Tachibana Ritsuka was supposed to live a peaceful school life, but her life takes a turn when she is called upon by a group of devils who want something from her. Her life is no longer what it used to be. Devil or human, what exactly is she? Dance with Devils is a newer reverse harem to take into consideration if you want a good reverse harem anime. The similarity? Well, you can see who the main character is interested in very early on in the anime the same way Norn9: Norn+Nornet does. Also, like Norn9: Norn+Nornet, Ritsuka is amongst a group of males who all have their own special powers the same way she does so the characters are fairly evenly matched, although that may be up to interpretation. If you like that the female character is fairly comparable to the other characters and that you have an idea of who she falls in love with, Dance with Devils is your reverse harem!

Yuuki Miaka and Hongo Yui were transported to the time of ancient China where Miaka discovers she must summon the great Suzaku to save the country, which is her duty as the priestess of Suzaku. On the other hand, the enemy has manipulated Yui into becoming the priestess of Seiryuu, and thus, Miaka’s enemy. Now their friendship is being tested in this trial that will decide the fate of the world. Fushigi Yuugi is another anime in which you can clearly see who the main character is in love with and each character has their own special power. While the characters are meant to work together, Miaka is the special person who is integral for all the other characters, much the way the girls from Norn9: Norn+Nornet are to their respective harems. There’s also a bit of mystery involved in the situation of Fushigi Yuugi the way there is in Norn9: Norn+Nornet that you have to watch to find out what happens!

Yukimura Chizuru came to Kyoto in search of her father, who is a doctor who moved to Kyoto. Chizuru hasn’t heard from her father in some time so she is worried. On the first night, Chizuru gets into trouble and is witness to a fight between the Shinsengumi and her assailants. The Shinsengumi take her into custody only to discover that she is the daughter of the man they are looking for, so together they decide to work to find Dr. Yukimura. Hakuoki is an anime with many mysteries, much the way Norn9: Norn+Nornet is. Our heroes work together for a common goal putting all of their power into it, but there is a purpose in this. In Hakuoki, the Shinsengumi are working towards the betterment of the future of Japan under the Shogun, while in Norn9: Norn+Nornet, the characters work under one entity to help make the world a better place. If you’re looking for a reverse harem with a deep plot, many mysteries, and justice, Hakuoki is your anime!

Shirayuki is a girl known for her unique red hair. She has been working hard as an apothecary, but one day, the prince of Tanbarun, Prince Raji, attempts to force her to be his concubine. Shirayuki wants her freedom so she cuts her long hair and runs away into the forest where Zen Wistalia, a prince from the neighboring country, saves her. It is then that Shirayuki decides to become an apothecary for his court in order to repay her debt to Zen. Akagami no Shirayuki-hime is a popular anime that you won’t want to miss out on. Our heroine is a strong person who takes what she wants and gets things done. The heroines in Akagami no Shirayuki-hime and Norn9: Norn+Nornet have their own dilemmas in life, but they still strive towards helping others. If you’re looking for a strong female heroine in your reverse harem, you’ll need to watch Akagami no Shirayuki-hime!

Princess Yona knows nothing about the strife outside the kingdom as she has lived quite a sheltered life in the palace. After witnessing the murder of her father and the betrayal of her beloved Su-won, Yona must flee the palace with Son Hak, her bodyguard and closest friend. Akatsuki no Yona is another reverse harem with a strong female lead, much like Norn9: Norn+Nornet. Yona starts off very naive, but we get to witness her as she matures into a strong warrior willing to do what is right to take back her own country. The heroines in Akatsuki no Yona and Norn9: Norn+Nornet all work towards helping their countries so that there is no longer strife and unhappiness. Similarly, Yona has a power entirely her own which is to bring together the 4 dragons to make the country right again. While our heroines work towards a better tomorrow, they have no idea of all the mysteries in the background which will make their jobs so much harder. If you want a fantasy anime with a strong female lead, funny characters, and mysteries needing to unfold, Akatsuki no Yona is a great anime that’s similar to Norn9: Norn+Nornet.

Alice finds herself taken to Heartland by a bishounen with rabbit ears. She cannot leave so she takes the time to get to know the others in this weird world. Everyone’s a little nuts. Will she be able to survive? Last but not least is Heart no Kuni no Alice! Now, this is a reverse harem that is quite different from others, just like Norn9: Norn+Nornet. You have 1 character you know is head over heels for the main character that she could potentially be interested in, but at the same time, Alice is just a character interested in getting used to Heartland since she can’t leave, the same way the girls on the Norn must cope with their new life on the Norn. If you’re looking for different: a little blood, a little violence, a little strange, Heart no Kuni no Alice is an anime you want to check out.

First up on our list is Non Non Biyori, an adorable Slice of Life show set in the idyllic countryside of Japan. Here, you will meet a group of elementary school students who make up the entire class of a small town. Hotaru Ichijou joins the local community after her family moves away from Tokyo and now the girl has to figure out how to live in the countryside. The most obvious similarity between Non Non Biyori and Dagashi Kashi is the setting: both stories depict rural life outside of bigger cities. However, it’s not the setting alone that makes this show our first recommendation. The design, pace and soundtrack of Non Non Biyori create an atmosphere similar to the easy flow of Dagashi Kashi. A must watch for fans of Slice of Life!

Next up on our list is a Slice of Life show with hot springs, family drama and lots of girl power. After being abandoned by her mother, optimistic high school girl Ohana moves to the countryside to help out at a traditional inn owned by her grandmother. She is motivated to make the best out of her new life, but soon she has to realize that there is a lot more she needs to learn. Together with the other girls working at the inn Ohana embarks on a journey to find out what she wants to do with her life. I would recommend Hanasaku Iroha to everyone who likes the setup of Dagashi Kashi, but also enjoys drama and conflict. Just like Dagashi Kashi, this anime features a rural setting and a story centered around one location (a Japanese inn in this case), but on top of that you will get a lot of character development and the never-ending search for your purpose in life. Definitely check this little gem out!

Slice of Life? Check. Bizarre characters? Check. Images of food that will make your mouth water? Double check. It’s time for Shokugeki no Souma! For those of you that don’t know, Shokugeki no Souma was one of the hit shows of the Spring season 2015. It is named after its main hero, Souma Yukihira, who has one goal on his mind: to become the best chef there is and take over his family’s restaurant. His path takes him to Tootsuki Culinary Academy, an elite cooking school where the best of the best compete in making the most delicious meals possible. How can Souma compare to his classmates? The reason I simply had to include Shokugeki no Souma on this list might be obvious: the food aspect. But it’s not simply the fact that both shows feature food; rather, it’s about the appreciation for eating and creating delicious meals that can be seen in both anime. Dagashi Kashi might “only” feature snacks, but the way the main characters enjoy eating them is similar to the passion Souma shows while cooking. Be warned though, you shouldn’t watch this show on an empty stomach!

You like Slice of Life shows and cooking, but are more interested in the romance aspect of Dagashi Kashi? Don’t worry, we also have a recommendation for you. Our next choice is Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun, a show that will definitely convince you with its comedy. The story starts with high school girl Chiyo Sakura trying to confess her feelings to her crush Umetarou Nozaki. He, however, is as oblivious as a guy can be and thinks she is a fan of his shoujo mangas. Chiyo is frustrated, but decides not to give up: she becomes his assistant and is trying her best to make him realize her feelings. Some of you might think now that this storyline sounds nothing like Dagashi Kashi. And you are right, but there are actually a lot of other similarities between the two stories. First of all, both protagonists want to become manga artists. Secondly, they are both blind to the fact that there are girls who are in love with them, trying their hardest to make them see it. And last but not least both shows have great comedy, so if you are looking for a quick pick-me-up, this is the show for you.

Time to get back to delicious food, but now we want to focus more on the people serving it than the chefs behind it. Get ready for workplace comedy Working!!. Not only fans of Slice of Life will have heard of this popular anime. Over the course of three seasons you will meet the staff of Wagnaria, a family restaurant located in Hokkaido. But these aren’t your average employees: between writing down orders and handling busy work shifts you can see lots of chaos, conflict and overflowing emotions. Welcome to Wagnaria, your restaurant of a special kind! Working!! and Dagashi Kashi both revolve around workplaces, so we get to see the main cast interacting in both a private and professional setting. This also means that the dynamics of the shows are fairly similar. Most of their storylines as well as their jokes rely on the strong personalities of the different characters and how they interact with each other. So if you like the quirky main cast of Working!!, chances are high you can also enjoy Dagashi Kashi.

Last but not least we have a beautiful show that will guide you into the world of Southern Japan. Professional calligrapher Seishuu Handa is forced to relax on a Japanese island after he lost his temper and punched a critic in the face. Now, the stern and apathetic guy from Tokyo has to face the laid-back attitude of country life. Slowly but surely he grows closer to the community and has to reflect on his dreams and goals in life. Barakamon combines all strengths and similarities of the last recommendations into one beautiful show. We have the Slice of Life aspect, a conflicted main hero following his passion, the unique community of a rural town and most importantly great humor. Just like in Dagashi Kashi, you get to meet weird personalities and laugh at their jokes and special quirks. Barakamon is a strong recommendation regardless of which genres you like, so definitely give it a try if you haven’t already.

Rito Yuki is a high school student who secretly likes Haruna Sairenji but is too timid to confess to her. One day, while Rito is sulking in the bathtub, a mysterious nude girl suddenly crashes and lands on him. Apparently, the girl is Lala Satalin Deviluke who comes from another planet known as Deviluke of which she is the princess. Her father wants her to return to Deviluke and get married to one of the suitors. However, Lala falls for Rito and intends to marry him instead. It goes without saying that the emergence of Lala in Rito’s life just makes it harder for him to confess to Haruna. To LOVE-Ru is similar to Seto no Hanayome due to the forced marriage between the male protagonist and a girl he does not know. Both male protagonists have to either agree to get married with the girls they just met or else they would have to face impending doom. Moreover, the girls are not normal human beings. In the case of To LOVE-Ru, an appropriate, equivalent title would be “My Bride is an Alien”. Both of the male protagonists also have to experience threats and hostility from the girls’ fathers. The two series have a similar romantic comedy theme which focuses on high school students.

Love Hina tells the story of Keitaro Urashima who had made a promise with his childhood girl friend to enter Tokyo University together. Unfortunately, he could not remember the girl’s name and figures that the only way to find the girl is to study hard enough and pass the exams to enter Tokyo University. Despite his attempts, he failed the entrance exams twice and his parents do not want to support him any longer. He plans to stay at a hotel owned by his grandmother only to find out that it has been converted to an all-female dormitory which currently has 5 female occupants. From this plot, obviously this anime would have a harem theme. Of the 5 girls, there is this girl named Naru Narusegawa who also is also studying hard in order to enter Tokyo University. Could Naru be the girl whom Keitaro made a promise to? Seto no Hanayome and Love Hina are both of the romantic comedy genre. Even its execution and art style look very similar that it feels as if both series are produced by the same team. In both anime, the male protagonists always end up in knots of misunderstanding which get them into trouble to the point of being beaten to a pulp. If you are into a more romantic series, we would recommend you Love Hina which we feel has a stronger love theme while Seto no Hanayome is less heavy in that aspect.

Keiichi Morisato is a college sophomore who is drizzled with bad luck. It seems like he is not capable of succeeding in anything until one day, he mistakenly dials the Goddess Help Line. A gorgeous woman, who introduces herself as Belldandy and claims to be a goddess, tells Keiichi that she could grant a wish of his. Thinking that it is just a prank, Keiichi simply wishes for Goddess Belldandy to be with him forever. His wish is granted which leads to a romantic comedy and also more trouble for him. For starters, he has to move out as he cannot possibly stay with Belldandy at a male-only dormitory. Together, they seek shelter at a Buddhist temple. Similar to Seto no Hanayome, in the story of Aa! Megami-sama, the main male character is depicted as lousy and weak, who by a stroke of luck, ends up being with a pretty, non-human female character. Both main female characters in the two anime series are depicted to have special abilities and are not weak characters which are in contrast with the guys’ personalities. Belldandy and Sun are seen as girls who are out of the guys’ league and show capabilities in many areas that they always manage to beat their rivals.

The main female protagonist is Tenma Tsukamoto, a non-outstanding female high school student who develops a huge crush on her fellow classmate, Karasuma Ooji. Ooji is an eccentric and nice guy who is oblivious to Tenma’s feelings which makes it harder for Tenma to confess her feelings to him. On the other hand, Harima Kenji is the main male protagonist who falls for Tenma and also struggles with difficulty in confessing his feelings. Kenji is a delinquent who attends school just to see Tenma. Whenever he wants to confess his feelings for her, the circumstances simply would not allow it. Even though the plot of School Rumble does not involve a non-human main protagonist, it shares the same style of comedy expressed in Seto no Hanayome, which is usually random humor that may not make much sense at times. In both stories, the characters typically show over-the-top expressions as one of the ways to make viewers laugh. The main plots of both series are not very important as each episode is basically just a fast-paced comedy for mindless laughs. Besides that, the main male protagonists always get involved in some sort of entanglement which leads to awkward situations and misunderstandings that result in humor.

Ikuto Touhohin is a 14-year-old boy who just had a quarrel with his dad. Overcome with emotions, he made a decision to run away from home. He then boarded a ship but unluckily, the ship was hit by a huge storm during the journey, which threw him overboard. Upon regaining consciousness, he found himself on an isolated island which is filled with many girls! The island is called Airantou and since there are not any men around due to a huge wave that swept them away in the past, Ikuto becomes very popular. While all the girls want Ikuto to be their husband, only Suzu does not have that desire. Despite the island which seems like heaven to men, Ikuto wants to leave the island but cannot do so as the island does not have any modern technology and is surrounded by whirlpools which make escape impossible. Thus, Ikuto has no choice but to stay on the island. Ikuto and Nagasumi face similar situations in the first episode in which both of them nearly drown. Furthermore, both the male protagonists have pretty similar characteristics. The main difference is that Ikuto is a more perverted character than Nagasumi. Hence, if you prefer a more ecchi version of the romance comedy genre, Nagasarete Airantou would be a good choice for you. Like Seto no Hanayome, Nagasarete Airantou is not much focused on the romantic development of its characters but more towards humor. If you like the life under the sea in Seto no Hanayome, you may like the island setting in Nagasarete Airantou!

Baka means idiot, and in this anime series, it refers to Akihisa Yoshii who is a Class F student in Fumizuki Academy. In this academy, students are divided into classes based on their academic performances. Class A is filled with students who are the cream of the crop who constantly ace the exams while Class F is meant for students who have the worst academic scores. Class A is furnished with prestigious items such as reclining seats, a free snack bar, and air-conditioners. Meanwhile, Class F only has low-quality amenities such as worn-out tatami mats and low tables in poor conditions. Mizuki Himeji is actually one of the brightest students but scored poorly on a test due to fever. Mizuki is then placed in Class F and Akihisa secretly falls for her. The school has a special system whereby students can summon creatures for battles between classes to seize or retain the amenities they want. If you like the plain nonsense comedy style of Seto no Hanayome, you will enjoy watching Baka to Test which also illustrates a similar comedy style. Both Akihisa and Nagasume are not very smart characters who shine in unlikely ways and get into trouble often. Again, despite its romantic comedy theme, Baka to Test is more geared towards comedy elements and its romance theme is not explored much. The anime is filled with absurd humor which makes it easy to watch!

Kyousuke Hyoubu is one of the most powerful beings on the planet due to his psychic powers but he's also a fugitive. His mission is to save other people with psychic abilities who are mistreated by humans. When you're dealing with series that have psychic powers as a central theme, there's bound to be some overlap in the abilities in the characters. In this case both series feature teleporters and a male character who is able to nullify the power of others. In this case though, the tone of the series is much darker than the usually light hearted and often times humorous Index.

Mysterious beings from another universe are making their way to Earth and feasting on the life energy of humans. Only one fighting force can destroy them and they are called Flame Hazes. The main character of this series is Yuuji Sakai who finds himself attacked by one of these creatures but is rescued at the last moment by a girl named Shana and thus begins his strange new life with a mysterious girl. Also animated by studio J.C. Staff, the look and feel of Shakugan no Shana is very similar to Index. They both revolve around a guy who gets involved with a mysterious girl (though Index isn't anywhere close to Shana in terms of being a tsundere) which is followed by tons of action and suspense. The primary difference between the two series is that Index is more magic based while Shakugan no Shana is more based on supernatural powers in general. That doesn't change the fact that the two series are essentially spiritual anime siblings and will please fans who are looking for more of the same thing.

In the year 2029, Japan suffered through the deadly outbreak of the Apocalypse Virus. Ten years later the country is now under the control of a military force called the GHQ while another group known as Funeral Parlor fights to free the people from their rule. The story really begins when Inori Yuzuhira, a member of Funeral Parlor, meets Shuu Ouma which leads to him obtaining a strange power which allows him to pull objects out of people which are manifestations of their personalities. Another action-mystery series that features a teenage male hero who is fighting against an organization while trying to help a mysterious girl that he recently met, this is another series that will satisfy fans who want more of the same or at least want something similar that is told in a vaguely different way. The most coincidental feature about the two series though is that the heroes both have special powers in their right hands which will come into play throughout the entire run of the series.

The setting for this series is Magic University First Affiliate High School, where students are separated into two groups: the “bloom”, who excel in their studies, and the “weed”, who don't do so well. The main characters are a brother and sister pair who couldn't be more different academically as the sister, Miyuki, is a bloom and the brother, Tatsuya, is a weed. The only problem is that once the school year starts, Tatsuya starts to display abilities that far exceed what is expected of him. One of the biggest themes of Index is the war between magic and science. It's a theme that comes up again and again throughout the run of the series and this is the thread that ties it to another series, The Irregular at Magic High School. In this series, magic and science are thrown together and is discussed at length. While Index has much more action than Magic High School, the theme of magic vs. science and how they can be brought together is explored much more in depth in this particular series.

Hugh Anthony Disward has inherited a mansion that comes complete with a personal library. While exploring, he wanders into the basement and discovers a girl named Dalian who serves as a guardian for Dantalian's Bookshelf which houses forbidden books of demons. While there aren't a lot of similarities between these two series, there is one big one which ties the two together quite strongly and that would be their lead female characters. In Index, the lead female has 103,000 magical texts in her head. In this series however, the lead female named Dalian protects a large library of forbidden texts and books in a mystic library. Having a female lead who stores or protects forbidden knowledge and texts isn't an incredibly common theme within anime or manga so when searching for similar titles this one stuck out quite a bit. While Index tends to be more shounen action however, Dantalian is more of a slow paced mystery.

Ibuki Keita is haunted by bad luck and tragedy. He has shut himself off from the world and refuses to let anyone get close to him because he is afraid that something will happen to them. Eventually though he meets a girl named Kuro who guards the flow of “terra” or life energy that is split between three identical looking people. Another solid action series, this is another series that is solid in terms of action and drama which makes it a nicely comparative series to Index. In both series the male lead meets a female lead possessing special magical powers and a huge appetite which leads to action packed adventures and a dark, twisting story that slowly unravels to reveal many hidden truths.

Set in the late 1990’s, a series of suicides occur in Japan which intrigue Mikiya Kokutou. As he’s investigating them, he also gets to know an unsociable girl named Shiki Ryougi, and realizes that they are somehow connected. Shiki comes from a line of demon hunters with special powers but is left in a coma after an accident. When she wakes up, she’s no longer herself and looks for answers by joining and assisting Mikiya in his investigations of the violent and supernatural deaths that keep taking place. This might be the most subdued anime on this list. Shiki doesn’t necessarily die, but she is involved in an incident which changes her life, like Kei in Ajin. She does, however, have the power to kill anyone by using her “Mystic Eyes of Death perception”. Using a dark power, like Kei to defeat her opponents. Like Kei and Kaito, Shiki and Mikiya are reunited after a couple of years to team up against evil and work to find answers and try to stay alive. While not exactly like Ajin, Kara no Kyoukai is dark, full of death, mystery and demonic powers, what more can you ask for?

The Jigoku Tsushin is a website where people can post grudges against people you dislike and the Hell Girl will literally torture them and drag them to hell. The girl is Ai Enma, who was buried alive along with her family as part of a sacrifice 400 years ago. Full of hate and resentment, she vows to hate the villagers forever and then becomes appointed the Hell Girl by the Master of Hell. She will forever be the messenger of people’s hate and resentment. Hell Girl is a story of life after death. Kind of like Ajin, Ai gains her new evil powers after she is left for dead. Also, much like Kei is able to focus his hate and anger to get rid of those who chase or hurt him, Ai is able to do the same, but for others. There are horrible human aspects showcased in Hell Girl as well; violence, torture, insanity and of course, vengeance and the ability to rid the world of those people who according to our (anti) heroes deserve to die.

Over centuries, Chiropterans (vampire-like creatures) have been feeding on humans by disguising themselves as people. At the same time, there is an organization that hunts them, Red Shield. In this world, Saya Otonashi is an anemic amnesic high school girl who because of a life-changing encounter finds herself fighting the Chiropterans, which she was destined to do. Much like Kei in Ajin, Saya doesn’t realize she is at all connected to these demonic creatures that people fear and which Red Shield is there to destroy. Understanding and getting used to her newly discovered power takes time, but she will use it to battle along with her partner Haiji. Though this one is also about vampires, it has evil creatures, blood (duh), and a normal kid who finds out they’re not normal at all and must learn about their true nature.

When Megumi Shimizu is the first to die in a bloody epidemic which then turns those affected into vampires, Dr Toshio Ozaki decides to look into the horrifying disease. However, he realizes that in order to find the truth and save the town of Sotoba, he will have to give up being human. Along with Yuki Natsuno, they face their new found humanity in order to face the Shiki and save the town. In Shiki, like in Ajin, we have a species of altered human who are feared by the rest of society. While under different circumstances, the main characters in both shows become said creatures and must face the reality of it, all while battling those like them but who are on the side of evil. They must face the struggles of facing those who fear them along with a trusty partner. Shiki is also pretty bloody if that’s what you’re looking for.

Kei Kurono and Katou Masaru are high school students who get hit by a train as they’re trying to save a drunk who had fallen onto the tracks. After dying, they both appear in a room with other recently deceased people and a big black sphere called GANTZ. They are now part of a game and are instructed to take a weapon and begin their new mission to eliminate aliens on Earth while fighting for points and their survival. The biggest similarities between Gantz and Ajin are that the fun doesn’t start until the hero(s) die and that there is a team of two childhood friends who must now fight together to survive. Other than that, there are special powers, though they’re not evil, provided by the special powered suits given to the boys by Gantz. Like Ajin and other titles in this list, Gantz is pretty violent and bloody and shows all the ugliest traits of humanity.

Tokyo has become inhabited by ghouls which are supernatural beings that blend in with society but enjoy murdering and eating humans. Ken Kaneki lives in Tokyo and meets Rize Kamishiro, but while on a date, she turns out to be a ghoul and out to dine on Kaneki. A well-timed accident kills Rize and sends Kaneki to the hospital where he receives some of Rize’s organs, making him a half-ghoul. Trapped in this reality and being a rare specimen, Kaneki must face himself and a million enemies. Ajin has been considered to be “the new Tokyo Ghoul” so we couldn’t possibly leave it out of this list. And if you like Ajin, chances are you’ve already seen it. Tokyo Ghoul shows the struggles of a boy who is suddenly faced with becoming the most feared and hated creature in his world. He must control his demonic urges and abilities and faces persecution from both humans and monsters alike, much like Kei in Ajin. Although, while Kei only has one accomplice, (at least at the beginning) Kaneki counts with the help of Touka Kirishima and the rest of the Anteiku staff. It’s a little less dark than Ajin, but Tokyo Ghoul will certainly bring you a similar dose of violence, blood, torture and twisted sadists.

No, you are not wrong! Before this story became famous because of the popular Korean drama television in 2009, this manga was adapted to an anime series that aired between 1996-1997, and they even made a live-action movie in 1995, and a Japanese TV drama series in 2005. When Tsukushi Makino decided to go to the famous Eitoku Academy, she didn't know that her simple life was about to be changed by the infamous "Flower Four" or F4, that basically is a group of 4 boys that rule the academy. After getting the attention of the F4 leader because she was the only girl that wasn't falling for him, her life will be in a constant roller coaster, the leader F4 leader will go from bullying her every day to develop deep feelings for this stubborn girl. With a unique beginning that will capture your heart, Hana Yori Dango also captures the spirit of young love, just like Blue Spring Ride. A relationship that starts from hate and finishes in love, will make you wonder in how many ways love can come to you without warning, just like it happened to Futaba and Kou when they began high school.

What does Erika Shinohara from Wolf Girl and Black Prince have in common with Futaba Yoshioka from Blue Spring Ride? They make random stories in order to impress their friends. But Erika decided to include a random stranger whom she took a candid photo and told everyone that he was her boyfriend. Little she knew that the boy in the photo goes to the same school with her, and with a “charming prince” attitude he accepted to play along with her game. However, Erika did not expect that her charming prince would turn into a black prince who started a game of his own that included blackmail and pet treatment. Erika and Futaba have something in common, more than the fact that apparently they like to make lies, and is that they end up learning to love their partners. Nowadays people tend to fall in love instantly, but these girls took their time to learn how to love these cold guys, but who are we to judge?

If you are shoujo lover, then this anime should be in your top five favorite shoujo anime. Itazura na Kiss tells the popular story of Kotoko Aihara who confessed her feelings for Naoki Irie, but he rejected her because he does not like dumb girls. But fate decided to give another opportunity to this poor girl by destroying her house with an earthquake, and she had no other choice than to move with his father’s childhood best friend whose son turns out to be no other than Naoki. Fate can be funny sometimes, right? Just like Naoki at the beginning, Kou from Blue Spring Ride does not like Futaba when he meets her again in High School, but eventually he will develop feelings for her again just like in this anime. There is a saying that goes “Hate is just one step away from love”.

We all want a person like Haru Yoshida as a friend, even though he might be sometimes a little monster. Most of us has a friend or classmate that is like Shizuku Mizutani. A cold-hearted girl that does not care about making friends, and whose only interest is studying. But people like Shizuku can change when someone like Haru appears in their life. This strange couple has an exquisite way of starting their relationship that makes you wonder if you’re really not in love with one of your friends right now. Shizuki knew that she had feelings for his little monster, but Haru could not tell the difference between “like” or “in love”. Sounds similar? Futaba knew that she was still in love with Kou, but the stubborn Kou was never sure about his feelings for her. Just like the main characters of My Little Monster, Futaba and Kou from Blue Spring Ride passed through the same struggles. Friends that due to their confusing feelings go through some problems until their hearts find a way to finally release their true desires.

How would you feel, if your classmates compared you with the main character from The Ring? The poor Sawako had to deal with this every day in her school. Her classmates used to believe that she was different from them due to her “scary” appearance. Most of them used to believe that “Sadako” could speak to ghosts and cursed people, and that was the reason why no one dared to speak with the sweet and innocent girl. Until one day, the idol of the school decided to become friends with her, which made her open up to her classmates. Due to the fact that she finally made friends, she was eternally grateful to her idol. But destiny decided to grant her one more wish, and Sawako started to develop feelings for him, and he, Shouta Kazehaya, ended up falling for her as well. Sawako is a gentle reminder of Futaba’s past in junior high. Due to the fact that Futaba was feminine and cute, this made her female classmates not like her because all the boys were falling for her. When she met Kou, Futaba felt like she found an “exceptional one” because she used to believe that all the boys were too rough. Shouta can be easily compared to Kou in junior high as well. Both of them were considered as idols due to their gentle manners and intelligence, and of course, both of them only fall for the sweet girls. In resume, we can say that From Me to You could be like the prequel version of Blue Spring Ride, if Kou and Futaba’s past had taken a different path.

If you haven’t watched this anime, please be warned that you will need at least 2 boxes of tissues. This anime became very popular for its original plot that will make think twice about the way you are living your life now. Kousei Arima was a famous pianist since his childhood, but after his mother dies, he lost the ability to listen to his own playing. After two years of living the normal life of a student, the beautiful violinist Miyazono Kaori walked through his path, and his life changed drastically from that moment. With Kaori’s help, little by little Kousei gets over his trauma and starts to develop feelings for the violinist, but he decided to ignore those heartbeats because she was the love interest of one of his best friends. Kaori can easily represent Futaba’s true personality. Having the ability to help others and share some of their own happiness is something that both of them are good at. After realizing that her feelings for Kou haven’t disappeared, Futaba decides to stay by his side, even though Kou was being cold towards her, but she knew that deep inside he was having problems, and that never stops Futaba from trying to help him, even if that requires her to reveal her true personality to others. Kousei can be compared to Kou, because both of them were hiding from their past, but there is always one person that will bring you to light. Basically we can say that Your Lie in April could be like another version of Blue Spring Ride if Futaba had remained with her true personality after junior high, but definitely with a different ending.

Tsunayoshi Sawada seems to be the embodiment of failure due to his clumsiness and apparent lack of talent to the extent that his classmates call him ‘Loser Tsuna’. Tsuna is also hopelessly in love with Kyoko Sasagawa who exudes qualities which are deemed way better than his. The instant his life changes is when he encounters a baby with superhuman strength. The baby, named Reborn, is apparently a hitman who is sent by a powerful mafia group in Italy called the Vongola family. Reborn is given the task of training Tsuna to become much stronger so that he can take over the mafia group as the ninth boss is about to retire. The series demonstrates similarity with Nurarihyon no Mago as both male protagonists are expected to take over powerful groups of which they are reluctant to. Eventually, circumstances force them to take responsibilities in order to protect their friends. Besides that, both Nura and Tsuna have a weak side and a cool side. The cool side would appear when they are engaged in a battle while the weak side is their normal selves. Both are shonen series which highlight the importance of friendship as both major characters have loyal friends who will always stick by their sides.

Sugimura Yoshimori and Tokine Yukimura possess a special ability to battle against demons by using a technique called kekkai. Kekkai is a magical barrier and its users are referred to as kekkaishi. Together, they are in charge of using kekkai to protect Karasumori high school as the demons’ abilities would be enhanced upon entering into the school. They are not alone in this matter as they receive help from Sugimura’s brother, Masamori and the Shadow Organization, Urakai which consists of 12 highly-skilled users. However, Yoshimori is not so gung ho about fighting demons and he appears to be more interested in baking cakes. Both series have almost identical plots, in which the main characters have to fight demons from Japanese folklore. Nura and Yoshimori have similar characteristics as they are young heirs from respectable lineages but are hardly interested in carrying on the family tradition of fighting demons. They also try to avoid from letting their classmates know about their unique backgrounds. The two of them try to lead normal lives but slowly begin to accept their destinies which are sort of forced onto them.

Natsume has a special ability which he hides from others: He can see spirits and interact with them. He soon discovers that his ability is not a fluke as his grandmother, Reiko, also possesses the same ability. In fact, his grandmother even has the Book of Friends, Yuujinchou, which contains a list of the spirits’ names which she has subdued. She passes on the book to Natsume which leads to him being disturbed by angry spirits who want to gain freedom. With the help of a cat spirit named Madara which is also fondly referred to as Nyanko-sensei, Natsume is determined to free the spirits and protect the book from falling into the hands of those who would abuse its power. Like Nurarihyon no Mago, Natsume Yuujinchou is a story in which the main character deals with demons and special inheritance. Natsume and Nura are like the middle men between the spirit world and the human world. In both series, not all of the spirits are bad as they are some amicable ones. However, Natsume Yuujinchou is geared towards the slice-of-life theme while Nurarihyon no Mago is more focused on action.

Ao no Exorcist follows the adventure of Rin Okimura who seems like a normal teenager. He and his twin brother, Yukio, are brought up by Priest Shiro Fujimoto. One day, he encounters the truth that would change his life forever. Both Rin and Yukio are actually the sons of Satan, who is the most powerful demon there is. In trying to protect Rin from the demons, Shiro loses his life. Rin’s emotions take over him so he does what he has been told not to do by Shiro, which is to draw the Kurikura blade. Upon drawing the blade, his demonic powers are unleashed. Rin aspires to be an Exorcist to fight against the demons so he enrolls himself at the True Cross Academy. Much to his surprise, his brother Yukio is already a skilled Exorcist who then becomes his teacher. Once again, Ao no Exorcist is centered on the theme of fighting against demons. Rin and Nura have to hide the secret about their true identities from their friends. On top of that, both of them have a change in appearance when they unleash their true powers. Both series also emphasize on friendship wherein the main characters always try to protect their loved ones.

On her fifteenth birthday, while trying to retrieve her cat, Kagome Higurashi is dragged into a well by a demon. Instead of crashing to the ground, Kagome finds herself to be in the era of Sengoku which is 500 years back. The reason for the demon to attack her is to get the Shikon Jewel which Kagome has. In desperation, Kagome removes a sacred arrow from the body of a half-dog demon named Inuyasha which frees him from being pinned on a tree. While Inuyasha manages to defeat the demon, the jewel unfortunately shatters into pieces. Thus, Inuyasha and Kagome are set out to find the pieces of the jewel, along with a few companions who are Miroku the monk, Shippou the fox demon, and Sango the demon hunter. The Inuyasha series bears several resemblances to Nurarihyon no Mago. First of all, the main characters have a mixture of human and demon lineages, and they struggle to find a balance between the two sides. Moreover, both of them have white hair when they are in their demon forms. The major difference is that while Nura seems like a polite and well-spoken character, Inuyasha is a character with an impatient and brash attitude.

Turning 14 seems to be the right moment to declare his love to his crush, and so, Niwa Daisuke confesses to Risa Harada on his 14th birthday, only to get rejected. While dealing with rejection is a part and parcel of life, later on that day, Niwa undergoes a strange transformation. According to his mother, this is what happens to all the males in the family when they reach the age of 14, as they would inherit the powers of Dark Mousy the phantom thief! Now every time Daisuke thinks about his crush, he would turn into Dark, and in order for him to change back into Daisuke, he has to think about his crush again. As Dark, Daisuke has to steal valuable works of art with purpose unbeknownst to him. Both series deal with a major character that has two different sides to him. One is a weak, kind side while the other side is a cool, powerful one. While the plots may be different, the overall feeling of the two anime is similar. If you like to see a weak guy having a strong alter ego, then this anime will likely suit your taste!

Prince of Tennis continues to represent a very large community of fans for the series, as it has seen many spin offs and seasons of the original. You could say that, Prince of Tennis is what gave birth to the Prince of franchise and helped it lift off in a positive way. It helped to inspire and bring in new fans to the sports genre, but also to reinvigorate the very popular Tennis scene in Japan. Prince of Tennis stars Ryoma, a young tennis player who by many, is considered to be a prodigy. His consecutive wins and various championships have garnered him a strong reputation, but are still overshadowed by his father who also was a pro himself. With this in mind, he decides to join a club in hopes that his training will help him to not only overcome his father, but to strengthen himself in the process. This story is very similar to the story of Prince of Stride where Nana comes across Honan Academy in hopes to create a club to compete and win the prestigious “end of summer” spectacle. Both Nana and Ryoma share a passion for their respective sport, and join a club in order to overcome the obstacles in front of them, but into within themselves. It's a great thing to watch, as it demonstrates ambition and a commitment to what they love, and to become the best at it.

Bishounen anime have always shown a growth in popularity, especially with shows pertaining to sports of young men. Free! is another anime that falls right into the category because it has a blend of sports and young men out for a dream. Haruka Nanase has always had a passion to swim, making sure to immerse himself around water as much as possible. He participated in various tournaments along with his close friends before decided to part ways and move on. Several years later as fate would have it, Haruka reunites with his close friend Rin who then shows him his overwhelming power in the water. Having none of this, Haruka then recruits his friends to help establish the Iwatobi Swimming Club to help defeat his rival. What is very similar in both Prince of Stride and Free! Is that both main characters display an overwhelming passion to strive for perfection. They both do not yield to the challenges that confront them, and will do whatever it takes to overcome their rivals. Teamwork is seen all throughout both shows, as it is what drives both main characters to reach their potential while forming a strong bond along the way.

While many may be familiar with the now popular Kuroko no Basket series, before that was the very famous Slam Dunk. Slam Dunk brought in a lot of attention to the basketball scene in Japan, as the sport didn't have the same popularity compared to baseball and soccer. However, Kuroko no Basket revamped the genre yet again bringing in new blood and a new adventure. Kuroko no Basket represents the battle between light and dark, which are defined in the characters, Kagami and Kuroko. Much like Prince of Stride, the goal is to take precedence over your opponent with the help of teammates to push you along the way. Kuroko was seen as a plain and bad player, but his team kept him motivated enough to challenge. Once Kagami became part of his team to overcome the miracle generation, it showed a very cool chemistry much like Nana and Ryoma and it became a very rewarding thing to watch.

Baby steps is a fantastic anime that invites us into the world of tennis, but this time with a much softer side compared to that of Prince of Tennis. In baby steps, Ei-chan finds himself to be unhappy with his position in life and insists that it be changed for the better. Due to his lack of exercise, his energy levels are low, and really isn't able to keep up with the rest around him. This was until one day he comes across a flyer advertising a tennis club, that his life would change forever. The story shows how one person, despite their pasts, can truly make a difference to become a better person and take part in an activity that they're so passionate about. In Prince of Stride, Ryoma struggled in the beginning to find a club that really suited him. He ran around from club to club with hopes that perhaps, he could join all of them. It was at that point that Nana introduced him to the world of running that changed it all for him. Ryoma and Ei-chan share a similar position, in that they had to search for an answer, but when they arrived at it, the decision changed them forever. Both have a strong bond with their female counterpart throughout the show, who also helps them both as mentors to become stronger at their respective sport. Truly beautiful to watch, so we highly recommend it!

Being inspired by things is always a primer to help kick start the engine that waits in our hearts. Shouyou received this inspiration after watching a special event on T.V. which showcased his volleyball idol “little giant” play at his best. After watching this, he decides to revamp the volleyball club at his middle school. Eventually Shouyou comes face to face with another challenge, and that is his rival Kurasuno. Tasting defeat at the hands of his rival, Shouyou sought out to over take his opponent, but as fate would have it, the two would meet again but this time on the same team. The two eventually put their differences aside and work together to become the best volleyball team in the league. Rivalries play a major part in every series on our list, and it is what really captures the essence of the genre itself. Ryoma eventually comes across his own rival who is also a part of his team. This rivalry becomes more of a test to his potential, as he constantly strives to overcome not only his own inner battles but the ones in front of him. Shouyou shares a similar destiny where he has to finally come to terms with reality, and work together with his rival and strengthen the team altogether. It's a testament to all us that ambition beats adversity in every single way. Ryoma and Shouyou are also in a school environment, where other schools are fighting toe to toe for the top spot. It's a wonderful show to watch as well, and so we suggest you give it a shot.

Cycling has always been a sport that held a high prestige in the sports world, due to its strict regimen and determination. Lance Armstrong proved to the world that despite the adversities that confront us, we can battle through anything to become champions. Yowamushi Pedal: Grande Road provides that similar energy, but now in the form of animation. Onoda was just an ordinary student with a love for the otaku lifestyle; video games, anime, and Akihabara. He would always use his bulky bicycle to make his way to Akiba (the short term for Akihabara) in order to collect his prized items, and it was then he was confronted by Naruko who is a freshman and road racing cyclist. After much analysis, Naruko decides to convince Onoda to join his cycling team because he recognized how talented he was, and from there the Grande road begins. Most bishounen enjoy demonstrating hard work and determination with a splash of emotion. We all love to cheer for our favorite character, and in Yowamushi Road you can't help but feel the passion burning throughout Onoda. Onoda and Ryoma share common traits in that they really take their passions seriously, and will always sacrifice time for it at every opportunity. They have no fear of outcome, and are driven by commitment to ensure that first is the only result they achieve. This is such an exciting anime to watch because it truly shows us that, great ventures lead to greater rewards.

In the fantastic city of Orario, adventurers are drawn to the huge and dark underground dungeons in search of valuable treasures, exciting adventures, fame, honor, and (some dreamy ones) love. This is the story of Bell Cranel, a beginner adventurer who has received the blessing of a lesser goddess and has to level up both to bring honor to her goddess and to be noticed by the girl of his dreams. This fantastic adventure with bits of romance and comedy is quite similar to Grimgar (for short) in several aspects. Both shows remind us of RPG games, in which you have to level up slaying creatures to get better equipment and move up in the world. The biggest similarity however, is how the main characters struggle to become decent warriors. Both Bell and the main party from Grimgar are utter failures at what they do, which makes them funny and realistic at the same time.

This one is quite a weird show, then again, half the fantasy anime are. A young girl is born from (or transported to) a large cocoon in a mysterious world inhabited by women with small wings on their backs and shiny halos over their heads. They call themselves Haibane; they have no recollection of their prior lives, how they got to that world or who they are. Haibane Renmei is not an action and adventure fantasy based on a videogame as the rest of the titles on this list. However, it does share some strong similarities with Grimgar. To begin with, the story develops in a fantastic and mysterious world, the main characters have no clue how they got there nor who they were before their arrival. Their only choice is to begin a new life and find out the truth behind these worlds by themselves. Both shows are also quite dramatic. Haibane Renmei is much more so, since it doesn’t have comedic elements at all, but the two make great emphasis on the importance of life, friendship and letting go.

Cliché or not, Log Horizon is a great fantasy show full of action, magic and adventure. The online RPG game Elder Tale suddenly transports a large amount of players inside the game to take the role of their avatars. Shiroe teams up with Naotsugu and Akatsuki to face the many challenges this new and fantastic world has to offer. Log Horizon is most likely the best choice for RPG lovers; and if you liked Grimgar you’re probably one of these. What I love and find quite unique about Log Horizon are the combat scenes and the strategy in them. It’s quite original and completely different to most kinds of fighting in fantasy anime. In Grimgar I found a similar strategic fighting style (or at least it reminded me of LH), in which the members of the party combined their different abilities to defeat those annoying goblins. There is no one-man show on either of these, which is something very rare in fantasy and adventure anime.

When Yggdrasil, a popular online game, is suddenly shut down, the player known as Momonga decides not to log out and he finds himself trapped in the body of his own avatar. With unlimited power, a castle of his own and loyal servants, Momonga begins a new life in this world of fantasy, where evil creatures, powerful warriors and dark wizards are commonplace. Overlord and Grimgar are obviously similar in their setup. They both display classical RPG game features, such as locations, creatures, jobs and ways of living. Also, I should mention that these two shows are (to me at least) the best depictions of these kind of videogames. The RPG game based anime archetype is getting a little worn out lately, but these two shows were able to successfully pull it off. Overlord did so with its faithful representation of RPG videogames, while Grimgar amazed us with a more realistic approach to such fantastic worlds. The obvious difference in power between these shows’ protagonists is also another reason why you should watch this show. It’s great to see the two sides of the coin, the ones who struggle and the one who is overpowered.

Konsubu (for short) is another gem among this season’s fantasy anime. It tells the story of Kazuma Satou, a young gamer boy who dies one day trying to save a girl from getting hit on the road. He’s met in the afterlife by a sexy and cocky goddess, Aqua, who sends him to a fantastic world where he’s assigned to defeat the evil Demon King. He can only take one thing with him, and he chooses her. This is a fantasy comedy with little action but a lot of adventures. It is similar to Grimgar in its setup; both stories develop in a fantastic world which is not exactly a videogame, but shares many of its features. Konsubu is much more of a light taste comedy, so it’s not as dramatic as Grimgar. It’s a great choice if you want to watch something new along the same lines as Grimgar though.

Btooom is not a fantasy show as the rest on this list, yet it shares certain similarities with Grimgar. It follows the story of Ryouta Sakamoto, one of the world’s top players in Btooom, a popular FPS videogame. One day he wakes up on an island with a set of bombs and is forced to play real life Btooom for his life. He will make more enemies than allies when everything comes down to kill or be killed. Leaving aside the obvious difference in genre, Btooom is similar to Grimgar in some aspects. The setup is relatively similar; both protagonists are immersed in a place where they have to fight to survive. The main characters in both shows are forced to kill, which is something that shocks and traumatizes them when they do it for the first time. Consequently, these two titles focus a lot on the value of life. They deal a lot with survival and staying alive no matter the cost. In this sense, both shows do a great job; especially because you get the feeling that any character (even the most important ones) could die at any moment.

Tomoya Aki is your everyday highschool otaku and nerd. Amidst a chance encounter on the slope back home, he meets Megumi Katou. This awe-inspiring backdrop and Megumi gave him the inspiration to create the most awesome gal game ever. Together with his childhood friend, Eriri Spencer, and Kasumigaoka Utaha, he assembles a team of an outstanding artist and a literary genius to make the best gal game ever based off Megumi. The premise for Saekano is strikingly similar to Shoujo-tachi. This is a setting where a group of friends with complicated relationships. It just so happens that they are all in for the pursuit of one common goal with many misadventures along the way. Highly hilarious and interesting, this is as close as Shoujo-tachi as you can get!

Mashiro Shiina is a world renowned artist with brilliant painting skills. However, a painter is not what she aspires to be, she is really more into manga. A savant, she can hardly take care of herself and is placed in a school dormitory of eccentric misfits. There she meets Sorata, the most normal amongst all and instantly latched onto him. This is a story of the pursuit of individual goals and the unforgettable memories that you can form with friends. Similarly to Shoujo-tachi, this is an anime of friendship. In Sakurasou, everyone who lives in the infamous Sakura Hall have exceptional talents in their own ways, and equally high aspirations. Not everything ends up well and they must learn to cope with failure and accept the new reality as well. A minor plot line is also Sorata's passion in game design and Aoyoma's interest in voice acting which adds to the creation attribute as well.

Mangaka-san revolved around the life of a manga artist, Aito Yuuki and his assistant, Ashisu Sahoto. Often perverted, he is heavily frowned upon by his assistant as he always asks for the most ridiculous things. Tight deadlines and a lack of inspiration are the core of his worries, and he often does not make it on time, much to the chagrin of his editor. Also on the topic of creation, Mangaka-san shows the hard life of a mangaka with exaggeration. The fan-service comedy in this series sets a light tone to the anime giving off the vibe of a simple and pleasurable show. Nothing too fancy, just 30 minutes of nonsense per episode that will make you laugh.

Life in the anime industry is not as easy as everyone thinks it is. Aoi is a production assistant in an animation studio. While she is doing what she loves and gearing towards the eventual dream of creating an original anime with her friends, it is mostly busy days and many schedules to meet for her. The whole series explores a part of the group of 5 friends pursuing different careers in the anime industry such as art, voice acting and graphic design, giving it an all-rounded view of the lives of the people in anime industry. The anime industry is undeniably stressful, Shirobako eliminates the pressure by injecting light humor. Combining different elements of the industry, we are able to see the hardship of each and every department and component of making anime, and the joys of everyone after collaborative effort. Truly giving respect to the slice of life genre, Shirobako is a must watch for any anime lover! who dig the whole creative process of animation professionals and the industry as a whole. And this does not end up here, recently, one of the producers of Shirobako, Nakayama, said on a web radio interview that "our plan of making Shirobako a videogame has been approved" source: 第381回 2015年12月23日 のら犬ブラザースのアニメ！ギョーカイ時事放談.

Nozaki-kun is a renowned shoujo manga artist. In reality, he is actually a high school student. Chiyo Sakura has a crush on him, and imagine her surprise when she found out his true identity. Agreeing to be his assistant, they work on his manga together, encountering many different individuals as inspiration for the plot. An otaku related job, manga is a part of the culture and this show extends it by making this anime about manga creative process. It has the same elements as Shoujo-tachi, such as a cast of odd characters and some characters who are simply there for comedy. Gekkan Shoujo also explores the tropes of the culture, with Shoujo-tachi focusing on gal games and Gekkan Shoujo on manga.

Due to an unfortunate encounter with a bunch of weird people, Kazama Kenji is roped into the Game Creation Club against his will. Outrageous behavior is one thing, but making him join the silly antics of the club is another. Often retorting at the levels of wackiness of the club, he knows his remaining days in this club are definitely not going to be smooth. D-Frag is similarly set in an environment of close-knit friends, but is more focused on the comedy. While the name of the club is the Game Creation Club, there is actually very little creating involved, and most of the time is usually spent watching the club members come up with a ridiculous plan and the loud retorts of Kazama Kenji. Either way, it shares the same element of a group of friends interacting with each other in a humorous fashion

Half-human, Half-youmu, Akihito Kanbara is an unusual phenomenon even in the spirit world. In this world, creatures known as youmu are created from the emotions of humans, some being good natured, whilst others have much worse intentions. Although linked closely to the spirit world, Akihito spends his days going to school like any ordinary kid, but one day he spots a girl on the roof of his school, about to jump. Rushing to her aid only to be stabbed through the chest upon arrival, it appears Akihito has got himself into quite a mess. With both shows being produced by Kyoto Animation, known very well for their unique moe character design, the visuals are of course remarkably similar, from the animation to the backgrounds. This of course means some beautiful battle scenes throughout both, with KyoAni once again proving that they don’t just do moe, but some incredible action as well. The themes of both shows crossover significantly, with the alternate worlds and the bizarre and dangerous spirits that the cast have to deal with. Like in Kyoukai no Kanata, Musaigen no Phantom World has started with a light hearted feeling, but seems to suggest that things may get darker or more serious later on as the cast assemble and the plot begins to rear its head. If you like what we’ve seen so far of Musaigen no Phantom World, you’re bound to enjoy Kyoukai no Kanata just as much, if not more.

Half a year ago, the members of Senkou High School's Literature Club somehow gained supernatural powers: time control, healing and power over the elements to name a few. But since then, things haven’t really changed, it’s the same old, go to school, go home, do homework, much to delusional chuunibyou Jurai Andou’s disappointment. Not that his power would have been particularly useful anyway, I mean how useful can his flames be if they can’t even burn anything? Like Musaigen no Phantom World, Inou-Battle wa Nichijou-kei no Naka de starts with a surprisingly normal approach to a bizarre world, with the supernatural actually having very little effect on people’s everyday lives. Additionally the shows character dynamics are fairly similar, namely the semi-helpless protagonist, who is fairly reliant on his powerful female companion’s strength. Regardless of whether or not Musaigen no Phantom World’s story starts to take a different route, so far the show has had a very similar feel to Inou-Battle, with both shows containing an interesting mix of slice-of-life, comedy and action, ensuring that every episode is just as entertaining as the last. Although not quite the same KyoAni quality, Inou-Battle wa Nichijou-kei no Naka de is a very light, fun anime that anyone can enjoy.

In this world exist humans with special powers, hidden away from regular society, and one such person is Yuu Otosaka. With the ability to take over another’s body for up to 5 seconds, Yuu has wormed his way into a top high school, and to the top of the exam scores. But after being caught out by fellow ability user Nao Tomori, Yuu and his younger sister are forced to attend a special school for ability users, and that’s where things start to get a lot more complicated. Continuing the school setting with supernatural powers theme, Charlotte and Musaigen no Phantom World both start off fairly similar, bar Charlotte’s bad mannered protagonist. Though getting quite dark later on, becoming more drama focused, Charlotte is similar to much of writer Jun Maeda’s other work, such as Angel Beats, with a good bit of comedy and some less serious storylines earlier on. Charlotte makes an excellent recommendation for anyone who enjoys the premise of Musaigen no Phantom World, but perhaps wants something more plot focused and dramatic. Though that said, we have yet to see exactly where Musaigen is headed, and might yet see some more serious plotlines emerge.

Chuunibyou, Eighth Grade Syndrome: where teenagers reject this reality, and substitute their own, with delusions of mystic powers and the supernatural. After entering high school Yuuta Togashi thought his chuunibyou days were safely behind him, until Rikka Takanashi showed up. After forming a contract with Rikka, Yuuta finds himself getting caught up once again in the fantastic and delusional world of his own imagination. The second KyoAni series to make the list, once again the similarities in art and animation style between Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai and Musaigen no Phantom World can’t be ignored, and give both series a similar feel from the get go. You’ll also hear some familiar voices, with Sumire Uesaka, Phantom World’s Mai, voicing Dekomori, and Maaya Uchida, voice of Koito Minase, playing Chuunibyou’s main heroine Rikka. Both series involve the supernatural, though in Chuunibyou’s case it’s all imaginary, but use it more as a means of developing the characters and telling their stories, rather than just for the action. Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai is a very satisfying series to watch, with excellent character development and a good bit more romance compared to Musaigen no Phantom World for any fans of awkward teenage love.

At AntiMagic Academy, each platoon of students earns points for the jobs and missions they complete. Unfortunately for the 35th “Small Fry” platoon, they’re currently sitting right down at the bottom of the pile, being completely incapable of even working together. But with high ranking witch hunter Ouka Ootori being demoted to their platoon there is still some light at the end of the tunnel, assuming they can work out the whole co-operating thing. Just recently aired, Taimadou Gakuen 35 Shiken Shoutai first appears to be a harem anime, but does a good job of focusing more on storyline and action than some other similar shows. The set up at AntiMagic Academy is similar to that of Musaigen no Phantom World’s Hosea Academy, with groups of students taking on jobs to earn their team points, and of course with our heroes starting off at the bottom of the barrel. It also seems like the storylines are being handled in a similar way, with each of the characters getting a small arc for development, with a nice mix of drama and stupid comedy. Taimadou Gakuen 35 Shiken Shoutai appeals largely to those who are watching Phantom World for the girls, with a noticeable lack of male characters. But cute harems aside, it’s well worth a try just for its action and nice visuals.

At Fumizuki Academy, classes are divided up based on student’s grades, from the genius A class and their luxurious classroom-lounge, to the “baka” F class who use cardboard boxes for desks. With the school now testing a new avatar summoning system, the students are now able to battle each other with their avatar’s strength based on their test scores. Now F class Super Baka Akihisa Yoshii and his classmates must fight their way to the top of the school, or at least out of their sad excuse for a classroom. Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu and Musaigen no Phantom World share a very similar silly sense of humour, with their protagonists even sharing the same role as the group’s punching bag. Both series are quite easy to watch, with the Phantoms and summoned avatars often presenting little to no real danger, but still effectively creating drama and thrilling fights throughout. Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu is very obviously a lot more comedy focused than Musaigen no Phantom World, but if you’re watching mainly for the jokes and fanservice then Baka to Test might be right up your street.

While the premise of both shows are very much the same, that is to provide humor while shedding light on the truth of our society, both shows shed light in different areas. Comical Psychosomatic Medicine focuses on the more medical side of things, going over issues relating to amnesia, and various other prevalent mental disorders that plague our society. Despite the seriousness behind it all, the anime takes a twist on it and uses humor and wit to further emphasize the point. Everything is served on a plate full of cheerful and comical tastes that will surely satisfy your palette. There are three characters much like the ones you'll find in Galko-Chan, where one is very straight to the point, the other airheaded, and one trying to bring everything together. It's a nice way to educate everyone on the more serious matters, while still maintaining an atmosphere that is catered to the anime world. The two anime take place in two separate locations, but deliver the same message: Be more open minded about issues and be willing to lower your guard to discuss your feelings whenever necessary. It is like breaking the windows of insecurity and embracing the truth of humanity. We all go through the same thing, so why not just laugh a little and see where life takes us.

Lucky star shares a very similar style when it comes to crude humor while still educating us with something that resonates in our minds. Lucky star follows the lives of three girls in a high school setting, who rely on each other for guidance using crude and quirky humor to emphasize their points of view. The main character shares a common role much like Galko, where they both have this outer worldly state of mind, while being very open about their feelings in life. These conversations turn awkwardly hilarious as they mix in references from otaku and pop culture. While Galko tunes in more to the sexual realm of topics, lucky star tends to throw itself around in many directions while still maintaining its original meaning. Galko and her friends spend a large chunk of time together, discussing topics on crude things such as pubic hair, and how smell can psychologically alter your feelings for someone. These oddly amusing topics are what really help sell the series, because it really helps to embrace our own inner child, but more importantly, to be open about various topics that would otherwise be considered uncomfortable. It teaches us that at the most basic level, we are after all just human, and that these topics should be discussed more frequently amongst our peers. There are topics where the two fall into place more frequently, and that is the topic of culinary. Galko really takes pride in her cooking, since her dream is to become the best mother in the future. In Lucky Star, Konata also fancys cooking and displays her passion by explaining how to eat various types of foods. The two are young but very mature at heart when it comes to pursuing their goals for their future.

So just when you thought Galko-Chan was full of sexual undertones, Gokujo seems to take it a next level further with almost every scene being more indecent over time. The story looks at three girls who are on a mission to discover themselves, while sharing stories of their sex appeal lifestyles. Aya tries to out perform her friends, but ends up looking like a complete weirdo as she tries to prove to them that her appeal is more alluring. It's extremely funny because of the fact that it becomes more of a competition between them, than a discussion of self improvement. Each character pulls the trigger and lets off a barrage of snide yet comical remarks that just make you want to burst out and laugh. In Oshiete! Galko-Chan the premise is familiar. Both take place in a school environment with three girls trying to discover themselves throughout their high school experience. The sexual innuendo is very much there, but this time with a more lighthearted approach that teaches us to be more in tune with our bodies, and learn about how it works. What makes it so funny is how direct it is in the facts it elaborates on, while showing visual interpretations of what had been said from the perspective of each character. While not trying to spoil much from the series, there is a scene where the topic of smell floats in and each character is defined solely on their body fumes which is funny in every sense (no puns), because of how true it relates to actual reality and how we tend to judge others in that regard. Definitely check out both shows, as they truly will keep you smiling.

Comedy will never grow boring, just because there are just so many variances of comedy that stick out to so many people. From crude humor, to truth humor, comedy will always resonate inside our souls for all eternity. That now brings us to another very comical and crude anime called Shimoneta. The name is very long which is very funny in itself, since the meaning is a boring world where the concept of dirty jokes don't exist. You will find very much the opposite in this wonderful laughter filled anime, since the dirt is casted all over. Coarse language has been banned in the country along with indecent acts, and so Okuma enrolls into a school which focuses on public morals. He is then invited to an organization known as SOX, which then turns into a crazy and random journey full of obscene acts. Both shows poke fun at censorship, and how it has effected the social mainframe of self expression. Galko and Ayame try to express that by using sexual references to futher elaborate on the basis of freedom, and humanity. Both main characters are determined to show the world around them that it is right to fight for what you believe in, despite what the majority might say. Fast forward to today, where social norms of this magnitude are still overlooked and ignored. Both anime do do their best to provide actual facts, and keep us entertained and educated. Galko approaches the matters more lightheartedly, while Ayame jumps right at you with direct shots. In the end, both demonstrate to the audience that it's important to discuss these issues together, and use humor to ease some of the tension that surround the topics.

You may see an ongoing trend here with our choices here on Honey's anime, in that most of these shows take place in high school. The core cast focuses around the perspectives of females, who love nothing more than spewing dirty jokes at one another while sharing some insight on the sexual positives of life. Seitokai Yakuindomo shows us the story of Tsuda, who finds herself in a gender integrated high school. While on her journey, she comes across various friends who then become a major influence in her life. The anime takes a lot of references from “Manzai” comedy in Japan, which is a traditional style of stand up comedy. The style incorporates the straight individual (Tsukkomi) and a funny airheaded character (boke) who trade jokes at each other. This takes the female approach, and adds in indecency to the mix, which is what brings out the intense humor. In Galko-Chan, the tone remains, but in a more realistic and justified fashion. A lot of the jokes and crudeness found in Galko-Chan happen in situations where we wouldn't expect them to, which is what really sells the humor even more. The randomness and clever delivery is what gives Galko-Chan and Seitokai such a wonderful shine.

The final series on our list is none other than Minami-Ke. This anime went under the radar for many people, since during its release, there were a handful of other anime that superseded it. That should not take away from the fantastic story and humor that this series has, since it will leave you laughing even after watching. Much like Galko-Chan where most episodes are cut into short segments to emphasize points of views, Minami-Ke takes it one step further by throwing in a lot of quirky behavior between the three sisters. They discuss topics on cooking and love confessions, but with such a weird approach that you end up laughing at how everything is explained. What really sells this show is the fact that we can all relate to these characters, despite our genders. You can see that Haruka, Kana, and Chiaki are trying to explore themselves while telling us a humorous story about their crude and intimate adventures. It's something that we all have done in our youths, trying to figure out what certain parts of our bodies do, while laughing at it all because of how odd it is. Both shows imply that it is totally ok to be strange, because no matter what your true friends will always be there to share their obscure stories with you too. We highly recommend checking Minami-Ke for sure!

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun opens as a typical story of unrequited, high school love – girl likes boy, girl professes her love, boy tosses her aside with an autograph, and the two begin to collaborate on a manga together. Perhaps the latter half of that sentence isn’t quite as relatable (or believable) as the former, but it’s a representative of the hilarity that ensues throughout the course of the anime. As you follow Chiyo Sakura on her never-ending quest for the love of the titular Umetaro Nazuki; you will find yourself laughing, face palming, and ultimately rooting for her success. The ratio between story and comedy are mirrored between this and Bakuman.. While Bakuman.’s story-driven plot is sprinkled with instances of comedic relief, Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun’s light-hearted nature is at the forefront of its charm. Despite this, both anime demonstrate the underappreciated effort real-world mangaka put forward in order to produce their works. If you want a sweeter, more comedic take on Bakuman.., look no further.

Have you ever seen a stray animal so cute that you wanted to do nothing more but take care of it as if it were your own flesh and blood? No? What about seven, cute stray animals? These are the exact events that set the story of Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo into motion. Second-year student, Sorata Kanda, finds himself struggling to get accustomed to his new dorm mates after being kicked out for smuggling cats into his old residence. In his quest to return back to the safety of his old dorm, Sorata finds himself in situations that test the limits of his shy personality, resistance to love and value of friendship. Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo invokes the same traits that make the characters of Bakuman. so great and memorable. Through the bonds of love, friendship and with a lot of hard work, the characters in both works elicit the power of comradery and perseverance to the viewer. While Bakuman. focuses on the life of becoming a successful mangaka, Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo, explores other art forms in addition to the aforementioned. Nevertheless, we are left with an anime that is just as inspiring.

Whoever said that violence never solved anything clearly didn’t tell Seishuu Handa. Barakamon follows the story of this young and talented but slightly arrogant calligrapher. After having his work insulted by an elderly, exhibition curator; Seishuu returns the blow to his ego with a blow to the elder’s face. As punishment for his actions, Seishuu travels to the Goto Islands of Kyushu to reflect and re-evaluate his choices. However, those plans fall through after meeting the energetic, clingy villagers – atypical of what one would normally expect when visiting the rural side of the country. Despite the odds, Seishuu’s experience in the village brings him closer and closer to perfecting his craft, as well as aiding him in his own self-growth. The main characters of Bakuman. and Barakamon have similar ideals – both are equally talented in the respective art forms that define them as people. However, the similarities between the characters stop there. While Bakuman.’s themes of friendship and love are a major driving point for its large cast of characters, Barakamon is largely focused on its one main character on his path to self-discovery. Furthermore, Seishuu’s arrogant and cocky attitude on life serves as a stark contrast to many of the characters found in Bakuman.. As such, Barakamon serves as a nice compliment to the shounen qualities that make Bakuman., while being just as inspiring.

There’s nothing worse than working at a job that you hate. In the case of Aoi Miyamori – not only is her job stressful and time-consuming, it also has diminished her love for her most cherished pastime. Shirobako follows Aoi and her 5 best friends – Ema Yasuhar, Shizuka Sakaki, Misa Todo, and Midori Imai – as they come to realize the struggle of making their high school dreams a reality as adults. While they have all done their best to get their feet into the doors of the animation industry, it still feels insufficient. Thus, the story unfolds as these 5 friends hope to finally release their own, professionally-made anime. Like those that preceded it on this list, the similarities between Shirobako and Bakuman. are obvious. Both revolve around a group of friends trying to make it big in the Japanese entertainment industry – Bakuman. is to manga as Shirobako is to anime. While Shirobako lacks the romantic elements that make Bakuman. memorable, it makes up for it with its realistic depiction of post-graduate hardships.

If you were one of the many people who fell into the Guitar Hero/Rock Band craze from almost 10 years ago (or perhaps its recent attempt to become relevant again), then you remember how fun it was to jam out with your friends into the wee hours of the night. Now just imagine what it’d be like to part of a real rock band – one that is just gaining traction and has the potential to be a global success. Beck tells the story of Yukio “Koyuki” Tanaka and how he, through a strange unfolding of events, somehow becomes the newest member of an American rock band. With that much fame and fortune however, Koyuki and his friend Ryusuke are put into situations that push their strength, willpower and friendship to the limit. Beck differentiates itself on this list by straying away from the Japanese art forms of manga and anime production in favor of Western centric music. Nevertheless, the main themes and values remain largely the same to those found in Bakuman.. Mirroring the friendship between Moritaka and Akito, Koyuki needed Ryusuke to give new meaning to his otherwise uneventful and boring life. For these reasons alone, any fan of Bakuman. should be a fan of Beck.

Uchuu Kyoudai is a tale of (space) epic proportions. One night in the summer of 2006, brothers Mutta and Hibito Nanba see a UFO fly off towards the moon. So what would a normal pair of brothers do after seeing such a spectacle? Make a pact to become astronauts and go to the moon and Mars respectively, that’s what. Almost 20 years later, only one of the brothers held up to their agreement. While Hibito is training to be the first Japanese astronaut to go on a lunar landing mission, Mutta is busy getting fired for head butting Zidane-style circa the 2006 FIFA World Cup Final. However, things change for the better when Hibito steps in to give his older brother the push he needs to achieve his dreams. Uchuu Kyoudai goes one step further and adds familial ties to the mix in addition to the common themes of friendship and romantic love seen in the other recommendations. What remains the same is a character that is going through a depressing life-hurdle – one that can only be overcome by a significant other who must reignite the blown out fire from within them. While it may seem hard to compare manga production with space travel, Uchuu Kyoudai is a must-see for not only Bakuman. fans, but for fans of great storytelling.

Welkin Gunther is an Student returning home who runs into a local militia member, named Alicia, who suspects him of being a spy. Suddenly, the neighboring, belligerent Empire attacks, seeking to conquer Gallia, Welkin and Alicia's homeland. Along with Welkin's sister, Isara Gunther, Welkin and Alicia answer the call to defend their homeland and use the Edelweiss tank, developed their father, to drive off the Imperials. Senjou no Valkyria shares a lot of similarities in the attention to detail it puts on the military setting. Chains of commands, different types of units, tactics and strategies are all being expressed as ways of the protagonists overcoming their obstacles and achieving victory. Both shows have nefarious counter currents of political intrigue running in the background, although Schwarzesmarken has this more prominently right from the start than Senjou no Valkyria. Valkyria is an adaptation of the PS3 Strategy game Valkyria Chronicles which I would recommend playing before you start the show if only because it's such a stand out experience in video games.

Sidonia is a massive city-ship floating through space which is on the run from the Gauna, massive extraterrestrial beings which have destroyed the earth. Nagate Tanikaze lives as a drifter deep within the bowels of Sidonia, who after being captured for stealing rice on the service, is conscripted into the military. Being given pilot simulation by his father, who raised him underground, Tanikaze enlists to be a GARDE pilot. This is another Mecha show, and not one you should discount because it's entirely in CG. It takes getting used to at first, but Knights of Sidonia actually has some CG sequences that look great, and the quality of presentation as a whole gets a lot better in the second season. It's another show where humans have to pilot Mecha against aliens who are trying to kill them. And it's another show where there's layers of political infighting in the background which threatens the protagonists. It has an interesting, unique setting for a show with it's premise as well.

Humanity is constrained by walls, which protect it from the onslaught of massive humanoid beasts called Titans to take pleasure in eating humans. But while they protect mankind, Erean Jaeger knows that they're also a cage. Desiring freedom, he desires to join the recon corps, and elite group of soldiers who fight titans beyond the wall. One day, the titans break through the wall and Eren's life, alongside those of his friends Mikasa Ackerman and Armin Alert, will never be the same. Shingeki no Kyojin and Schwarzesmarken both have frightening inhuman antagonists whose preferred method of killing is eating the protagonists alive often in full view of their friends and comrades. It makes for heavy, anxious drama tinged with body horror that are what makes both experiences so palatable, pardon my pun. Shingeki no Kyojin takes this type of drama and places it really well within the edgier, move dark and violent currents that Shounen series have been trending towards. It's great animation, fantastic soundtrack and extended combat arcs really make for a visceral, edge of your seat experience. Plus, if you haven't seen Shingeki no Kyojin yet, it's about time you get around to it!

Since 1973, aliens called BETA have driven humanity to a crisis point. In response, they have developed massive humanoid weapons called TSF to defend against the BETA Menace. Yui Takimura Is a Japanese TSF Pilot tasked with overseeing the development of the next-level TSFs, a joint project of Japan and USA, the latter sends Yuya Bridges to take part in the project who's meeting will change the course of both their lives. This is the original! Schwarzesmarken is an in-universe spin-off/prequel for this Visual Novel turned Anime Adaptation, so if you're curious about where the story goes off after, you should definitely check out Muv-Luv. It has the wonderfully designed TSF's, the mostly female pilot staff, and some of the high drama involved when you're facing off an enemy which is trying to eat you alive. Muv-Luv has generated a devoted following (It had a Kickstarter for the English-language adaptation, which was one of the quickest ever to exceed all it's goals) and you should definitely check it out if you're a mecha fan.

Itami Youji is an average guy trying to attend a Doujinshi convention in Ginza, but he's also an JSDF Reservist. Suddenly, a gate appears in the middle of Ginza, and soldiers with antiquity era technology cause death and havoc, only to be beaten back by the JSDF. Wanting to get a handle on the situation, the JSDF Forays into the Gate, to try to secure peace. Gate is another military show which, although it's not a mecha show, has tons of vehicles and gear on feature that will likely appeal it to some Mecha fans. It's got a more light-hearted and goofy tone than Schwarzesmarken but Gate has its serious moments and it's also a political/military drama where you see the fighting on the ground and the political movements behind the scenes. Gate is also unique because it features how a modern military, which despite its overwhelming military advantage, still has to go through hurdles and tread carefully to use military force in a manner befitting of international law as well as maintain the moral high ground to sway the populace. It's a different take on most military show's that I think a lot of people can enjoy.

Angelise Ikaruga, known to her friends as simply Ange, is in line to be the empress of a land where magic, or mana, has made it into a paradise. Those who can't use mana, the Norma, or cast out and oppressed and despite being born into the summit of privilege, Ange is found out to be a norma. Thrust into a paramail, a 'coffin for Norma', Ange must participate in suicide missions to defend human society from transgressing dragons. How long can Ange last? What are the truth behind Mana and the Norma? Cross Ange is a Mecha series that features nearly all female pilots, just like Schwarzesmarken. It's main difference is that the plot has a number of more light-hearted and comedic elements as well as a degree of fanservice that's more akin to the original Muv-Luv than Schwarzesmarken. But Cross Ange also does have an overarching plot where the pilots try to rectify the social and political ills of the day, caused by a corrupt and inhumane system of government. And of course, lots of mech battles against extraterrestrial forces!

Let’s start this list off with an oldie but goodie, one of my all-time favorite shows: Cowboy Bebop. This story will bring you far enough into the future to experience space travel and see humanity surpass the boundaries of planet earth. Together with easy-going Spike and grumpy cyborg Jet you will encounter amazing fights, bounty hunts and many bizarre characters, so get ready for a crazy space adventure! While Cowboy Bebop focuses more on space travel, it also depicts life in futuristic cities, just like Dimension W. Both heroes make a living by hunting down criminals and are way more than amateurs in their field. Also, Spike and Kyouma both have dark pasts that they have to forget in order to keep going forward in their lives. Cowboy Bebop is a must-watch for all fans of anime!

Next up we have a recommendation for all movie fans out there with Sci-Fi adventure Metropolis. Metropolis is the name of the futuristic city that stands at the center of this movie. It is a city where humans and robots should be able to coexist, but there are more than just a few conflicts separating the two sides. This adventure involves robots, scientists, powerful leaders and detectives and will give you a dark interpretation of the future lying ahead of us. This recommendation is definitely a must watch for all Sci-Fi fans, not only because it was inspired by the German silent movie of the same name, released in 1927. Similar to Dimension W, we have a plot revolving around humans and robots coexisting in a dystopian future, but it is really the depiction of future technologies and urban life that connects the two. If you are looking for a movie to watch on a night in, give Metropolis a try.

You want more tough guys and badass fights? Then check out Gangsta., the next recommendation on this list. Nic and Worick know their way around the dark streets of their city. Ergastulum is a dangerous place filled with thieves, prostitutes and murderers, but no job is too dirty for our heroes. With weapons, muscle power and witty comebacks they are ready to take on anyone standing in their way. Dimension W can be described as a more child-friendly and colorful version of Gangsta. In both shows we have big cities filled with criminals as well as grim-faced heroes that take care of the bad guys. The overall vibes are quite similar, but Gangsta. tries especially hard to set a dark and dirty mood. Definitely check it out if you are a fan of criminals, man-on-man fights or straightforward stories.

Let’s move on to the most recent recommendation on this list with a love story from the Spring Season 2015. Plastic Memories tells the story of Isla and Mizugaki, an android girl and a so-called retriever. It’s their job to collect Giftia, humanlike androids, that are reaching their expiration date. If they are not taken care of, they will lose control and harm the people around them. Mizugaki is slowly getting a hang of his new job, but soon he has to face a sad reality: he is developing feelings for Isla while she is reaching her expiration date. Don’t get me wrong, the relationship between Isla and Tsukasa is nothing like the one between Mira and Kyouma, so don’t expect any romance from Dimension W. However, both shows have a similar female lead. Isla and Mira are both not human even though they look and act like normal girls. Also, they especially cater to male audiences since they are cute, sometimes helpless and always ready to help those in need. Fans of robot girls will enjoy!

Almost 10 years old, but still one of the top anime out there: next up on our list is mystery and Sci-Fi show Darker than Black. In the universe of Darker than Black two gates open on earth; Heaven’s Gate in South America and Hell’s Gate in - you guessed it - Japan. Together with these gates, humans known as Contractors appear who have gained supernatural abilities in exchange for their humanity. Get ready for a darker version of Japan filled with crime, hate and supernatural battles. Darker than Black is a masterpiece that explores the human mind. Not only is the story intriguing, but the whole atmosphere of the show feels unique - similar to Dimension W. This should come as no surprise since both original manga are written by the same author, Iwahara Yuuji. Both shows have their own approach to futuristic cities, so all fans of Sci-Fi should definitely check them out.

Last up is a show that most of you should already be familiar with and if not, it’s about time to change that. Get ready for Psycho Pass. In a future where a person’s personality and criminal potential can instantly be measured, public order is maintained by a special police force. With the help of futuristic technology these professionals take criminals out before they even commit a crime. But there are people who find ways around this technology and it’s up to badass Kougami Shinya and newbie Tsunemori Akane to stop them. Not only is Psycho Pass set in the near future, but similar to Dimension W we have a single technology that controls everyone and everything. While both systems seem to promise freedom and safety, they are secretly controlling the population. Fans of dystopian stories and Sci-Fi settings will definitely enjoy both shows, so check them out when you have the time.

In the world of Seiren Tsukai, pure maidens have the ability to make contracts with spirits and wield their power in the form of weapons. Kamito is a careless young boy who stumbles upon one of these maidens, Claire, while she’s taking a bath. Clearly, she thinks he’s a pervert, but soon she is shocked to discover he’s the only male capable of making contracts with spirits. The similarities between Blade Dance and Bahamut are many and quite obvious. To begin with, the main characters in both shows meet each other in the exact same situation, a bath incident. Kamito has to attend an all-girls high school where he is both loathed and wanted by the female students. The biggest difference is that characters fight using magic and spiritual weapons instead of mecha.

Infinite Stratos is probably the first (or among the first) of these kind of shows, and therefore quite an original one. It tells the story of a world in which women can operate giant mecha, making them superior to men. However, there is one boy, Ichika Orimura, who can operate these mecha, and he’s actually quite skilled at it. Ichika now attends an elite academy of future IS pilots, where he’s surrounded by all kinds of girls. Merely by reading both shows’ synopsis, one would immediately think Bahamut is an IS rip off. Both shows have a male protagonist attending an all-girls high school, where he meets stereotypical characters such as the tsundere and dandere. Both high schools happen to be training academies for mecha pilots, and in both shows the male character is challenged to a fight by the female protagonist on the first episode. Bahamut may be, in all likelihood, an IS rip off. But who can blame them? IS is a damn good show and a nice role model for all fantasy harem anime.

Rakudai Kishi is one of the top fantasy ecchi shows of the last season. It’s pretty similar to Bahamut in many aspects but it’s somewhat original in some others. In a futuristic world, Magic Knights fight using weapons which manifest from their souls. Ikki Kurogane is regarded as the “Worst One” in his magic school for not having magical skills. Yet, he compensates that with certain hidden abilities. Rakudai Kishi is mostly similar to Bahamut in its characters and the way some events unfold. The first thing we’ll notice is how in both shows, the female protagonist challenges the male character to a duel on the first episode. The outcomes of these battles are more or less the same, the girl is bested and the boy earns her respect and admiration. Of course, they develop a love hate relationship from that point onwards.

Sky Wizards Academy is set in a world where humanity lives on floating cities due to the threat of giant beetle-like monsters. Sky Wizards are in charge of fighting them off, so potential Sky Wizards are trained in the academy city of Misutogan. Kanata Age used to be an elite Sky Wizard, but he’s now scorned and branded a traitor. To redeem himself he has to train the three worst female students in the academy. This fantasy action school drama is also quite new, and it shares a few similarities with Bahamut. To begin with, the male character has to put up with a group of awkward girls, who hate him one minute and admire him the next. But most importantly, both shows are about these young students who train to become knights and protect their cities from the attacks of some terrible monsters. One has got ugly-looking dragons and the other one has big fat beetles.

Date a Live is quite a good one. It’s much more of a light taste comedy harem show. It gets a bit ridiculous at times, but that’s also part of its appeal. Shido Itsuka is an average high school boy who finds a strange girl in a crater after a time space blast. It turns out that some powerful beings from another dimension appear randomly on Earth, devastating the space around them. These beings (who happen to be gorgeous girls) are particularly difficult to eliminate, so the anti-spirit organization Ratatosk decides to neutralize them by making them fall in love. Of course, they have no better idea than sending poor Shido to do the job. Date a Live is a fantastic action harem with a ladies man as the male protagonist, just like Bahamut. The girls use armored suits (not exactly mecha) like in Bahamut, and you’ll also find some of the same stereotypes. The big difference here is that Shido has no special abilities, and his only way to protect his world is by reaching the heart of the spirit girl, with his charm as his only weapon.

This one is quite the original and complex show. It’s also a combination of fantasy with action, ecchi, harem and mecha; everything the average anime lover wants in a show. The recently crowned Princess Lashara survives an assassination attempt after a mysterious boy who’s sent to kill her refuses to do so. She then takes him under her protection while civil war breaks out. The main similarity between this show and Bahamut is clearly, the use of bio-mechanical weapons. The mecha on Isekai are much larger and more complex though, which makes the show quite a bit more serious and interesting. They also have in common the fact that the main character is surrounded by women, many of whom are quite interested in him, while a few others are a bit reluctant to have him around.

Academy City, located in the western part of Tokyo, is a technologically advanced city for scientific research and educational purposes. The story is set in the world where supernatural abilities manifested in real life. The lucky ones who posses this kind of ability is called Espers and our protagonist, Kamijou Touma, also known as the God of Pestilence by his peers, is a Level 0 Esper, meaning that he has no supernatural ability whatsoever except being able to attract infinite amount of bad luck. One day, Touma accidentally met a young, starving, British nun lying unconsciously on his balcony’s railing. She claimed her name was Index and she is being pursued because she is carrying 103,000 forbidden magical books of the church. Having believed in science all his life (magic was prohibited by the authority), Touma asked her to show him a magic trick, but was refused repeatedly. Having known that his right hand carries the power of Imagine Breaker, the power to negate any supernatural powers, even blessings from God, Touma purposely touched Index’s clothes as she claimed that the fabric is the most powerful magical protection and nothing could hurt her. Moments passed before the clothes disintegrated on the spot. So that’s how our main characters became friends. Two different worlds – Church and Magic as well as Science and Supernatural will collide and Touma and Index will be in the middle of it all. If you think being pursued by the authority and underground, secret organizations and on top of it, possessing rare, illegal documents an adventure, then you have got to see this! Toaru Majutsu no Index and Dragon Crisis bring unassuming boys into their respective world and show us how they rise to their full potential with the help of powerful (and cute) sidekicks. Both boys experienced bouts of amnesiac period after a certain important incident that marked them as The Chosen One and are surrounded by more girls than they could ever imagine. Both anime feature a cat-and-mouse chase and our protagonists’ once in a lifetime chance of protecting rare, important artifacts. Who cares about being unlucky when you can always get a personal harem?

The world is known as The Gift and Giftium is a type of blue crystal found buried deep in mines underneath the town of Garden Indigo. In the first episode, you will be presented to the main protagonist, Sogo Amagi, and his reckless attitude. Not only is he always on-the-go, he tends to get involved in other people’s disputes, especially his friends’ wedding arrangements. Forgetting to buy some loaves of bread, he got caught in the fight between Kaon, Roman and Otto (Roman’s butler) and end up being trapped in an undiscovered part of the mining area. Sogo’s hobby as a rare crystal collector and amateur connoisseur has always led him into underground mines looking for another special type of mineral theorized by his mother, Ena. The special mineral is a red gem known as Lucifer. Unbeknownst to him, the authority was also looking for the same crystal and they’re not digging for it. Mechas and explosions were the simplest solution to get it done. Imagine being trapped in a cramped cave filled with the red, glittering crystal and Kaon, the bride-to-be, while her fiancé and faithful butler were chasing them, and of course the government was trying to crush the whole place down. Inside the cave, they accidentally discovered that somehow the red crystal turned into a little girl with a special superpower. A lot of chasing and mecha back flips ensues. Comet Lucifer and Dragon Crisis have the element of love triangle between the main character, childhood friend and another humanoid girl of a different species. Ryuuji has to settle his misunderstanding and mixed signals with Rose (the red dragon) and Misaki Eto while Sogo has his fair share with Kaon and the mysterious red crystal girl, Felia. Besides the similarities in plot, the main characters’ designated soul partners also went through the same experience, being close to mute in the beginning. Rose and Felia are a kind of unique weapons and not to mention, rare treasures, which mean plenty of pursuits, protect and rescue missions. Boys, may the odds be ever in your favor.

Worshipping a deity is too main stream. When you’re too attractive like Mahiro Yasaka, the deity worships you. Although represented in Lovecraftian older pulp fiction books as an older dude covered with tentacles, Nyarlathotep (or Nyaruko for short) appears as a cute alien girl with silver colored hair and deadly combat powers. She was arranged by the Space Defense Agency for our hero’s main protection. The story is pretty simple. Earth was under attack by criminal aliens looking forward to kidnap Mahiro. Nyarlathotep and her other alien friends, Cthungha and Hastur, act as bodyguards and save the day. If you’re into otaku culture, parodies and a fan of H.P Lovecraft Cthulhu mythos, this is the one to beat. Haiyore! Nyaruko-san and Dragon Crisis bring our main protagonists out of their comfort zone. Ryuuji was just a simple student going to his class until his second cousin came to pick him up and he ends up using the Lost Precious knowledge bestowed from his parents. Well in Mahiro’s case, he too, awakened a dormant skill that involves the gene of the Great Deity Hunter within him. If Ryuuji is proficient in wielding an S-Class dragon weapon dubbed as ‘Slash Breath’, witness Mahiro’s flying fork techniques. No aliens were spared from this.

When you’re the undead, everything else didn’t matter. Ayumu Aikawa was resurrected by a necromancer he met outside a convenience store, Eucliwood Hellscythe (Eu for short), after he was killed by a serial killer. His second life was devoted to find the perpetrator. Besides being the zombie, Ayumu is also a part-time Masou-Shoujo or Magical Garment Girl. This is not a mistake. While Ayumu was making the best of his zombie life, he accidentally siphoned a superpower from a full time Masou-Shoujo, Haruna, who appeared to be fighting a AA class Megalo, a crayfish monster from another world. The power came with two important magical accessories – a chainsaw and a very girly outfit. Being a temporary Masou-Shoujo activates more lethal power because Ayumu is able to combine his brute strength and magic. Due to his efficient healing abilities and of course not being able to die, he was able to unleash 1000% of Haruna’s magical secret weapon, The Mystletainn Kick. Kore wa Zombie Desu ka and Dragon Crisis are similar that the main characters are able to work in tandem to produce maximum power. Ryuuji and Rose have to ‘engage’ beforehand and while fighting King of the Night aka Yoruno, a zombie antagonist, and Ayumu and Haruna were able to transform into Masou-Shoujo together. What will happen when two undeads with awesome powers fight? Tune in to find out!

The Queen of Vampires, Mina Tepes is an ambitious young lady. She may not look more than 10 but she was actually more than 400 years old. She had bought an island close to Japan dubbed Tokyo Landfill #0 and planned to establish her new kingdom, a ‘bund’, where vampires live in harmony and no one is allowed to leave, except with some special exceptions. In order to make this dream a reality, she pays off Japan’s national debt and imported successful vampire owned businesses in order to boost Japan’s economy. The conflict ensues when humans and vampires collide. Naturally, she is the main target of many attempts for assassination. Enter Akira Kaburagi Regendorf, a 17 year old werewolf raised to be a devout protector of the royal vampire family. He was determined to protect Mina whom he shares a corresponded love with. Things were a little bit complicated when Yuki confessed her feelings towards him. Dance in the Vampire Bund and Dragon Crisis share many things in common, but the most obvious connection was when Akira and Ryuuji both experienced episodes of amnesia after a traumatic event and regained their memories later. They are extremely protective of their respective partners and will not give up in any situation. Both anime didn’t just tell us a love story, but the whole hierarchy of power, conspiracy, blackmail and propaganda in real life society.

Dragons appeared out of nowhere and the world panicked. Years later, girls with Dragon superpowers (or Ds) were born. Midgard, a special institution dedicated to hone the girls’ abilities was funded and here they’re trained to combat future Dragons. It’s safe to say that the government intends to use Ds as the Earth’s counterattack, but there’s a catch - there is also a probability that the Ds could transform into a Dragon resulting in double trouble. How are they going to prevent this? Our main protagonist, Yuu Mononobe is a former Second Lieutenant from NIFL, a military branch of the International Organization Asgard. He is the only male D in the world and was accepted into Midgard, though not without mixed feelings from his seniors and adopted younger sister, Mitsuki. He proudly showed his accomplishments of dark matter materialization - a gun, but was immediately deemed useless for it won’t inflict any harm to the Dragons. In the first episode, Yuu accidentally saw a fellow classmate, Iris Freyja, skinny dipping at the beach and that was the start of his new friendship. Besides being a normal student, his job was to monitor the Ds and was tasked to take out anyone capable of becoming a Dragon, as per request from his commanding officer. We will follow Yuu’s adventure of being the strongest assassin Midgard and Asgard can offer. Juuou Mujin no Fafnir and Dragon Crisis both carry fast-paced dragon inspired journey and our protagonists are the heroes of the harem world. They’re strong, determined and for some reason, always end up in awkward situations. No spoilers intended, but both boys are not what they seem they are, having such power and skills. As the episodes progress, you will find out what they exactly are and understand why they are The Chosen Ones.

A soul that committed a great crime has been given a second chance to live. Against its will, this soul has to take over the body of a Japanese boy named Makoto, who at 14 years old, committed suicide. Guided by an entity named Purapura, he must now deal with his new life in the body of a boy who used to be a depressed lone wolf. Driven by extreme curiosity on who “Makoto” was before his suicide, the new Makoto sets out to unravel the mystery behind this death. “To put oneself in another's shoes” is what this story is about, and what Makoto is about to discover will really leave you thinking about it for days. Like Erased, Colorful is about a second chance of fixing past mistakes to build a present worth living. We also have the death of a child and an insatiable desire to unravel the truth behind it. The atmosphere of this movie feels as unsettling as in Erased, but the most significant similarity is the way Makoto builds up the puzzle, leading to the resolution of his own past mistake, being able to fix it, and finally obtaining his own peace of mind.

The series, Another, starts off as an anime version of the Hollywood movie Final Destination, with a galore of “there is no way this can actually happen” types of deaths. Sadly, these death scenes are reduced to only unveil a small town superstition that gets way out of hand. Our protagonist, Koichi Sakakibara, sets out to find the truth behind this mystery and how it links back to his friend Mei, a girl who has been “erased” from existence in the eyes of others. The life of a young boy changes because of a socially deprived girl with a gloomy attitude. Mei and Kayo’s personalities are stunningly similar. Both girls have a dark family burden and they both act calm, like they don't want to be saved, but once they open up to the boys in their perspective series, it’s really all they want, a salve. So far, Another is more graphic than Erased, but we can see a bit of the same violent exposure in Sachiko’s murder. On a side note, Another’s music is very similar to Erased, which is cool if you dig creepy OSTs.

A millennium from now, Japan is a utopia. Our main characters possess psychokinesis powers called Cantus, known to be the power of Gods. Mysterious abductions / disappearances of children from the school and town create a murky atmosphere that raise many questions about what is really going on in this place. The series is slow but it pays off by building a complex story about humanity’s darkness, tension, violence and even homosexuality. Like Erased, Shinsekai Yori is filled with themes of indirect violence and the disappearance of children. The story focuses on children making decisions to change their lives, just as in Erased with Satoru (even though he still has the mind of an adult). Shinsekai Yori uses flashbacks to narrate events in the story instead of time travel, but these scenes feel as if you're traveling through time. They are both stories told from the “future” about a memoir, which is strongly linked to the past, and we are watching the “present” of the story. Definitely two excellent series to compare when you want to see how messed up up and twisted society is.

This two episode OVA is hard to explain without any spoilers, but as confusing and idiotic as it may sound, I assure you it does not disappoint when you watch it. Denpa Teki na Kanojo is a hidden treasure among all the school thriller shows, it follows the story of Juu, a school yankee who can’t shake off the sudden over attachment of a crazy girl named Ame. She proclaims herself as “the loyal knight of Juu, the great King…” from another reincarnated life. The show really takes off when signs of a psychotic killer begin to unravel a very terrible story. The nutcase girl Ame, starts to sound more and more intelligent and extremely mysterious when she decides to help Juu catch the killer, as she gives him bits of riddles that point out the identity of the real murderer. Is this girl a detective genius or can she really remember past life events? I must admit, I selected this anime out of a hunch, while it has no direct relation to Erased other than student murders, something about this OVA screams Boku Dake ga Inai Machi. In Denpa Teki, an unknown killer is meticulous on not being caught so easily, often directs evidence to point at other people, just like in Erased. The character Ame reminds me greatly of Erased’s character Airi, and her role in the story. Airi, just like Ame, is randomly motivated to help the protagonist find the killer. Why? Who is she really? Will she be the key to expose the actual killer, just like Ame was for Juu? Hopefully yes, so I can confirm my theory and my reason for selecting this show.

The ghost of a little girl called Menma comes back to haunt Jinta, a teenage boy who just wants to forget and let go of a scarring past. To help his former friend’s soul find eternal rest, he must first figure out why she appeared in the first place. Could it be connected to their old group of childhood friends from the Super Peace Buster club? This series is a mix of drama, tragedy and anxiety, with a pinch of tender moments that result in an emotionally tearing series that will make you suffer from dehydration after all the crying. Since we’re not boarding that emotional train - yet - in Boku Dake ga Inai Machi, here's why it’s similar: AnoHana’s plot occurs all in the present but they have to deal with a problem they've been dragging along from the past, related to a girl and her death. Much like Erased, the death of Menma changes the future of the characters and solving the mystery behind her death changes the outcome of their lives. Jinta and Satoru share many affinities, they both grow up to have a life that sucks, purposely stranded away from social relations to hide a childhood tragedy. Both characters are very analytical, rational, eager to solve convoluted puzzles and devoted to save the girl.

This series is a sci-fi thriller with a complex story about a self proclaimed mad scientist named Okabe, who’s hobby is creating “future devices” in his Future Gadget Lab together with his “colleagues”. Their most developed project is called Phone Microwave, which seems like a stupid invention until they discover it can send emails to the past. This gives them the power to change history, save the life of a friend and even go against an evil organization named SERN. By popular demand, Steins;Gate is the most “similar” to Erased but in my personal opinion, this comparison doesn't feel quite right. The series do share some points like changing history multiple times to save someone. In Steins;Gate, everytime they change anything someone different dies. But, so far in Erased, something like this hasn't happened but it does have a high possibility of doing so. Unlike Erased, Steins has humor, pretty girls, a slow start, and it has a more scientific approach of time travel theories. They do share at one point the theory of “The Butterfly effect”, which is evident in Steins;Gate but only lightly covered in Erased episode 6 (aside from the theory being suggested by the obvious blue butterfly). As I said before, these events might change and the series MIGHT end up a complicated but world famous story like Steins;Gate.

When mythical creatures are found to be real, the “Cultural Exchange Between Species” act is put into place to assimilate them into society. Kurusu Kimihito is “volunteered” into the exchange program and must take care of Miia a sexy, snake-bodied lamia who is really into him. Oh, and then a centaur girl, and a harpy, and a slime girl…. The catch is, there is a law against interspecies breeding, so even though Kimihito lives with these gorgeous monsters and they all want him, he can’t touch them! Now what…? MonMusu is definitely not an Adventure anime, but it most certainly has the Fantasy element since there are mythical creatures all over the place. It also matches KonoSuba in regards to ridiculous situations, clumsy girls, and of course, Harem. MonMusu is a silly Comedy show, with the typical awkward situations of a slightly Ecchi anime filled with fantasy-world girls with good intentions that can’t seem to get anything right, kind of like our girls in KonoSuba. While it’s not set in an RPG world, it definitely gives you a similar feel.

Louise is a magician who isn’t very good at using magic, which has earned her the nickname of “Zero Louise”. She attends Tristen Academy and in her next test she must summon a familiar. Not surprisingly, she is unable to summon anything powerful and instead summons Saito Hiraga, an average Japanese boy. Unable to break that link, they reluctantly set off on an adventure together as master and familiar. Though not in an RPG world necessarily, Zero no Tsukaima is set in a world of Fantasy and magic. Louise’s inability to do anything right is very much like our main girls in KonoSuba. And we have a regular Japanese boy being pulled into this crazy situation by a less-than-capable girl who is supposed to be his superior. Saito is also able to manipulate Louise by using her weaknesses against her much like Kazuma does with Aqua. In Zero no Tsukaima we also have a Harem situation though Saito enjoys it much more than Kazuma does as he is naturally a bit on the horny side. The Familiar of Zero is a fun, Adventure Comedy anime with some Ecchi and Romance mixed in.

A mysterious gate opened in the middle of Ginza in Tokyo and from it came all sorts of fantasy creatures and began to wreak havoc in the city. Luckily, Youji Itami, an otaku and officer of the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force was there on his day off and was able to take action and get things under control. After that, Japan sent the Third Reconnaissance Team with Itami as their lead to investigate the “Special Region” on the other side of the gate. There, they face all manner of fantastic characters and difficult situations. They also recruit an elf, a sorceress and a demigoddess who aid them through their adventures. Fantasy, Comedy, Harem, Gate has everything that KonoSuba has, except Itami and company are completely serious about their tasks and the main characters are all badasses. While they do take their roles more seriously, Itami’s otakuness and some of the running gags in the show are pretty funny. So if you’re looking for something that isn’t a parody, is bloodier and with less painful failures to watch, Gate is where you should look.

After sorceress Lina Inverse joins forces with adventurer swordsman Gourry Gabriev in what is supposed to be a one-time thing, she accidentally liberates an artifact which is the key to resurrecting the demon lord Shabranigdo. Now together, the two must face the dark lord’s servants while gathering fantastic creatures as part of their party. Ok, so Slayers is a bit… old. BUT, it is also set in an RPG-like world and is full of Adventure, Fantasy and Comedy and it’s set up as a light-hearted parody of the genre, much like KonoSuba. Lina isn’t a goddess and she’s not a failure either, she’s actually very strong for a 15 year-old. Amelia, who later joins the team, can be a bit naïve and clumsy but believes in justice, which is a bit reminiscent of Raratine in KonoSuba, albeit minus the masochism. If you want to see what Comedy Fantasy Adventure anime was like in the 90s, Slayers is a good one to watch.

A group of strangers awakens in the middle of a dark medieval landscape with no memories of their past. Sometimes they catch themselves saying words they don’t even know the meaning of, though they just roll off their tongues. They are told to join the Reserve Army forces to keep the town safe from monsters and in order to make a living. Manato, Haruhiro, Ranta, Yume, Shihoru and Mogzo team up without any idea of what to do or expect and try, unsuccessfully, to defeat the monsters they come across. What will they do? Why are they there? While Hai to Gensou no Grimgar is most definitely set in an RPG world where they must join guilds, level up, earn coins and defeat monsters like in KonoSuba, it is far from being a comedy. Based on a novel, this anime is serious and more of an Adventure Drama. There’s Fantasy, Action and Adventure, and the group of adventurers we follow is not very successful, much like in KonoSuba, but it is also bloody and full of emotion. I’d recommend Hai to Gensou no Grimgar if you want a break from the silliness but don’t want to give up on the struggles of novice adventurers or the RPG Fantasy feel.

In the underground labyrinths of the city of Orario, also known as the “Dungeon”, many adventurers seek challenges, glory and riches along with the help of their goddesses. Bell Cranel is one such adventurer, though he is goddess-less. One day, while in the dungeon, he is attacked and nearly killed by a Minotaur, until a beautiful blonde adventurer saves his life. Humiliated and now infatuated by the mysterious beauty, Bell continues his search for a goddess and comes across Hestia. She takes him on, and he becomes her first follower. From there on Hestia and Bell continue on adventures and searching for more followers. DanMachi is set in a real-life RPG world like KonoSuba so it doesn’t lack in the adventure department. It also involves a boy and his less-than-helpful goddess as our main guy’s only support. Hestia is looked down upon by other gods and goddesses because she doesn’t have a big enough group of followers. The two start off living in a run-down building, kind of like Aqua and Kazuma live in the horse shed. And DanMachi most certainly delivers in the Comedy and silliness department. DanMachi isn’t a parody but it doesn’t take itself too seriously, it’s definitely a fun ride with a good balance of laughs and adventure in a game-like world. Also, boobs!

Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou follows the lives of 3 students at Sanada North High School, an all boys’ academy. Follow them through their daily lives as they let their imaginations run wild and do all the things that high school boys do. If you are looking for some slice of life goofiness, you will definitely get your fill with Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou. Like Nijiiro Days, Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou stars a male cast and their everyday lives involving whatever it is boys do. The comedic stylings are similar as each character has his own unique personality to add to the mix of silliness. You will find that Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou may be one of your new favorites in the genre of slice of life. How can you even resist?

This is the story about the ordinary lives of Asaba twins Yuuki and Yuuta, Matsuoka, and Kaname who are all childhood friends. Now, they have a new transfer student who's about to make life more interesting. What are you looking for in an anime? Slice of life? Comedy? School life? Maybe some drama? You will be surprised that you can find all that in Kimi to Boku.! These boys will keep you entertained with their entertaining personalities and carefree attitudes. Kimi to Boku. will bring back the fun of Nijiiro Days in a new anime with new characters. You have to appreciate a good slice of life anime with a male cast; there are just too few of them!

Takanashi Souta loves cute things and cannot deny a request made by the adorable Taneshima Popura who has asked that he work at Wagnaria!!. Now, he finds himself working at Wagnaria!! amongst an odd group of people all with their own idiosyncrasies that make this job a lot more interesting than it first appeared! Working!! is just one of those slice of life anime that never gets tiring. Just look, there are three seasons! Now Working!! plays off of the same slice of life genre that Nijiiro Days has but utilizes in a working background. The characters are all really goofy and while there is some romance in Working!!, you will find yourself shouting at the characters with frustration during some moments the way you would with Nijiiro Days. Still, the plot is cute and ever so fun to watch. Who knew a cast of oddballs would work so well together? Do not forget to give Working!! a chance!

Sakura Chiyo has had a crush on Nozaki Umetarou, but when she confesses to him, he thinks she’s a fan. Apparently, he’s a shoujo mangaka writing under the alias Yumeno Sakiko. Now, Nozaki has invited her to his house to help him with his work! Chiyo thinks that working with him will allow her to get closer to him. In the meantime, Chiyo is slowly starting to learn the inner workings of a manga and her schoolmates who have inspired the characters! Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun is an anime whose main protagonist is often forgotten in favor of Nozaki, who seems to hit all the right punch lines without meaning to. Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun features a group of guys and their issues with the troublesome women in their lives and how they cope with that aspect of their lives while working together to make a great shoujo manga. The humor is a bit different, Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun is an anime you can’t get through without cracking up into laughter. If you like Nijiiro Days, you will love Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun!

Fujioka Haruhi has joined the prestigious ranks of Ouran High School as a scholarship student. At Ouran High, the students are amongst the highest order. In the search for a quiet place to study, Haruhi stumbles upon the Ouran High School Host Club where Haruhi accidentally destroys an expensive vase worth eight million yen! From the club’s dog to a host, Haruhi must work to pay off the debt, but here’s the thing: Haruhi is actually a girl! Now, Haruhi must hide the fact that she’s a girl or spend the rest of her life paying off the debt as the host club’s dog! Is there any group sillier than the Ouran High School Host Club? This group of boys likes to meddle in people’s love lives, toy with people’s emotions, and get into as much trouble as possible while holding all the cards in their favor. If you’re looking for a fun group of boys with some flair in their humor, you have got it in Ouran High School Host Club!

Starmyu is the story of 5 high school students who are trying to make their way into the prestigious Ayanagi Academy musical department. This involves being accepted into the Star Frame Class, which is under the tutelage of the Kaou-kai, the most talented amongst the Ayanagi Academy musical department. One day, they hit a stroke of luck as one of the Kaou-kai members, Ootori Itsuki becomes interested in them. If you are looking for a group of guys who are just learning about friendship and what it means to work together, Starmyu is your anime! Much like Nijiiro Days, Starmyu shows you the camaraderie between a group of boys who are learning the true meaning of friendship despite all of their differences. You will get to see how these guys joke around and tease each other in an anime all about working together as friends!