10 best anime to watch if you like Lost in Starlight

Lost in Starlight, the 2025 Korean animated film directed by Han Ji-won, captivated global audiences with its bittersweet tale of love tested across interstellar gulfs. It follows Nan-young, an astro-botanist determined to cultivate flowers on Mars to honor her mother, who disappeared on a Mars expedition.

She aspires to join the next Mars mission but struggles passing evaluations. Nan-young connects with Jay, a former musician turned technician, bonding over a shared love of analog media. But as their romance blossoms, Nan-young gets a chance to realize her spacefaring dreams—even if it means leaving Jay behind.

Fans moved by the film's poetic cosmic love story and sci-fi themes can explore similar emotional and imaginative territory with exceptional anime films and series. From Makoto Shinkai's legendary romantic fantasies to coming-of-age space sagas, here are 10 anime perfect for fans of Lost in Starlight.

10 must-watch anime for fans of Lost in Starlight

1) Your Name

This 2016 blockbuster anime film from acclaimed director Makoto Shinkai follows high school students Mitsuha and Taki, who mysteriously begin swapping bodies on random days. As an inexplicable bond forms across space and time, their attempts to meet face adversities that transcend life and death.

Shinkai's trademark hyper-realistic, gorgeously detailed environments create an immersive atmosphere, while the body-swap premise lends inventive humor. Ultimately, Your Name unfolds into a fantasy-tinged meditation on the connections that defy time and place.

Fans of Lost in Starlight's central relationship will find its bittersweet, metaphysical spin on love irresistible.

2) 5 Centimeters Per Second

5 Centimeters Per Second (Image via CoMix Wave Films)

Another directorial triumph by acclaimed anime filmmaker Makoto Shinkai, this 2007 anime film intimately examines young love through three interconnected stories. It chronicles the relationship of Takaki and Akari, two classmates bonded by their shared love for literature and quiet moments under the stars.

When Akari's family moves away, they determine to stay connected even as distance and time reshape their lives and aspirations. Spanning years, the three acts capture the euphoria of love awakening, the drift subtly but inexorably parting lovers, and finally, acceptance of paths diverged.

Shinkai employs his trademark hyper-realistic environments shimmering with light and detail to create atmospheric emotional immersion. 5 Centimeters Per Second contemplates ambition and life's tensions between moving forward and looking back with exquisite animation and mature, compassionate writing.

3) The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (Image via Madhouse)

This 2006 anime film directed by Mamoru Hosoda puts an imaginative sci-fi spin on adolescent romance and drama.

When high schooler Makoto Konno discovers she can literally "leap" through time and rewrite recent events, she uses the ability for mundane motives like reliving karaoke songs and fixing bad haircuts. But she soon learns even minor changes can have unintended consequences.

Like Lost in Starlight, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time infuses its time travel premise with atmospheric slice-of-life drama and a relatable heroine realizing her actions impact others. Its conclusive message affirming people's ability to change resonates.

4) Voices of a Distant Star

Voices of a Distant Star (Image via CoMix Wave Films)

At just 25 minutes, this 2002 anime short film packs an emotional punch. Directed by Makoto Shinkai, it follows middle school students Mikako and Noboru as Mikako is recruited for an interstellar mecha squad fighting aliens light years away.

As the distance literally grows between them, the two continue corresponding, clinging to their relationship across the vastness of space. Voices of a Distant Star shares Lost in Starlight's sci-fi backdrop of ambitious space travel missions that test human connections.

Despite its brevity, Shinkai's debut captures the essence of longing through tender details and moments of cosmic awe that speak volumes, creating an intimate sci-fi romance.

5) Plastic Memories

This 2015 anime series, directed by Yoshiyuki Fujiwara, tugs at heartstrings with its sci-fi premise. In a future where lifelike androids called Giftias serve humans, even they have limited lifespans.

It's the job of SAI Corp retrieval agents like Tsukasa Mizugaki to track down Giftias nearing their expiration dates and retrieve them before they lose their memories. Tsukasa is partnered with an advanced but spirited Giftia named Isla.

Plastic Memories uses its original sci-fi concept to craft a bittersweet workplace romantic drama. Like Lost in Starlight, its futuristic backdrop doesn't detract from earnest characterization and emotional authenticity. Prepare to cry watching Tsukasa and Isla's relationship play out to its inevitable conclusion.

6) Carole & Tuesday

Set on near-future Mars, where most music is AI-generated, this 2019 anime series from legendary director Shinichirō Watanabe follows the whirlwind friendship of aspiring musicians Carole and Tuesday.

Though from vastly different backgrounds, the two discover a shared love for the piano and songwriting that leads them on a quest for stardom together. Carole & Tuesday's infectious optimism and daring to dream big despite obstacles mirrors Lost in Starlight's themes.

The series also features gorgeous sci-fi/retro-style animation with lush musical numbers covering genres like jazz, folk, and synth-pop. Like the film, Carole & Tuesday finds resonance and meaning in the inspired creations humans share.

7) Kids on the Slope

Kids on the Slope (Image via MAPPA/Tezuka Productions)

Jazz provides the backdrop of this 2012 series directed by Shinichirō Watanabe about teens finding friendship—and more—in 1960s Japan.

When the classical piano-playing Kaoru transfers schools, he meets Sentaro, a troubled drummer who introduces him to jazz. What begins as a tense rivalry between two very different people soon gives way to a close bond fueled by their shared love for music.

Like the vinyl-loving leads of Lost in Starlight, Kids on the Slope's characters communicate through melodies, forging a profound connection. Its sensitively portrayed coming-of-age story and stellar jazz soundtrack make for an aesthetically riveting anime that hits all the right emotional notes.

8) Tsuki ga Kirei

This 2017 anime series chronicles budding romance against the anxieties of adolescence.

Aspiring writer Kotaro and track star Akane begin texting each other, forging an intimate bond through exchanged messages even as they're too nervous to speak face-to-face. While more down-to-earth than Lost in Starlight, Tsuki ga Kirei shares sincere leads trying to understand love while pursuing their separate passions.

From text messages to Akane's constant headphones, various "signals" underscore their growing connection through patient pacing, everyday realism, and warm acoustic guitar melodies.

9) A Place Further Than the Universe

A Place Further Than the Universe (Image via Madhouse)

This acclaimed 2018 coming-of-age anime helmed by director Atsuko Ishizuka follows high schooler Mari Tamaki, who longs to break free of mundanity, and impulsively joins fellow students on an expedition to Antarctica.

What begins as Mari finding her passion blooms into a profound bond between four very different girls united by this journey of a lifetime into the planet's farthest frontier. Like Lost in Starlight, A Place Further Than the Universe highlights human resilience in harsh environments, using Antarctica for striking visuals and emotion.

Through adversity, these girls forge life-changing connections with strangers, turned friends, turned family. Like Lost in Starlight, this anime film reminds viewers of enduring human ties and the hope found in the beyond, whether the darkness of space or of frigid polar nights.

10) Eve no Jikan

This 2008 sci-fi anime web series, written by Yasuhiro Yoshiura, explores human-android relations in a future where androids must follow strict behavioral codes.

However, some find freedom in secret spaces called Time Schedules, where humans and androids interact as equals. Eve no Jikan thematically echoes Lost in Starlight's empathetic exploration of identity, with androids fascinated by human emotion frequenting a café run by a mysterious barista.

The series thoughtfully ponders consciousness and connection through understated dialogue and atmospheric direction, packing potent themes into brisk yet engaging pacing.

Conclusion

Lost in Starlight's emotionally resonant storytelling and lush animation create a transportive viewing experience that lingers long after the credits roll.

For anime fans longing to recapture that magic, the works above provide complementary cosmic love stories, nostalgic sci-fi settings and atmospheres, music-infused connections, and tender reflections on identity sure to spark the heart.

Though diverse in premise and genre, each resonates through authentic characters and relationships, conveying universal truths. These anime explore the bounds of love, friendship, and courage amidst the unknown, whether the distance between souls or the darkness of space.