Experiences like bombing the trigonometry final, taking a dodgeball to the face, and realising one’s crush is infatuated with the quarterback can leave students feeling less enthusiastic about school.
However, despite the potential stress it can bring, school has a certain enchantment to it.
It has its wonderful moments: forming connections, excelling in challenging assignments, and finding the bravery to perform on stage and deliver an unforgettable Hamlet performance in front of a packed auditorium.
That really makes it all worth it.
Whether it’s elementary, high school, or college, the schools in these anime provide a platform for students to embark on exciting new adventures.
They have a knack for bringing out the best in reserved individuals, challenging even the most courageous athletes, and occasionally encouraging bitter adversaries to contemplate forming friendships.
Update July 5, 2024, by Shagun Singh: Numerous anime series revolve around the lives of main characters during their high school years, a period filled with endless possibilities. A lot of genres begin with a group of friends in the same class, or an individual who takes it upon themselves to protect the school from any dangers. Anime set in this era portrays the optimistic and carefree lives of students who are about to embark on their own adventures. Anime set in a school setting can cater to the interests of mystery enthusiasts, romance lovers, and action aficionados alike. Discover a plethora of captivating school anime that are worth watching, with new releases coming out each season.
Here Are Some Of The Best School Life Anime
29. Mashle: Magic And Muscles
This new addition to the Spring 2023 line-up brings a delightful twist to the beloved Wizarding World, offering viewers a hilarious anime parody that is sure to entertain.
Mash’s dream of becoming Easton Magic Academy’s next Chosen One appears to be quite challenging, given that the boy lacks any magical abilities!
However, he manages to compensate for this with his impressive display of raw power, which is evident in his strong and muscular physique.
Mash’s amusing escapades at the Hogwarts-inspired establishment are driven by delectable cream puffs, camaraderie, and a lack of profound contemplation.
So, imagine if Saitama from One Punch Man and J.K Rowling’s beloved protagonist switched lives.
How would their experiences in an anime school setting differ? Guess what? Mash has the answer!
28. The Quintessential Quintuplets
This school life anime is about Fuutarou Uesugi who is an ace high school student, but leads an otherwise tough life.
His standoffish personality and reclusive nature have left him friendless, and his father is debt-ridden, forcing his family to scrape by.
One day during his lunch break, Uesugi argues with a female transfer student who has claimed “his seat,” leading both of them to dislike each other.
That same day, he is presented with a golden opportunity to clear his family’s debt: a private tutoring gig for a wealthy family’s daughter, with a wage of five times the market price.
27. Azumanga Daioh!
This school life anime is about Chiyo Mihama who begins her high school life anime career as one of the strangest students in her freshman class—a tiny, 10-year-old academic prodigy with a fondness for plush dolls and homemade cooking.
But her homeroom teacher, Yukari Tanizaki, is the kind of person who would hijack a student’s bike to avoid being late, so “strange” is a relative word.
There certainly isn’t a shortage of peculiar girls in Yukari-sensei’s homeroom class.
Accompanying Chiyo are students like Tomo Takino, an energetic tomboy with more enthusiasm than brains; Koyomi Mizuhara, Tomo’s best friend, whose temper has a fuse shorter than Chiyo; and Sakaki, a tall, athletic beauty whose intimidating looks hide a gentle personality and a painful obsession with cats.
26. Nichijou
This school life anime is about Nichijou who primarily focuses on the daily antics of a trio of childhood friends—high school girls Mio Naganohara, Yuuko Aioi and Mai Minakami—whose stories soon intertwine with the young genius Hakase Shinonome, her robot caretaker Nano, and their talking cat Sakamoto.
With every passing day, the lives of these six, as well as of the many people around them, experience both the calms of normal life and the insanity of the absurd.
Walking to school, being bitten by a talking crow, spending time with friends, and watching the principal suplex a deer: they are all in a day’s work in the extraordinary everyday lives of those in Nichijou.
25. Yamada-Kun And The Seven Witches
When Ryuu Yamada entered high school life anime, he wanted to turn over a new leaf and lead a productive school life. That’s why he chose to attend Suzaku High, where no one would know of his violent, delinquent reputation.
However, much to Ryuu’s dismay, he is soon bored; now a second year, Ryuu has reverted to his old ways—lazy with abysmal grades and always getting into fights.
One day, back from yet another office visit, Ryuu encounters Urara Shiraishi, a beautiful honors student.
A misstep causes them both to tumble down the stairs, ending in an accidental kiss!
The pair discover they can switch bodies with a kiss: an ability which will prove to be both convenient and troublesome.
24. Rascal Does Not Dream Of Bunny Girl Senpai
The rare and inexplicable Puberty Syndrome is thought of as a myth.
It is a rare disease which only affects teenagers, and its symptoms are so supernatural that hardly anyone recognizes it as a legitimate occurrence.
However, high school life anime student Sakuta Azusagawa knows from personal experience that it is very much real, and happens to be quite prevalent in his school.
Mai Sakurajima is a third-year high school student who gained fame in her youth as a child actress, but recently halted her promising career for reasons unknown to the public.
With an air of unapproachability, she is well known throughout the school, but none dare interact with her—that is until Sakuta sees her wandering the library in a bunny girl costume.
23. After The Rain
Akira Tachibana, a reserved high school student and former track runner, has not been able to race the same as she used to since she experienced a severe foot injury.
And although she is regarded as attractive by her classmates, she is not interested in the boys around school.
While working part-time at the Garden Cafe, Akira begins to develop feelings for the manager—a 45-year-old man named Masami Kondou—despite the large age gap.
Kondou shows genuine concern and kindness toward the customers of his restaurant, which, while viewed by others as soft or weak, draws Akira to him.
22. Kakegurui
Unlike many school life anime, attending Hyakkaou Private Academy prepares students for their time in the real world.
Since many of the students are the children of the richest people in the world, the academy has its quirks that separate it from all the others.
By day, it is a normal school, educating its pupils in history, languages, and the like.
But at night, it turns into a gambling den, educating them in the art of dealing with money and manipulating people.
Money is power; those who come out on top in the games stand at the top of the school.
21. We Never Learn: BOKUBEN
This school life anime is about Nariyuki Yuiga, who is an impoverished third-year high school student, works tirelessly to receive the VIP nomination, a scholarship that would cover all of his college tuition fees.
In recognition of his hard work, the headmaster awards him the renowned scholarship.
However, this scholarship is given under one condition: he must tutor the school’s geniuses in their weakest subjects!
Joining his new brigade of pupils are the math maestro Rizu Ogata.
Who wants to study humanities; the literature legend Fumino Furuhashi, who wants to study science; and Yuiga’s sports-savvy childhood friend, Uruka Takemoto, who is hopeless at everything else.
20. Oresuki: Arze You The Only One Who Loves Me?
This school life anime is about Amatsuyu “Jouro” Kisaragi who is a completely average second-year high school student who has two dates over one weekend—with the student council president Sakura “Cosmos” Akino on Saturday, then with his childhood friend Aoi “Himawari” Hinata on Sunday.
Sadly for Jouro, both girls proclaim their love for his best friend Taiyou “Sun-chan” Ooga, the ace of the baseball team.
Accepting each of their requests for advice and guidance, he is now responsible for helping the two girls win the heart of the same guy.
Unbeknownst to his friends, Jouro’s friendly and obtuse image is all but a ruse designed to cast himself as the clueless protagonist of a textbook romantic comedy.
19. Magical Sempai
This school life anime starting his new term at Tanenashi High School, an unmotivated freshman searches for a club that requires minimal participation to suit his needs.
He then comes across the magic clubroom, and inside is a cute upperclassman practicing her magic tricks.
Suffering from stage fright that causes her to slip up in her acts, she has a tendency to end up in the most embarrassing situations.
Despite having little interest in a club run by an incapable magician, the freshman finds himself involved as a new member, experiencing all sorts of awkward moments with his eccentric mentor.
18. Haikyuu!!
This school life anime is Inspired after watching a volleyball ace nicknamed “Little Giant” in action, small-statured Shouyou Hinata revives the volleyball club at his middle school.
The newly-formed team even makes it to a tournament; however, their first match turns out to be their last when they are brutally squashed by the “King of the Court,” Tobio Kageyama.
Hinata vows to surpass Kageyama, and so after graduating from middle school, he joins Karasuno High School’s volleyball team—only to find that his sworn rival, Kageyama, is now his teammate.
Thanks to his short height, Hinata struggles to find his role on the team, even with his superior jumping power.
17. Fruits Basket
This school life anime starts after the accident in which she lost her mother, 16-year-old Tooru moves in with her grandfather, but due to his home being renovated, is unable to continue living with him.
Claiming she will find someone to stay with but also fearing the criticism of her family and not wanting to burden any of her friends, Tooru resorts to secretly living on her own in a tent in the woods.
One night on her way back from work, she finds her tent buried underneath a landslide.
However, this strange phenomenon is no laughing matter; rather, it is a terrible curse that holds a dark history.
16. My Ordinary Life
This school life anime is about Nichijou who primarily focuses on the daily antics of a trio of childhood friends—high school girls Mio Naganohara, Yuuko Aioi and Mai Minakami—whose stories soon intertwine with the young genius Hakase Shinonome, her robot caretaker Nano, and their talking cat Sakamoto.
With every passing day, the lives of these six, as well as of the many people around them, experience both the calms of normal life and the insanity of the absurd.
Walking to school, being bitten by a talking crow, spending time with friends, and watching the principal suplex a deer: they are all in a day’s work in the extraordinary everyday lives of those in Nichijou.
15. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
This school life anime is about Kyon, who is your typical high school student, has long given up his belief in the supernatural.
However, upon meeting Haruhi Suzumiya, he quickly finds out that it is the supernatural that she is interested in—aliens, time travelers, and espers among other things.
When Haruhi laments about the lack of intriguing clubs around school, Kyon inspires Haruhi to form her own club. As a result, the SOS Brigade is formed, a club which specializes in all that is the supernatural.
The story follows the crazy adventures that these four endure under their whimsical leader, Haruhi.
The story is based on the light novels by Nagaru Tanigawa.
14. Hyouka
This school life anime is about Energy-conservative high school student Houtarou Oreki who ends up with more than he bargained for when he signs up for the Classics Club at his sister’s behest—especially when he realizes how deep-rooted the club’s history really is.
Begrudgingly, Oreki is dragged into an investigation concerning the 45-year-old mystery that surrounds the club room.
Accompanied by his fellow club members, the knowledgeable Satoshi Fukube, the stern but benign Mayaka Ibara, and the ever-curious Eru Chitanda, Oreki must combat deadlines and lack of information with resourcefulness and hidden talent, in order to not only find the truth buried beneath the dust of works created years before them, but of other small side cases as well.
13. My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU
This school life anime is about Hachiman Hikigaya is an apathetic high school student with narcissistic and semi-nihilistic tendencies.
He firmly believes that joyful youth is nothing but a farce, and everyone who says otherwise is just lying to themselves.
In a novel punishment for writing an essay mocking modern social relationships, Hachiman’s teacher forces him to join the Volunteer Service Club, a club that aims to extend a helping hand to any student who seeks their support in achieving their goals.
With the only other club member being the beautiful ice queen Yukino Yukinoshita, Hachiman finds himself on the front line of other people’s problems—a place he never dreamed he would be.
12. Kokoro Connect
This school life anime starts when five students at Yamaboshi Academy realize that there are no clubs where they fit in, they band together to form the Student Cultural Society, or “StuCS” for short.
The club consists of: Taichi Yaegashi, a hardcore wrestling fan; Iori Nagase, an indecisive optimist; Himeko Inaba, a calm computer genius; Yui Kiriyama, a petite karate practitioner; and Yoshifumi Aoki, the class clown.
One day, Aoki and Yui experience a strange incident when, without warning, they switch bodies for a short period of time.
As this supernatural phenomenon continues to occur randomly amongst the five friends, they begin to realize that it is not just fun and games.
11. Angel Beats
This school life anime is about Otonashi who awakens only to learn he is dead.
A rifle-toting girl named Yuri explains that they are in the afterlife, and Otonashi realizes the only thing he can remember about himself is his name.
Yuri tells him that she leads the Shinda Sekai Sensen (Afterlife Battlefront) and wages war against a girl named Tenshi.
Unable to believe Yuri’s claims that Tenshi is evil, Otonashi attempts to speak with her, but the encounter doesn’t go as he intended.
10. Orange
This school life anime is about Naho Takamiya whos first day of her sophomore year of high school is off to an uneasy start.
After waking up late, she receives a strange letter addressed to her.
However, the letter is from herself—10 years in the future! At first, Naho is skeptical of the note; yet, after witnessing several events described to take place, she realizes the letter really is from her 26-year-old self.
The note details that Naho’s future life is filled with regrets, and she hopes that her younger self can correct the mistakes that were made in the past.
09. Silver Spoon
This school life anime is about Yuugo Hachiken who is studious, hard-working, and tired of trying to live up to expectations he just cannot meet.
With the ushering in of a brand new school year, he decides to enrol in Ooezo Agricultural High School, a boarding school located in the Hokkaido countryside, as a means to escape from the stress brought upon by his parents.
Initially convinced that he would do well at this institution, Hachiken is quickly proven wrong by his talented classmates, individuals who have been living on farms their entire lives and know just about everything when it comes to food, vegetables, and even the physiology of livestock!
08. ReLife
This school life anime is about a dismissed as a hopeless loser by those around him, 27-year-old Arata Kaizaki bounces around from one job to another after quitting his first company.
His unremarkable existence takes a sharp turn when he meets Ryou Yoake, a member of the ReLife Research Institute, who offers Arata the opportunity to change his life for the better with the help of a mysterious pill.
Taking it without a second thought, Arata awakens the next day to find that his appearance has reverted to that of a 17-year-old.
07. Azumanga Daioh
This school life anime is about Chiyo Mihama who begins her high school career as one of the strangest students in her freshman class—a tiny, 10-year-old academic prodigy with a fondness for plush dolls and homemade cooking.
But her homeroom teacher, Yukari Tanizaki, is the kind of person who would hijack a student’s bike to avoid being late, so “strange” is a relative word.
There certainly isn’t a shortage of peculiar girls in Yukari-sensei’s homeroom class.
In addition, transfer student Ayumu Kasuga, a girl with her head stuck in the clouds, fits right in with the rest of the girls—and she has a few interesting theories about Chiyo’s pigtails!
06. Ouran High School Host Club
This school life anime is about Haruhi Fujioka who is a bright scholarship candidate with no rank or title to speak of—a rare species at Ouran Academy, an elite school for students of high pedigree.
When she opens the door to Music Room #3 hoping to find a quiet place to study, Haruhi unexpectedly stumbles upon the Host Club.
Led by the princely Tamaki Suou, the club—whose other members include the “Shadow King” Kyouya Ootori; the mischievous Hitachiin twins, Kaoru and Hikaru; the childlike Mitsukuni Haninozuka, also known as “Honey”; and his strong protector Takashi “Mori” Morinozuka—is where handsome boys with too much time on their hands entertain the girls in the academy.
05. Assassination Classroom
This school life anime start with a mysterious creature chops the moon down to a permanent crescent, the students of class 3-E of Kunugigaoka Middle School find themselves confronted with an enormous task: assassinate the creature responsible for the disaster before Earth suffers a similar fate.
However, the monster, dubbed Koro-sensei (the indestructible teacher), is able to fly at speeds of up to Mach 20, which he demonstrates freely, leaving any attempt to subdue him in his extraterrestrial dust.
Furthermore, the misfits of 3-E soon find that the strange, tentacled beast is more than just indomitable—he is the best teacher they have ever had!
04. Toradora!
This school life anime is about Ryuuji Takasu who is a gentle high school student with a love for housework; but in contrast to his kind nature, he has an intimidating face that often gets him labeled as a delinquent.
On the other hand is Taiga Aisaka, a small, doll-like student, who is anything but a cute and fragile girl.
Equipped with a wooden katana and feisty personality, Taiga is known throughout the school as the “Palmtop Tiger.”
One day, an embarrassing mistake causes the two students to cross paths.
Ryuuji discovers that Taiga actually has a sweet side: she has a crush on the popular vice president, Yuusaku Kitamura, who happens to be his best friend.
03. The Disastrous Life of Saiki K
To the average person, psychic abilities might seem a blessing; for Kusuo Saiki, however, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Gifted with a wide assortment of supernatural abilities ranging from telepathy to x-ray vision, he finds this so-called blessing to be nothing but a curse.
As all the inconveniences his powers cause constantly pile up, all Kusuo aims for is an ordinary, hassle-free life—a life where ignorance is bliss.
Unfortunately, the life of a psychic is far from quiet. Though Kusuo tries to stay out of the spotlight by keeping his powers a secret from his classmates, he ends up inadvertently attracting the attention of many odd characters, such as the empty-headed Riki Nendou and the delusional Shun Kaidou.
02. Kaguya-sama: Love is War
This school life anime starts at the renowned Shuchiin Academy, Miyuki Shirogane and Kaguya Shinomiya are the student body’s top representatives.
Ranked the top student in the nation and respected by peers and mentors alike, Miyuki serves as the student council president. Alongside him, the vice president Kaguya—eldest daughter of the wealthy Shinomiya family—excels in every field imaginable.
They are the envy of the entire student body, regarded as the perfect couple.
01. Great Teacher Onizuka
This school life anime starts with Twenty-two-year-old Eikichi Onizuka—ex-biker gang leader, conqueror of Shonan, and virgin—has a dream: to become the greatest high school teacher in all of Japan.
This isn’t because of a passion for teaching, but because he wants a loving teenage wife when he’s old and gray.
Still, for a perverted, greedy, and lazy delinquent, there is more to Onizuka than meets the eye.
So when he lands a job as the homeroom teacher of the Class 3-4 at the prestigious Holy Forest Academy—despite suplexing the Vice Principal—all of his talents are put to the test, as this class is particularly infamous.
