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Sweet Dreams Fuel / Anime & Manga

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  • Pretty much any Girls' Love manga by Miyabi Fujieda: Chatting at the Amber Teahouse, Iono the Fanatics, The Miko's Words and the Witch's Incantations... Warmth and fuzziness are guaranteed.
    • Speaking of Girls' Love, Yamada and Kase-san are impossibly adorable and their relationship is everything you could want from a pair of high school sweethearts.
  • A lot of the works of Osamu Tezuka are full of Sweet Dreams Fuel, especially Astro Boy and Unico. However, his work tends to have just as much of the other side as well.
  • Virtually everything by Tanaka Yutaka. My Lovely Ghost Kana especially. Ai-Ren is Bittersweet, but the overwhelming message is one of hope. Virgin Night is full of heartwarming short stories. (And a bit of bittersweetness.) Mimia Hime is a fairy tale built on heartwarming and Scenery Porn.
  • Ah! My Goddess. An honestly romantic couple, three truly close sisters, and a sweet, homey feel add up to over twenty years' worth of warm-tea-with-honey feelings. The five-episode OVA alone will fill you with amazing feelings.
  • Not only is Amanchu! a very easy-to-watch/read slice-of-life with inspirational characters and beautiful scenery, the chibi facial expressions and animal mascot are adorable.
  • Angelic Layer, a lot of the music in the anime will easily make you smile and the main character Misaki Suzuhara is simply adorable and lovable. Seeing so many people from different walks of life become friends thanks to her and the Angelic Layer game will bring a smile to anyone.
  • ARIA is a well-known example due to its calm and easy-going nature, Scenery Porn and lovely character interactions.
  • Assassination Classroom - if you can get past the absolutely heart-rending penultimate episode - is a heartfelt and hilarious slice-of-life filled to the very brim with inspiring life lessons and fun, unique and lovable characters. Best yet, the star is an irresistibly sweet octopus monster who's also the best damn teacher ever. Once you finish the anime/manga, you're going to wish Koro-sensei was your teacher like many others did for a long time, and you may find yourself caring more about school and studies than ever before.
  • Azumanga Daioh, even though Sakaki keeps on being bitten by cats. It's a bit weird when you know what would happen if someone actually got bitten by a cat, though.
    • It only makes the moments with Maya all the sweeter.
    • The part where Kaorin does the folk dance with Sakaki. It's the perfect mix between funny and adorable.
    • The entire Chiyo-chan in a penguin sequence. Sure she is abused a little bit, but she is so incredibly adorable.
      • Chiyo-chan in general. Take the scene where Sakaki first meets Tadakichi-san: she comments that Chiyo could ride on his back, as she's just about the right size to do so. Turns out, she's already done so, and it's adorable.
    • Any scene with Osaka in it. Yes, even the creepier ones. It's almost impressive how she manages to be cute even in the latter scenes.
      • "Do you like Taiyaki pastries, Chiyo-chan?"
  • Bananya: The weird yet adorable nature of the banana-cats, due to all the mischief and the nya's they make.
  • Binbou Shimai Monogatari: Kyou and Asu's relationship is just so sweet and heartwarming. Especially, in the (much longer) manga which, among other things, includes a happy version of "The Little Match Girl" with them as the title character. Kinko and Ginko's relationship is almost as sweet. Also, deep down everyone is a nice person. Yes, even their father.
  • Binchou-tan is capable of awakening warm fuzzy feelings on anyone, through its unspeakably cute characters and Ghibli Hills.
  • The Brave Series has quite a bit of this!
    • Brave Exkaiser is a bit dense, but the silliness only makes it all the more charming to watch, and just about any moment where Kouta and Exkaiser are together is a heartwarming moment.
    • The Brave Fighter of Sun Fighbird refined Exkaiser's formula to make for a tighter plot, but lost none of the SDF charm. Katori seamlessly shifts between badass guardian of humanity and Adorkable Fish out of Water big brother figure, and there's the fact that what powers him up near the end of the series is literal Sweet Dreams Fuel!
    • Brave Police J-Decker: "Heart" is confirmed by Word of God to be a major theme of this anime, and it shows. The Power of Love is all over this series. While it has its Tear Jerker moments, it's hard not to get the warm and fuzzies whenever Deckerd and Yuuta are together, and just about every robot character gets a moment to let their heart shine.
    • The last Brave series, GaoGaiGar, is considered a Spiritual Predecessor to the below-mentioned Gurren Lagann for a reason! The show was made after the Darker and Edgier approach of Neon Genesis Evangelion to show that the old 'kiddy' Hot-Blooded Super Robot Genre could still tell a good story. The characters are all badass, but never going over the edge. Every inch of 3G is meant not to fight, but to defend; it's rather telling that the 'weapon' GaoGaiGar's toy was packaged with wasn't a gun or a sword or anything, but the Dividing Driver - a device meant to prevent battles from hurting bystanders. And of course, in the end, the power of COURAGE wins the day! It's hard not to watch GaoGaiGar without feeling you can do anything as long as you have COURAGE.
  • Bunny Drop is like a more low-key Yotsuba&!, complete with requisite Heartwarming Moment per chapter.
  • Cardcaptor Sakura. Both the manga and anime have the potential to make anyone feel so gooey inside. Even the commanding imperiousness of Yue the Judge, the silver moon spirit that took almost sadistic satisfaction in making things horrible for Sakura and Syaoran, is lost in the face of him being just so sugary sparkly pretty. (And yes he does turn out to be a nice guy.)
    • The main character's catch phrase is "Everything will be all right", which is considered by pretty much all characters where her true magic comes from.
    • CLAMP purposely made the manga a Sugar Bowl, a story where no one will be judged by who or in which form they love, all in hope that children who grow up watching it can absorb the message. You have one openly gay romance in the show, between Sakura's brother Touya and his best friend Yukito, being portrayed in a healthy and loving light much like Sakura's own.
  • Chi's Sweet Home. Can't really get more specific than that; she's such a cute KITTY! :3
    • Not to mention the lovely, simplistic watercolour artstyle.
  • Chobits. Some parts of the series are admittedly very serious (and, well, perverted), but most of it is the adorable antics of cute robot girls and a couple of intertwining love stories. What really makes it Sweet Dreams Fuel, though, is the atmosphere: the visuals are soft, pretty, and mostly pastel-colored, and the soundtrack alternates between sugary-sweet and soothingly peaceful.
  • Ditto for Den-noh Coil - it's basically My Neighbor Totoro with computers.
  • Digimon Tamers is dark, but also outdoes the other seasons in terms of sheer cuteness factor. Culumon is just... It has to be among the most "awwwww" inducing critters. Guilmon's personality is utterly adorable outside of battle, Terriermon needs not be said ("Moumantai~"), Lopmon's frown doesn't make him less cute, and then MarineAngemon is introduced. Cuteness overload.
    • There's also Digimon Universe: App Monsters. Offmon, with his timid personality and oversized sleeves, might be able to give Calumon a run for his money in the cuteness department.
  • Eureka Seven, without a doubt. The Power of Love is practically the show's central theme, after all.
    • But watch out for grains of Nightmare Fuel, such as the arm in Episode 20, Charles dying, Eureka getting petrified, Eureka pre-evolution, Hap sitting on the toilet naked, Coralians, typeZERO's rolling eyes, Anemone eating jam... Yeah, just be careful with it, ok?
  • Fairy Tail. This show, which is about a group of wizards fighting evil, is totally awesome and filled with heartwarming moments. It makes me really happy and never fails to bring on the "aww!" moments.
  • FLCL. It's like Mind Rape, but in the opposite direction—your brain is just as broken, and you're just as confused, but you feel good. Not really sure why, though.
  • Flying Witch: Its interesting fantasy world, heartwarming family scenes, and cute cats are sure to fuel some nice dreams.
  • Free!, with its bright and detailed animation, emphasis on The Power of Friendship, and endearing characters. "A Swim-Off in a Distant Land" stands out in this regard for its emotional impact and simplicity.
  • Fruits Basket is a great thing to watch marathon-style while in the depths of depression. It's basically a giant Hurt/Comfort Fic. The manga is better story-wise (and, you know, complete), but the anime is better spiritual ice cream binge material.
    • For that matter, what about the ending of the manga, after Tohru and Kyo hook up? Folks pair up with the people they've been in love with, the Zodiac curse is broken so they can show affection, we see that Kyoko was reunited with her husband in the afterlife, Akito is able to move on, and Tohru and Kyo end up Happily Married.
    • The way both Yuki and Kyo are extremely protective of Tohru, even if the ways they show it to her are quite different. And in return, Tohru makes them happier and more cheerful than they used to be. In fact, this is the reason why the OT3 of Tohru/Yuki/Kyo is so popular.
  • While it starts out (and doesn't stop) with Nightmare Fuel, Fullmetal Alchemist as a whole (especially the Happily Ever After) has a very uplifting message that you'll find yourself repeating when you feel like nothing's going your way:
    Edward Elric: There's no such thing as a painless lesson. They just don't exist. Sacrifices are necessary; you can't gain anything without losing something first. Although, if you can endure that pain, and walk away from it, you'll find that you have a heart strong enough to overcome any obstacle. Yeah. A heart made fullmetal.
  • Gakuen Babysitters is a heartwarming story about a a boy and his baby brother who lose their parents in a plane crash and are adopted by the old chairwoman of a respected academy who lost her son in the same plane crash, but with the rule that he must work in the school's daycare. The manga is chockful of the daycare's kids adorableness, the strong bond between the Kashima brothers and their newly found family dynamics with the chairwoman who is hellbent in keeping her Hidden Heart of Gold hidden with several side characters showing a positive Character Development as they spend time with the Babysitter's Club.
  • Girl Friends (2006): The Gayngst and Will They or Won't They? may be agonizing at times, but that only makes every little moment Mari and Akko have together sweeter.
  • Girls und Panzer. The Power of Friendship? Check.note  Awesome Music? Check.note  True Companions to the second power?note  Check x check. Underdogs Always Win played straight but in a non-cheesy way? Check. Values Resonance? Check.note  Sportmanship? Fair play? Fun for fun's shake? A Badass Creed that happens to be a statement of all the former, as opposed to conventional ass-kickingnote  - even if maintained by one more than able to kick your ass? Check. Generally uplifting story? Hell, check. Humor based on taking a totally awesome note  premise and playing it completely straight without taking itself too seriously? Check.
  • Haibane Renmei. There's something about Rakka waking up and seeing everyone else just smiling at her.
  • Hanamaru Kindergarten. It's... oh, my God, if you could weaponize cuteness, this show would be freakin' lethal.
  • Sayuri Tatsuyama's Happy Happy Clover anime and manga is fond of this trope. Especially if you're a bunny lover. The citizens of Crescent Forest are also one of the nicest characters you know...well some of them that is.
  • Hayate the Combat Butler. For such an insane widget series, it has a lot of drama, heartwarming moments and almost all the characters, even the most flawed ones are likable (well, except Hayate's parents) and everyone has so much chemistry between each other. Any scene between Hinagiku and Hayate is bound to leave anyone feeling good and willing to do the same acts of love towards their loved ones that Hayate and Hinagiku do for each other.
  • Heat Guy J may just be the cuddliest and most heart-warming crime drama in existence. The protagonist is an All-Loving Hero, his android partner is Adorkable, and even the local crime boss is cute, sympathetic, and earns his happy ending.
  • The Helpful Fox Senko-san is formulated from the start to help relax and invoke warm and fuzzy feelings. Also, who can't resist Senko's fluffy tail?
  • Hidamari Sketch. Long before My Little Pony, this show proved that, yes indeed, friendship is magic. And diabetes-inducing.
  • How to Keep a Mummy is guaranteed to put a smile on your face, and maybe even elicit some squees.
  • Hyperdimension Neptunia The Animation is an easy candidate with constant laughs and just heart warming moments. Every character will try to make you love them and just wait until the absolutely hilarious and adorable Peashy shows up.
  • The anime version of THE iDOLM@STER. Almost every episode has An Aesop and leaves you with a good feeling about their world.
  • INVADERS of the ROKUJYOUMA!?: 35+ volumes of the most wonderfully romantic, wholesome, Power of Friendship Harem hijinks ever.
  • Is the Order a Rabbit? a Spring 2014 anime, stars a girl name Cocoa who visits a cafe who's mascot is a rabbit. This anime gives Hidamari Sketch a run for it's money on the levels of cuteness.
  • Kamichu!: A Slice of Life about an ordinary middle school girl who becomes a god, and lets her life continue mostly as usual. The characters actually look and act their age, there is pretty much zero fanservice, and the backgrounds are pure Scenery Porn. Any conflicts that arise are resolved within an episode, and several things happen just because they can—a WWE-esque cat wrestling match? Sure, sounds like fun. Amazingly relaxing.
  • Kill la Kill: Though at times brutal and tragic, few people actually get killed despite the shenanigans going on with Goku uniforms or Life-Fibers and the Honnoji Academy where the majority of the first half of the series takes place is equal parts exciting and violent. If FLCL Mind Rapes you in a way that makes you happy, KLK punches you into a wall with a similar result.
  • Kimi ni Todoke: Shy, socially awkward girl with low self-esteem gradually opens up and makes loads of great friends thanks to the influence of the nicest most-popular-boy-in-school you ever saw... and she does it without having to change who she is. It's adorable.
  • Kirby: Right Back at Ya!: Filled to the brim with cute moments between Kirby and his friends, hilarious moments with King Dedede and Escargoon, as well as having a surprisingly good 4kids Dub (which is sometimes regarded as even better than the original for westerners), the entire anime series is just as adorable and wonderful as its game series of origin, especially considering that Masahiro Sakurai and Nintendo and Hal Laboratory themselves (as a joint investment between the two companies known as Warpstar Inc.), gave a helping hand in the animeā€™s development!
  • While not an anime or manga series, the Japanese stop-motion series "Komaneko" while short is pretty cute and relaxing which stars a male cat.
  • K-On!: On the surface it's supposed to be about a small, four-girl (later five) high school music club...until you get to the cake. After that it's just a wild ride of Beach Episodes, Yui being a lovable Genius Ditz, and other activities...with maybe a bit of music for good measure.
  • A Little Snow Fairy Sugar certainly qualifies, given its premise about a little girl who befriends an adorable fairy that can make snow.
  • The Lite opening to Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions! is quite calming.
  • Love Live! is a show about 9 adorable girls forming an idol group to save their school from shutting down. From their Undying Loyalty to each other to the incredibly catchy songs they perform to the sheer feeling of togetherness this show provides, to say this show can put a smile on your face in an instant would be an understatement. It helps that all 9 members of Āµ's really are very cute, especially Kotori and Nico.
  • M78 Love and Peace: The OVA follows Super-Deformed versions of the Ultramen and their kaiju they faced drawn in a childish, doodle-like art style. Each short shows them frolicking together and having fun, freed from the franchise's usual conflicts and collateral damage done by giant battles. The one giant monster that does appear, Seabozu, is a Gentle Giant that doesn't cause any destruction, and everyone cheers him up by playing music and getting him to dance.
  • Machida-kun No Sekai: The manga follows Hajime Machida, a nerdy-looking high schooler that is good in neither studies, nor sports. Despite this, Hajime is an infinitely kind and generous person, whose belief that he can love everyone as if they were part of his own family and willingness to help anyone that comes his way in matters big or small make everyone that he gets in contact with a better, happier person.
  • Macross7, a lot of it, but especially the scene in Episode 37 when it's revealed that "the Sign of Peace" that a door locked with a riddle requires in the Protoculture ruins is a half-breed, someone born of two parents from two different races. That's when you realize in full force that humanity was nearly annhiliated by the Zentradi, a race of giants that knew only war and destruction, just a few years ago, and they were literally LOVED INTO SUBMISSION... and that it's all happening again, with what what was thought to be a soul-devouring Eldritch Abomination about to be saved by The Power of Rock. All to the notes of the incredibly aptly-named Power to the Dream.
  • While Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha has its darker moments, the show simply has such strong themes of forgiveness, second chances and acceptance that it ultimately becomes this.
  • Mahoraba is a funny, heartwarming and strangely weird Slice of Life where every chapter is guaranteed to make you go "D'awwwww!" at least once. The characters are all absolutely adorable and the ending wraps everything up like a big hug in a warm sweater.
  • Maison Ikkoku, otherwise known as The Power of Love meets Character Development. Seeing the ways that the characters slowly grow and mature makes the happy ending feel so *right*.
  • Manabi Straight!. Seeing everyone work together to make the school festival a reality is just so heartwarming.
  • The 1986 Anime Maple Town is set in a peaceful town filled with cute anthropomorphic animals, with the main protagonist being a female rabbit named Patty. Patty is described as kindhearted, caring, and brave when it comes to dangerous situations involving a wolf who threatens to kidnap some of the animals (mainly the children) and tries to occasionally rescue some of her animals friends. Patty also has a peaceful life with her friends Bobby, Skippy, and eventually Fanny and her family (her older sister and her baby brother).
  • Minami-ke deserves mention, a funny and cute series involving the love of three sisters and their daily lives in their own schools and as a family. Full of funny moments and heartwarming moments as well.
  • Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid, despite its silly premise, is ultimately a story of family, and pretty much any scene where Kobayashi is acting motherly for Kanna is bound to bring smiles.
  • Mokke. The relationship between the sisters Shizuru and Mizuki is so heartwarming, and even their realistically portrayed occasional bickering can't put any dents in that. Sure, some of the ghosts are scary, but in the end their appearance only seems to enrich the two girls' lives.
  • Although Mushishi has its moments of Nightmare Fuel, its overall effect is incredibly relaxing, especially Travis Willingham's dub work as Ginko.
  • My Hero Academia: The story often goes to dark places, however, it still manages to be this due to having Midoriya as the main character. This is, after all, a story about a boy with a Dream-Crushing Handicap that decides to never give up and strive to fulfill his dreams despite everyone saying that he would never make it, inspiring everyone he meets to work even harder and try to be better, including his own childhood hero. To make it better, the Foregone Conclusion states that he succeeds in becoming the best hero.
    All Might: The time I fought All For One at the Kamino, that's when I thought "here is the goal". But there you were. You... a timid, quirkless boy who day after day rose to meet my expectations! And day after day, I whispered to myself to keep on living. And then, your mom even told me "live on and protect and nurture him!", and even now I am clawing on! You changed me!! I am alive! With this hand of mine, I'll twist fate into whatever shape I like!
  • My Love Story!! is about a high school Gentle Giant starting up a relationship with a girl who's only up to his chest. Warning: Stupidly cute.
  • Pretty much all of My Neighbor Seki. Watch and/or read it. And it will make you smile.
  • My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! is half a parody of the otome isekai genre, with the other half being an amazingly touching story about a young lady who single-handedly makes the lives of everyone around her better with her endless empathy and kindhearted nature.
  • Natsume's Book of Friends has a lot of this too, being basically Mushishi with even more heart-warming... And Tear Jerkers too, but that just makes the fuzzy all the fuzzier.
  • Negima! Magister Negi Magi. Any moment that shows Evangeline isn't really as evil as she wants people to think, and any of the goofing-off arcs (especially the Summer arc right after Mahorafest).
    • Chachamaru's pactio. The way Negi tells her to believe (in him who believes in her) and then practically shouts at whoever oversees the pactios "Who the hell do you think I am?!", followed by Chachamaru looking at the card like her newborn daughter.
  • Nichijou is a light hearted comedy about how awesome everyday life is. With beautiful classical music and an eight-year-old Mad Scientist who built a Moe robot. That alone should tell you how ridiculously happy the anime is, and then you get to the last few episodes showing you just how great having friends really is.
  • Nyanpire: The Animation has to be one of the cutest things that involves a vampire. The anime is about a vampire cat who befriends a samurai cat, a harmless vampire cat, and a male kitten with a huge pink bow. The anime has 12 episodes, each are silly and very cute to watch. It's also a perfect anime to watch around the Fall and Halloween season.
  • One Piece: Despite the characters living in something of a nasty, dangerous world, what makes the series good is that it's still full of Sweet Dreams Fuel of all kinds. It's loaded with hilarious and positively warm and fuzzy scenes. And you always come out of reading it feeling NO ONE is alone, and that your true friends will care about, protect, and stay by your side no matter what, and that miracles happen and nothing is really impossible.
    • You will have trouble finding something more awesome and uplifting than Luffy beating the ever-loving snot out of Arlong and ending the battle by breaking his base in half with one kick. * sniff* So awesome...
    • The Water 7/ Enie's Lobby arc. Even though it has a lot of depressing parts, it also has the appearance of Sogeking, Luffy going 'LEEE-ROOOOOOOOOOOOOY JENKINS!' on Enies Lobby and declaring war on the World Government to prove he won't abandon one of his crew. One Piece is very good at taking all the depressing moments and turning them into Moments of Awesome.
    • At one point in the story the straw hats travel to a world in the sky where nearly everything is made of clouds. Those cloud beds are probably literal sweet dream fuel.
    • Chopper is so adorable that he could be an embodiment of this trope outside of battle.
  • One Stormy Night. A film about the beautiful friendship between a goat and wolf and their journey to Earn Their Happy Ending. Moreover, the scenery is absolutely mind-blowing!
  • Osomatsu-san. It's hard to believe a series about sextuplet NEETs would be this, but it is. It's a comedy series, the art style and colors are really pretty, and the Matsuno brothers are super cute! No joke, these sextuplets will ruin your life, but in a good way.
  • When Ouran High School Host Club isn't making you laugh from the sheer ridiculousness of its melodramatic comedy, it's warming your icy heart by devoting episodes to reuniting couples torn apart by circumstance or showing just how much the other hosts actually care about Haruhi at the end of the day.
  • PandoraHearts may be a dark and violent manga, but Lacie, the nostalgic melody from the pocketwatch, is definitely Sweet Dreams Fuel. And this series is heavily based on Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, after all, so the whole thing gives me a happy, nostalgic feeling.
  • Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt. With its' impressive 90's cartoon-esque art style and Badass Adorable protagonists, you'd be hard-pressed to not enjoy this show in spite of its utter raunchiness.
  • Place to Place. Tsumiki Miniwa...the girl has to be the most adorable anime character I've ever seen. What with the Cat Ears that constantly pop up and whatnot.
  • PokĆ©mon: The Series: A heart so true...our courage will pull us through! You'll teach me and I'll teach you...
  • The ending of Prétear. Everyone lives happily ever after. The villain is not defeated, but redeemed, and even she gets to live happily ever after with the man who loved her enough to die for her.
  • Pretty Cure has lots of heartwarming friendship moments throughout each of itā€™s many series, and even when the Cures lose, you know theyā€™ll triumph over the villains in the end.
  • While never getting an English translation, "Pukupuku Natural Circular Notice" (Another animal themed manga by Sayuri Tatsuyama) appears to have a peaceful atmosphere that stars a dog and hangs out with other pets around the neighborhood.
  • Ranma Ā½: Any of the Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other moments between Ranma and Akane.
  • The Read or Dream manga is very much a Lighter and Softer version of Read or Die focusing on the everyday life of the Paper Sisters, three characters who interact excellently and very obviously care a lot about eachother. As a result the series consists entirely of this. The same goes for large parts of R.O.D the TV.
  • Red Line manages to be both a visual masterpiece along with perfect distillation of a number of racer underdog tropes and that's before you add in the exhilarating music and the rich far-future outer-space setting - all in 102 minutes.
  • Ristorante Paradiso. Yes, it's a show about a damn near perfect restaurant. Yes, said restaurant is called "Cottage of the Bear." But it's so sweet and nice that eventually you give in and get your sugar addiction on. My particular favorite episodes are the birthday parties of one of the chefs' son and the owner's wife.
  • Sailor Moon: The Power of Love and The Power of Friendship are central themes; when they're not fighting monsters, they're just teen girls hanging out, and some funny moments and sweet scenes of conversations between the girls are Sweet Dreams Fuel. Its humor is a good thing for it, and then sometimes Off-Model-wacky art style adds to its charm to some.
  • While Sanrio is no stranger to making works that are extremely optimistic and cute as seen in numerous shows based on Sanrio characters, Sanrio Animation (the company's short-lived animation department) was notable for making animated content and material that contained darker and depressing subject matter. However, the animation studio made a very sweet animated short in 1977 called "The Rose Flower and Joe" (Bara no Hana to Joe), which focuses on a homeless brown dog named "Joe" who is very optimistic and kindhearted. He falls in love with a pink rose and has to protect it from a meanspirited crow. Throughout the short, we see short imagination sequences (drawn by Takashi Yanase) such as Joe dancing with the pink rose while a relaxing song is played. The same goes for Little Jumbo, which is another animated short based on Yanase's works that came out the same year as "The Rose and Flower Joe".
  • Shirokuma Cafe. It's a relaxing Slice of Life manga about a polar bear, the cafe he runs, and the quirky patrons to come to his cafe.
  • Sketchbook: Every episode is heartwarming and relaxing. And then the hilarity goes up to eleven once Kate shows up.
  • Sket Dance. The friendships. The endless and unique humor. The adorable characters. The endlessly cute and heartwarming relationship between Bossun and Himeko. This manga WILL make your day better.
  • Slayers. Despite having darker moments at times, it's funny, heartwarming, and still manages to be engaging. After the first story arc.
  • Squid Girl has the titular Ika Musume (squid-girl) planing to invade the world, because humans pollute the ocean. Though she might not have been successful with that, the show has invaded your heart. And also causes Awesomeness Withdrawal because it's that awesome.
  • Stellvia of the Universe. It's basically Azumanga Daioh in space, with awesome spaceship scenes and not one, but TWO instances of all humanity uniting to save the solar system.
  • Strawberry Marshmallow. The two sisters, the weird neighbor, the innocent girl and the British girl who can't speak English. There's a laugh in almost every scene with this group.
  • EVERYTHING by Studio Ghibli - hell, any of the Studio Ghibli films aimed at children are this! (disclaimer)  Just make sure you stay away from NightmareFuel.Hayao Miyazaki unless you want them potentially Ruined FOREVER.
    • The Castle of Cagliostro. A fun, exciting, feel-good adventure film that is often a gateway movie for the Lupin III franchise as a whole.
    • NausicaƤ of the Valley of the Wind may take place After the End with Big Creepy-Crawlies around and a theme of War Is Hell, but the titular All-Loving Hero's compassion and kindness is just endlessly inspiring and sweet to watch, showing that kindness and sympathy still have a place even in a bleak post-apocalyptic world.
    • While Grave of the Fireflies is still one of Ghibli's most depressing films and one that may be hard to watch, the entire film becomes Heartwarming in Hindsight once it is seen as a Double Feature with My Neighbor Totoro as originally intended. In fact, watching Totoro directly after Fireflies can make it much easier to watch and handle the latter without losing its meaning and impact. The beautiful sibling dynamic between Seita and Setsuko, while obviously doomed from the start, is just too sweet to resist.
    • My Neighbor Totoro, a Slice of Life movie about a loving family consisting of two young sisters, an attentive father, and a mother who is sick in the hospital (but getting better). And the furry, friendly supernatural critters the girls befriend. In fact, as mentioned above, putting on the film directly after going through Grave of the Fireflies strengthens both films. Not only does it make watching Grave of the Fireflies much easier and more heartwarming, but Totoro's cuteness and wholesomeness grows more after watching Fireflies.
    • Kiki's Delivery Service. An adorable young witch in a wonderful coming-of-age story, three loving mother characters, a surprising and beautiful change of pace when Kiki spends the night with Ursula, Scenery Porn worthy of the Louvre, and a heroic rescue at the end. And a cat romance. The whole movie is like the cup of hot coffee/chocolate Osono gives Kiki when they meet.
    • For a truly underrated one, Only Yesterday is a beautiful Dramedy about a young and confused woman looking into and reflecting on her childhood to truly know what she wants in life. While the film has plenty of Tear Jerker moments, most of said moments invoke Tears of Joy instead, and the ending is one of cinema's most beautiful endings. The film's Central Theme of healing one's inner child is something that many people would deeply resonate with.
    • Whisper of the Heart. A sweet slice-of-life romance between two young people. The "Country Roads" scene in the violin shop is enough to make even a hardened macho dude sniffle.
    • Ditto its quasi-sequel The Cat Returns - yes, there are some tense moments, but all in all the fantastical nature of the story, the beautiful visuals, and the wonderful catchy ending song combine to make you just feel *happy* after watching it.
    • It's nearly impossible to watch Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea without saying the word "cute" to whomever you are watching it with at least once.
    • Spirited Away has a rather dark set-up of a young girl being forced into indentured servitude by The Fair Folk in order to save her parents, and is notorious for scaring children everywhere. And yet... The music, the beautiful animation, and the glorious cast of characters have made it hold up as a childhood classic for almost twenty years. The scene that best showcases this is when Chihiro and No-Face have just gotten off the Afterlife Express. All is quiet, they have no clue where they can go... and then a lantern appears, the movie's main theme begins to play, and a friendly spirit guides our heroes home.
    • Howl's Moving Castle is hilarious, and has a wonderfully sweet Love Redeems story between Sophie, who learns to love herself, and Howl, who learns to love another. Just try to watch the scene where we're introduced to the titular castle without cracking a grin. Or, for that matter, the scene where Howl rescues Sophie and takes her on a Flight of Romance above the city.
    • When Marnie Was There is a beautiful story about a young, self-loathing depressed girl rediscovering that she is capable of loving herself and she is worthy of being loved. The film offers many sweet wholesome moments and is overall very heartwarming even with some emotionally intense scenes and a somewhat sad premise.
    • Porco Rosso is one of Studio Ghibli's more underrated films. And while it does have a mostly sombre tone around Survivor's Guilt and the rise of fascism in Italy, the film is still packed with loads of humorous moments, high-flying action, and heartfelt moments. The film is ultimately about a jaded, guilty, bitter man learning to process his guilt and begin loving life again.
  • Super Milk Chan, as unrelentingly bizarre as it is, is nonetheless chock-full of hilarious moments and tons of pop-culture references that will leave you laughing uncontrollably. Oh, and Milk-Chan herself is beyond adorable!
  • The Sylvanian Families OVA has a very adorable setting which focuses on a few animal families such as bunnies and cats.
  • Spy X Family. It's amazing how a fake family made up of a spy, an assassin, and a telepathic little girl can eventually grow to genuinely love each other and have heartwarming bonding moments. Anytime Anya is on-screen WILL provoke Cuteness Proximity.
  • The Tamagotchi anime has a number of heartwarming and adorable moments, heightened by the cutesy art style and the fact that The Power of Friendship is a prominent theme throughout the series.
  • Tamayura. Four girls on their quest toward adulthood, following their dreams, all while enjoying springtime in their beautiful seaside town. It makes one want to move to Takehara just to enjoy the view every day.
  • Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. Between Kamina's Rousing Speeches, his and Simon's Undying Loyalty to one another, Simon's Character Development from a small, scared little boy to a man who never gives up hope in even the darkest of times, the True Companions of the show and the sheer amount of love and joy that radiates from the animation, you will feel glad that you're alive.
    • Nia. She's one of the only Moe characters who doesn't invoke revulsion from hardcore Mecha fanboys, partly because she's in one of the greatest recent mecha series, and partly because she's just too cute and sympathetic to hate. She gets even cuter in the dub, where Starfire voices her.
      • Most of the protagonists are like this. Even Leeron. Especially Leeron.
  • Time of Eve: It's damn near impossible to not feel some sort of Hope for humanity/non-humanity after seeing this.
  • Today's Menu for the Emiya Family: A spin-off of the fairly dark visual novel Fate/stay night, the goal of this charming little exercise is to give kind but tragic characters who have known nothing but pain and sadness, and let you spend a warm and fuzzy evening with them sharing the long overdue happiness that they deserve. In this case, the focus is on the delicious food the characters cook and enjoy together.
  • Together With Master, a one-shot shoujo-ai Manga that has a lot of sweetness to it without being Diabetic. The twist in the ending helps take the edge off some of that sweetness.
  • Touken Ranbu - Hanamaru for being a rare male Moe show. Heartwarming Moments and ridiculous Funny Moments abound. It's impossible not to smile at the opening.
  • Tsuritama. Haru is a Manic Pixie Dream Keet BFF from space who gets three lonely boys to come out of their shell and save the world by fishing together. An unashamedly happy-go-lucky fairytale on drugs. Enjoy!
  • Umi Monogatari. Similarly to Prétear, it starts out adorable and gets rather dark near the end. But it's okay, because Everyone lives. Even the Bittersweet Ending is just so sweet.
    • The opening theme can cause sweet dreams.
    • Don't forget the shrine maiden's song. While the lyrics are somewhat dark, the singing itself is beautiful. It's an in-universe example, too, calming troubled souls.
  • Wandering Son. Behind the constant Tear Jerker moments is a cute, inspiring manga about two kids who just want to be themselves while being adorable.
  • The Way of the Househusband. You'd think that a story about a former invincible gang member turned househusband wouldn't fall under this category, but you'd be wrong. Between Tatsu's housekeeping and cooking skills, his interactions with his wife, and his overall attitude and willingness to help out the other characters in day-to-day stuff, this show has such a chill mood to it, that one can't help but settle down and unwind watching it.
  • Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf! has one of the most WAFF-y couples in the whole of media.
  • Whispered Words, when not bogging itself down with angst, is fun and cute and it stars two adorable girls who will make an adorable couple when they finally get together.
  • Windy Tales. A few kids learn how to control the wind, and have fun playing with it together. Cats can fly. Girls can float. The bond between friends is nigh-unbreakable. Soft, relaxing music. A gorgeous, highly experimental art style. All wrapped up in one Thirteen Episode Anime that shows both the bitter and sweet sides of growing up—but likes to lean toward the sweet.
  • Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, a slice-of-life series composed of lovely and heartwarming moments, set After the End. Not even kidding.
  • Yotsuba&!.
    • A single chapter, any chapter, in the evening is enough to make the day better. The publication of a new chapter will make your week.
    • The recent chapters involving Yotsuba and her first teddy-bear, Duralumin, have caused particularly soppy grins at times.
  • You Are Umasou, a very cute and heartwarming movie about a Tyrannosaurus rex who was raised by kind Maiasaura and then in turn raises a baby Ankylosaurus as his own son.
  • Your Name. Unlike previous works of Makoto Shinkai, which always end with a Bittersweet Ending and slightly leaning to the 'bitter' part, Your Name is a Lighter and Softer work with numerous humorous moments and heartwarming moments, and has a straight up happy ending for our hero and heroine as they happily reunited after years of not remembering each other. Even their best friends got happy endings of their own as well!
  • Yuri!!! on Ice is about a Japanese and Russian figure skater with the same name both striving for the attention of their world championship winning coach. It's really a big game changer in sports anime as we see Figure Skating, a traditionally feminine sport being presented as something incredibly beautiful to watch and have the 3 male protagonists not be derailed and poked fun of for pursuing it as a professional career.
    • It also portrays a healthy same-sex relationship which is a heavy focus of the show, and the show doesn't use it for fanservice either, but instead to develop and give depth to the main characters.
    • Yuri Katsuki, the main character, suffers from a crippling form of anxiety which drains him from his passion for figure skating. With Viktor's help, he ends up becoming far more confident, strong and passionate than he ever was, which is a heartwarming development in itself, specially to viewers who have experienced anxiety.

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