Classroom of the Elite is cerebral and demonstrates what adolescents can do to survive in the cut-throat environment of high-school students. Blackmailing, manipulation, scandalous secrets, hiding one’s true nature, the list goes on. Finding an anime like Classroom of the Elite can be tricky.
This character-driven story excels as a nail-biting suspense drama. You will be addicted to this show before you know it. It’s not easy to let go of such addiction, but we are here to give you similar shows. That’s why we’ve created a list of anime like Classroom of the Elite.
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5. Shoshimin: How to Become Ordinary
- MAL Rating: 7.29
- IMDB Rating: 6.9
- Episodes: 10 (S2 Upcoming)
- Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
Kiyotaka would’ve appreciated someone like Kobato, who would watch him from afar instead of trying to disclose his identity. Both are smarty pants. Like Classroom of the Elite, Shoshimin depicts the perks of adolescence including a yearning for attention, the urge for manipulation, and blackmailing for satisfaction.
Kobato’s detective skills are exceptional, but his nosy nature isn’t appreciated. That’s when he decides to become ordinary, along with a girl named Yuki. Although both try their best to suppress the urge to solve mysteries, they can’t. Life won’t let them waste their skills.
4. My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU (Oregairu)
- MAL Rating: 8.0
- IMDB Rating: 7.9
- Episodes: 38 (3 seasons)
- Where to Watch: Spectrum
Oregairu’s protagonist, Hikigaya, is Kiyotaka with a beating heart. Both are equally cunning but pretend to be an average student to avoid drawing attention. Although both have a lot of female admirers, Kiyotaka uses them as pawns, while Hikigaya engages with them minus the ulterior motive.
To Hikigaya, high school life is a farce. When he writes his thoughts down in an essay, he gets punished. For someone like him, an apology letter won’t suffice, that’s why Hikigaya was asked to join the Volunteer Service Club.
3. Hyouka
- MAL Rating: 8.06
- IMDB Rating: 7.7
- Episodes: 22
- Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
Kiyotaka and Oreki are two sides of one coin, just like Moriarty and Holmes. If Kiyotaka uses his brain to manipulate others to get things done, Oreki uses his to help others solve mysteries. Like Kiyotaka, Oreki is also an asocial high-school student; they love conserving energy and hate drawing attention.
Oreki is anything but a social butterfly. He loves conserving energy. But when forced by her elder sister, Oreki joins the Classics Club to save it from disbandment. There, he meets Eru Chitanda who is the exact opposite of Oreki.
2. Talentless Nana
- MAL Rating: 7.17
- IMDB Rating: 7.7
- Episodes: 13
- Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
Talentless Nana is as scandalous and secretive as Classroom of the Elite. In both anime, students enroll in a fiercely competitive high school, where only the smartest one survives. However, unlike Classroom of the Elite, students die in this anime. If you thought Kiyotaka was a master manipulator, wait till you watch Nana Hiiragi in action.
Teenagers with special abilities are sent to train at a secluded island academy to fight against the ‘enemies of humanity.’ Everything was fine until mysterious disappearances started occurring with the arrival of two transfer students.
1. Tomodachi Game
- MAL Rating: 8.38
- IMDB Rating: 7.7
- Episodes: 12
- Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
Yuuichi manages to collect funds despite financial trouble to join his friends on an expensive school trip. Two of his friends get suspected but when the trip fund worth 20 million yen gets stolen. They became distant. But one night all of them are gathered in a room to play a survival game to pay off the 20 million yen debt, and the debtor is one among them.
Both anime are edge-of-the-seat suspense dramas that are led by smart protagonists who manipulate people around them to get what they want. Like Classroom of the Elite, Tomodachi is an exceptional psychological school drama.
