Anime Like Smart Guy
If you loved Smart Guy's Comedy and Drama storytelling, these anime deliver a similar experience — selected for art style, narrative depth, and emotional impact. Each includes where to stream it now.
★ Top Picks

Mr. Young
Mr. Young is a Canadian comedy series that premiered on March 1, 2011 on YTV. The series is shot in front of a live audience in Burnaby, British Columbia. The series was created by Dan Signer, and stars Brendan Meyer, Matreya Fedor and Gig Morton as attendants of Finnegan High School. Further main cast includes Kurt Ostlund, Emily Tennant, and Milo Shandel.

Lab Rats
Leo is an ordinary teenager who has moved into a high-tech "smart'' house with his mother, inventor stepfather and Eddy, the computer that runs the house. Leo's life becomes less ordinary when, one day, he discovers a secret underground lab that houses three experiments: superhuman teenagers. The trio -- Adam, the strong one, Bree, the fast one and Chase, the smart one -- convinces Leo and his parents to let them leave their lab and join Leo at school, where they try to fit in while having to manage their unpredictable bionic strengths. As Leo figures out a way to keep his new pals' bionic abilities a secret, they help him build self-confidence.

iCarly
Watch Carly, Sam, and Freddie, as they try to balance their everyday 8th grade lives with their newfound fame managing and starring in the most awesome show on the web.

Saved by the Bell
Lovable schemer Zack Morris leads his pals on adventures at California's Bayside High School. The friends navigate relationships, final exams, school dances, breakups and more while frequently frustrating their principal, Mr. Richard Belding, who does his best to keep them in check.

Kenan & Kel
Set in Chicago, the show follows the kid-friendly misadventures of two high-school friends who are always scheming and dreaming. Kenan, who works at a grocery store, constantly devises crazy plans to strike it rich, while orange-soda-loving buddy Kel is always dragged along for the ride despite his track record for messing things up.



Yes, Dear
A comedy about two young couples and their outrageously contrasting views on parenting. Greg and Kim Warner struggle on a daily basis to become perfect at the job. Kim is a neurotic, stay-at-home mother, and although her husband, Greg, is a success in his career, his more difficult job is keeping his wife calm as they raise their two young children. While Kim is determined to be the perfect mother and perfect wife and to raise the perfect children, her sister, Christine Hughes, a very down-to-earth mother of two, continually reminds her that life will never be perfect. Christine's husband, Jimmy, often feels compelled to share with his brother-in-law his philosophy about being a husband and a parent while still remaining a man.
More Anime Like Smart Guy

The Weekenders
Four friends, Tino, Carver, Lor, and Tish, spend each weekend discovering and creating new levels of fun, while negotiating the obligatory obstacles of adolescence.

That's So Raven
No ordinary teenager; Raven Baxter can see glimpses of the future! Watch her schemes and misadventures as she enlists the help of friends, including best friends Eddie and Chelsea, to change life's little outcomes. Raven's younger brother, Cory, is obsessed with money and creates get-rich-quick schemes to try to earn cash.

Henry Danger
When 13-year-old Henry Hart lands a job as Danger, the sidekick-in-training to superhero Captain Man, he must learn to navigate a double life balancing the challenges of 8th grade with the crazy adventures of a real-life crime fighter!

American Housewife
A family comedy narrated by Katie, a strong-willed mother, raising her flawed family in a wealthy town filled with perfect wives and their perfect offspring.

Lizzie McGuire
Lizzie McGuire is all about the ordinary and not-so-ordinary adventures of a junior high student and her two best friends as they try to deal with the ups and downs of school, popularity, boys, parents, a bratty little brother--just life in general. And if Lizzie leaves anything unsaid, you can bet that her cartoon alter ego will say it for her!

The Facts of Life
Mrs. Edna Garrett, housemother and dietitian at the Eastland School, teaches a group of girls in her charge how to solve those problems that every teenager has to face.

Malcolm in the Middle
A gifted young teen tries to survive life with his dimwitted, dysfunctional family.

The Wayans Bros.
Brothers Shawn and Marlon are on the lookout for money and success, though the two are complete opposites. Shawn is responsible and conservative while Marlon is free-spirited and liberal. They are not immune to sibling rivalry, but frequently enjoy being each other's partner in crime.

Head of the Class
Head of the Class is an American sitcom that ran from 1986 to 1991 on the ABC television network. The series follows a group of gifted students in the Individualized Honors Program at the fictional Monroe High School in Manhattan, and their history teacher Charlie Moore. The program was ostensibly a vehicle for Hesseman, best known for his role as radio DJ Dr. Johnny Fever in the sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati. Hesseman left Head of the Class in 1990 and was replaced by Billy Connolly as teacher Billy MacGregor for the final season. After the series ended, Connolly appeared in a short-lived spin-off titled Billy. The series was created and executive produced by Rich Eustis and Michael Elias. Rich Eustis had previously worked as a New York City substitute teacher while hoping to become an actor.

Dexter's Laboratory
Dexter, a boy-genius with a secret laboratory, constantly battles his sister Dee Dee, who always gains access despite his best efforts to keep her out, as well as his arch-rival and neighbor, Mandark.

Moesha
The everyday life of Moesha Mitchell, a vivacious young woman juggling romance, school, ever-changing family dynamics, and friendships.

Sister, Sister
Twins Tia Landry and Tamera Campbell were separated and adopted at birth. Fourteen years later, they encounter each other by chance at the mall. After the families meet, Tia's widowed father agrees to let Tamera and her single mother move in with them.
Why These Anime Are Similar
These recommendations share core qualities with Smart Guy (1997): Comedy and Drama themes, comparable animation style, and similar narrative pacing. NoBadPicks uses TMDB collaborative filtering, genre matching, and AI analysis to surface anime most likely to resonate with fans of Smart Guy.
See full details for Smart Guy (1997)