If anything is like Shigatsu, hands down it’s Nodame Cantabile. The maturity and the passion alone parallels well and the sweet romance is the icing on the cake. It’s as appearingly light and fluffy as Shigatsu with every deep moment as it has as well. One huge similarity is Chiaki and Kousei, both perfectionist players who meet a girl who sweeps them off their feet. We watch as the two find their way in the world of music. Nodame Cantabile is a musical classic and one every fan of music anime should watch.

Coming in with 52 episodes is none other than Full Moon, which was a big hit and for a lot people, what came after Sailor Moon when you found out as kids that it was from Japan! Arina Tanemura, the original manga artist, has spawned many successes. This is a story about a young girl with beautiful voice, silenced by a malignant tumor. Enter in two shinigami who tell her she has a year to live but she plans to make the most of it. I think Full Moon really captures the essence of Shigatsu because of the underlying deep drama dealing with the main blonde girl, despite that, they remain cheerful through it all. Both are passionate about music and use it to reach people’s hearts.

Hino Kahoko, after encountering a music fairy, is the only normal student to enter into the Music Branch’s music competition and, with no prior knowledge, starts playing the a magical violin that only plays if she truly believes in herself and the music. Despite the magic elements in this series, like Shigatsu it is very slice of life. There’s relationships, romance, friendships and musical competitions galore. With music competitions comes the drama and fear along with it. Will I win? Or will I play my music to my hearts content and not let fear of losing control me?

Hibike may be the closest to rivaling the wonderful animation of Shigatsu and adorable characters. The premise is about Kumiko who doesn’t want anything to do with the brass band but somehow gets pulled in anyway and runs into a girl she accidently insulted in junior high. Hibike shares numerous themes with Shigatsu, including drama/romance/comedy but also ties in music hand in hand with relationships and life. KyoAni’s animation work did it justice as well, from the fingering of the instruments to the characterized, realistic expressions. Both series really pull you into the setting and make you believe these characters are real.

Fujii Touya is living the dream, dating a oncoming idol named Morikawa Yuki. Of course, there’s many challenges in the idol world, causing plenty of drama at school and work. The best part of this series is the realistic, flawed characters who go about life making decisions that, well, a lot of us might make because we are all only human after all. The intensity in this series is so very similar to Shigatsu, where it may be lacking in colorful joy, it makes up for with a fairly engaging storyline. I think it’s also similar because both series probes similar questions; “what would you do in this situation?”

Piano is a touching slice of life that might also be just too close to real life. Dealing with the realities of teenage life and piano playing, it’s relatively slower in pace just like Shigatsu. If you like classical music, you’ll find it in here as well. When Miu was young, she was entranced by the piano and started taking up lessons. Eventually she gets good but is so soft spoken and unconfident, she can’t put her heart into her music. She falls for a boy too, and like Kousei in Shigatsu, it has it’s slower pace.