The 6 Anime Set In The Philippines To Watch Now

The Philippines are a very fascinating country in South-East Asia but not many anime seem to use them as the main setting.

We think that it’s a pity and we propose a list of anime set in the Philippines to compensate for this general lack of interest.

We are going to include even individual episodes from some shows because it’s quite hard to find fully-dedicated productions, barring exceptions like Manila Memories and Trese.

This listicle is based on our opinions and personal knowledge.

6. Manila Memories

Manila Memories is a 5-episode YouTube series made by a student from Mapúa University for his thesis project as a fourth-year multimedia arts and sciences major.

This project involves two characters, Maya and Jana, visiting Manila’s iconic places in the hopes of bringing Maya’s memories back.

The loss of memories by one of the two friends serves as an excuse to explore the capital of the Philippines, Manila, and its landmarks.

Most of the backgrounds were pulled from Google Maps so it is as realistic as it can be. This is a heartwarming slice of life that shows how much love has been put into this project.

5. Charlotte episode 13

Charlotte is an anime for 2015 about Yuu Otosaka, a guy with the power of taking over people’s minds and bodies. This allows him to enter a prestigious high school where he eventually gets caught and convinced to transfer to Hoshinoumi and join the student council.

Hoshinoumi Academy turns out to be a secret institution for students who possess supernatural abilities.

The student council will set out to find and protect new ability users from harm. Their goals however will get them tangled with new and powerful menaces.

During the final episode of the show features a lot of locations around the world but it starts out in the Philippines.

It features the Red Light District on Fields Avenue. This is a real place in the city of Pampanga where there are many establishments from many countries in the world.

Here Yuu starts looting abilities from other users he meets, which earns him the name the One-Eyed Grim Reaper.

4. Fate/Zero episode 18

This anime from 2011 is based on the light novel written by Gen Urobuchi and narrates the events of the Fourth Holy Grail War, happening 10 years prior to Fate/stay night.

It’s not set in the Philippines but episodes 18 and 19 are focused on telling Kiritsugu’s backstory which is set on an island. This island is inspired by the actual Alimango Island in the Philippines.

Episode 18 is important to build the foundation for the character of Kiritsugu. His father is a Mage but when he applies his research on humans he ends up turning them into Dead Apostles.

This cause the island to descend into a zombie apocalypse and Kiritsugu is forced to kill his own father.

3. Blade episodes 4-5

Blade is an anime that premiered in the summer of 2011 produced by Marvel. It tells the story of Blade, a vampire-hunter whose mother was killed by Deacon Frost.

This is a story of revenge where the main character hunts down his nemesis to try and get closure for his troubled childhood.

Episodes 4 and 5 are set in the city of Manila, the capital of the Philippines.

Blade goes there to save an old friend and then he’s able to get a hint to where Frost is hiding. Turns out he’s hiding on the island of Siquijor, southeast of Manila.

There are many hints to the fact that the writer must really like the Philippines and be familiar with the country.

2. Barangay 143

Barangay 143 is one of the first anime set and produced in the Philippines. It’s the result of a joint effort of a Filipino-Singaporean-Japanese co-production that ended up releasing the first episode of the show in late 2018.

The anime is mostly about the underdog street basketball team named Puzakals which originated in the titular Barangay (District) 143.

At the beginning of the show, we learn that Baste, the team’s captain and the son of Coach B, was shot and killed by a group of gunmen on a motorbike.

Meanwhile in Korea, Bren T. Park, who is a former member of the Korea U-19 National Basketball Team, finds out that his real father is a Filipino man so he will seek out his origins.

This will put him on a path to encountering the Puzkals team that he will join.

This anime focuses on street basketball, which is a very popular activity in the Philippines.

1. Trese

Trese is an anime released by Netflix in 2021. It’s an adaptation of the 2005 Filipino graphic novel whose plot revolves around Alexandra Trese, a detective who specialized in supernatural crimes.

The show is heavily influenced by Filipino folklore and legends, which means it has a whole supernatural vibe and it features monsters, gods, and demons.

All the episodes can work as a standalone but flashback is often used to tie all the plot points together. It often focuses on issues that are plaguing the Philippines and the world right now, such as drug trafficking, government corruption, and crime.

It all takes place in Manila, the capital of the country, which is depicted in great detail. Many districts of the capital are shown, such as the centers of finance and culture of Ermita and Malate.