After the Rain
Anime Like Golden Time if You’re Looking for Something Similar
Following an accident that brings her aspirations of sports stardom to a screeching halt, Akira Tachibana finds herself searching for a new sense of purpose and direction in life. As a result, she begins working at a restaurant where she meets Masami Kondo, the manager and a man twice her age. Though she develops a crush on him, Kondo instead opts to help her understand why she is so desperate to be with someone and push her along on the way to understanding how she can truly feel happy again.
Though not a typical romance anime where the two main protagonists end up together –and honestly, all the better for it– After the Rain matches the reflective growth that the characters in Golden Time find with its own share of hijinks, character interactions and grounded realizations. Not every problem is solved with a eureka moment, and both Akira and Kondo have issues they must work through to become better, more stable individuals by the end. It’s not always the easiest series to watch if you can relate, but the hopeful message it delivers by the end of its 12-episode run should be more than satisfactory for anyone.
