If you loved Night on the Galactic Railroad, try The Life of Budori Gusuko
A bridge between a film you've already seen and one most people haven't. The Life of Budori Gusuko has roughly 4.9× fewer votes than Night on the Galactic Railroad — it's a deeper cut, not a mainstream recommendation. Here's what they share, and what the second one does that the first one doesn't.
What they share
Both films are directed by Gisaburō Sugii, and they both carry the bittersweet, slow burn mood tags, and they sit in Animation / Drama / Fantasy territory. If that's the register that drew you to Night on the Galactic Railroad, the second film will land in a comparable space — through a different lens.
What The Life of Budori Gusuko is
Gusukō meets a grumpy professor. The orphaned meteorologist flees Japan’s dust-bowl 1920s only to join a tiny team trying to restart the rain by detonating a volcano. A measured fable about aimless youth and stubborn science.

