The world of anime is expansive and offers many unique stories with compelling characters, engaging plots, and epic moments. While some anime come and go, many deliver unique and memorable experiences. Those types of anime typically contain well-written storylines and characters.
For our ongoing series of articles depicting the best anime, we’d like to highlight the best anime about college life. From casual humor to mind-numbing thrillers, there’s a great selection of anime on this list that’ll whet your appetite.
Feel free to leave your comments about our choices below. If we missed any of your favorites, feel free to leave a suggestion below and we’ll add them on when we have the time.
Grand Blue Dreaming
Grand Blue Dreaming is one of the best college-themed anime you’ll ever sit through. By blending heartfelt moments of self-discovery with hilarious comedic scenarios, the series delivers a refreshing perspective on the trials most college students face. This anime masterfully balances witty dialogue and outrageous scenarios to create a world that feels familiar and charming.
The series loves to exaggerate its characters’ antics to emphasize the students’ college’s chaotic and carefree nature. Through this humorous approach, fans will appreciate Grand Blue Dreaming for providing them with a lighthearted and energetic world to escape to whenever they’re feeling down.
The Tatami Galaxy
The Tatami Galaxy is a is a standout series in the anime world. It’s known for exploring the complexities of college life through its wondrous storytelling, implementation of profound themes, and relatable cast. Through its surreal narrative, the story delves into the universal anxieties and challenges many college students encounter.
The series’s protagonist finds themselves repeating their college life multiple times. They’ll explore numerous routes, allowing audiences to identify the ramifications of his choices and actions. Through each iteration, viewers witness the lead’s struggles with finding his place in the world, making meaningful connections, and overcoming personal matters.
Genshiken
Nodame Cantabile
Nodame Cantabile mixes romance, comedy, and classical music to create a college-themed tale you’ll never forget. It follows two talented musicians named Megumi and Shinichi as they navigate through a prestigious music college. This series excels at identifying the struggles most college students face when pursuing an artistic career.
Our characters endure rigorous training and make substantial sacrifices to excel in their field. Through auditions, competitions, and practice sessions, Nodame Cantabile offers fans a glimpse into the realities of pursuing a music and art-themed career.
In addition to giving fans an engaging dynamic between Megumi and Shinichi, you’ll end up enjoying what this anime crafts.
Golden Time
Golden Time is a fun romance series with a heartfelt depiction of college life. The series follows Banri, a freshman who struggles with amnesia. He must navigate through college’s hurdles, befriend people, and learn what it means to love. One of the anime’s strengths lies in its handling of Banri’s quest to find purpose in life.
Having lost his memories, Banri receives the chance to start anew. However, the anime presents Banri with multiple conflicts that will make his journey far from easy. From struggling to fit in to searching for something to be passionate about, he’ll come across as a relatable figure in some fans’ eyes.
In addition to the heartfelt relationship he forges with the series’s female lead Kouko, Golden Time is an exceptional romance anime that’ll satisfy you.
Honey and Clover
Honey and Clover is a profound series with an introspective stance on college life. It explores love, ambition, and the pursuit of artistic aspirations. The series follows art school students who navigate through the challenges of college. During this time, they’ll forge meaningful connections while being presented with conflicts regarding their respective futures.
You’ll adore examining each of the cast’s qualms with finding something to be passionate about. Many folks who attend college nowadays do so out of respect for their relatives and normally don’t have clear goals in mind.
By examining this cast’s journeys to finding purpose, you’ll appreciate the level of detail that went into crafting their specific routes.
Maison Ikkoku
Maison Ikkoku is a rom-com created by the legendary Rumiko Takahashi. This anime follows Godai, a college student who resides in a run-down boarding house called Maison Ikkoku. Throughout the series, Godai struggles to balance his studies and relationships, opening up for an incredible journey of personal growth.
Moreover, Takahashi exceptionally delves into themes of first love and unrequited love. Additionally, she explores the characters’ inner conflicts, insecurities, and desires, adding depth to their experiences.
Coupled with some engaging interactions that’ll leave you in awe numerous times throughout its storytelling, Maison Ikkoku is an excellent anime worth checking out.
White Album
When it comes to portraying college life from a realistic and intricate angle, White Album delivers. The series follows Fuji as he traverses through his college years while getting entangled in many complicated relationships and personal problems. White Album delves into the challenges of balancing personal aspirations and desires well.
Additionally, fans will find its handling of long-distance relationships and jealousy fascinating and relatable. The characters in this anime will struggle to carve a solid career path for themselves since it’ll conflict with their relationships.
On top of relying more on its characters’ internal conflicts and growth than humor, White Album is a great option for those after a serious tale.
Moyashimon
Moyashimon follows Sawaki, a college freshman who can see and communicate with microbes. This fantastical element adds an interesting twist to your typical college anime, offering a fresh narrative for fans to observe. That said, Moyashimon likes to focus on the academic and scientific aspects of college life. It incorporates microbiology in its narrative effectively.
With this approach, Moyashimon comes off as an entertaining and informative work. Moreover, this anime is praised for its celebration of diversity in a college setting. The series’s cast air from different backgrounds, resulting in them having deviating interests. This allows the story to offer a rich portrayal of the college experience.
In addition to having fabulous comedic set pieces and enjoyable slice-of-life segments, Moyashimon will entertain you.
Run With The Wind
Run With The Wind is a fun sports anime with an admirable depiction of college life. The series follows a group of college students who form a running team. As they train and compete, the anime examines the obstacles, growth, and friends that college life entails. During their journeys, the cast comes across academic pressures and personal conflicts that interfere with their quests.
The characters in this anime are well-rounded and each is equipped with a compelling story to tell. As they come together to form a running team, the cast learns to support and inspire each other. This will remind viewers why it’s significant to establish strong connections with others as it’ll help them achieve difficult issues.
Coupled with breathtaking animation and superb storytelling, Run With The Wind is worth adding to your watchlist.
So, there we have it, our picks for the 10 best anime about college life through the years!
What do you think of our picks? Do you agree? Are there any notable omissions? Let us know in the comments below!