My roommate is a cat

This charming slice-of-life story follows the 23-year-old introverted mystery author who lost his parents years ago and leads a lonely life. One day, he finds a little cat wandering near his parents' grave. The cat, named Haru , leads a miserable life on the streets.

Subaru takes Haru to his home, offering him plenty of food and shelter. Haru, as grateful as she is to the kind man, can't help but notice that her new caregiver is extremely neglectful of himself. Thus begins their unlikely friendship strengthened by mutual care.

We've reached the end of this list of the 15 best animal anime . Each anime on this list tells a different story and brings a different vibe.