Assassination Classroom is a shonen anime about a teacher who starts working in a class of, well, academically challenged students. The teacher is an octopus called Koro Sensei who instills in his students some unconventional teaching methods.
Anime like Assassination Classroom, shares the same insane similarities ranging from struggling students to superpowered teenagers tasked with ruthless assassinations. What I especially like about such shonen animes is the development that the characters go through. The students of class 3-E of Kunugigaoka Middle Schoo are not depressing and vicious, but they have obviously lost all motivation. But, now they have a new mission to fulfill: the fate of the world rests on their shoulders.
Koro Sensei is perhaps the most dominant character, but the protagonist of the series is a shy student named Nagisa, and through his eyes, we experience the story. Ansatsu Kyoushitsu is a show that is defiantly worthy of praise because of its vast storyline which is tragic and humorous at the same time. Although the vibe of Assassination Classroom is irreplaceable, I believe the 15 animes I picked for this list share some similar themes that made this anime such an epic show.
15/15. Medaka Kurokami (Medaka Box)
Teenagers tend to have a goal to make other people happy. Although it is quite a noble goal, things don’t always go as planned. Unfortunately, people with ill intentions and self-interest are always there to take advantage of their innocent thinking.
Medaka Kurokami is a purple hair teenage high schoolgirl at Hakoniwa Academy. She became popular due to her charismatic personality. After heroically winning the student council election, She sets up Medaka Box, where students can put their requests for help. However, this seemingly good deed might lead to the demise of the academy and innocent students.
Medaka Box features students playing around with underhanded tactics like Assassination Classroom. Both of these animes also have insane classroom atmospheres.
14/15. Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro (Neuro: Supernatural Detective)
Most of the mysteries lurking in this world are beyond the reach of humans. People cannot help but fandom the origin of these mysteries. However, things begin to change when a young girl begins to solve these mysteries easily.
Yako Katsuragi is an ordinary high school girl with detective skills. Even the most complicated cases are a piece of cake for her.
Yako’s secret weapon turns out to be Neuro Nougami, a demon with supernatural abilities. She strives to solve the mystery behind her father’s death with the help of Neuro.
Majin Tantei features intriguing mysteries about characters with a touch of humor, just like Assassination Classroom.
13/15. Soul Eater
Set in a world where evil spirits and beings run free live death gods, who train themselves continuously to fight off these evil spirits and witches. They must eat the souls of evils to maintain peace in the city.
Evans is a hybrid human with the ability to shapeshift into a death scythe. He forms a team with Maka Albarn, a young swordswoman with a strong sense of justice. Together they explore the mysteries of death city while eating evil souls along the way.
Soul Eater features similar themes of struggling students with a hectic life. One is focused on students who want to control their abilities rather than assassinate their teacher.
12/15. Hidan no Aria (Aria the Scarlet Ammo)
The city of Japan became a high crime zone that led to the formation of an elite academy by the government. The academy produced intelligent armed detectives known as Butei to decrease the crime rate in the city.
Kinji Tooyama is a guy with an introverted personality. He once served in the combat division as a talented Butei. However, Kinji dropped out of the academy for various reasons. His fateful encounter with Aria Holmes compelled him to return to the academy. Now, both of them must work together to protect the city while learning more about each other.
Hidan no Aria features armed students tasked with eliminating their targets, which is quite similar to the premise of Assassination Classroom.
11/15. Darker than Black: Kuro no Keiyakusha
Set in a world where the emergence of gates disrupted the physics of the world. People who lost their sanity in exchange for powers end up becoming ruthless assassins under the name of Contractors.
Hei is a guy working as a contractor for a mysterious organization called Syndicate. He has been through countless tragic situations where he took the lives of people to fulfill his missions. Now, Hei must walk the gruesome path of a contractor to discover the root cause of disturbance in this world, all while agonizing over his fate as a contractor.
Darken than Black mainly focuses on mystery and tragedy like Assassination Class.
10/15. Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei (Goodbye, Mr. Despair)
This anime follows the story of a crazy teacher and his unusual students. Most of the moments featured in this anime are sarcastic which gives unique vibes and experience to viewers.
Nozomu Itoshiki is a man known for his pessimism. He works as a teacher in a nearby small school. Nozomu finds himself in utter despair when every student in his class turns out to be unusual. He must think of ways to help his students, but this task might be difficult for Zetsubou Sensei (Nozomu).
The students and teachers in both shows are hilarious and relatable to each other.
9/15. Munou na Nana (Talentless Nana)
Set in a world where unknown creatures called enemies of humanity appeared out of nowhere to create chaos.
The government creates an academy on a remote island to train teenagers with powerful abilities to fight off these creatures. Nana Hiiragi is a cheerful young girl who transfers to the special academy made for gifted teenagers. She quickly becomes friends with all the students. However, strange incidents begin to occur right after her debut.
Even though both shows are dark animes about the assassination, Ansatsu Kyoushitsu has a more lively vibe and focuses more on comedy.
8/15. The Promised Neverland
The story of this anime revolves around orphans living in an orphanage called Grace Field House situated in a far-off place. This place was a little paradise for these innocent souls until a gruesome truth about the place surfaced.
Emma lives in the orphanage. She acts like a mother to everyone around her, which shows her kind nature. Through a series of events, Emma finds out the tragic truth behind their life in the orphanage. She must think of a plan to save everyone from impending hell.
The Promised Neverland features young kids and their struggle against their doomed fate, this whole situation, is relatable to Assassination Classroom.
7/15. The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. (Yakusoku no Neverland )
Supernatural abilities might be a blessing for everyone, but Kusuo Saiki considers his wide range of abilities nothing but a curse. All the students are head over heels to witness his powers.
Kusuo is a man of calm composure with little interest in anything. He strives for normal student life, but this simple wish doesn’t seem to be granted even in the far future. On top of it, his class fellows are troublemakers that force Kusuo to use his psychic powers. How can Kusuo opt for a normal life amidst this crazy situation?
The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. is an isekai anime with op mc that focuses on comedy, supernatural themes, and situations that are very much like Assassination Classroom.
6/15. Danganronpa: Kibou no Gakuen to Zetsubou no Koukousei
The story of this dark anime revolves around students and the changes in their life brought about by their enrollment in a prestigious academy.
Makoto Naegi is a friendly teenager who passed the entrance exam of the famous Hope Peak Academy. The academy only accepts talented individuals, but Makoto’s case was unique as he got in because of mere luck.
However, his happiness soon turns into despair as he finds out that the academy has a tragic play in place in which only one will prevail.
It is quite similar to Assassination Classroom with a little different setting the only difference is students fight each other to survive while the teacher enjoys the show. However, Dangaronpa only makes sense if you have played the games, and I must say the game is much better!
5/15. Angel Beats!
Angel Beats! follows the story of deceased individuals and their life in another world called After Life. Most of the individuals in this world are teenagers who find themselves in this world after experiencing tragic deaths.
Yuzuru Otonashi is a kind man who finds himself in an unknown world after death. He begins exploring this world by socializing with the people of this world. Yuzuru joins the battlefront of students against a girl known as Tenshi. He must uncover the mystery behind this strange world and Tenshi.
The two-shonen anime is a dark fantasy comedy with teen characters trying to fight an existential threat.
4/15. Mob Psycho 100
Set in a world where people with powers live along with normal humans. The life of these gifted individuals is very hectic as their powers bring them nothing but misery.
Shigeo Kageyama, also known as Mob, is a typical Japanese high school student with superb physic powers. He ended up suppressing his powers to avoid the destruction of people and his homeland.
However, Shigeo cannot control the sensitive emotions that can cause him to go berserk. With this dire situation in hand, What will be the Mob’s course of action?
Mob Psycho 100 is an anime like Assassination Classroom in the sense that it features an overpowered main character, and both protagonists are shy and insecure boys who shine into leadership positions.
3/15. Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e (Classroom of the Elite)
Classroom of the Elite is an ecchi harem anime that follows the story of students of D-Class and their struggle to reach the A-Class for a better future and life. Kiyotaka Ayanokouji is an aloof guy who got enrolled in the prestigious Koudo Ikusei Senior High School.
He ends up in D-Class because of average marks in entrance exams. Kiyotaka and his fellows experience the backlash because of D-Class. He decided to help his friends reach A-Class by using any means possible.
Another school setting anime where the main character starts at the very bottom and climbs their way to the very top.
2/15. Kill La Kill
Kill la Kill follows the story of a girl as she continues to fight the obstacles on her way to discovering the identity of the man responsible for her father’s death.
Ryuko Matoi is a stubborn young girl fixated on revenge against her father’s killer. She joins the Honnouji Academy after winning the battle royale hosted by the academy. Ryuko wins the match by using the power of Scissor Blade and Senketsu (Battle Armor). Now, she must fight against the top dogs of the academy to unveil her long-desired answers.
Kill la Kill despite having some differences, share strong characters who undergo intense events. Both animes are full of Imagination and strange settings, but without being silly. Both series are also perfect for people who love a bit of fun in their dark anime.
In short. If you liked one, I am sure you will like the other.
1/15. Great Teacher Onizuka
The anime series follows the story of a bike gang leader and his hilarious dream of becoming a teacher just to experience a luxurious life.
Eikichi Onizuka is a tough middle-aged man famous in Japan as a gangster. He leaves his life as a gangster to pursue his dream of becoming a great teacher. He joins the Holy Forest as a Teacher. Onizuka must use his valuable experience to solve the problems of his troublesome pupils.
Both anime feature teachers with revolutionary teaching styles. And of course, the students in the series do not make it easy for their teachers to handle them. But in Assassination Classroom, unlike GTO, students try to murder their teacher (long live the small difference).
