Anime Like BEASTARS
If you loved BEASTARS's Animation 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
Hyouka
Oreki Houtarou is a minimalistic high school boy. One day, he joins the Classic Literature Club at his elder sister's request. There he meets Chitanda Eru, Fukube Satoshi, and Ibara Mayaka. Chitanda is a calm beautiful girl but she turns into an embodiment of curiosity once she says, "I'm curious." Fukube is a smiling boy with a fantastic memory who calls himself a database. Ibara is a short girl and is strict with others and herself. They begin to investigate a case that occurred 45 years ago. Hints of the mystery are buried in an old collection of works of the former members of Classics Club. The collection is titled "Hyouka."
The Dangers in My Heart
Kyotaro Ichikawa, a boy barely clinging to the bottom rung of his school's social ladder, secretly believes he’s the tortured lead in some psychological thriller. He spends his days dreaming up ways to disrupt his classmates' peaceful lives and pining after Anna Yamada, the class idol. But Kyotaro's not nearly the troubled teen he pretends to be…and it turns out Anna's a bit odd herself!
Kakegurui
Run by a corrupt and sadistic school council, the “system” at Hyakkaou is based on gambling, with losers who cannot cover their debts being demeaned by their peers and forced to serve their debtholders. And if that’s not terrifying enough, some games can result in losing an eye, one’s fingernails, or even their life! But the system is shocked when transfer student Yumeko Jabami arrives. Dark, mysterious and attractive, she’s a wildcard who plays for the thrill of it…
Seton Academy: Join the Pack!
Seton Academy, a school where animals of all species gather to live and learn together. A sacred garden of learning, where students hone their primal instincts and the laws are of the jungle. Where species pit against species in a daily struggle for survival... Now enter the animal-hating human Jin Mazama, and the lonely wolf Ranka Okami. When man meets wolf in an encounter for the ages, this food chain is about to be shook. “Species shmecies! If we’ve shared face-licks, you’re a friend to me! Welcome to the pack!”
Kokoro Connect
Five members of the school culture club—Taichi Yaegashi, Iori Nagase, Himeko Inaba, Yui Kiriyama, and Yoshifumi Aoki—encounter a bizarre phenomenon one day when Aoki and Yui switch personalities without warning. The same begins to happen to the other club members, throwing their daily lives into chaos. At first the five students find some amusement among the confusion, but this connection also exposes the painful scars hidden within their hearts... When their calm lives are shattered, the relationships between the five students also begin to change!
Parasyte -the maxim-
A species of parasitic aliens descends on Earth and quickly infiltrates humanity by entering the brains of vulnerable targets; insatiable beings that gain total control of their host and are capable of transforming themselves to feed on unsuspecting prey. High school student Shinichi Izumi falls victim to one of these parasites, but the creature fails to take over his brain and ends up in his right hand.
A Couple of Cuckoos
16-year-old super-studier Nagi Umino, second-year student at the Megurogawa Academy high school, was switched at birth. On his way to a dinner to meet his birth parents, he accidentally meets the brash, outspoken, Erika Amano, who is determined to make Nagi her fake boyfriend as she never wants to actually marry. But once Nagi makes it to dinner, he finds his parents have decided to resolve the hospital switch by conveniently having him marry the daughter his birth parents raised...who turns out to be none other than Erika herself!
Tomodachi Game
After his class' school trip fund is stolen, Yuichi and his best friends are abducted to play a debt repayment game; there is more than money on the line, as their bonds are tested with dark secrets and a lingering question of who is behind it all.
More Anime Like BEASTARS
The Summer Hikaru Died
Six months ago, Hikaru vanished for a week. Now, as his best friend Yoshiki senses something amiss and confronts him, the harrowing truth emerges.
The Fruit of Grisaia
Mihama Academy—on the surface, a closed learning environment established to nurture students who find themselves at odds with the world around them; in actuality, an orchard-cum-prison built to preserve fruit that has fallen too far from its tree. Yet with the arrival of the institute's first male student, the nearly preposterously opaque Kazami Yuuji, the students at Mihama begin to fall out of step with their predetermined rhythms. Will Yuuji prove to be the element the girls around him needed to take hold of their lives once more, or will the weight of their pasts prove too steep a wall to overcome?
Monogatari
Koyomi Araragi, a high school student, finds himself constantly encountering girls afflicted by supernatural "oddities." He dedicates himself to helping them, often with the aid of the eccentric specialist Meme Oshino. Each arc talks about a different girl's unique struggle and the mysterious cause of their affliction. The series explores themes of adolescence, personal growth, and the complexities of human relationships. It's known for its witty dialogue, stylistic animation, and unique narrative structure.
Rainbow
About ten years after the Second World War, a group of juvenile offenders are sent to the Shounan Special Reform School, a kind of juvenile detention center, to deal with the atrocities and injustices they experienced in the war.
Maison Ikkoku
Godai is a ronin (someone who has failed university entrance exams) living in a run down apartment house called Maison Ikkoku. Among the other residents are the nosy Ichinose, the sexy Akemi Roppongi, and the mysterious Yotsuya. The others are given to having wild parties which makes it difficult for Godai to study. Into this mayhem comes the recently widowed Kyoko as the new live-in manager. Godai falls for her, but doesn't have the nerve to tell her. As time passes, their relationship slowly develops amid life at Maison Ikkoku, despite all sorts of romantic hurdles.
Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei
A teacher takes all aspects of life, word and culture in the most negative light possible.
The Tatami Galaxy
When a college dropout stops for a late night bite at a mysterious ramen stand, he crosses paths with a self-proclaimed deity of matrimony. This bizarre meeting sends the young man hurtling through a horrifying flashback to his not-so-glorious college days when the influence of a cruel new friend turned him from a hopeless romantic into a mischievous “black cupid.”
SCHOOL-LIVE!
Yuki Takeya, Kurumi Ebisuzawa, Yuri Wakasa, and Miki Naoki decide to stay over at school. Along with the school adviser Megumi Sakura, they suddenly find themselves to be the final survivors of a zombie attack, and continue to live and survive at the school.
More than a Married Couple, but Not Lovers
The story centers on third-year high school student Jiro Yakuin, who gets saddled with his gyaru classmate Akari Watanabe for the class's "marriage training" project about practicing to be a married couple. Jiro is the complete opposite of Akari, but the two know that if they do well they will be able to switch partners to end up with their respective crushes, and so they force themselves to act like the perfect married couple.
Wonder Egg Priority
Ai, a young girl with shut-in tendencies, who tries not to interact with others. She keeps one of her eyes hidden behind her hair. One day, she happens to stop by a deserted arcade, where she meets "Aka." Spinning the gacha at their urging, she acquires a "Wonder Egg," and from that moment, her fate begins to change...
SHOSHIMIN: How to Become Ordinary
Kobato decides to become an honest, humble citizen after enduring a bitter experience known as “wisdom work.” He forms a pact with Osanai, his classmate with the same goal, and they plan to enter high school leading quiet lives. But for some reason, inexplicable events and disasters keep happening around them. Will Kobato and Osanai ever manage to live ordinary, peaceful lives?
Aharen-san wa Hakarenai
Socially awkward Aharen-san has personal boundary issues, either getting too close or too far from her classmates. When fellow student Raido picks up an eraser she drops, Aharen-san decides they’re now best friends. Whether studying, playing the arcade, or just eating lunch—she’s along for the ride. What follows is an impromptu bonding that shows affection can blossom in the unlikeliest of places!
Why These Anime Are Similar
These recommendations share core qualities with BEASTARS (2019): Animation 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 BEASTARS.
See full details for BEASTARS (2019)