20 anime similar to Ranma ½ (1989) based on genre, format, studio, and popularity
Looking for anime similar to Ranma ½ (1989)? Here are 10 anime recommendations that share similar themes, genres, or storytelling styles.
We selected these anime based on shared genres (Action, Comedy, Ecchi), similar narrative structures, comparable art styles, and positive fan overlap. If you enjoyed Ranma ½ (1989), these series should appeal to your taste.
Kazuma Satou decides that today is the day to get out of the house for a bit. Since he dies, pointlessly, it's clearly a bad choice. The goddess who greets him in the afterlife, however, offers him a chance to be reborn in a world not unlike that of a video game, and as a bonus she'll even throw in a cool item or power! Can't possibly be a bad choice, right? Except he arrives with no money at all, dead average skills, and his "bonus" isn't useful at all--since he picked the goddess, Aqua, herself. How are the two of them supposed to defeat the evil Devil King and live happily ever after? Well, for them, it probably starts with day laboring rather than adventuring. And it's only going to get more disappointing from there! (Source: Crunchyroll)
High schooler Wakana Gojou cares about one thing: making Hina dolls. With nobody to share his obsession, he has trouble finding friends—or even holding conversation. But after the school’s most popular girl, Marin Kitagawa, reveals a secret of her own, he discovers a new purpose for his sewing skills. Together, they’ll make her cosplay dreams come true! (Source: Funimation)
When Kazuma Satou died, he was given two choices: pass on to heaven or be revived in a fantasy world. After choosing the new world, the goddess Aqua tasked him with defeating the Demon King, and let him choose any weapon to aid him. Unfortunately, Kazuma chose to bring Aqua herself and has regretted the decision ever since then. Not only is he stuck with a useless deity turned party archpriest, the pair also has to make enough money for living expenses. To add to their problems, their group continued to grow as more problematic adventurers joined their ranks. Their token spellcaster, Megumin, is an explosion magic specialist who can only cast one spell once per day and refuses to learn anything else. There is also their stalwart crusader, Lalatina "Darkness" Dustiness Ford, a helpless masochist who makes Kazuma look pure in comparison. Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! 2 continues to follow Kazuma and the rest of his party through countless more adventures as they struggle to earn money and have to deal with one another's problematic personalities. However, things rarely go as planned, and they are often sidetracked by their own idiotic tendencies.
A secret life is the one thing they have in common. At school, Hori is a prim and perfect social butterfly, but the truth is she's a brash homebody. Meanwhile, under a gloomy facade, Miyamura hides a gentle heart, along with piercings and tattoos. In a chance meeting, they both reveal a side they've never shown. Could this blossom into something new? (Source: Funimation)
Issei Hyodo is your average perverted high school student whose one wish in life is to have his own harem, but he's got to be one of the unluckiest guys around. He goes on his first date with a girl only to get brutally attacked and killed when it turns out the girl is really a vicious fallen angel. To top it all off, he's later reincarnated as a devil by his gorgeous senpai who tells him that she is also a devil and now his master! One thing's for sure, his peaceful days are over. In a battle between devils and angels, who will win? (Source: FUNimation)
After the murder of her father, Ryuuko Matoi has been wandering the land in search of his killer. Following her only lead—the missing half of his invention, the Scissor Blade—she arrives at the prestigious Honnouji Academy, a high school unlike any other. The academy is ruled by the imposing and cold-hearted student council president Satsuki Kiryuuin alongside her powerful underlings, the Elite Four. In the school's brutally competitive hierarchy, Satsuki bestows upon those at the top special clothes called "Goku Uniforms," which grant the wearer unique superhuman abilities.
Having slept through all four of her alarms, the energetic Narumi Momose finds herself running late for her first day of work at a new office. As she races to catch her train, she makes a promise to herself that none of her coworkers will find out about her dark secret: that she is an otaku and a fujoshi. Her plan goes instantly awry, though, when she runs into Hirotaka Nifuji, an old friend from middle school. Although she tries to keep her secret by inviting him out for drinks after work, her cover is blown when he casually asks her whether or not she will be attending the upcoming Summer Comiket. Luckily for her, the only witnesses—Hanako Koyanagi and Tarou Kabakura—are otaku as well. Later that night, the pair go out for drinks so that they can catch up after all the years apart. After Narumi complains about her previous boyfriend breaking up with her because he refused to date a fujoshi, Hirotaka suggests that she try dating a fellow otaku, specifically himself. He makes a solemn promise to always be there for her, to support her, and to help her farm for rare drops in Monster Hunter. Blown away by the proposal, Narumi agrees immediately. Thus the two otaku start dating, and their adorably awkward romance begins. (Source: MAL Rewrite)
Timid Tadano is a total wallflower, and that’s just the way he likes it. But all that changes when he finds himself alone in a classroom on the first day of high school with the legendary Komi. He quickly realizes she isn’t aloof—she’s just super awkward. Now he’s made it his mission to help her on her quest to make 100 friends! (Source: VIZ Media)
As a child, Raku Ichijo made a secret promise with his childhood sweetheart, keeping a pendant as a memento while his love took the key. He dreams of one day meeting his past love, but years later, reality smashes his hopes when Chitoge Kirisaki accidentally knees him in the face... Though Raku's a normal high schooler, his family heads the notorious yakuza gang the Shuei-Gumi faction! And he's dragged into family affairs when he's forced into a relationship with Chitoge, the daughter of a rival gang's boss! Despite their constant spats, the two somehow fool everyone with their false relationship. Raku then discovers that Chitoge has a mysterious key from her past, which she can't remember... Plus, two other girls appear with keys as well—Kosaki Onodera and Marika Tachibana! Caught in the midst of this love maelstrom, even more complications arise for Raku when his class decides on Romeo and Juliet as the class's play for the school festival. Can the two false lovebirds pull off the impossible and make the play a success? (Source: VIZ Media)
"A girl in a lower grade just made me cry!" One day, Senpai visits the library after school and becomes the target of a super sadistic junior! The name of the girl who teases, torments, and tantalizes Senpai is "Nagatoro!" She's annoying yet adorable. It's painful, but you still want to be by her side. This is a story about an extremely sadistic and temperamental girl and you'll feel something awaken inside of you. (Source: Crunchyroll)
Standoffish, reclusive Shizuku Mizutani cares far more about earning stellar grades than cultivating friendships. But her opinions on friendship and relationships begin to change when she meets habitual truant Haru Yoshida, who happens to have a rather fearsome reputation. Like Shizuku, Haru’s reputation has made it difficult to make friends. And yet through their budding friendship and stirrings of attraction the unlikely pair learns to understand one another, the world around them, and the tenor of their own emotions. (Source: Sentai Filmworks)
Everyone has a part of themselves they cannot show to anyone else. At a time when all nations of the world were involved in a fierce war of information happening behind closed doors, Ostania and Westalis had been in a state of cold war against one another for decades. The Westalis Intelligence Services' Eastern-Focused Division (WISE) sends their most talented spy, "Twilight," on a top-secret mission to investigate the movements of Donovan Desmond, the chairman of Ostania's National Unity Party, who is threatening peace efforts between the two nations. This mission is known as "Operation Strix." It consists of "putting together a family in one week in order to infiltrate social gatherings organized by the elite school that Desmond's son attends." "Twilight" takes on the identity of psychiatrist Loid Forger and starts looking for family members. But Anya, the daughter he adopts, turns out to have the ability to read people's minds, while his wife, Yor, is an assassin! With it being in each of their own interests to keep these facts hidden, they start living together while concealing their true identities from one another. World peace is now in the hands of this brand-new family as they embark on an adventure full of surprises. (Source: Crunchyroll)
The story follows a protagonist whose name is written with the characters for "Hoshizora" ("Starry Sky" in Japanese), but whose name is pronounced as "Nasa". On the day of his high school entrance exams, Nasa encounters a beautiful girl named Tsukasa. For Nasa, it feels like destiny is finally calling out to him that he will have a girlfriend, but things take a turn for the worse when Nasa is hit by a car and unable to attend his entrance exams. After Tsukasa helps the injured Nasa, he confesses his feelings to her, and she agrees to go out with him, but only if Nasa agrees to marry her first. A year later Nasa aces the entrance exams, but he decides to work a part time job and live by himself instead of going to school. After Nasa turns 18, Tsukasa re-appears, and their happy, romantic, and mysterious married life together begins. (Source: Crunchyroll)
Known for being both brilliant and powerful, Miyuki Shirogane and Kaguya Shinomiya lead the illustrious Shuchiin Academy as near equals. And everyone thinks they’d make a great couple. Pride and arrogance are in ample supply, so the only logical move is to trick the other into instigating a date! Who will come out on top in this psychological war where the first move is the only one that matters? (Source: Aniplex)
Ryuuji Takasu 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. But things only get crazier when Ryuuji reveals that he has a crush on Minori Kushieda—Taiga's best friend! Toradora! is a romantic comedy that follows this odd duo as they embark on a quest to help each other with their respective crushes, forming an unlikely alliance in the process.
Goku is back with his new son, Gohan, but just when things are getting settled down, the adventures continue. Whether he is facing enemies such as Freeza, Cell, or Boo, Goku is proven to be an elite of his own and discovers his race, Saiyan. He meets many new people, gaining allies as well as enemies, as he still finds time to raise a family and be the happy-go-lucky Saiyan he is. (Source: Anime News Network)
After a slow but eventful summer vacation, Shuchiin Academy's second term is now starting in full force. As August transitions into September, Miyuki Shirogane's birthday looms ever closer, leaving Kaguya Shinomiya in a serious predicament as to how to celebrate it. Furthermore, the tenure of the school's 67th student council is coming to an end. Due to the council members being in different classes, the only time Kaguya and Miyuki have to be together will soon disappear, putting all of their cunning plans at risk. A long and difficult election that will decide the fate of the new student council awaits, as multiple challengers fight for the coveted title of president. (Source: MAL Rewrite)
Devil King Sadao is only one step away from conquering the world when he is beaten by Hero Emilia and forced to drift to the other world: modern-day Tokyo. As "conquering the world" are the only skills the Devil King possesses—and are obviously unnecessary in his new situation—he must work as a freeter to pay for his living expenses!
This romantic comedy revolves around an antisocial high school student named Hikigaya Hachiman with a distorted view on life and no friends or girlfriend. When he sees his classmates talking excitedly about living their adolescent lives, he mutters: "They're a bunch of liars." When he is asked about his future dreams, he responds: "Not working." A teacher gets Hachiman to join the 'Volunteer Service' club, which happens to have the school's prettiest girl: Yukinoshita Yukino. (Source: Anime News Network)
Everybody has had that stage in their life where they have thought themselves to be special, different from the masses of ordinary humans. They might go as far as seeing themselves capable of wielding mystical powers, or maybe even believe themselves to have descended from a fantasy realm. This "disease" is known as "chuunibyou" and is often the source of some of the most embarrassing moments of a person's life. For Yuuta Togashi, the scars that his chuunibyou has left behind are still fresh. Having posed as the "Dark Flame Master" during his middle school years, he looks back at those times with extreme embarrassment, so much so that he decides to attend a high school far away where nobody will recognize him. Putting his dark history behind him, he longs to live a normal high school life. Unfortunately, he hasn't escaped his past yet: enter Rikka Takanashi, Yuuta's new classmate and self-declared vessel of the "Wicked Eye." As this eccentric young girl crashes into Yuuta's life, his dream of an ordinary, chuunibyou-free life quickly crumbles away. In this hilarious and heartwarming story of a boy who just wants to leave his embarrassing memories behind, the delusions of old are far from a thing of the past. (Source: MAL Rewrite)