Recommended Cozies

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Looking for some good cozy books, TV series, or movies to relax and wind down for a while? Well, I’ve got you covered! Here are my top recommendations (not in any particular order) - ones that I hope you will really love!

All of the recommendations fall under the common cozy / Iyashikei (slice of life) genre/style of writing, plus something else, e.g. fantasy.

Iyashikei is a Japanese style of writing commonly translated into, “slice-of-life”, or “cozy”. They typically involve characters living out peaceful everyday lives with common, relatable problems, in calm environments. It’s intention is to help people rest and recover - like a mental pause, and giving the reader space to just be in the moment and feel like they can really see the other world that the characters are living in (see more here if interested - Iyashikei)

The more western version of, “cozy” writing falls under something similar. It’s not about, “The Chosen One who has to save the world from some dastardly evil villain.” They don’t even typically involve much travel across several countries. A cozy style is usually based around one or two characters in a smaller setting, e.g. a town, city, or the countryside.

Cozy Books

  1. Legends and Lattes – Travis Baldree
    Genre: Fantasy
    If you like Dungeons and Dragons, but ever wondered what a cozy variant of that would be, then this is for you! Warrior turned coffee entrepreneur. (Second book: Bookshops and Bonedust)

  2. The Kamogawa Food Detectives – Hisashi Kashiwai
    Genre: Mystery
    A retired detective and his daughter recreate dishes for customers that they have only tried once. This book is a series of delightful short stories - a great read. (Second Book: The Restaurant of Lost Recipes)

Cozy TV series

  1. Hilda
    Genre: Fantasy/Adventure // Style: Cartoon
    Child protagonist Hilda living in an area loosely based on Norway, and its mythology - this is a charming series about Hilda and her adventures - great for everyone.

  2. Pokemon Concierge
    Genre: Fantasy/Adventure // Style: Stop motion animation
    A surprising addition - a short series that has nothing to do with Pokemon battles, but is about Haru - a young woman with a life that fell apart, and so she got a new job on an island resort to help people with their pokemon to rest, relax, and enjoy themselves. Very much #relatable

  3. The Apothecary Diaries
    Genre: Mystery/Drama // Style: Anime
    An apothecary who gets kidnapped and forced to work in the rear palace of an Emperor. Here she must use her knowledge of herbs and medicine to solve various mysteries. This is one of the only cozy type series I’ve seen that has a spice 🌶️🌶️alert (2/3 level)

  4. Spy X Family
    Genre: Action // Style: Anime
    A spy on a mission must pretend to be a family man and adopts a child who must succeed at school. The wife is an assassin, and they have to keep their real jobs secret from each other. What’s more, the child is a telepath! - This series, you can see how a simple family life becomes more appealing to each character.

Cozy Movies

  1. Spirited Away
    Genre: Adventure / Fantasy
    How can we not include this! Timeless classic, and great cozy! This story features 10 year old: Chihiro. Her and her parents unintentionally end up in a spirit world that she has to save them from and escape!

Cozy Podcasts

  1. TBA
    Genre: TBA
    TBA