Best movies & TV Shows like Maesetsu! Opening Act

Follow the adventures of three ordinary girls as they make life’s awkward moments a thousand times worse. Along with a colorful bunch of classmates, they learn their most important lessons the hard way. Meanwhile down the street, a pocket-sized professor makes life difficult for a robot who just wants to be normal. But normal is the last thing you can expect in a town where salmon falls from the sky. In fact, the only thing you can count on is your friends, but even they are totally weird.

The life of an artist can be hard: Long, arduous hours working with only your thoughts and assistants to keep you company. In the case of overworked mangaka Aito, his attempts to merge the two are so far unsuccessful. His priorities are askew and subjecting his assistants to his fantasies has taken precedent over work. Despite his abuse of power, his assistants are willing to play along. Thankfully, editor Mihari is there to keep him in line, from threatening to fire him to physical punishment.

A blush-inducing, coming-of-age comedy about manga-loving book store employees!! The unique cast of characters -- all hard-core manga fans and maniacs of some sort -- work at comic shop “Uma no Hone.” On a daily basis, they display new releases, shrink-wrap comics, shudder at their lack of feminine qualities, question their love for porn literature…and basically have fun while working hard (?). Girls and guys call each other by nicknames and some begin to develop close relationships! It’s non-stop humor and romance in this book store rom-com!

There are many idols with long-established talent agency 346 Production. And now the company is starting a new program, the Cinderella Project! Girls leading normal lives are chosen to be aspiring idols and see another world for the first time in this Cinderella story. Can they all climb the stairs that lead to the palace? The magic begins now...

Shikada Kokonotsu's father owns a rural sweets shop, and his plan is for Kokonotsu to take it over one day. However, Kokonotsu wants to be a manga author instead! One day in summer, the cute but weird girl Shidare Hotaru, from the famous sweets company, comes to pay a visit. Apparently, Kokonotsu's father is famous and she wants him to join her family's company. However, he will only agree if she can convince Kokonotsu to take over the family business!

Three high school girls with different perspectives discuss the kinds of secrets you can't tell boys.

Futaba Odagiri is incredibly energetic but is also a glutton. Teru Hayama looks like an angel but she is really a demonic class president. Yoko Nishikawa is the daughter of family that used to be a member of the upper class, but after her father's company went bankrupt, they became poor. All three high school girls have the kanji for "leaf" in their name but could not be any different from one another.

Ami Kurata, a first-year university student who has no athletic ability, suddenly falls in love with a folding bicycle after seeing it in front of a train station. Inspired by her newfound love, she starts saving up to buy a bicycle and to learn cycling.

An art club in a certain middle school, and its members: Subaru Uchimaki, who is a genius at drawing faces, but only wants to draw the perfect 2D wife; Colette, a rich troublemaker who never stops making mischief; and the club president, who sleeps through sessions and collects sleeping aids. Mizuki Usami is the only person in the club who wants to do art club-like activities, and constantly struggles to do so.

Nadeshiko, a high school student who had moved from Shizuoka to Yamanashi, decides to see the famous, 1000 yen-bill-featured Mount Fuji. Even though she manages to bike all the way to Motosu, she's forced to turn back because of worsening weather. Unable to set her eyes on her goal, she faints partway to her destination. When she wakes up, it's night, in a place she's never been before, with no way of knowing how to get home. Nadeshiko is saved when she encounters Rin, a girl who is out camping by herself. This outdoorsy girls story begins with this first encounter between Nadeshiko and Rin.

Konohana Kitan is the heartwarming story of a new apprentice named Yuzu, and the other fox girls who work at a hot spring hotel called Konohatei. The staff at Konohatei live by one belief: no matter who one may truly be, no matter what, anyone who is a guest is a god. Of course, that includes you. Let the hospitality of Yuzu and the Konohatei heal your tired soul.

When Narumi, an office lady who hides the fact that she is a yaoi fangirl, changes jobs, she is reunited with Hirotaka, her childhood friend who is attractive and skilled but is a hardcore gaming otaku. They decide to start dating for now, but being otaku, both of them are awkward so a serious romantic relationship is rather difficult for them...

Like many hardworking members of the workforce, Kuroto Nakano is perpetually stressed out by his job. Still, since he lives alone, he must carry on to sustain himself. Little do humans like Kuroto know, this stress takes the form of darkness residing within a person's body and will bring one's life to ruin. Fox deities can see this darkness and have the duty to save people before it is too late. To help rid Kuroto of his stress, Senko-san, an eight hundred-year-old foxgirl, volunteers to take care of him, and will do everything she can to ease the tension in his weary soul.

The story centers around the first-year student Mana Shikimiya as she pursue her dreams of winning at the Prism Stage, the competition that determines the top middle-school idol.

Hina Tsurugi and her family have just moved to a quaint seaside town. Hoping to savor the sight of the peaceful ocean, Hina stumbles upon a girl named Yuuki Kuroiwa—an upperclassman at her new school—who invites Hina to join her in fishing. Hina reels in an octopus, which falls onto her; being afraid of bugs and big creatures, she panics and begs Yuuki to remove it from her. Yuuki sees this as an opportunity to force Hina to join the school's Breakwater Club—a club where members gather, catch, and eat various types of marine life as their main activity. Although her attempts to refuse to join fail, Hina slowly begins to discover the hidden joy in fishing. Her view on the sport changes, now looking forward to all the delightful experiences she can take part in alongside her fellow club members.

After college, Rikuo Uozumi, a boy without much ambition in life, takes on a job at a convenience store. The days pass by uneventfully for Rikuo until he meets his former girlfriend and classmate, but especially thanks to the unusual Haru Nonaka, and her pet raven...

One day, Kaede, a gyaru, picks up a dinosaur and begins living with it. The short comedy depicts their daily lives together as the dinosaur consumes human food, watches TV, and enjoys fashionable things. Thus begins the story of a gal and a dinosaur cohabiting that transcends time.

Friendless college girl Sorawo finds a door to another world one day — a strangely post-apocalyptic-feeling Otherside with serene emptiness, which becomes her new “special place.” There, she meets one other human, the beautiful and independent Toriko, and they explore the abandoned Otherside together.

Robai Private Academy is a well-known girls’ junior high school in the countryside. Komichi Akebi is a girl who, for a certain reason, has dreamed of wearing a Robai Academy sailor uniform. Her dream comes true, and her heart races as the day of the school entrance ceremony arrives. With her heart set on her new sailor uniform, Komichi embarks on the junior high school life of her dreams. Komichi dashes headlong through days full of “firsts”—classmates, school lunches, club activities, and more—in this sparkling diary of girlhood. “I hope I can make a lot of friends.”

Building furniture and friendships have a lot in common. Intention, effort, and hard work are needed for both crafts. This is a story of girls in a DIY club building both as they carve out their futures. None of it comes easy, but that doesn’t stop any of ’em. Furniture, friendships, and the future—they’re building it all with their own hands!

Being an adult is hard, and for Uramichi Omota, that truth weighs on him. While on TV, he’s the upbeat exercise instructor for a children’s show, but he and his coworkers keep revealing the plight of adulthood on air. At least they’re working through it.

Nervous to meet her new stepdad, Hiyori heads to the place she always feels at home—the ocean. When a curious girl named Koharu shows up, Hiyori decides to teach her how to fish, just like her father did before he died. But after Koharu reveals she’s also meeting her new family that night, the girls come to a startling realization. Their friendship is about to reach a whole new level!

Wakana Gojo is a high school boy who wants to become a kashirashi--a master craftsman who makes traditional Japanese Hina dolls. Though he's gung-ho about the craft, he knows nothing about the latest trends, and has a hard time fitting in with his class. The popular kids--especially one girl, Marin Kitagawa--seem like they live in a completely different world. That all changes one day, when she shares an unexpected secret with him, and their completely different worlds collide.

Iwakura Mitsumi, a tenacious country girl, prepares for high school in the big city. She meets the handsome Shima Sousuke, whose easygoing ways help her adapt in the real world.

Hitori Gotoh, a shy, awkward, and lonely high school student dreams of being in a band despite her doubts and worries, but when she is recruited to be the guitarist of a group looking to make it big, she realises her dream may be able to be fulfilled and come true.

The story centers on third-year high school student Jiro Yakuin, who gets saddled with his gyaru classmate Akari Watanabe for the class's "marriage training" project about practicing to be a married couple. Jiro is the complete opposite of Akari, but the two know that if they do well they will be able to switch partners to end up with their respective crushes, and so they force themselves to act like the perfect married couple.

These small girls are ready to make it big! All 12 or younger and under 149 centimeters tall (4'11"), these aspiring pop idols dream of performing for thousands of people. But with zero experience, they've got a lot of work to do! With the help of their rookie producer, who's almost just as short, can they stay focused and make it to the top?

Umika is a sweet yet shy high school girl. She has trouble speaking to others and dreams of having a friend from another planet. But her lonely school life takes a cosmic turn when she meets transfer student Yu, an alien with telepathic powers! The two become close and promise to go to space one day. So, they decide to build a rocket and shoot for the stars, making new friends along the way.

"I know! I'll become a monk!" Akagami Akemitsu has spent his days and nights absorbed in studying and part-time work in an effort to distance himself from his family, which is notorious as a household of philanderers. One day, he falls in love at first sight with a girl named Aoba Yuzuki, and suddenly he's constantly drowning in worldly desires. Hoping to fight back against his genes and live a more stoic life, he enters a temple... only to find out that it's a convent filled with gorgeous girls! So begins a new rom-com about the temple life of three adorable triplets and two beautiful freeloaders!

When Shinozaki started his new job, he didn’t expect his superior to be so…cute!? He struggled to learn the ropes until Katase, his tiny and kind senpai, took him under her wing. But as they grow closer, he hopes her attention might mean something more.

Yuki Itose is just a typical student dealing with the pressures of college. She is struggling one day on the train when an upperclassman named Itsuomi Nagi helps her out. As he gradually opens a new world to her, Yuki develops feelings for Itsuomi. A pure love story begins to grow.

Takuya and Rika are coworkers in a travel agency in Tokyo. They're both single, but they don't mind, since they're introverts with fulfilling lives at home. Unfortunately, now their job is looking to staff an office in Siberia, and non-married employees are the first to be considered. Rika is desperate to avoid the transfer and goes to Takuya with an idea: if they pretend they're getting married in a year, they can stay in Tokyo. The only problem is the two of them barely know each other! If these two quiet coworkers “fake” a relationship, will it turn into something real?

The story is set in Hiroshima Prefecture's Onomichi City, where a high school student Nashiko Jippensha was kicked out of her house. Without a place to play with her friends, she learns that the mahjong parlor that her father used to run is now vacant. She fixes the mahjong parlor and turns it into a place where she and her friends can have fun, cook, have tea, and sometimes play mahjong.

Hiragi Utena is a major fangirl of the magical girls protecting her city and leaps at the chance to join their ranks. But once she transforms, she learns she's a villain who enjoys being a magical-girl-tormenting sadist instead!

In Sapporo's North 24th neighborhood, five stations away from the Susukino business district, a bar's proprietor, junior proprietor, odd regular customers, and its share of walk-ins recount their strange lives.