Kyon had long given up on his belief in the supernatural until he meets Haruhi Suzumiya. Haruhi, a strange girl in her own right, is interested in all things supernatural, but laments the lack of intriguing clubs on campus. Kyon, however, inspires her to create her own club, and thus, the SOS Brigade is born. Unfortunately for Kyon, he is also roped into joining this new club dedicated to all things supernatural.
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya was one of those anime sensations. It has faded some with age, but remains a classic. If you are looking for more anime recommendations, head on down below.
Anime Like The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
For Fans of Supernatural Mysteries
Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai
On a day like any other, Sakuta is in the library, and there he spots a wild bunny girl. This wild bunny girl, or rather, Mai Sakurajima, a semi-retired actress dressed like a bunny girl, catches no one else’s eye. In fact, Sakuta seems to be the only one that can see her on that day and on many other days. This phenomenon, called Puberty Syndrome, is rumored on the internet. As Sakuta decides to solve the mystery, he grows closer to Mai and other girls that suffer the same malady.
When watching both these series, they are both masterful at creating a supernatural series without necessarily feeling like it. There are supernatural factors at play, but much of the moments feel very much like a standard school series. However, Haruhi does tend to go off the wheels from this more as you get later into the series.
Kokoro Connect
One day, for seemingly no reason in particular, the members of the Cultural Research Club start randomly switching bodies with each other. It becomes utter chaos, especially when members of the opposite sex start switching. However, when you are wearing someone else’s skin, it is hard to keep your most guarded secrets inside.
In Haruhi, the supernatural elements are unexpected and often vary in circumstance. In Kokoro Connect, there is one quirk in reality – the body switching. In both series, much of the time feels normal aside from the supernatural events, but they also both want you to watch and learn why they are happening. Of course, as secrets come out with body switching, Kokoro Connect is far more drama.
Occult Academy
Maya is the daughter of the former headmaster of Waldstein Academy and a time traveler. These time travelers were sent back to find and destroy the Nostradamus Key in order to stop an alien invasion. Returning with her mother to the Academy, Maya investigates in order to find and destroy the key.
There are aliens and other supernatural phenomenon at play here. However, Occult Academy takes it far more seriously much of the time. Regardless, both series paint a mystery and you want to watch to see it solved.
For Fans of Aliens, Espers, and Time Travelers
Steins;Gate
In a rickety old building in Akihabara, mad scientist Rintarou Okabe and his lab assistants work on so-called future gadgets. However, their most successful contraption to date, the Phone Microwave, a machine that can turn bananas into gel, also has the added function of sending emails into the past, thus altering the flow of history.
Both series feature time travelers, though with different focus. They also both have a knack of blending in some science and philosophy with its surprisingly complex story line. Both series start of relatively normally, then sort of spiral into various chaos as they go on.
Waiting in Summer
While testing out his filming camera one night, Kaito is blown off the bridge by a streak of blue light. As he is falling, the last thing he remembers is a hand, grabbing his own. When he wakes up, he finds himself mysteriously back in his room, dazed but uninjured. As Kaito proceeds with his summer break, deciding to make a movie with his friends, he takes an interest the new upperclassman wandering the town, Ichika Takatsuki, and she ends up invited to join them.
While the presence of aliens is the immediate tie between these two series, you will also note a similar color palate. Both series highly favor very bold and bright colors that makes them extremely pleasant to the eye. However, Waiting in Summer is a much shorter series with not as satisfying a conclusion as you would hope.
Charlotte
Yuu Otosaka has the ability to slip into other people’s mind and control them for five seconds at a time. He has been using it to get good grades, but after he is caught by the enigmatic Nao Tomori, he is forced to transfer to a special school to safeguard children with these powers from discovery. At this supernatural new school, he is forced to join the Student Council where he uses his powers to hunt down other young people who are using and abusing their own powers.
Both series center around clubs in a school that end up being pack fulled of supernatural oddballs. While Charlotte has a more serious plot, the similarities in this series lie between the interesting characters that you want to get to know.
For Fans of Along For The Ride Main Characters
Angel Beats
Otonashi wakes up without any memories, only to be told that he is dead. What’s more, a rifle-toting girl named Yuri suddenly asks him to join the Afterlife Battlefront to wage war against the Angel that rules this world and the unfair god she serves. Unable to believe Angel is evil, he tries to talk to her, but the meeting does not go as planned. From there, Otonashi gradually discovers more about himself and the mysteries of the afterlife.
Although Angel Beats makes no effort to hide they are in the afterlife, the afterlife turns out a lot of like a school. As such, a normal guy ends up joining a club of oddballs just like in Haruhi. Both these main characters end up playing the straight man in many of the jokes.
Clannad
Tomoya Okazaki is a delinquent who finds everything dull and believes he will never amount to anything. That is, until a girl named Nagisa catches his eye one day on his way to school. Suddenly, Tomoya begins to notice Nagisa more and more. She is sickly and weak, but she always tries her best in order to follow her dream of reviving the school’s drama club. Claiming he has nothing better to do, he decides to help Nagisa, and along the way ends up helping several other girls and potential drama club members. However, as he learns more about the girls and helps them overcome their problems, he might just be able to overcome his own as well.
While Tomoya is not quite as average as Kyon, he still plays that role in Clannad. Both Tomoya and Kyon end up bending backwards to either help the girls int heir life or because they got caught up in their schemes. While Clannad is more romance, there is an element of supernatural to it, in a way.
Love, Chunibyou, and Other Delusions
Everyone has that stage in their life where they think themselves special, different from mere humans. This phenomenon is called Chunibyou Syndrome and most common in pre-pubescent children. In middle school, Yuuta Togashi thought himself the Dark Flame Master. He has since grown out of it upon entering high school and looks back at those cringe-worthy times with displeasure. Unfortunately, after a chance meeting with Rikka Takanashi, a girl believing to have a God in her eye, she attaches herself to him and brings that Chunibyou past back out.
Both series end up being about a normal guy that gets dragged into an odd club. Despite what the girls say in Chunibyou, there is nothing supernatural going on. However, like Haruhi, they still find fun shenanigans.
If you have more anime recommendations like The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, let fans know in the comments section below.
