It’s back-to-school time again! And we could hit you with the usual school-centric anime series to get you back in the mindset. But we’re pretty sure you’ve all caught up to My Hero Academia and MASHLE: MAGIC & MUSCLES by now. (And if you haven’t, you really should!) So we’re diving backward to find some classics, as well as a slightly newer beloved series.
Power up your spells, your fists, or whatever you fight with. Because the new school year is going to be explosive in these three series!
Project A-ko
For our first back-to-school series, we’re going way back to 1986. Project A-ko was originally meant to be a part of the Cream Lemon series. (If you know, you know.) But this super-powered high school adventure ended up becoming its own thing. Besties A-ko and C-ko are just trying to live their best high school lives. But wealthy classmate B-ko has become obsessed with C-ko, and she’ll do whatever it takes to win over her perky classmate. Even design and unleash heavy artillery.
If you’re a fan of over-the-top school battler series, this is a definite must-see. There’s also a healthy dose of sci-fi, with alien spies and mecha fights throughout. Plus, it’s an anime classic that has become a mainstay of the genre over the last 40 years.
Project A-ko is available to watch on RetroCrush.
GTO: Great Teacher Onizuka
Jumping forward a decade, we have GTO: Great Teacher Onizuka. Besides having a super-cool theme song, this back-to-school classic is a whole heap of fun. Based on the 1997 manga by Toru Fujisawa, the series follows an ex-gang member who’s determined to get with a girl. His approach? Become a teacher. Because girls apparently love teachers. But with gaining his teaching degree comes a degree of character development. So breathe easy: he’s not going after his students. Their mothers, on the other hand…
GTO is a bit like its contemporary Gokusen in that it presents an unlikely teacher who ends up becoming fantastic. (In Gokusen‘s case, however, the teacher is the earnest daughter of a yakuza boss.) Onizuka’s approaches may be the sort of thing the PTA would frown upon, but he gets the job done and ends up being a blessing to his students. Albeit a very weird one.
GTO is available to watch on Crunchyroll.
Little Witch Academia
If you’re looking for slightly less violent back-to-school vibes, there’s always Little Witch Academia. This Studio Trigger project started as a short feature in 2013 and went on to become a two-season anime. Both the series and the film center on Akko, a young girl inspired to study to become a witch after meeting the legendary Shiny Chariot.
The full-length anime presents an even broader worldview, with magic becoming less powerful around the world. As Akko strives to live up to her idol’s ideals, she also works to restore magic to the world. It’s a perfect series if you’re more into cozy magic-school vibes than full-on fights.