Life can be messy. Even though most of us don’t face world-ending disasters, demon attacks, wizards, or ninja wars, but for every one of us, our life can be a challenge and a tiring one, and often we find a need to relax and unwind.
Iyashikei (癒し系) is Japanese for “healing”, is a genre of anime created specifically for this purpose and covers calming, relaxing anime, and that often have lower stakes. Now coming back to the main point of this article, here’s the list of some relaxing anime shows that you can watch after a long day of work.
#1 Mushi-Shi
“Mushi” is the most basic life form that exists without any goal and is neither good nor bad. They can take various forms, like animals, plants, or even natural phenomena. They are not detected by humans but some can still interact with them. Our protagonist Ginko is a Mushi master who ponders the meaning behind the existence of Mushi and wanders around to help those who are accidentally affected by them.
Mushishi is a dark yet calming and relaxing anime. The anime adaptation is beautiful with slow pacing. It is episodic and can be watched without worrying about cliffhangers and is often considered the best Iyashikei of all time.
#2 Barakamon
What will you do if a frail old man, who is walking with the help of a cane, criticizes your work? Our protagonist Seishuu Handa punches the old man into the face. And as a punishment and to reflect upon his action, he is sent to a rural island village. Handa finds it difficult to live on an island first with a lack of city facilities. But with time finds a new family there. He slowly starts to enjoy village life and have a lot of adventures alongside.
Barakamon reflects most people’s desire to leave their boring life and spend some time away from the hustle and bustle of city life. The story is about finding yourself, becoming a better person, and having fun in life.
#3 Laid-Back Camp
Laid-Back Camp is a story about Rin Shima, who likes to camp at the base of Mount Fuji. Setting up a tent, gathering firewood, and enjoying time with herself. Nadeshiko Kagamihara gets lost and accidentally meets Rin. After spending time together they form a bond and decides to create an Outdoor Activities Club, comprised of five girls who like to spend time in nature.
As the name suggests it is laid back, fun, and relaxing anime that is equally entertaining at the same time. It’s a show about enjoying little things, traveling and spending time in nature.
#4 The Ancient Magus’ Bride
The Ancient Magus’ Bride is the story about Chise Hatori, as she is sold in an auction to a mysterious person named Elias Ainsworth. The story seems dark at first but it turns out to be a peaceful and relaxing anime. Elias takes Chise as his apprentice and teaches her about magic and various spirits that exist in the world. They live in rural England with a lot of natural beauty around.
The story is somewhat episodic and the audience along with Chise learns about the world, about different spirits and animals. Chise often encounters different people and helps them and herself heal with the magic.
#5 K-On!
The story of K-on is quite simple, it is about a group of girls doing tea parties, eating cake, and playing rock music for the school club. Even though the description sounds ridiculous, the story works quite well. Our protagonist Hirasawa Yui is an average girl who is lazy, she doesn’t want to use her brain and just wants to live a carefree life (which reflects a majority of people).
She ends up joining the school’s light music club and the rest of the story is about her having adventures with her friends. It is fun, relatable, and quite relaxing anime to watch. It is about spending precious time with your friends, enjoying new things, and doing what you love.