Hourou Musuko

Slow pacing, bittersweet emotions and light, pleasant animation. If you liked one, I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy the other as well.  

Very similar art style and very beautiful message in both. If you like one, surely will like other. 

Both are anime about childhood friends in the same school. They have similar art too.  

Both of the series have an understated, muted art style, although Hourou Musuko animation is superior. (This is unsurprising considering Koi Kaze was released in 2004.) The real similarity doesn't lie in the similar art style though. No, instead both series grapple with difficult societal concepts in a mature way without resorting to tasteless humour of it, although the incest in Koi Kaze is 'more taboo' than the gender difficulties in Hourou Musuko. If you like one, you'll likely like the other. 

Same atmosphere and animation style. Both series deals with dramatic circumstances in life. 

Both series have a very calming factor to them that is driven by both the plot and the nice use of pastel coloring. They both are wonderful shows that really look into their characters. 

Hourou Musuko's main plot and Hoshiai no Sora's 8th episode have very similar theme about adolescence and gender problems. Both anime have slice of life elements and even the art style and pacing is similar. It's as if some characters have grown up and gone to the newer series. 

- Soft, muted colour palette - Drama portrayed in a similarly lighthearted (but not frivolous) way - Decidedly more genuine take on LBGT stories compared to other shows, though Dokyuusei is much more idealised with romance as the focus - Refreshingly twinkly music  

Do you want to watch a show that covers a wide swath of LGBT issues with relative seriousness and delve into numerous different ideas about human identity? Do you enjoy shows that revel in quiet softness and faint, sad smiles? Of course you do, and both Hourou Musuko and Yagate Kimi ni Naru do exactly these things. 

Both are pretty shows about a maligned protagonist struggling to love herself in the face of mistreatment by those around her.  

Both series have main characters that going trough gender change and struggles of understanding what is the meaning of belonging to a gender. Nitori is officially a trans girl and she had her own struggles in a similar fashion. Horou Musuko is more realistic and a bit darker than Onimai, due that Onimai being a comedy show. If you are into exploring the trans issues I’d recommend both of them. 

- Similarly light artstyle - Love webs everywhere - Self absorbed preteens and teenagers 

Elementary school kids (and very old people) are more or less given free reign to so whatever they please in society, but not so for others. Battery and Wandering Son are about the children who are facing that fact in a restrictive and largely socially conservative Japan, all whilst taking their first step into puberty and middle school life. Despite the difference and the fact that Battery on the surface seems to be about baseball, both are actually keenly observant shows about kids learning about what society expects of them, developing their identities, and figuring how to fit that into what others expect of them. Finding autonomy amidst calls of 'listen to your parents', 'listen to your coach', 'respect people older than you', 'go to cram school', 'we're doing this for your good, for your future!', 'you're too young to understand.' The character designs are very similar (both by Shimura Takako), and the characters in both have a tendency to act older than their age; but that adds nicely to the immersive atmosphere, I mean, didn't we all think we were that eloquent/serious/aware at the time? Battery revolves around baseball, but Wandering Son is more clearly focused on identify, revolving around a group queer/questioning kids as individuals outside of any specific club activities. The drama and colour palette are also much heavier in Battery compared to a lighter, and more bittersweet Wandering Son, character flaws are not assessed as critically in Wandering Son as a result.  read more 

Both anime focuses on social issues regarding minorities. Demi-chan wa Kataritai was set in a hypothetical universe with vampire, dullahan, snow girl, and succubus. Each Demi has their issues and struggles. Hourou Musuko was set in a world similar to reallife Japan focusing on LGBTQ, specifically, transgender and nonbinary communities. Demi-chan wa Kataritai was lighthearted with some serious discussions or hints of such scattered throughout the anime. Most importantly, Demi in Demi-chan wa Kataritai was supported by the protagonist Sensei and the society. Compared to Demi-chan wa Kataritai, Hourou Musuko was much more depressing. Most things in the story didn't go the right track, yet the characters tried very hard to find their own answers to the problem. If you like one and can accept the theme or tone of the other anime, I would recommend watching. read more 

This might seem like a strange recommendation, given that one series is about supernatural events, and one is about trans children living their everyday lives. However, they're both slice of life series that have a similar bittersweet atmosphere. This atmosphere is created largely through the art and sound in each of them. They also both feature very beautiful backgrounds. 

Both anime in a non-exploitative, respectful way look into the thinking and emotions of a cross-dressing boy in search of his gender identity. In Genshiken this is a (pretty prominent) sub-plot in a larger ensemble piece, in Hourou it's the main story. Genshiken is far more comedic and quirky, where Hourou is slow, watercolor stylized, serious and guarded. Genshiken's main characters are young adults, Hourou's are middle schoolers. Both anime briefly touch other gender related themes, male and female homosexuality in particular. Genshiken also covers fujoshi culture and the boys love fetish, where Hourou has a second, female cross dresser with gender identity issues similar to the main boy. In short, Hourou Musuko is an anime primarily about gender identity, where in Genshiken it's an important, but not exclusive, theme. Both treat the subject matter with both respect and dignity. read more 

Both shows deal with gender identity, except Hourou Musuko takes a bit more realistic approach to it. 

The body of a girl and the mind of a boy! - Both are one of a only a handful of anime series ever made that deals with non-cisnormative gender identity and gender-roles in a healthy, unsexualised, and non-festishistic way. - Wandering Son deals the issues much more directly and in a much more informed manner, whereas Ribbon Knight is much more overtly idealistic in its portrayal. Of course, one has to take into account that Princess Knight was made in Showa Japan... - Although the stories ends up giving quite different messages regarding the 'correct' choice, the same overall message of being true to oneself applies in both series. read more 

Similar feeling of realistic and likable casts Both gave me similar vibes with their first impressions Both are very calming  

Hourou Musuko and The Midnight Animal revolve around being transgender and the issues coming from it. While The Midnight Animal is more comedy and less serious, both are thought provoking and good to watch if you are interested in watching the T part of the LGBT community. 

Erased (Boku dake ga Inai Machi) and Wandering Son (Hourou Musuko) are two anime that are on two different ends of the drama spectrum, as one is a Slice of Life, and the other is Psychological - Though I do have a few reasons to find them similar: - The two main characters are a young boy and girl, who become/are close friends and the anime somewhat focuses on their relationship. - Similar art-style, both different compared to most shows, while having qualities alike to one another. - Doesn't shy around sensitive and heavy subjects (Erased: Murder, Child Abuse, School bullies, etc - Wandering Son: Transexuality, School bullies, Gender identification, etc). As Erased is currently airing, I'm sure there may be more similarities, or it may turn out completely different. I'd definitely recommend Wandering Son to anyone who's been watching Erased, though it might not be for everyone. read more 

While the plot of these anime could not be more different they ultimately share a central and integral similarity: their humane and sympathetic portrayal of transness in a medium that usually handles such subject matter horribly. While Wandering Son is quiet, smart and introspective and Ramens is loud, dumb, and thoughtless, they both portray people who are often discarded or disparaged as real people who are worthy of love and respect. It does not follow that if you like one you will like the other, but if humanizing portrayals of trans people in anime is something you are interested in than both contain this all too rare element that make them something special. read more 

-The two anime have controversial themes, but subtly portray it -The colors and the art are clear and calm - Both have characters with realistic personality and conflicts. 

Both deal with cross-dressing - a subject so controversial - in a more serious and delicate way, different of other animes that use this topic as comedy 

What makes these two shows similar to each other is how they mess with gender. In Tenshi, a guy is kind of forced to be in girl's body, while in Hourou, a guy wants to be a girl. A question remains: will they accept their role—whichever it is? 

Both series have a similar color pallet and have the idea about middle school friendships as a central aspect. Not only that but both show about how middle school can have it's ups and downs.  

Hourou Musuko and Sasameki Koto both deal with gender role issues and how friendships are affected in these situations. They approach the issue from different angles and have a different art style (well not much has an art style quite like Hourou Musuko), but overall they have a very similar feel. 

Although the topics are completely different, the atmospheres of Hourou Musuko and Bartender are similar. If you like the flow of the one series, you will most probably also like the other one. They both have narrative parts too. 

Both of these animes contain someone who is Transgendered.  

Both have that calm and sweet feeling in it. Friends, love problems etc. If you like one you should like another. 

They both have unrequited love in it and that sweet feeling of reality :) Although one is about music and finding friends and love and the other is about gender problems and accepting yourself, they have that something that makes them similar. 

They both talk about taboo themes in our society in a serious way with many points of view of how to they react to them . Also containing amazing art and sound. 

Haruhi seems not to care about being mistaken for a boy and is happy to play along. Hourou Musuko takes a more serious look at kids in this situation. It's not a comedic series, but it's extremely touching. 

The way I see it, this is one of the series from the list that resembles H&C the most. Both aired on noitaminA, though one came ~6 years before the other. To begin with, both share a delicate watercolor-like art that is very meaningful, considering how they also deal with delicate themes - those of love, meaningful relationships, conflict, identity. Both are amazingly human in that sense. The main theme or fact that the cast of Hourou Musuko is made of middle schoolers may raise some doubts, but don't judge based on those. Children are more complex than we like to think once we grow up, and so is sexuality. Hourou Musuko actually takes its issues seriously, and if you don't believe this, one episode would be enough to convince you. Both series are really mature in their ways of presenting every theme, and more importantly, aren't afraid to recognize that the world isn't black and white. You can try to foresee what is going to happen, but you're likely to be proven wrong. They're also slow series, with a little comedy here and there, and very memorable and well-done dramatic times. The kind that makes your heart and your eyes ache. I highly recommend both series for anyone who is willing to open their heart, feel and think about life. read more 

Both are slice of life animes, where the main characters have to deal with problems upfront in their life.  

Hourou Musuko is like a middle school version of Senpai wa Otokonoko. In both series there is a pretty boy dressing up as a girl because they like themselves better that way. Yet at the same time both series show the reasoning behind it and feature them as boys as well. If one peaked your interest and haven't seen the other one, check them out. 

Both shows have realistic portrayals of school life, though Wandering Son's characters act more like high schoolers than middle schoolers. Both of the shows use a realistic color scheme (no bright blue hair five feet in the air) and have performances (Beck=concerts, Wandering Son=plays). Both shows have a very similar feel, and if you like one you'll probably like the other.