For fans of small house core aesthetics, there are so many great anime series to enjoy. Although it’s been around for several years, Cottagecore is an aesthetic trend that continues to be popular, with idyllic rural influences seen in everything from interior design to of course the decor. media. With the popularity of the slice-of-life genre, which revels in the mundane details of everyday life, anime is uniquely perfect for portraying the cozy, satisfying elements of rustic life. Makes a small house attractive.
Anime has been enjoying the simple pleasures of rural life long before the term Cottagecore appeared, with Studio Ghibli films such as Howl’s Moving Castle and Kiki’s Delivery Service being the most famous examples, as well as make up some of the best animated films ever made. Along with series about rural life like Non Non Biyori and Tsume’s Book of Friends, there’s no shortage of great anime novels to start enjoying now.
Anne of Green Gables
Currently not available to stream
L.M. Montgomery’s classic children’s novel is also considered a core text, so it’s no surprise that this anime adaptation also contains all the aesthetic hallmarks. Like the book, it focuses on red-haired orphan Anne after she is mistakenly sent to live with a couple on a farm in place of a boy they hoped would help in the fields.
However, it was a perfect twist of fate as Anne began a new life in a small farming community. A charming, low-key animated film about finding one’s place in a cozy rural setting, Anne of Green Gables packs the appeal of its core aesthetic in a simple yet charming. Due to its age, the animated film may be a bit dated, but Ghibli fans may also find it worth a watch thanks to the involvement of future Grave of the Firefly director Isao Takahata.
Flying witch
Available on Crunchyroll
For fans of Kiki’s Delivery Service and similar cottage media with a witchy bent, Flying Witch might be the perfect show. The film focuses on Makoto Kowata, an apprentice witch who has just reached the age where she must leave home to study magic in the wide world. Along with her black cat Chito, she leaves for Aomori, a region whose rich nature makes it an ideal place to practice magic.
While there may be better supernatural slice-of-life anime out there, Flying Witch thrives on its adorable cast of characters and the eccentricities of the magical world that Makoto is forced to face while learning her craft. It may not have the heights or idyllic beauty of Kiki’s Delivery Service, but Flying Witch has just enough weirdness to be a great core series.
Hakumei và Mikochi
Available on HiDive
There are many anime that make viewers wish to live in the countryside, but Hakumei and Mikochi is perhaps unique in that it makes viewers wish they could live in a small house under an old tree. . The show is subtitled Tiny Life in the Jungle and that’s exactly what it portrays as the two main central characters are both just a few inches tall.
Anime is known for its cute animals and Hakumei and Mikochi is no exception, with the forest creatures that inhabit the forest as well as its other tiny inhabitants making perfect companions in one look. a glimpse of their ideal life. Coupled with great art and music, the series is the perfect relaxing experience for fans of the rustic aesthetic, and the lack of drama only makes it more appealing.
Non Non Biyori
Available on Crunchyroll
Anime with a core feel tend to offer glimpses of rural life, but with four seasons, side stories, and a movie, Non Non Biyori is the perfect choice for audiences who want Stay a little longer in the peaceful and natural world. Its premise is that main character Hotaru Ichijou is transferred from urban life in Tokyo to a remote village in rural Japan, without the amenities of urban life.
Non Non Biyori is the ultimate laid-back, laid-back anime where, like its young protagonist, viewers appreciate the benefits of living away from the city. There may be deeper and better-written films but Non Non Biyori is the extended getaway to the countryside that many wish for, and its gentle sense of humor is just another reason to you continue to watch.
The bride of the ancient magician
Available on Crunchyroll
While not every anime novel necessarily has an actual house, it helps that Elias Ainsworth, the titular Magus, has one of the nicest houses around in The Ancient Magus’ Bride. In the series, a 15-year-old Japanese girl named Chise Hatori is auctioned to the dark mysterious Magus and taken to his beautiful home to become his apprentice and supposed bride. ta.
There are plenty of anime about being transported to a magical world, but what makes The Ancient Magus’ Bride a unique core experience is the setting of the English countryside where the Magus lives and its background. Western fantasy. With its abundance of fairies and magical creatures, it’s fair to say that The Ancient Magus’ Bride presents an idealized version of the countryside but that’s also its biggest appeal.
Silver spoon
Available on Funimation
At the heart of the Cottagecore aesthetic is the dream of escaping the hectic nature of city life and escaping to the countryside, and that is also the premise of Silver Spoon. The film focuses on Yuugo Hachiken, a high school student who is devastated by the high expectations at school, and decides to enroll in an agricultural school instead.
While there are plenty of good anime about keeping pets, Silver Spoon sees its protagonist forced to get really familiar with the farm animals, even learning the details of their physiology. While this is a show that has some of the rural trademarks that fans have come to expect from the country house and is filled with rural imagery, it is essentially a light comedy that pokes fun at the fact that how useless someone new to that lifestyle will become.
Howl’s Moving Castle
Available on Max
No studio has made a greater contribution to animated fiction than Studio Ghibli, and Howl’s Moving Castle is one of the studio’s most iconic stories. For Cottagecore lovers, young Sophie Hatter’s simple life at the beginning of the film seems perfect as she works hard making hats by hand in her family’s shop and is satisfied with her work. mine. However, a fateful encounter with an evil witch turned her into an old woman.
Although not considered director Hayao Miyazaki’s best film in terms of storytelling, Howl’s Moving Castle is a beautiful and ambitious story that rejoices in the magic of everyday life, as well as more obvious magical elements like Howl’s creaking, steam-powered sound. The castle walks along the beautiful natural landscape on metal legs. As Sophie accompanies Howl to try to cure her curse while a fierce war threatens peace in their land, Joe Hisaishi’s stunning score provides the perfect accompaniment. perfect.
Tsume’s book of friends
Available on Funimation
There is an entire subgenre of anime that includes shows that focus on providing audiences with a peaceful, relaxing experience, and often focus on a connection with nature. Tsume’s Book of Friends is one of the best examples, and it’s also an ideal series for fans of the rustic aesthetic. Protagonist Takashi Matsume may not fit in with everyone, but his ability to see strange creatures called Yokai gives him a unique connection to nature.
A gently uplifting slice-of-life series, Tsume’s Book Of Friends adopts an episodic format that sees Natsume helping various yokai, leading to many simply heartwarming moments. heart. While the plot and character development may be too slow for some, the show has only gotten better over its six seasons, and the stunning natural settings mean that every episode is a escapist experience.
Kiki’s delivery service
Available on Max
One of the attractions of Cottagecore is the idea of healing by returning to simple, natural things, and that’s also a central theme of Kiki’s Delivery Service. Sent into the world at age 13 to become a real witch, Kiki quickly finds work in the small town of Koriko by plying her trade as a plane delivery service for the bakery that will take her in when she just arrived.
What makes its anime setting unique is how Koriko feels like a real place, filled with the old-fashioned hustle and bustle of people plying their trade but even that’s not the reason. which makes Kiki’s Delivery Service almost a perfect core anime. Instead, it’s the part that sees her escape to the remote cabin of an artist she meets named Ursula, which will truly scratch the itch for anyone who’s ever dreamed of living in a small house in the forest.
Every yesterday
Available on Max
While Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli films often contain essential elements, it’s actually director Isao Takahata whose idyllic vision of rural life truly stands out in one of the most overlooked Ghibli films. Lowest rating. Instead of a child protagonist, Only Today focuses on adult Taeko Okajima, an independent woman in desperate need of a break from her working life in Tokyo.
Along with the memories of her childhood, she escapes to the countryside to live with relatives and experience what it’s really like to be a farmer working there. What makes Only Today the perfect core film is that it really engages and discusses what makes rural life unique in a thought-provoking way. At the same time, the nostalgic imagery of life in the Japanese countryside is addictive and the warm ending wraps things up perfectly. Only Today is a perfect anime for any fan of the show. small house core.
