College life is undeniably one of the most beautiful, important, and key moments in a person’s life.
Mangaka and animators know this very well, and it’s full of anime that portrays characters at this moment of their life.
Love and fun are the good moments, and the bad, such as uncertainty about the future and various disappointments will be shown too.
Whether you still have to live it, are living it or it is now part of your past, enjoy this list of anime dealing with college life.
Table of Contents
18. Abnormal Physiology Seminar

Abnormal Physiology Seminar is a college-set anime released in 2011 that focuses on comedy, absurd moments, and ecchi.
This could be your choice if you’re looking for something short, humorous, and easy to follow without intricate or complex plots.
If you’re in the mood for just laughs and entertainment, it’s a great pick.
The main character, Matsutaka Nanako, is a college student who joins an abnormal physiology seminar, only to discover that everything about the course is far from ordinary, from her classmates to the lectures.
Nanako strives to maintain her sanity, but as she becomes immersed in the absurdity of the environment, even she starts to conform to its absurdity.
17. White Album

White Album is a romance anime with drama elements and a fantastic winter setting, released in multiple seasons starting in 2009.
It’s based on a visual novel, which we recommend playing for completeness since the anime cuts a lot of material, rushing it.
The story revolves around Fuji Toya, a college student, and budding idol Yuki Morikawa. The two have intense feelings for each other, but several impediments get in the way of their pending romance.
We’ll see their life while they also attend college, while their love awaits to begin.
White Album, as you can tell from the synopsis, has a decidedly bland and clichéd plot and a premise that is nothing new.
Unfortunately, we would like to tell you that at least the characters are well written, but even those all in all are quite stereotypical.
The only strength of this anime is the realistic Japanese setting and how college life is depicted.
16. Number 24

Number 24 is a sports-themed anime released in 2020 in 12 episodes.
Natsusa Yuzuki was a very talented athlete. Everyone expected him to become the ace of the college rugby team and the Kansai tournament.
However, due to a motorcycle accident, he will no longer be able to play. The story will follow his and other college rugby-related events at Doshisha University.
Bit his desire to play again will never fade. Number 24 very enjoyably combines sports, the central theme, psychological aspects given by Natsusa’s desire to get back into the game, and a solid college setting.
The only flaws, that make us put it down, are the animations, which are quite poorly done for being from 2020, and a plot that all in all is quite cliché for a spokon.
15. Ai Yori Aoshi

Kaoru is the heir to a powerful family and is about to receive the appropriate benefits, but only due to the absence of other candidates.
In fact, Kaoru, on the contrary, is viewed unfavorably, since he was born of a secret relationship between his father and a maid.
Because of this, he has to put up with his family members’ harassment until, now tired, he decides to give up his role and run away from home to live a normal life and attend college.
But Aoi, the descendant of another powerful family, had been betrothed to the boy in an arranged marriage, which she has no intention of renouncing, so she will follow him at the same college.
Ao Yori Aoshi bases its entertainment on comedy and nonsense moments, without offering a solid or entertaining story, which rather bases its roots on more clichés.
However, if you want to watch something quiet and noncommittal, it can be a good choice.
14. Ah! My Goddess

Let’s stick to the love comedy with a college setting, but add a touch of the supernatural. We get Ah! My Goddess, a 24-episode anime from 2005.
The main character is Keichi Morisato, a shy boy who lives in a college dormitory and whose approaches to the female world have always been disastrous.
But in reality, Keichi is a good boy, and because of this, he is approached by Belldandy, a Goddess who offers to grant him a wish.
His request will be abnormal as he will ask the Goddess to stay by his side as a lover, making his life even more peculiar but sweeter.
Ah! My Goddess is a classic anime of the 2000s, with the typical animation style a character design of those years.
Its story is quiet and uncomplicated, but it wants to be so, as you may expect from the synopsis.
13. Love Hina

Here we have another anime from the 2000s, and again a bland school comedy with sentimental overtones with ecchi and harem components.
Keitaro Urashima is a 19-year-old boy desperately trying to get admitted to the prestigious Tokyo College. But not being an ace in his studies, he is rejected several times.
To continue pursuing his dream, Keitaro is forced to get a part-time job: he ends up as a janitor in a women’s college dormitory whose female tenants will give him a hard time, especially the beautiful Nasuregawa.
Love Hina is a good way to entertain oneself with the brain off, but nothing much beyond that, unfortunately.
Animations are low-level, characters extremely stereotypical, and the plot weak, sometimes even too demented.
If you want to enjoy it without commitment it may be okay, but we recommend watching Maison Ikkoku instead, as mentioned later in this list.
12. Genshiken

Genshiken is a light school comedy released in 12 episodes and a wholesome romance anime with otaku characters.
It tells the story of Sasahara Kanji, a freshman at Tokyo Shiiou College.
When it comes time to choose a school club she hesitates quite a bit but eventually opts for the Genshiken, a group of diverse otaku who, for various reasons, have failed to fit in with the classic clubs.
From this point on, he will experience a great deal together with them.
An anime that by nature has little action, but nicely chronicles the days of the club members in a calm and relaxed atmosphere that will make you feel part of the events.
This is mainly because although the story starts from Sasahara’s eyes, we won’t see an actual protagonist.
Each member of the club will have his or her importance, role, and screen time, so you will feel like a member of the club in turn.
11. Steins;Gate

Steins;Gate is an animated adaptation of the visual novel of the same name, which is part of the Science Adventure universe.
The plot follows Rintaro Okabe, a boy who with his two childhood friends runs the so-called Futuristic Gadget Laboratory.
Okabe, who is also a big fan of time travel, happens to be at a conference on it one day. It is here that he will find the dead body of Makise Kurisu, and from which everything will begin.
This series will captivate you thanks to a plot full of mysteries, which are directly related to time travel and its very concept. The only con is the slow start if you ignore the scientific part, as it takes around 10 episodes to see some action.
But if we come to the college life argument, Steins; Gate has countless merits, but unfortunately one of those is not having a good and in-depth college setting.
It is mentioned several times that Okabe and Daru are college students and the first episode is set in a university. The focus of the anime is not on college life per se but rather on what these bizarre students do in their spare time.
10. Tales of Agriculture

Another school comedy with fantastical and supernatural elements. Sawaki can see viruses, bacteria, and fungi with the naked eye in the form of tiny caricatures that resemble their actual appearance.
For this reason, he decides to enroll in the agricultural faculty of the university, accompanied by his childhood friend Kei. Little do they know, however, that they will experience all kinds of things.
A deliberately wacky anime with strong comic and demented elements while being pretty much entertaining too. It’s one of those few anime about agriculture that may interest people looking for rural themes.
From a technical point of view, the anime is enjoyable and colorful thanks to the presence of these cute little beings, giving the vision a decidedly cheerful and lively point of view.
9. Golden Time

In 2013, the Golden Time anime was released, with its very exuberant and over-the-top story.
The 3 protagonists are part of a love triangle and you will see how it evolves as they live out their college lives.
Banri Tada lost his memory by falling off a bridge just before graduating, an interesting incipit for this story. Mitsuo Yanagisawa is one of his friends at college and is related to the third character of the story.
We are talking about the girl Koko Kaga, Mitsuo’s beautiful and popular childhood friend who shows up by slapping him with a bouquet of roses.
The dynamics between the 3 are much more complex than that, you can only watch it to discover how.
Golden Time is an over-the-top slice-of-life romance anime unlike any other, funny and very enjoyable while keeping the romance very good and catchy.
8. Run With the Wind

Run With the Wind is an underrated sports-themed anime released in 2018 with 23 episodes that revolve around college-level running.
The story tells of the events around the Hakone Ekiden, one of the most important college relay marathons in Japan. Held annually on Jan. 2-3, participants must run the Tokyo-Hakone round trip for a total of 271.9 kilometers.
Haiji Kiyose, a college senior, is looking for the 10th man to complete his team. One night he crosses paths with Kakeru Kurahara, who runs as fast as the wind, making Haiji convinced that he is the man.
Run With the Wind uses sports as a pretext for deepening the relationship between the characters and their psyches.
During the races, which by the way will keep you glued to the screen, we will enter the characters’ psyches and follow their beliefs and thoughts.
The animations and soundtrack are also excellent and apt, and we will also see a college dormitory where the athletes live, so we have plenty of college settings.
7. Science Fell in Love, So I Tried to Prove It

From a seinen manga comes the 2020 anime Science Fell in Love, So I Tried to Prove It, an excellent college and student-oriented romantic comedy.
Yukimura Shinya and Himuro Ayame are two scientists who want to find out if love can be explained through a scientific theory.
The 2 have feelings for each other and know it, but they want to get to the bottom of it by explaining them rationally as one would for many other things.
If you want to laugh and see the awkward love between the 2 grow and get stronger and stronger, start it without ifs and buts.
Undoubtedly the best purely romance anime that combines science with its central themes.
The presence of mathematics to prove love is one of the reasons why we love this show. It’s wholesome and the 2 main characters try to rationalize something that defies logic.
6. The Night is Short Walk On, Girl

An award-winning 2017 movie in the genre of comedy, sentimental, and with a touch of the supernatural given by the motifs we will see in the synopsis.
A young student at Kyoto University has fallen in love with his younger classmate and has decided to meet her as often as possible, pretending each time it is a coincidence.
During a party attended by both of them, the boy decides to sit next to the girl, and as soon as they change clubs, it will be the beginning of a long night in which they will have several encounters, including supernatural ones.
A film with a unique graphic line, capable of sticking and being very personal given the technical choice of the filmmakers.
But the nice touch of this movie is the stylistic choice of not naming the 2 main characters, referring to them only as The Girl with the Black Hair and The Senpai.
This makes it possible for incredibly high immersion, making it possible for you to see yourself again and identify with the characters.
5. Nodame Cantabile

Nodame Cantabile is a romantic comedy with drama elements, following the story of the first-class Japanese musician Shinichi Chiaki.
His dream is to attend music college in Europe and play among the elites where he used to live as a child, although he cannot go there due to his fear of flying.
Things will change when he meets Megumi Noda, a remarkable pianist, who will try to convince him to go back to Europe to follow his dream.
Nodame Cantabile gives us an excellent story of trauma-solving love, with the leitmotif of pursuing dreams by overcoming one’s fears and insecurities.
Recommended if you are looking for a different story from the usual and one of the best anime about music you can find.
4. Maison Ikkoku

Based on a seinen manga by Rumiko Takahashi, Maison Ikkoku is a great classic of the 1980s and one of the best romance anime based on a seinen manga.
Yusaku Godai, the protagonist of the events, is a young high school student who aspires to enter a prestigious college. To prepare himself best and quietly for the difficult entrance exam, he rents an apartment at the extravagant Maison Ikkoku boarding house.
The boarding house is run by Kyoko Otonashi, an extremely charming woman older than him with whom Yusuke has an immediate love affair.
A groundbreaking work in the romance genre. A must-watch if you are a fan of stories in the genre and general of the works of Takahashi.
Maison Ikkoku is without the slightest shadow of a doubt one of the best romance anime ever made that any fan of the genre should watch.
3. Honey and Clover

Honey & Clover is a slice-of-life anime rich in love triangles romance moments.
The story chronicles the lives of 5 characters, 3 boys, and 2 girls, who go about their daily lives while attending a fine arts academy college.
The highlights of this anime are the characterization of the characters, each very different and unique from the other, but still managing to fit together perfectly, creating real relationships.
And what is most striking is the incredibly balanced story since no real protagonist stands out among them.
There will also be excellent romance dynamics, and the story will always be told from a mature and adult point of view.
Indeed, the real leitmotif of this work is the theme of growing up, and the hard transition between adolescence and adult life.
2. Grand Blue

Iori Kitahara is moving to the Izu Peninsula to prepare to attend college and start a new life. He will live with his uncle, who owns a store that deals in diving equipment called Grand Blue.
Although he has to concentrate on his college studies, Iori is constantly distracted by Shinji and Ryujiro, the 2 senpai at the university who drag him into their circle of friends.
Iori is inundated with a sea of booze and parties that will keep him perpetually busy by not letting him concentrate on studying.
Grand Blue is a very good anime, which will make you die of laughter with adult and mature comedy and at the same time will entertain you with excellently written characters.
If along with college vibes you are looking for endless laughs we probably have no better advice to give you.
1. Tatami Galaxy

The Tatami Galaxy is a fantastic short anime consisting of 11 episodes based on a light novel, adapted in 2010 by Yuasa and one of the best anime about depression in our opinion.
The beauty of The Tatami Galaxy is that it is seemingly simple in its unfolding but manages to enrapture because of its surreality and especially because of the stream of consciousness.
Yes, you read that right, the whole work gravitates around the streams of consciousness of the protagonist, so an incessant flow of words and tangled thoughts, a little like the hard life we live every day.
Tatami Galaxy is an anime in which you can very much see and mirror yourself, especially if you are a college student or have ever thought about what your life would be like if you had taken a different path.
Because, in addition to the paranoia and constant breakdowns of the characters, this is the real protagonist of this work: the harsh gap between adolescence and the beginning of adult life.