11 Best Anime About Dorm Life
We have already talked about the various ideas and concepts embodied in various manga and anime titles. Whether it’s an actual (sub)genre or just a motif that is recurring in the series, you’ll find anything that comes to mind in anime. Some of these motifs might not be that common, and they might be quite rare, but we’re certain that you’ll find a couple of titles, at least, to satisfy your needs. One such topic are dormitories, or, to be more specific, life in a dormitory, and that is what we are going to talk about in this article.
Namely, this article is going to be a list of the 11 best anime about life in a dorm, albeit in various contexts and settings, so don’t expect just slice-of-life titles. They won’t be ranked in any way specific way, rather just listed with some basic production and plot-related information so that you know why you should watch them and what they are about.
1. Blue Exorcist
Original Release: April 17, 2011 – March 25, 2017
Number of Episodes: 37 (+ 2 OVA)
What it’s about: Two opposing realms make up the world of the Blue Exorcist anime, mirroring each other like two faces of a mirror. Assiah, the first is the world in which people reside. The other is Gehenna, the home of the devils. Traveling or simply having any kind of touch between the two is normally not possible. Demons, on the other hand, have the ability to enter our realm and take control of everything in it.
Satan is the god of Demons, but he lacks one thing: a container strong enough to hold him in the human realm. In order to do this, he fathered Okumura Rin and Okumura Yukio, his sons, from a human woman; however, only Rin did so because Yukio was too weak; yet, are the latter in accordance with his objectives, or should they become something else?
After killing Rin’s guardian father, Fujimoto, in an attempt to prevent Rin from returning to the world of demons, he grants him a wish: to become an exorcist and vanquish the demon lord.
Why you should watch it: It’s a bit fantasy, but Blue Exorcist will, indeed, give you a good insight into how life in a dorm function, despite the odd arrangements here and there.
2. Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Original Release: October 6, 2004 – March 26, 2008
Number of Episodes: 180
What it’s about: Ten years have passed since the events of Yu-Gi-Oh!, and in GX, the main character, Jaden Yuki, is about to take the exam for entrance to the Duelist Academy, when he gets the Kuriboh Winged card from Yugi Muto, the renowned Duel Monsters champion. The main characters in the first two years of the Duelist Academy encounter a wide range of perils, such as the Knights of Shadows, who plan to revive the Sacred Beasts by concentrating duels on the island, and the Society of the Light, which seeks to subjugate humanity through mind control using a satellite controlled by the kingdom of Misgarth.
A lot has changed in the second season of the series: Chancellor Sheppard has left the Dueling Academy. dr Crowler has taken over, and his new vice-chancellor is the equally extravagant Bonaparte. Faced with the academy’s declining popularity, the two are trying to recruit dueling professionals. Zane’s debut as a dueling professional is anything but positive.
Not only does he look like an amateur when he loses, but his first opponent Aster Phoenix uses the same deck as Jaden and also announces that he will enroll as a student at Duel Academy. After Jaden also loses to him, Zane and Jaden disappear without a trace, and while Zane falls into darkness, Jaden wants to leave Duel Academy first due to the fact that he can no longer recognize his cards, wakes up after his boat capsized, but haphazard in the new space. Here he gets his confidence back from a neo-space-dweller and can recognize his cards.
He is also given the task of saving the universe from the light. From this point on, his deck is bolstered by the neo-space-dwellers. The storyline continues with Aster’s clairvoyant manager, Sartorius, changing the blue accommodation of the Duel Academy into a white one and founding his “Society of Light.”
Why you should watch it: And while Yu-Gi-Oh! GX definitely focuses more on the game than on anything else. The fact that it is set within a school shows us how life in a dorm function, with all the good sides and the bad sides of the interpersonal relationship of the characters from the academy.
3. Digimon Ghost Game
Original Release: October 3, 2021 – present
Number of Episodes: 55 (+ 1 special)
What it’s about: In recent years, an innovative technology, “holograms,” has emerged and unleashed a storm on social networks. Many claims to have had to deal with strange paranormal phenomena, which would be due to “hologram ghosts.” The father of schoolboy Hiro Amanokawa is missing. Rather helpful and serious, the young boy does his best to hold on in everyday life.
One fateful day, Hiro, very curious by nature, is carried on a mysterious artifact left by his father, a “Digivice,” a wristwatch that makes appear to his eyes unknown creatures that cannot be seen by ordinary mortals, the Digimon. A hologram of Hiro’s father appears alongside one of these creatures to tell him that he is alive and well. He meets Gammamon. A mischievous Digimon entrusted to him by his father. Hiro will then find himself confronted with various strange phenomena: like a man with a sewn mouth who steals the life expectancy of humans or even a mummy who wanders every night to sequester its prey.
These “holographic ghosts” are not far from the human beings whom they are targeting. Alongside their friends Kiyoshirō Higashimitarai and Jellymon, and later Ruli Tsukiyono and Angoramon, the protagonists Hiro and Gammamon face this other side of the world of which no Man is really aware.
Why you should watch it: Dorm life is only a small part of Digimon Ghost Game, but the two male protagonists live in a dorm, and several episodes were set in or around the dorm as well, whereas the everyday lives of the students in the dorm are shown in almost every episode.
4. Honey and Clover
Original Release: April 14, 2005 – September 14, 2006
Number of Episodes: 36
What it’s about: Yūta Takemoto, Takumi Mayama, and Shinobu Morita study at an art school in Tokyo (based on the Musashino Art School) and share the same dormitory. One day, the art teacher Shūji Hanamoto introduces them to 18-year-old Hagumi Hanamoto, a relative of his. She is quite small and very talented, and Morita falls in love at first sight. But Takemoto also has feelings for her.
Why you should watch it: Honey and Clover is a good, down-to-earth slice-of-life anime series that will give you an insight into how dorm life functions, but also how other daily aspects of the characters’ lives function, as well.
5. Maison Ikkoku
Original Release: March 26, 1986 – March 2, 1988
Number of Episodes: 96 (+ 3 OVA)
What it’s about: Yusaku Godai, a young “rōnin” (student who failed his university admission exams), decides one day to leave the boarding house where he lives because his roommates, Mrs. Ichinose, the alcoholic party girl, the shameless Akemi Roppongi, and the enigmatic Mr. Yotsuya, loudly party in his room every night, preventing him from revising.
But that same day arrives Kyoko Otonashi, the new janitor. She is a widow at only 20 years old. Yusaku immediately falls in love with her. But he will soon have Shun Mitaka, an attractive tennis teacher, handsome and rich, as his rival. The course of the seven years that this sentimental comedy lasts will be punctuated by a series of misunderstandings and repeated gags.
Why you should watch it: Maison Ikkoku is a true delight for all fans of classic anime, as it is definitely a story worth seeing. Aside from the romantic plot, life in a boarding house from the perspective of a college freshman in Japan is a central topic of this anime that will give you an insight into how dorm life functioned in Japan several decades ago.
6. The Kawai Complex Guide to Manors and Hostel Behavior
Original Release: April 3, 2014 – June 19, 2014
Number of Episodes: 12 (+ OVA)
What it’s about: Thanks to the transfer of his parents, Kazunari Usa, a second-year student, can finally live alone at the Kawai complex, a pension that offers room and board to its residents. Ritsu, the senpai he loves, also lives there, along with several other “unique” individuals: his masochism-prone roommate Shirosaki; the beautiful Mayumi with impressive plastic who has no luck with men; and the deceitful student predator Sayaka. Surrounded by this merry band, Usa never gets bored.
Why you should watch it: This one’s a bit on the odd side, and it doesn’t depict a dorm per se, but all the nooks and crannies of dorm life are there. The protagonist is a college student, so it adds to the realism of the whole concept.
7. Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma
Original Release: April 4, 2015 – September 26, 2020
Number of Episodes: 86
What it’s about: Sōma Yukihira is a 15-year-old boy who just graduated from middle school. Since childhood, his dream has been to become a full-time chef at his father’s bistro, Yukihira, and to surpass his father’s cooking skills. In order to compete with his father, they keep organizing small cooking duels for his friends, which the father always wins. But just as Sōma finishes middle school, his father, Jōichirō Yukihira, closes the restaurant to cook in Europe. Dejected at first, Sōma’s fighting spirit is reignited by a challenge from his father.
Sōma is said to insist on an elite Tōtsuki cooking school, where only 10% of the students graduate. First, he has to pass the entrance exam, a task for which he is given by a high-class student, Erina Nakiri. She is one of the top ten students, the so-called Elite Ten. Against their resistance, although his court convinces them, he is eventually accepted into the school. His goal is to become the best graduate in the school since most of the students come from high places but have never served guests like him. This arouses the envy of his classmates.
Why you should watch it: This one is a bit specific, but if you’re interested in the intricacies of dorm life within a culinary school, Food Wars! is everything you’ll ever need. Plus, you can add some recipes to that.
8. Love Hina
Original Release: April 19, 2000 – September 27, 2000
Number of Episodes: 24 (+ 5 OVA)
What it’s about: Love Hina is about Keitarō Urashima, a boy who wants to study at Tokyo University but is about to fail the entrance exam for the third time. Since his parents kicked him out at home, he comes to the Hinata Inn (Hinata Ryokan), owned by his grandma. To Keitarō’s amazement, only girls and young women live here. There he meets Naru Narusegawa, a girl whom he has already seen taking the university entrance exams. He suspects that she is his childhood love, with whom he made a promise as a child: they would both go to Tokyo University together. However, this girl moved away, and he never saw her again. At the Hinata Inn, Keitarō is employed by his aunt as a house manager – or rather as a “hands-on man.”
Why you should watch it: The dorm setting is a source of comedy in Love Hina, one of the most popular harem titles in the history of anime. There is a lot of other content, and the everyday situations were depicted quite realistically, so you can definitely enjoy this title.
9. Strawberry Panic!
Original Release: April 3, 2006 – September 25, 2006
Number of Episodes: 26
What it’s about: The lives of a few teenage girls who attend the same school complex, which is made up of the three renowned schools St. Miator, St. Spica, and St. Lulim, are the main focus of Strawberry Panic‘s plot. All three schools are distinguished by the fact that they developed relatively close to one another and that they share distinctive structures in a holy location apart from everyday life that is off-limits to males. With its distinctive strawberry shape, the Ichigo Dormitory stands out as the most significant of these buildings. Nagisa Aoi, a little girl who is transferred to St. Miator, is the true protagonist of the narrative.
Why you should watch it: One of the most popular and beautiful yuri titles in the history of anime, Strawberry Panic! also gives us an insight into how dorm life functions among girls and will be a true delight for all female anime fans who enjoy slice-of-life stories.
10. From the New World
Original Release: October 3, 2012 – March 27, 2013
Number of Episodes: 25
What it’s about: Set in a thousand-year-old Japan, Shinsekai Yori tells the story of Saki, a girl from the 66th district of Kamisu. In this age, all humans possess powerful telekinesis abilities and idyllically live in agrarian villages. Despite her parents’ fear that she could not awaken the power within her, Saki gains her powers at the age of twelve and joins her friends Satoru, Maria, Mamoru, Shun, and Reiko at the academy to develop her powers. But the kids are unaware that the city council monitors and influences the kids through teaching.
According to some evaluation criteria, some students are removed from society, such as those who cannot master the powers, such as Reiko, or those who violate the rules. The removed students are soon forgotten by all the other children; Saki and her friends have no recollection of Reiko.
Later, during a camp unsupervised by the professors, Saki and her friends come across a False White Nudibook, a legendary creature that turns out to be an ancient device containing a library. The False Nudibianco reveals to the boys the heinous crimes of their ancestors and what lies behind their powers.
Why you should watch it: The protagonists are a group of children with psychic abilities who go to the Sage Academy, where they also live. Although everyday lives aren’t in the focus, the dystopian setting of this brilliant anime will give you an example of what dorm life could be like in a more grim future.
11. Kakegurui – Compulsive Gambler
Original Release: July 1, 2017 – March 26, 2019
Number of Episodes: 24
What it’s about: Kakegurui is set at the private school Hyakkaou where only children of very rich and influential parents are taught. And since these have already learned the most from their private tutors, they are trained at school in strategy, cunning, and seeing through their opponents, above all through gambling. According to the wins and losses, their standing in the school changes. With student council president Kirari Momobami, another element was added: those who gamble too much money and cannot pay their dues to the student council become slaves to the other students, which is called pet status.
This hits Ryota Suzui first, who loses a lot of money against Mary Saotome. Shortly after Ryota’s defeat, Yumeko Jabami joins the class. The girl seems very naive, and Ryota wants to protect her. But in her first match against Mary, the initially inexperienced Yumeko shows that she can see through her opponents and eventually beat them in the game. She frees Ryota from his slave role. From then on, Yumeko plays games against her classmates, in which she has to learn new games and is supported by Ryota.
Why you should watch it: It might be a bit unusual, seeing how the gambling theme of the series doesn’t necessarily reflect real-life situations, but Kakegurui will give you a great insight into all the intricacies and issues surrounding dorm life in a modern-day setting.