Anime loves its schools. Whether reviewing horror, comedy, or action; more often than not, students tend to take center stage. Clearly, there is something about classrooms that clicks with fans. The halls and uniforms may look fairly identical from one show to the next, but countless unique stories have and continue to be told using an educational environment as a backdrop. Manaria Friends is one such example.
Putting aside the occasional spell or summoned demon, Manaria Friends devotes the majority of its attention to the budding relationship between Grea and Anne. At times, CygamesPictures' anime qualifies as a slice of life, with quite a number of episodes focusing solely on the pair's daily activities.
Mysteria Friends blends fantasy, the supernatural, and slice of life elements to create a unique world worth exploring. The academy itself is visually stunning, and its whimsical student body offers a pleasant change of pace to the typical school-based cast.
Do you love traversing Mysteria Academy's enchanting grounds with Anne and Grea? Wish to explore other magical locations? These six anime should be perfect!
Boasting a cast primarily consisting of angels and demons, Gabriel DropOut unleashes four supernatural beings on an unsuspecting high school. Recognized for her academic excellence and prophesied as the angel destined to lead mortals to salvation, Gabriel descends from the heavens to spend a year living as a human. Unfortunately, she ends up liking Earth a little too much.
Gabriel is a fallen angel who prefers to spend her days playing video games instead of striving to save humanity. Certain things are simply more important! Vignette, a responsible and kind demon, repeatedly tries to save Gabriel from herself, but the blonde angel rebuffs every single attempt. Vignette and Gabriel are usually accompanied by the boastful but harmless Satanichia and the sadistic Raphiel.
Manaria Friends has its fair share of funny moments, but Gabriel DropOut is absolutely hilarious! While the school itself is perfectly normal, the anime's characters are the exact opposite. Mysteria Friends and Gabriel DropOut subvert expectations associated with supernatural races like demons and angels, although the former opts for a slightly more serious tone.
What is created if Harry Potter, anime, and Trigger are combined? The answer is Little Witch Academia! The first muggle accepted into Luna Nova Magical Academy, Atsuko "Akko" Kagari has spent every second of her childhood yearning to follow in Shiny Chariot's footsteps, a popular witch known for her stunning shows. Akko embarks on an exciting but challenging journey to prove thgat she belongs in Luna Nova just as much as any pureblooded witch.
Little Witch Academia primarily focuses on Akko's struggles to gain acceptance as part of the academy's student body. While Mysteria Friends' school has already embraced inclusivity, the same cannot be said for Luna Nova. In some ways, Little Witch Academia is the exact opposite of Mysteria Friends. The former's wider society acknowledges and accepts the existence of witches but the academy is reluctant to mix classes; meanwhile, Mysteria Academy seeks to foster a civil relationship between its warring factions.
Little Witch Academia chronicles Akko's gradual rise from outcast to a respected magician. Consequently, the earliest episodes mainly consist of the girls attending class and exploring the school. Eventually, an overarching plot starts to take precedence, but Little Witch Academia maintains a lighthearted tone throughout its entire run.
Directed by Sailor Moon's Junichi Satou, Kaleido Star is a minor classic packed with fantastic writing, gorgeous animation, and memorable stunts. What does the title mean? Kaleido Stage is an internationally adored show established in California. In this universe, every performer aspires to step on the circus' platform. Sora is no exception.
Traveling from Japan to the United States, Sora's undying optimism is instantly tested after the acrobat is rejected by the circus due to arriving late for her audition. While others might have accepted defeat and gone back home, Sora elects to buckle down in the hope of earning a second chance.
Kaleido Star's circus is essentially a school for acrobats. Rather than exams, the students compete for the right to appear in an upcoming show. Along with a handful of fantastical characters, Satou's anime presents the performances as practically magical in nature. Demons and dragons might not be on the cards, but Kaleido Stage's students range from all across the globe.
Any Anime Like Manaria Friends / Any Anime Like Mysteria Friends ?
Tokyo Ravens is your quintessential school fantasy comedy with a touch of romance. 8bit's anime will never win any awards for originality, but a predictable storyline can still be thoroughly entertaining. Tokyo Ravens adopts and refines familiar ideas to near perfection. Here is an anime held together by excellent pacing, engaging characters, and a satisfying sense of progression. Lasting 24 episodes, Tokyo Ravens is the type of series that demands to be binge-watched.
During World War II, Japan utilized magic to emerge as a military force powerful enough to seize control of the planet. At least, that was the plan, until a spell backfired and caused demons to spread across the world. Decades later, this failure continues to haunt the nation and the magic once predicted to establish Japan as a leading power has been simplified to basically a modern technology.
Most people are magically inclined, but Harutora happens to be an anomaly. Promising to protect his childhood friend Natsume, Harutora decides to risk his life despite lacking magical powers. As the series progresses, Tokyo Ravens becomes more action-oriented, but the first cour is largely dedicated to Harutora and Natsume's school lives. Similar to Mysteria Friends' Anne and Grea, both teenagers are fundamentally different but form an unbreakable bond regardless.
Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid stands out from the remaining recommendations due to primarily taking place outside of a school. With the exception of a handful of scenes showing Kanna Kamui attending 3rd Grade, the majority of the anime is set within an apartment.
A reserved programmer fond of the occasional drink, a drunk Kobayashi stumbles across a homeless dragon named Tooru in a forest near her home. Due to her inhibited state, Kobayashi sees no issue with inviting a dragon to stay at her place, an offer happily accepted by Tooru. Luckily for the programmer's rental agreement, mystical beings have the ability to transform into cute waifus dressed as maids.
Before long, Kobayashi's life becomes overrun with hilarious and endearing fantastical creatures. Partnering up a human and a dragon, Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid and Manaria Friends share near identical core dynamics. While both couples are nothing more than friends, hints are dropped suggesting the future may hold something more.
Who are you? What distinguishes a person from their neighbor? Cocona yearns to answer these questions. Living with her grandmother and detached from most of her classmates, the middle schooler has no goals to pursue or any reason to wake up in the morning.
If Cocona is an empty shell, then Papika represents a never-ending reservoir. By sheer coincidence, the universe decides to bring these two girls together. Papika instantly takes a liking to Cocona, dragging the poor teenager on multiple adventures in a fantastical alternate dimension called Pure Illusion. Representing a barrier and blade respectively, Papika and Cocona grow to be nearly inseparable.
Flip Flappers' visuals are a sight to behold. Studio 3Hz expertly crafted fantastical locations that skate the line between lucidity and reality. While the plot sits on the back burner until the final few episodes, Flip Flappers is a pleasure to watch from beginning to end. Papika and Cocona's journey takes the girls to some rather strange and dangerous places, but their friendship is the real selling point.
Manaria Friends reflects upon a beautiful friendship between a princess and a dragon. Carrying light yuri undertones and allocating time to explore the setting rather than just rushing head first into the next intense encounter, CygamesPictures' anime radiates a warmth hot enough to melt the coldest hearts. These six anime accomplish the same thing.
Is there any other anime that you would recommend for fans of Manaria Friends? If so, please leave us a comment below with your recommendations.
Was It Worth a Three Year Wait? Manaria Friends (Mysteria Friends) Three Episode Impression Now Out!