If you loved Pale Cocoon, try Time of EVE: The Movie
A bridge between a film you've already seen and one most people haven't. 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 Yasuhiro Yoshiura, and they both carry the tender mood tag, and they sit in Animation / Science Fiction territory. If that's the register that drew you to Pale Cocoon, the second film will land in a comparable space — through a different lens.
tender
What Time of EVE: The Movie is
Cheers without the sitcom. In a near future of ubiquitous androids, treating them as equals is taboo. A young man discovers his android has been secretly visiting a café where humans and robots are indistinguishable. It's a quiet, thoughtful anime that earns its sentiment.
Ask 
ChatGPT
Claude
Grok
Le Chat
Perplexity
for a deeper bridge
ChatGPTClaudeGrokLe ChatPerplexity