During his last summer of high school, Yota is furiously studying for his entrance exams in order to go to the same college as his crush. However, one day he meets a small girl who calls herself the god Odin. She proclaims herself the god of omniscience and says the world will end in 30 days. After witnessing her powers, she moves into his home and upends his last summer.
Odin, the all-father, has never looked so cute or so female, but praise the sun that Jun Maeda’s storytelling is still the same in these trying times. I could use a solid emotional punch to the gut. If you are looking for more anime recommendations like The Day I Became a God, then head on down below.
Anime Like The Day I Became a God
For Fans of Gods
Kannagi
In order to make a statue for school, Jin carves a piece of an old sacred tree. When he takes it outside, it gathers earth and becomes a girl. This girl, who was the guardian deity of the tree, is pissed it was cut down. She invites herself to stay in his home and upends Jin’s life.
Both series essentially have a similar set up. A guy meets a god, and that god moves in. However, while there is a certain level of shenanigans to both series, The Day I Became a God has that large tone of melancholy to it. Kannagi is more just comedy.
The Everyday Tales of a Cat God
Mayu, a cat god, has been stripped of her powers and banished to Earth because of illegal gambling. There she ends up living with Yuzu, an antique shop owner. While her life is pretty leisurely, a god living in your home attracts a lot of problems.
Both series follow gods that move into someone’s house. You also have that element of comedy where the other characters may or may not be gods, or at least named similarly. However, The Everyday Tales of a Cat God is definitely more of a random comedy show, though it does have the animations style of some of Jun Maeda’s older works.
Spice and Wolf
For generations, Holo was a revered wolf deity that helped the local wheat harvest in exchange for tribute. However, as the villagers become more self-sufficient, they no longer need or even believe in her anymore. During her annual festival, she sneaks into the cart of Kraft, a visiting merchant, hoping he will let her hitch a ride home.
As it goes on The Day I Became a God shows a more mature plot to it, but Spice and Wolf maintains that same mature element throughout. Both series tell the story of a normal guy that is hanging out with a god. They also share a similar melancholic tone, but for different reasons.
For Fans of Lightly Supernatural Mystery
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 were made by Jun Maeda, and as such, they share similar elements. You can expect a gut punch to come before the end and some very random comedy. Both series also share a sort of supernatural-tinged slice of life plot. However, Charlotte is more upfront with it, while The Day I Became a God has you going back and forth about if the girl is a god or not.
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.
Kokoro Connect is definitely more drama-oriented, but both series start off as normal slice of life series where something odd and otherworldly happens. From there, the characters have their lives turned upside down and led into odd circumstances.
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.
Both series seem like slice of life / romance series, but there is also a mystery going on that features physics and other sciences. It is that mystery that draws you in and keeps you watching. All the romance (in Bunny Senpai) and comedy in between is purely to entertain in between moments of the actual plot development.
For Fans of Slice of Life Shenanigans
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 around the campus. 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.
Again, Clannad is another Jun Maeda series, and as such it shares those same elements. You see a normal guy pulled into shenanigans and ends up helping people around him. Furthermore, throughout both series there is this odd supernatural element that just keeps building up until it is finally revealed at the end. That is kind of Maeda’s play. Clannad is definitely more simpering romance though. The Day I Became a God plays it a little cooler, and by cooler, I mean Yota constantly strikes out in the least cool and most comical way possible.
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.
The final Jun Maeda anime on this list, Angel Beats and The Day I Became a God all share that element of afterlife to them. In Angel Beats, it is very clear everyone is dead, but they are forced into school life. The Day I Became a God does things a little differently with the god element. However, both series know how to combine plot with some really unexpectedly solid comedy.
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.
Both series feature a normal guy who meets an extraordinary girl one summer. Her entrance into his life turns it absolutely crazy. However, while Waiting in Summer has a lot of funny moments, it is distinctly more of a romantic drama series.
Do you have more anime recommendations like The Day I Became a God? Let fans know in the comments section below.
