The Top 12 Anime Set In the Beautiful Osaka

Osaka is a major Japanese city and one of the main tourist hubs in the whole of Japan, reaching a population of over 2 million people.

It is best known for its distinctive architecture that is perfectly suited to the sea surrounding it, its lively nightlife, and the substantial presence of street food, mainly seafood given the location.

As for buildings impossible not to mention Osaka Castle, one of the icons of the city but also Japan as a whole without the slightest shadow of a doubt.

We want to show you our recommendations if you want to watch anime set in Osaka.

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

12. Hand Shakers

Osaka, year 20XX. Hand Shakers are people endowed with the ability to summon Nimrodes, powerful magical weapons. The weapons can only be summoned by two Hand Shakers joining hands, and for this reason, they work in pairs and fight against other duos.

The best pair, once they have defeated all others, can face God and have their wishes granted.

Being set in an undefined and distant future, Hand Shakers shows us a futuristic Osaka, full of color, technology, and incredibly energetic, but very recognizable.

Despite the futuristic key to the light and color schemes, we will see the same monuments and streets as we would see going to Osaka now, such as the ubiquitous iconic Osaka Castle.

11. Samurai Flamenco

Masayoshi Hazama is a 19-year-old model for famous fashion magazines. His grandfather has always had an inordinate passion for superheroes, which passed down to his grandson, who has always dreamed of being a hero.

After years of waiting, thanks to his grandfather’s inventions, Masayoshi debuts as the new hero Samurai Flamenco.

A blatant parody anime, openly dedicated to all adults who don’t want to accept that they are growing up.

It must be said that this anime is very divisive among fans. You only need to do a quick search to see that, no joke, some people consider it the worst anime they have ever seen and some the best. You be the judge of that.

In their superhero raids, the group will find themselves protecting Japan around the country, and in episode 12 they will find themselves in Osaka, where the crime of the day is taking place.

We can tell this from the countless actual places we will see, but confirmation that we are indeed in Osaka can only come from one thing: the sea of beautiful Dotonbori waterways.

10. Chie the Brat

Very old and vintage movie, released in 1981.

Chie Takemoto is a reliable girl who struggles to help her troubled father run a small tavern in Osaka. But from time to time she visits without her father’s knowledge her mother, from who she has recently divorced, intending to get them back together.

This movie is set precisely in Shinsekai, one of Osaka’s most famous districts, recognizable by the Tsutenkaku Tower.

Chie The Brat features a story with comic features but hides a message underneath: being a child in a difficult situation.

9. Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi

Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi shows us 13 episodes from an original story released in 2002 that are as fantasy-like as they are bizarre.

Arumi and Sasshi are two boys who live in the Abenobashi shopping district in Abeno-Ku, Osaka. The story centers on the time travel of two boys who must save their neighborhood from strange magical forces.

Although the story starts in Osaka, we will see many different settings, with each time a different district as a backdrop.

8. Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions! Heart Throb

One of the most popular light sentimental comedies in recent years, released in 2014.

The anime is inspired by a series of light novels and stars Yuuta and Rikka, who are forced to live together due to a series of events.

This cohabitation will contribute to the slow development of their relationship, or at least until the arrival of Satone, an old acquaintance of Yuuta’s who will interfere in the young couple’s relationship by initiating a love triangle.

And like any self-respecting romantic comedy, the swimsuit episode cannot be missed. And this time the same is set at Hirakata Park, a popular water park in Osaka.

7. Smile Pretty Cure!

A great classic of magical anime starring sorceresses produced in 2004 by Izumi Todo.

Pretty Cure fully takes the lessons of the great past classics of the Majokko genre and reworks them into a wide variety of series.

They are still in production today, with each narrative that involves different protagonists and settings.

Smile Pretty Cure! is the ninth series belonging to this narrative strand, and consists of 48 episodes released in 2012.

In between a monster to defeat to protect the good, there is also time for a break, which will take place at the beautiful Osaka.

And what tourist attraction can’t be missed in the prefecture when visited? Osaka Castle, which will be shown to us in its entirety and in a very realistic manner.

6. Free! Eternal Summer

The second season of Free!, the number one spokon anime regarding the world of swimming.

Of course, there is no point in us going into plots since it is necessary to have seen the first season and we would therefore risk spoilers for those who have yet to see it. Let us, therefore, go straight to the Osaka matter.

The swimming nationals on which this season is based are set in the anime at the Namihaya Dome, and a sports stadium actually exists in Osaka prefecture, reproduced very faithfully.

Small mention this time, the Kindai University from which many of the swimmers come, in the city of Higashiosaka, exists, and you can find its photos on the Internet.

5. Lovely Complex

A 24-episode anime based on the shojo manga of the same name by Aya Nakahara and animated by Toei Animation.

The main characters in the story are Risa Koizumi and Atsushi Otani, two students who live in Osaka and attend the same high school.

Risa has a problem; she is a good 170 centimeters tall, far above the Japanese average, which causes her many complexes.

On the other hand, Otani is a basketball player, but he also suffers from his height, as he is only 156 centimeters tall, below average for the sport he plays.

At school, the two are nicknamed All Hanshin Kyojin, after a popular Japanese comedy duo consisting of a short man and a tall man.

The real highlight of the Osaka setting of this anime isn’t the place itself, but the people who live there.

This anime perfectly embodies the stereotype of the people who live in Osaka, with their gambling mania and a more sedate way of life.

And it’s very true if compared to the typical man who lives in Tokyo, stooped and dutiful.

4. Kanon

In 2006 the 24-episode anime of Kanon, based on the visual novel of the same name, was adapted.

Yuuichi is a high school student who has to move to a town where, seven years earlier, he used to go to vacation. Much to his surprise, the boy seems to have no memory of the people he had known there.

But different encounters with girls who seem to belong to his past will bring back his memories.

Kanon’s settings vary widely, but they are all based in the Japanese prefecture of Osaka, more specifically in Moriguchi, one of its cities.

3. Detective Conan Magic File 4: Osaka Okonomiyaki Odyssey

One of the many OAVs of the enormous Detective Conan oeuvre, with over 1,000 chapters and episodes under its belt and counting.

The plot is set in Osaka, and we will see Heiji and Kazuha who before leaving town are persuaded that they must eat at all costs at the Okonomiyaki restaurant.

But they end up being swallowed up in the hustle and bustle of the city, among screaming children, annoying students, and mothers who ask to look after their children for a while.

A realistic touristic tour through Osaka is portrayed in an extremely realistic and believable way. We will see one of the main aspects of Osaka: the food and restaurants.

2. Clannad Series

Clannad follows the events of Tomoya Okazaki, a high school senior who is considered by many to be a bad element.

One day, on his way to school, he meets Nagisa Furukawa, a sweet girl who has difficulty relating to others a year older but is forced to repeat the year because of her health problems.

A deep relationship of friendship and more will soon develop between the two.

The first series of Clannad takes place almost entirely in the fictional town of Hikarizaka, which is based on the town of Mizuho in Gifu Province, not Osaka. Some fragments of the story, also move to Osaka, even though it’s not the main town.

But the real Osaka setting that makes this series worth the nomination on this list is seen in After Story, the sequel.

More specifically in Suita, a small town in the prefecture, recognizable by its vast presence of parks and nature.

1. Monogatari Series

Monogatari is a long and intricate series, consisting of several seasons, specials, movies, and more, which added together create an excellent viewing experience that we recommend you see if you haven’t yet.

There will be multiple settings scattered throughout Japan, and of course, Osaka cannot be outdone.

In Tsukimonogatari, one of the specials, we will see the Tenmashi Bridge, a bridge near the water that contours Osaka, in winter and snowy version.

In Monogatari Series: Second Season and Hanamonogatari, on the other hand, we will get a glimpse of Sugaharashirokita Bridge, in Higashiyodogawa, one of the most important bridges in the prefecture.