Koito Koganei is a teenager who serves as a shrine maiden to the Takamimi Shrine as her family has always has. Alongside normal shrine maiden duties, she is also charged with taking care of the deity enshrined there.
Elda, an immortal elf summoned by Tokugawa Ieyasu, has lived in the shrine for 400 years. However, over that time, she has grown afraid of going outside and fallen deeply in love with games, anime, and other otaku hobbies.
There is something that is always so enjoyable about watching fantasy creatures being corrupted by weeb pursuits. If you are looking for more anime recommendations like Otaku Elf, head on down below.
Anime Like Otaku Elf
For Fans of Shut-in Otaku
Himouto! Umaru-chan
Umaru Doma is, by all accounts, the perfect student. She is beautiful, smart, and respectful, at least until she gets home, anyway.
Once that door closes, Umaru dons her hamster hoodie and transforms into a bratty, lazy, junk food-gorging otaku that is fully dependent on her responsible older brother, Taihei.
Whether it is playing video games or eating the right snack combinations, Umaru knows how to live.
Himouto! Umaru-chan is a similar tale to Otaku Elf, but without the supernatural spin. Everyone is human, and that human is a big otaku with some social anxiety tendencies and often a bit of a shut-in. They also largely rely on care from a more responsible caretaker because of their ways.
Both series can take moments for nicer slice of life adventures, but Himoutou! Umaru-chan is distinctly a comedy series and its comedy comes from its kind of selfish main character. As such, its not quite so wholesome as Otaku Elf can be.
Gabriel Dropout
After graduating high school in Heaven, angels are sent down to Earth to guide humans down a righteous path. Heaven had high hopes for Gabriel, the top of her class. However, when she descended, she ended up skipping her duties and getting addicted to online games.
Otaku Elf and Gabriel Dropout are comical tales about what happens when you let perfect fantasy beings go to Earth. They discover anime and games, and then become complete shut-ins!
Alongside their big otaku spin, both Gabriel Dropout and Otaku Elf are Cute Girls Doing Cute Things anime where there is limited plot. However, while Otaku Elf enjoys a lot of nice slice of life moments, Gabriel Dropout is more dedicated to its comedy.
Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid
Miss Kobayashi is a programmer that lives alone in her apartment. However, one day a giant green dragon ends up on her doorstep and transforms into a women in a maid outfit.
Apparently, Kobayashi had gotten drunk one night and ended up saving this dragon. Now, dragon Tooru intends to repay her debt through housework.
While Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid isn’t specifically about degenerate otaku – although it does have that same type of character as a side character – what the series shares with Otaku Elf is the corruption of supernatural beings by human culture.
Both Otaku Elf and Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid are about fantasy creatures who come to our world, stay, and pick up comical human habits, hobbies, and lifestyles. The also explore this in a nice split between comedy, slice, of life, and rather wholesome moments.
For Fans of Cute Girls Doing Cute Things With The Supernatural
Ms. Vampire Who Lives In My Neighborhood
In Akari’s neighborhood, there are rumors of an ageless girl that only comes out at night and lives in a mansion in the forest.
While seeking out this girl, Akari grows lost in the woods and is saved by the girl of rumor. It turns out the girl is a vampire named Sophie. She orders to blood online and avoids attacking humans.
Akari, a connoisseur of dolls, is instantly charmed by her doll-like appearance and moves in.
Both series follow normal girls who have their lives deeply intertwined with an immortal supernatural creature. In Otaku Elf, she is a shrine maiden while in Ms. Vampire Who Lives In My Neighborhood follows a girl obsessed with dolls who finds a vampire that looks like a doll and never ages.
Both of these series are pretty quintessential Cute Girls Doing Cute Things comedies, and furthermore, the supernatural creature is a bit of an otaku. You follow the characters as they go on small slice of life adventures and enjoy normal things in a wholesome and lightly comical way.
The biggest difference between them is that Otaku Elf is more modern slice of life in its design where the characters are cute, but aren’t specifically designed to ooze cuteness. Ms. Vampire Who Lives In My Neighborhood is dedicated to moe cuteness overload and also light girl’s love-baiting, as moe anime often does.
Dropkick On My Devil
The demon Jashin was summoned to Earth by an occult dabbler named Yurine. However, although Yurine successfully summoned her, she doesn’t know how to send her back.
Now, Jashin ends up living with Yurine as her familiar. She knows the only way to go back now is to kill Yurine, but Jashin, incompetent as she is, can’t seem have any schemes go right.
Otaku Elf and Dropkick On My Devil are Cute Girls Doing Cute Things comedies about a normal human with knowledge of the supernatural who ends up bound to a supernatural creature. The creatures in question were both summoned to Earth and aren’t going back, although Dropkick on My Devil uses that for comedy.
While Otaku Elf is downright wholesome at times, Dropkick On my Devil is actually quite different. It is dedicated to comedy and often uses over-the-top comical violence to do that since the demon can’t die anyway.
Squid Girl
Terror of the seas Ika Musume has come out of the ocean to punish humanity for polluting her waters. With her ink-spitting skills and tentacles for hair, she is all set for invading Earth, but she didn’t count on two sisters bullying her into working at their seafood restaurant.
Both Otaku Elf and Squid Girl subvert the usual expectation of supernatural beings. You expect them to be refined and have a certain authority to them, but in both of these series, you see them lower functioning than the humans who end up either taking care of them or taking advantage of them.
While Squid Girl follows an actual deity, she still ends up under the thumb of stronger human personalities.
The biggest difference between these two is the intensity of the comedy. Squid Girl is a comedy anime and aims to make you laugh. Otaku Elf enjoys more of a slice of life focus.
For Fans of Shrine Deities
Kuma Miko
Young shrine maiden Machi Amayadori has spent her whole life in a small town with her talking bear guardian. However, as she turns fourteen, she decides to take a chance and attend high school in the city. This is the story of her preparing for city life in a small town.
Otaku Elf and Kuma Miko both follow the lives of more rural shrine maidens and the supernatural being that lives there with her. Just like Koito, Machi also has big city dreams.
The major difference between these two shows is the age. Kuma Miko follows a younger main character and often feels much younger because of the art style. Yet, the actual storytelling of these anime series is quite similar. They are both Cute Girls Doing Cute Things anime where the comedy often comes from their supernatural enshrined companion.
Inari Kon Kon
Below average high school girl Inari Fushimi has one positive perk, she can’t overlook a person in need. One day, she ends up rescuing a fox cub, only for the god of the Inari Shrine, Uka-no-Mitama-no-Kami, to thank her.
As thanks he grants her a small drop of his power that allows her to transform into anyone at will. The problem is, a human possessing even this small amount of a god’s power draws a lot of attention from the supernatural world.
While Inari Kon Kon isn’t specifically about a shrine maiden and her deity, like Otaku Elf, it follows a school girl who becomes closer with an enshrined god one day.
However, while Otaku Elf is a slice of life comedy, Inari Kon Kon is more of a supernatural-tinged romantic comedy.
Gingitsune – Messenger Fox of the Gods
Gintarou is a fox spirit that has protected the same small temple since the Edo era. The owners of the temple have always possessed the ability to see him, but only one family member at a time can have it.
After her mother passed away, Saeki Makoto inherited the ability and using the fox spirit’s power, she tries to help her community.
Gingitsune is what Otaku Elf would be if Elda didn’t have social anxiety and otaku habits.
Both series follow shrine maidens and the deities enshrined in those shrines since the Edo Era. However, while both series are slice of life anime with light comedy, Gingitsune is about the shrine maiden and deity going around town and helping people.
Do you have more anime recommendations like Otaku Elf? Let fans know in the comments section below.
