The 15+ Best Anime Set in Kanagawa

Kanagawa is a Prefecture south of Tokyo and its most famous cities are Kawasaki and Yokohama. It’s located in the Kantō region of Honshu, which also includes Tokyo, the most important.

Kanagawa is the second Prefecture by population with a grand total of more than 9 million people in 2022 and its capital is Yokohama. Anime often mention Kanagawa and a lot of them are actually set there, even though most fans will think this prefecture is part of Tokyo.

That’s quite normal as they are pretty close and it can be hard for an American to exactly understand how Japanese territory is split.

Yokohama and Kawasaki are the most common settings for the anime set in Kanagawa, even though Hakone and Kamakura also get their fair share of attention. The first city we mentioned is the second largest in the country so it’s not so strange that Japanese animation features it in some shows.

This listicle is based on our experience and we will update it as soon as we get new information.

16. All Out!!

A rugby anime by Madhouse and TMS Entertainment that finished airing in 2017. The protagonist Kenji Gion is a freshman at Kanagawa High School and at the opening ceremony meets Sumiaki Iwashimizu, a tall and muscular but shy student.

Kenji will be fascinated by the sport and will join the rugby club, convincing a reluctant Sumiaki in the process. Their goal will be to win the Hanazono, the national high school rugby championship.

This anime shows some of Kanagawa but not that much. For this reason, we are placing it lower in this listicle. We still recommend it as it’s quite good, especially if you love rugby.

15. Hamatora The Animation

A 2014 anime featuring superpowers and drama elements with a touch of comedy.

Some human beings have the power to perform small miracles, named Minimum, and they are called Minimum Holders. The detective agency Yokohama Troubleshooting, also referred to as Hamatora, will have to deal with a mysterious case shrouding the city.

A serial killer is seminating terror by killing Minimum Holders and will be up to Nice and Murasaki, the two members of Hamatora, to investigate on the case. If that weren’t enough, they are holders too and they can be possible targets of the murderer.

As implied by the name of the agency, the city of Yokohama plays a special role in the anime, as it’s tied to the anime.

14. The Knight In The Area

A sports anime about two brothers, Saguru and Kakeru, with a burning passion for soccer. The latter will prefer to be a manager, while his brother Saguru will be a player.

Kakeru will regret this decision and with the help of a rising star of women’s soccer, Nana, he will be able to find the motivation to be a good soccer player.

The Knight In The Area takes place in Kamakura, which we mentioned before. The Kamakura Gakuen is the institute where the story takes place before Kakeru and Suguru graduate and move to Enoshima High School.

Some real-world places that are featured in the series include Higashigama Beach and Kamakura Hospital.

13. Wangan Midnight

A racing anime set in Kanagawa Prefecture that will feel similar to Initial D at first.

It’s actually different even though the comparison is kind of mandatory as it’s the first anime you will think about when mentioning racing.

The plot follows Akio Asakura, a high school student, who is part of street racing and gets challenged by Tatsuya Shima, a doctor, with his BlackBird (Porsche 964 Turbo).

After a burning loss, Akio decides to buy new parts at the junkyard and takes an entirely new car instead. The car’s model is Fairlady Z (S30) and is extremely powerful since it has been modded.

Much to his surprise, all the previous car owners have died in accidents, not the best start for Akio.

The protagonist will try to get his revenge on Tatsuya piloting his BlackBird.

The story takes place across Tokyo’s Shuto Expressway, the longest road in entire Japan, also nicknamed Wangan. One part of it extends to Kanagawa as well.

12. Sweet Blue Flowers

A Yuri anime with a school setting and slice-of-life elements. The story follows the reunion of two childhood friends after years.

Fumi Manjuome moves away from her hometown when she was attending elementary school, to come back later on and attend Matsuoka Girls’ High School.

She will meet her friend Akira Okudaira once again but things won’t be so easy, also due to the presence of Yasuko Sugimoto, another girl that will compliment and flatter Fumi.

On top of that, Akira attends a different institute, as she goes to Fujigatani Girls’ Academy.

It’s a good Yuri anime that doesn’t do anything special because it’s based on simplicity and realism. Losing a friend and finding them again is quite hard, as it’s like starting from scratch.

The story is set in Kanagawa and Takako Shimura, the manga writer, went with her editor to visit Kamakura and its Museum of Literature. You can clearly see this by taking a look at the café where the cast usually goes to.

The Enoshima Electric Railway is another place that exists and is featured in Sweet Blue Flowers.

11. Love Hina

The usual comedy romance with ecchi and plenty of funny moments. Love Hina is a nice harem anime by Xebec that is set in Kanagawa as well.

The main character Keitaro Urashima finds himself as the manager of Hinata Inn, the all-girls dormitory of his grandmother.

He will live with 5 girls which will make it hard to reach his goal: studying at Tokyo university to meet a girl who he made a promise to.

In fact, Keitaro failed the tests and used the inn as a backup plan.

The story is set in Hinata and many places are references to real locations.

10. Elfen Lied

Elfen Lied is a very popular anime from the early 2000s.

The story begins in a base where experiments are conducted on beings called Diclonius. They are capable of creating weapons that resemble arms capable of destroying a human being’s body from the inside.

The main character named Lucy is a Diclonius and she manages to escape from one of the labs by exploiting the incompetence of the guards. Just as she is about to leave the base for good, she receives a violent blow to the head, causing her to fall from a cliff into the sea.

The injury will cause her to develop a split personality which will be very important for the plot and for the way Lucy is perceived by the other characters of the show.

Elfen Lied takes place in Kamakura, a city in Kanagawa prefecture and in the Kanto region. Its history dates back to the Kamakura Shogunate (1185 to 1333), an often forgotten period of Japanese history.

More specifically, we will also see the typical beaches and Enoshima, a small offshore island connected with Kanagawa via Sagami Bay.

Kamakura is famous for the picturesque red maple trees that we often see portrayed in Japanese series.

9. Tentai Senshi Sunred

This anime is parodic and contains a lot of gags and funny moments while dealing with the theme of good versus evil.

The story follows Sunred, an ally of justice busy fighting the evil organization Florsheim, ruled by General Vamp, whose goal is to rule over the world.

The contrast here is that the main character is depicted as lazy and bad, while Vamp is polite, responsible, and should be the good guy.

This strong contradiction creates a lot of humorous scenarios by breaking common places. Every episode is 13-minute long for a total of 26, so it’s possible to watch it in one single night.

Tentai Senshi Sunred is set in Kawasaki and the J. League football team Kawasaki Frontale voiced some of the characters for some special episodes.

Kawasaki is still one of the most common places as it’s one of the most important cities in Kanagawa Prefecture.

8. From Up on Poppy Hill

A 2011 production, again from the home of Japanese masterpiece feature movies, Studio Ghibli.

From Up On Poppy Hill is set during Japan’s 1963 economic boom, so after WWII. The story stars Umi Komatsuzaki, a student residing in the port city of Yokohama, who ends up falling in love with a boy named Shun’ya Kazama.

The two will get to know each other more and more, but within a short period of time, they will also learn of a secret shared in their past, casting a dramatic veil over the story.

A complete story that is unlikely not to grab you by making you feel like a fellow adventurer of the two boys.

Among the real locations shown there are Sakuragicho Station and NYK Hikawamaru, which is a ship in Yamashita Park.

7. His and Her Circumstances

A famous romance anime that finished airing in 1999 and tells the story of Yukino Miyazawa and Souichirou Arima, two classmates.

Yukino is the stereotype of what it means to be the perfect girl and she can’t stand Souichirou, as he is better than her in everything.

Once she will surpass him in an exam, Yukino will start questioning her narcissistic lifestyle where she is the center of attention.

Souichirou congratulates her on the result and confesses his love, to be rejected by the girl. He will then blackmail her and force a bizarre collaboration between the two to complete the student council duties.

The story takes place in Kawasaki and Yokohama, two important cities close to Tokyo. These 3 cities create the Keihin Industrial Area, the dominant industrial area of the country, especially after World War II.

Kawasaki is famous for its technology and for its shrines and temples such as Keihin Fushimi Inari Shrine and Kawasaki Daishi Heikenji Temple.

Yokohama is quite distinctive for the abundance of malls, theaters, and entertainment in general.

6. Slam Dunk

Slam Dunk is focused on the small but competitive world of high school basketball.

The main character Hanamichi Sakuragi is a young brawler who enrolls in the first year of Shohoku High School in Kanagawa Prefecture. This school is based in Musashinokita High School, in Tokyo.

He is a walking cliché: every girl rejects him, his grades in school are not great, and for these reasons, his friends tease him.

However, things soon change for Hanamici when he meets Haruko Akagi, a high school girl who is passionate about basketball.

The girl convinces Hanamici to join the basketball team as she is impressed by his height and muscular physique. And Hanamichi, in love with Haruko, will agree to join the club just so he can impress and win her over.

Other places referenced in Slam Dunk other than the school include Kanagawa Prefectural Kamakura High School, the inspiration for Ryonan High School.

5. Welcome to the NHK

You have all probably heard of the Hikikomori at least once. They are young boys who self-isolate themselves from society by totally locking themselves up at home, out of fear of going out caused by social prejudice or anxiety.

The protagonist of the events is Tatsuhiro Sato and is one of them, who spends his days playing videogames and watching animes, feeling very depressed.

One day like any other, to his surprise and unbeknownst to him there will be a knock on his door from a religious old woman and a girl.

What Sato won’t know is that the same girl will later get in touch with him, claiming that she can and will help him out of his condition. As Sato comes out of his condition under his guidance, feelings will also arise.

The story is set in Ikuta, a neighborhood of Kawasaki city and many places featured in the anime exist. Misaki’s house is inspired by a real one on a hill looking at Mita Park #1.

4. Bungo Stray Dogs

Bungo Stray Dogs is an anime show that premiered in 2016.

The plot revolves around an orphan 18-year-old called Atsushi Nakajima, who gets kicked out of an orphanage because he is suspected to be behind the unusual tiger attacks that keep plaguing the place.

Once he is out he saves Osamu Dazai from suicide and finds out that he is gifted with supernatural powers that allow him to transform into a mystical tiger.

Dazai decides to recruit Atsushi into the Agency and in the meantime, the Port Mafia put a bounty on his head.

Bungo Stray Dogs is set in a fictional version of Yokohama, Japan’s most important port city. The sceneries are beautiful and this series makes justice to the real Yokohama.

3. Tsuritama

An anime with very interesting and memorable direction, character design, and animation style.

The story is set on Enoshima Island in the Shounan area, south of Tokyo, and follows the events of four young people in their daily lives. Can you imagine saving the world with fishing?

That’s what Tsuritama is all about! This underrated gem is just 13 episodes long and won’t disappoint you.

This slice-of-life anime combines sports and science fiction masterfully while using the friendship trope in a credible way.

Enoshima Island is a beautiful island and a prime fishing city, as you may have guessed from the description above. This anime is actually set in a fictional version of the same, but most of the places are inspired by the real location, such as the Enoshima Shrine and the Enoshima Station.

2. Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai

Based on Hajime Kamoshida’s light novel of the same name, Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai is a 2018 anime by CloverWorks.

The plot revolves around Sakuta Azusagawa, a high school boy who keeps to himself and has only two friends.

This is caused by the fact that rumors are circulating about him allegedly assaulting some boys. One day, while walking around the library, he runs into a girl dressed as a bunny.

The girl’s name is Mai Sakurajima, his senpai as well as a professional actress.

It will feature many romantic scenes but will also deal with important and serious themes of the human psyche.

The anime is set in Kanagawa and it’s based on Fujisawa, a notorious commuter suburb for Tokyo and Yokohama. Among the locations featured in the anime are Enoshima Shrine, Shichirigahama Beach, and Fujisawa Station.

1. Neon Genesis Evangelion

Neon Genesis Evangelion is an anime created by Hideaki Anno that depicts a world under attack by so-called Angels, mysterious entities that threaten the quiet of humanity.

A futuristic, disaster-rebounded world is the perfect setting to create the strong sense of suggestion and reflection that makes Evangelion so special.

Neo-Tokyo 3, the city where this anime takes place, is actually not the Tokyo we know. It’s based on the city of Hakone in the Kanagawa prefecture, famous for its hot springs and hiking spots since the area is surrounded by mountains.

Due to the historical importance of this anime and the beauty of the places represented, Neon Genesis Evangelion has to be our best recommendation.

Even though the setting is futuristic, you can easily see that it still manages to represent mountains and lakes perfectly.