Best movies & TV Shows like The Secret Message

An emotionally scarred former child soldier becomes a letter writer in this condensed recap of the moving, gorgeously animated award-winning series.

Set two years after after "Hotaru no Hikari" drama series, Hotaru Amemiya learns that her boss and now husband Seichi Takano has dreamed of vacationing in Rome, Italy like in the movie "Roman Holiday". Hotaru then makes plans to go to Rome for their honeymoon. Rome, Italy prepare ... Hotaru Amemiy and Seichi Takano are coming!

An insensitive man whom nobody takes seriously. A girl who is too sensitive to what others think to live freely. When the paths of the two crossed unexpectedly. The serendipity brings their life into unusual directions. Will they find a true love?

Kozue Ogawa is a housewife and has been married to Hideo for seven years. They don't have any children, but as they live with her parents at their flower shop, every day is still lively. She is happy with her life and her husband, but she wonders if it is enough. From time to time, she is gripped by this doubt that she cannot raise with anyone. Kozue starts a part-time job in the editing department of the magazine where she used to work. Her former colleague is now working hard as the editor-in-chief. One rainy day, Kozue meets a young man. He is Takuma Fukazawa, a high school student. He seems somehow shrouded in sadness. He is a dance teacher. In the dance studio, there is just the two of them. Takuma curls his hands around Kozue's body, and his dance instruction begins. Their unexpected closeness causes Kozue to hesitate. With her heart pounding, she pushes Takuma's hands away and runs home. But the throbbing in her chest continues. It can't be. But what is this feeling?

Hotaru no Hikari is a Japanese josei manga series by Satoru Hiura. It has been adapted into 2 television drama series and a live action film that was released on 7 July 2012.

Five members of the school culture club—Taichi Yaegashi, Iori Nagase, Himeko Inaba, Yui Kiriyama, and Yoshifumi Aoki—encounter a bizarre phenomenon one day when Aoki and Yui switch personalities without warning. The same begins to happen to the other club members, throwing their daily lives into chaos. At first the five students find some amusement among the confusion, but this connection also exposes the painful scars hidden within their hearts... When their calm lives are shattered, the relationships between the five students also begin to change!

Haruka Takayama and Yū Sonoda were inseparable during middle school, but upon entering high school, they end up being seated on opposite sides of the classroom. Having to spend time with more friends, the two decide to make their relationship special by kissing each other in secret.

In high school, Sakurai Haruka, Mirei and Kanata are good friends whom everyone envies. The three of them believed their relationship would remain like this forever. Then Haruka’s stepsister Ririko suddenly returns from overseas. After several years away, she has become beautiful to the extent that classmates call her “goddess”. Although Haruka has often built walls around other people, Ririko deliberately gets close to him. One night, she barges in all of a sudden and starts to cry against his chest. “I have no where to go. You’ll let me stay here, right?” Haruka is baffled by his pushy stepsister, Mirei secretly loves Haruka and Kanata has become aware of Mirei. The distance between Haruka, Mirei and Kanata who had taken it for granted that they would always be close, starts to change little by little

Life is simple for Sasamoto Sawa, a young housewife, but when the adulteress Takigawa Rikako moves into her neighborhood, so too does a new world of sophistication and sex. After Takigawa is nearly caught in the act, Sasamoto covers for her during the ensuing aftermath, unwittingly involving herself with a handsome teacher named Kitano Yuichi — and discovering her own desires for extramarital passions.

Hanae Aoishi is set to turn 30. She works for a general trading company and has never taken a day off or been late for work. She dresses pleasantly plain and has zero dating experience. She attends a company party and drinks with part-time employee Yuto Tanokura. He is a handsome university student. Through the evening, Hanae becomes drunk and passes out. When she wakes up, Hanae finds Yuto Tanokura sleeping next to her and he is naked. She becomes confused about what happened and takes the day off from work for the first time. To come out of her shell, Hanae decides to date Yuto Tanokura who is 9 years younger than her. At this time Yu Asao, the CEO of a food company located in the same building as her company, begins to have feelings for Hanae.

30-year-old Kyoko has a "job". The story starts with her looking back 20 years to her boarding school of Yoko Gakuen in the mountains. Tomohiko, Miwa, and Kyoko are all in the same grade. Inspired by the educational philosophy of the principal - Emiko, teacher Tatsuko joins the boarding school staff, but soon finds the school rather strange...

The story revolves around Kira and Rei, two high school students. Kira is an extremely introverted artist, and Rei is an outgoing playboy with a frightening violent side. The two start a friendship and eventually a romance after Rei sees a drawing that Kira drew on the back of a map she gave him. However, both Kira and Rei are hiding troubled pasts, and through their relationship they confront their past demons. Masao, a student at Kira and Rei's school, has a connection to Rei's violent past. He enters Kira and Rei's lives to try to force Rei to return to the person he used to be.

A high school girl finally gets her own apartment, but she has to share it with the most popular boy in school. No one can know they're living together.

As emcees of a fictitious variety programme, Matsuoka Mayu and Ito Sairi interview people with fixations in everyday life to find out what is difficult for others to understand, but makes the person happy.

Seventeen-year-old Mugi Awaya and Hanabi Yasuraoka appear to be the ideal couple. They are both pretty popular, and they seem to suit each other well. However, outsiders don't know of the secret they share. Both Mugi and Hanabi have hopeless crushes on someone else, and they are only dating each other to soothe their loneliness. Mugi is in love with Akane Minagawa, a young teacher who used to be his home tutor. Hanabi is also in love with a teacher, a young man who has been a family friend since she was little. In each other, they find a place where they can grieve for the ones they cannot have, and they share physical intimacy driven by loneliness. Will things stay like this for them forever?

30-year-old Kamata Rinko is single and a struggling scriptwriter. She has no boyfriend and keeps having night outs at drinking spots with her girlfriends Kaori and Koyuki. “If I become beautiful, a better guy will appear!” “If we grow to like each other, we can get married!” They will not stop talking about these hypothetical questions. Then a younger, handsome, golden-haired guy suddenly utters, “These “what if” women!” and the trio have to face the harsh reality that they are no longer girls. Rinko enters her 30s while still immature, seeking happiness and struggling with romance and work.

The "local heroine fighter" of a certain city became popular and a national star. Because of this, "local heroines" debuted in various other places, and their action live events became a hit trend nationally. In Hinano City, high school girl Misaki Shirogane and other girls become local heroines (at the urging of Misaki's aunt, the prefectural governor) and vow to produce action live events.

The war is over, and Violet Evergarden needs a job. Scarred and emotionless, she takes a job as a letter writer to understand herself and her past.

Yuji Tomioka is a 38-year-old single man who has never dated a woman. He works the night shift as a security guard at a supermarket. He experiences loneliness during this time. One night, during a shooting star, he wishes to have friend. A mysterious neighbor, Azusa Hada, appears in front of him. They fall in love, but Yuji's life changes.

The moment Miou Aida first met Haruki Serizawa at the Sakuragaoka High School Entrance Ceremony they both felt an unexplainable connection. Despite their completely different personalities, they found themselves walking home together after school every day. As they spend more time together, their feelings for each other grow stronger.

20 year old Tsukimi Kurashita can barely see without her glasses. She came to Tokyo from Kagoshima Prefecture to become an illustrator, but she doesn't attend college or sells any of her illustrations. She lives at a communal apartment. At the apartment, only otaku type women live there. Tsukimi Kurashita likes jellyfish due to memories she has with her late mother. One day, due to a jellyfish, Tsukimi Kurashita meets Kuranosuke Koibuchi. He loves fashion and his hobby is to dress up like a woman. She also meets Kuranosuke’s older brother Shu Koibuchi. Her life soon changes because of them.

Five girls aiming to become voice actresses, all live together in the same dormitory. The series follows their journey as they take voice lessons and learn to become voice actresses.

Eight-year-old Miyuki lost her mother several years ago and has since lived with just her father, Ryoichi. One day, she is suddenly introduced to Akiko, who is to be her new mother. Akiko uses her stellar business skills to try to win the little girl over, only to fail miserably. Ryoichi tries to reason with Miyuki, but to no avail. Akiko changes tactics and tries to get Shimoyama, a woman in the neighborhood who knows Miyuki well, on her side.

The series is based on the manga Tokusatsu Gagaga, a comedy manga by Tanba Niwa. Tokusatsu Gagaga series follows Kano Nakamura, an office lady played by Fuka Koshiba, who is secretly a tokusatsu otaku, a toku-ota. She lives her life by the code of tokusatsu heroes and often envisions herself as one as a means to make it through her daily struggles.

Hinata is an introverted high school girl and Mikage is the "gal" who sits next to her in class. Hinata realizes Mikage is her friend from elementary school, and she wants to strike up the friendship again.

Inspired by mangaka Yomu’s fascination with women’s legwear presented in his art book “Yomu Tights”, “Miru Tights” takes us into a world of sheer tights and beautiful women’s legs. The bright Homi Moemi, the serious and ambitious Ren Aikawa, and the cheerful, albeit somewhat naïve Yua Nakabeni have been friends for a long time and of course, their tights are part of their everyday attire! While Homi likes to jump into the biggest puddles she can find on rainy days, and Yua devotes herself completely to cosplay – much to the delight of her numerous followers on Twitter – Ren is more serious and works at a small café in her free time.

The girls in a high school literature club do a little icebreaker to get to know each other: answering the question, "What's one thing you want to do before you die?" One of the girls blurts out, "Sex." Little do they know, the whirlwind unleashed by that word pushes each of these girls, with different backgrounds and personalities, onto their own clumsy, funny, painful, and emotional paths toward adulthood.

A love story between Risa Shiroki and Hiroto Fukami. Twenty year old Risa Shiroki comes to Tokyo from her hometown in the countryside to attend university. Pretty and popular with male students, she has never had a boyfriend and dreams of having a sweet love. One day, thirty year old Hiroto Fukami appears in front of her. He is business man who appears to be gentle and looks perfect. As romance blossoms between them, Risa discovers Hiroto's dark past.

Okawa Yuka is living out the daily motions of life but doesn't understand her reason to keep living. After a confrontation with a co-worker, she decides to end it all but fails when she stops herself from squishing a cicada. That cicada returns the favor by transforming into a man, named semi, for seven days because he thinks it will make her happy. The downside is, he has no idea how to live as a human.

Nothing's as it seems when a charismatic conman and an aspiring film crew delve into the lives of two emotionally scarred women.

One day, Anzu went to a drinking party with her best friend Yuka. Anzu got really drunk and saw a handsome man before she left in a hurry. However, fate appears when Anzu reunites with the handsome guy who is one of the two new employees in the company.

Midori is a married woman with a happy home life, a child, and a job as a speech therapist. One day, Midori is diagnosed with liver cancer and finds herself face to face with her first love; a man whose betrayal had left her deeply scarred. They are forced to put their past aside and work together to save her life.

"This is a tale that took place long ago. There once lived an old man and an old woman. The old man went into the woods to cut down some grass and the old woman went to the river to... (You know the rest.) The ogres had finally been defeated, but apparently, there were more ogres living elsewhere, so Peach Boy crossed the sea... It was an amazing feat to defeat the ogres and a joyous feat that Peach Boy saved many lives. But the one thing that went wrong... Was that they had fun. This is nothing more than a "What if"... What if there was more than one peach that tumbled down the river?

A comedy focusing on Kondo Asami, a 33-year-old single woman who lives with her parents and works at the local city hall, and suddenly finds herself starting her life over from scratch.

Sisters Dylan, Bowie and Hendrix Spence must move from rural Manitoba to Winnipeg's north end after the tragic death of their parents. There, the sisters explore the differences that drive us apart and the love that brings us back together.