Hanako is said to be a ghost that occupies the third stall of the third floor girls’ bathroom in the old building. When summoned, she is said to grant any wish. Nene, an occult lover with dreams of romance, summons Hanako, only to find out that this traditionally girl ghost is a boy!
In proof you can make an anime series out of anything, we finally got a series about Japan’s toilet ghost urban legend and its…a slice of life comedy? Okay then. If you want more anime recommendations like Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun, we’ll…try our best to help?
Anime Like Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun
For Fans of Mischievous Spirits
Noragami
There will be times where you may happen across an odd phone number written in red. If you call it, you will get in touch with a young man who introduces himself as the Yato God. This Yato God is a minor deity and the self-proclaimed God of Delivery. He dreams of having millions of worshipers, but there isn’t a single shrine dedicated to his name. He spends his time doing odd jobs for spare yen until the day his weapons partner deserts him. Just as things are looking down, he happens across a young school girl that saves him from a car accident by taking the hit for him. She survives, but her soul becomes loose. Together they set out to find a way to tighten her soul back up.
Both series are shows about people who end up being pulled into the shenanigans of local spirits through circumstance. However, Noragami has a bit more of complex plot compared to Hanako and it abandons comedy for some serious moments.
Gegege no Kintaro
In the 21st century, people no longer believe in yokai. However, unexplained issues plague people still. To get answers, Mana writes the Yokai Post when a boy named Kintaro appears before her.
In the 2018 version of Gegege at least, you have a human and a spirit being brought together through their initial contact. Once they are together, they get into all sorts of situations together sorting out supernatural matters.
Yokai Watch
After freeing a mysterious creature named Whisper from its prison, the thankful Yokai decides to become young Keita Amano’s guardian against supernatural forces. However, Whisper is not the only Yokai in the world. Yokai Watch follows Keita and Whisper as the encounter different Youkai and try to fix all the problems they cause.
While Yokai Watch is essentially Pokemon with spirits, it is a similarly lighthearted spirit show that blends comedy with the occult. You also see a lot of influence from various urban legends within.
For Fans of School Spirits
Dusk Maiden of Amnesia
For 60 years, the Seikyou Private Academy has been haunted by a ghost known as Yuuko, a young woman that died in the basement. With no memory of her life, the ghost founds the Paranormal Investigation Club to find answers.
Both series follow the silly adventures of people that interact with a ghost in their school. However, you will also note that despite the lightheartedness of it all, there is also a creepy dark tone to both series.
Ghost Stories
Satsuki and Keiichirou Miyanoshita move back to their mother’s hometown after her tragic death, it is there that the siblings find out that their mother banished a number of ghosts from the old school building, but suddenly they are all starting to reappear again. It is up to Satsuki and her new friends along with the help of her mother’s journal to seal them away again.
Ghost Stories, like Hanako, is a show about interaction with spirits and urban legends, It even has Hanako in it, though she is a girl as is traditional. Of course, it is more of a comedy show if you watch the dubbed version, as that is vastly different from the subbed original.
Soul Eater
Death City is home to a famous technical academy and ran by Lord Death himself. At this academy, meisters train with their human weapons in order to evolve them into Death Scythes to be wielded by the Grim Reaper, Lord Death. Only by consuming 99 evils souls and the soul of one witch will a weapon be able to evolve. This is the story of several students of the academy as they try to grow stronger and protect Death City in the process.
Part of the comedy in Hanako is about a spirit meddling in the real world. However, in Soul Eater, they are all spirits. However, the big difference is that Soul Eater is not a slice of life sort of show, instead it is more shounen action.
For Fans of Urban Legend Inspired
Natsume’s Book of Friends
For as long as he can remember, Takashi Natsume has been chased by spirits, but recently he discovered that the reason was because his deceased grandmother had passed on to him her “Book of Friends,” a book containing all the spirits she had brought under her control. Now Natsume realizes that these spirits haunt him in hopes of gaining freedom. With few friends, no loving home, and constantly hunted by malicious spirits, Natsume looks for a place where he belongs.
Both series are about a person who is hanging around with various spirits. Hanako focuses more on one spirit while Natsume shows off a variety of spirits, many of which based off actual spiritual legends as well.
Muhyo & Roji’s Bureau of Supernatural Investigation
Are you the victim of spiritual possession? Have you been wronged by a spirit? You need Muhyo and Roji, experts at spiritual law to help get you justice.
Both series have innately silly spiritual plots where you see a lot of Japanese urban legends on display and treated in a comical way.
Do you have more anime series similar to Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun? Let fans know in the comments section below.
