Classroom of the Elite isn’t your typical high school anime. It strips away the clichés and dives into the psychology of social hierarchy, hidden genius, and institutional control.
With its cynical worldview, quiet yet deadly protagonist, and strategic power plays, it appeals to fans who crave mind games and underdog vengeance.
If you’re drawn to characters who manipulate from the shadows, elite institutions built on secrets, and dark coming-of-age themes, here are 15 underrated anime that echo the brilliance of Classroom of the Elite.
1. Tomodachi Game (2022)
Streaming: Crunchyroll
Episodes: 12
MAL Rating: 7.55
Studio: Okuruto Noboru
Plot: A group of friends is dragged into a psychological game involving debt and betrayal where trust can be fatal.
Similarities: Social manipulation, twisted morality, strategic mind games, and a seemingly average protagonist with a darker edge.
2. The Ones Within (2019)
Streaming: Crunchyroll
Episodes: 12
MAL Rating: 6.90
Studio: Silver Link
Plot: Streamers are kidnapped and forced to play bizarre life-threatening games to entertain a mysterious audience.
Similarities: High-stakes logic games, hidden identities, group dynamics, and social commentary masked as entertainment.
3. Ousama Game The Animation (2017)
Streaming: Crunchyroll
Episodes: 12
MAL Rating: 5.30
Studio: Seven
Plot: Students receive anonymous text messages commanding them to follow deadly orders—or die.
Similarities: School setting, escalating psychological tension, rules-based survival, and breakdown of social order.
4. Alderamin on the Sky (2016)
Streaming: Crunchyroll
Episodes: 13
MAL Rating: 7.54
Studio: Madhouse
Plot: A lazy genius becomes a reluctant military commander, reshaping battles with his cunning intellect.
Similarities: Strategic brilliance, underestimated protagonist, tactical warfare, and class-based structure of power.
5. Rampo Kitan: Game of Laplace (2015)
Streaming: Crunchyroll
Episodes: 11
MAL Rating: 6.67
Studio: Lerche
Plot: A middle schooler becomes the assistant of a young genius detective solving eerie murders in a stylized world.
Similarities: High-IQ leads, cerebral pacing, dark character psychology, and stylized narrative storytelling.
6. Talentless Nana (2020)
Streaming: Funimation
Episodes: 13
MAL Rating: 7.24
Studio: Bridge
Plot: On an isolated island, students with supernatural powers are being hunted by a girl with no powers but a deadly plan.
Similarities: Elite school setting, manipulation from the shadows, unreliable narrator, and Machiavellian execution.
7. C: The Money of Soul and Possibility Control (2011)
Streaming: Funimation
Episodes: 11
MAL Rating: 7.14
Studio: Tatsunoko Production
Plot: A college student is dragged into an alternate realm where financial deals decide the future of reality.
Similarities: Abstract power systems, strategic battles, philosophical stakes, and a critique of meritocracy.
8. Zankyou no Terror (Terror in Resonance) (2014)
Streaming: Crunchyroll, Hulu
Episodes: 11
MAL Rating: 7.78
Studio: MAPPA
Director: Shinichiro Watanabe
Plot: Two teenage terrorists execute cryptic attacks on Tokyo to expose a deeper truth.
Similarities: Brilliant yet emotionally closed-off protagonists, anti-system sentiment, and high-stakes psychological warfare.
9. Problem Children Are Coming from Another World, Aren’t They? (2013)
Streaming: Crunchyroll
Episodes: 10
MAL Rating: 7.47
Studio: Diomedéa
Plot: Three overpowered teens bored with life are summoned to a fantasy world where intellect determines success.
Similarities: High-level mental games, elite problem-solvers, antihero charm, and subtle commentary on power abuse.
10. Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei (The Irregular at Magic High School) (2014)
Streaming: Netflix, Crunchyroll
Episodes: 26
MAL Rating: 7.47
Studio: Madhouse
Plot: A seemingly talentless student hides overwhelming magical power and revolutionizes how the school sees merit.
Similarities: Cold genius lead, stratified education system, elite school life, and suppressed brilliance.
11. Kakegurui (2017)
Streaming: Netflix
Episodes: 12
MAL Rating: 7.21
Studio: MAPPA
Plot: At Hyakkaou Academy, hierarchy is determined by gambling—and one new girl turns the whole system upside down.
Similarities: Psychological power games, school with hidden structures, high-stakes tactics, and theatrical tension.
12. Danganronpa: The Animation (2013)
Streaming: Funimation
Episodes: 13
MAL Rating: 7.22
Studio: Lerche
Plot: Elite students are trapped in a school where the only way to escape is to murder and get away with it.
Similarities: Elite institution gone wrong, logic battles, masked manipulation, and twisted morality games.
13. Beautiful Bones: Sakurako’s Investigation (2015)
Streaming: Crunchyroll
Episodes: 12
MAL Rating: 7.37
Studio: TROYCA
Plot: A beautiful osteologist and her assistant solve skeletal mysteries across rural Japan.
Similarities: Cold intellectual protagonist, slow unraveling mysteries, and detached social interaction masking emotional trauma.
14. Chaos;Child (2017)
Streaming: Funimation
Episodes: 12
MAL Rating: 6.38
Studio: Silver Link
Plot: After an earthquake devastates Tokyo, bizarre murders start aligning with a student’s dark past.
Similarities: Conspiracy-driven tension, elite school drama, psychological stressors, and fractured perception of truth.
15. Un-Go (2011)
Streaming: Funimation
Episodes: 11
MAL Rating: 7.39
Studio: Bones
Plot: A private detective in post-war Tokyo solves politically sensitive cases with a supernatural assistant.
Similarities: Secrets behind society, manipulative elites, smart protagonists, and social critique embedded in episodic storytelling.
Why These Anime Work for Classroom of the Elite Fans
Classroom of the Elite flips the traditional school anime upside down, favoring logic over emotion, power over popularity, and manipulation over romance. These 15 underrated gems continue that legacy.
Whether it’s through deadly classroom dynamics, mysterious masterminds, or a system that punishes kindness and rewards cunning, they all serve the same sharp edge that Elite fans crave.
If you love watching quiet prodigies pull strings in the shadows and unravel systems from within, this list offers your next obsession.
