Long driven off the land by armored insects, humanity now resides in the skies. Their only lines of defense are the Sky Wizards. One Sky Wizard happens to be Kanata Age, who is now labeled as a traitor despite being one of the most highly decorated warriors. He finds himself back on the battlefield (or the battle skies?) for redemption when he is assigned to be the instructor for Platoon E601, which consists of three problematic young ladies, Misora, Lecty, and Rico. Now he must whip them into shape in every way possible, physically, mystically, and mentally.

Like Glenn, Kanata comes from a rather dark background and they are both teaching to find some sort of redemption. They are both talented individuals in their own ways and when they apply themselves, they are both excel at what they do. In time, both of these heroes develop special relationships with their female students but stops just short of anything romantic, but with enough tension to keep audiences at the edge of their seats. Both anime series revolve around magic schools but the difference is that Kuusen Madoushi Kouhosei no Kyoukan has a lot more practical studies, while Rokudenashi Majutsu Koushi to Akashic Records is more classroom oriented with the action being concentrated with Glenn.

Based on the light novel series by Riku Misora, Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry tells the tale of Ikki Kurogane and Stella Vermillion. In this series, magic knights known as Blazers can create weapons from the power of their soul known as a device. Ikki comes from a long line of elite Blazers but happens to be their ultimate underachiever. Stella is the princess of the Vermillion Kingdom and is an elite level, Mage Knight. Upon the beginning of this series, this is proven to be contradictory when Ikki faces Stella in a duel and emerges victorious. Whether it was a fluke or not is for you readers to decide, but what happens after is that they will train together to compete in a tournament to determine who is the strongest knight.

Like Rokudenashi Majutsu Koushi to Akashic Records, both series involve schools that deal with the mystic arts. While Rokudenashi Majutsu Koushi to Akashic Records teachers magic in a more practical approach with some emphasis on combat, Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry is all about learning combat and becoming a knight. Like Glenn, Ikki may not be the most gifted warrior, but knows what he can and can’t do and ideally tries to work within his limits. When push comes to shove, they are both willing to fight past their limits to protect those they love. Last, Ikki and Stella have a relationship that is uneasy like that between Sistine and Glenn, but both learn to appreciate each other in their own ways.

In this mystical world of Seireitsukai no Blade, pure maidens from nobility have the ability to form contracts with spirits to aid them in combat. So where do they learn to harness this power? At the Areishia Spirit Academy. Though spirits traditionally form contracts with females, there can be exceptions to the rule and that exception happens to be a high school boy named Kamito Kazehaya, the second male elementalist in a thousand years. Therefore, he is conditionally allowed to enroll at the Areishia Spirit Academy. And by entering a female dominated world, Kamito is in for a wild ride.

Kamito from this series shares many similar traits with Glenn from Rokudenashi Majutsu Koushi to Akashic Records. They both come from similar backgrounds. Both Kamito and Glenn were already highly trained fighters who are trying to atone for their sins. Though some would consider them to be perverted, they are just two guys who always show up at the wrong place at the wrong time. After both of their peers see them in action, they learn to value them for who they are and what they can do to help their schools. The only sole difference between these animes is that Kamito is a student and Glenn is a teacher.

For some of you that may have seen the first Thor movie, he claimed he came from a world where magic and science are one in the same. In Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei, that is pretty much the case. This series takes place in an alternate history where magic and technology go hand-in-hand and is taught in high schools around the world. First High School in Japan is one of those schools and based on applicants’ exam scores, they are given the rank of Blooms who are assigned to the first course, while the second course is assigned to alternate students called Weeds. And what could be more awkward when a pair of siblings take the exams and are put in the separate courses? Well, that’s where our story begins.

It is rather obvious to readers by now that a majority of what this list is going to cover tend to center around magic schools. However, the similarities between Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei and Rokudenashi Majutsu Koushi to Akashic Records go beyond that. Tatsuya and Glenn do share some similarities. While they are not both the best at magic, they are both strategic combatants without the use of it. They are both protectively loyal to the people they care about. While Glenn cares about his students, most especially Rumia, Tatsuya has a deep loyalty to his sister, Miyuki. In addition, both series do deal with conspiracies against the government and the schools just happen to somehow get involved with them and both characters have to find a way to have a regular life and save the world.

Based on the hit passion project by Yoh Yoshinari, the series is about Atsuko Kagari, a regular girl who joins the Luna Nova Academy, a school for witches. So what was Atsuko’s inspiration to become a witch? When she was a little girl, she was impressed by the performance of Shiny Charity, a famous witch, Atsuko sets out to become one. However, her ventures within the school grounds lead her to find the legendary Shiny Rod, which could lead her to save the world.

While both Little Witch Academia and Rokudenashi Majutsu Koushi to Akashic Records are both about magic schools, Little Witch Academia has the students as the main character while Rokudenashi Majutsu Koushi to Akashic Records is more about the teacher. However, both Atsuko and Glenn present themselves as underachievers in the art of magic. Unlike her classmates who are more magic oriented, Atsuko does not have magic in her DNA but it doesn’t mean she can’t learn it. Glenn, on the other hand, is just an adult who can only do things when he feels like applying himself. They are both coming of age stories in very different ways for each character but both share creative use of magic in their action sequences. Both characters understand their limits but find ways to fight them or go beyond them.

Junichiro Kagami is an academic outcast in the field of physics (for publishing a thesis about making a dokodemo door like Doraemon) but other than that, he’s a guy who only does what he wants to do and claims it as a disease. After living in isolation, his sister forces him to take a job as a high school physics teacher. And like all anime teachers, he is assigned to teach a class full of out of the norm students and it’s up to him to get them to graduate and to have fun in life. Let’s hope that his love for anime and games can get the job done!

Though this anime isn’t really about going to some sort of magic school, both Denpa Kyoushi and Rokudenashi Majutsu Koushi to Akashic Records share a main character who are introduced as unmotivated and want nothing to do with teaching and are heavy on the comedy. But when push comes to shove, they are capable of being great teachers. While Glenn is the type that proves himself by coming to the rescue and showing that he’s not a talentless idiot, Junichiro tries to relate himself to the youth through his love of anime and video games. They both show that sometimes, teaching can be a creative endeavor and it doesn’t have to exclusively be about giving lectures. They are both masters at demonstrating what students learn can be applied to just about anything, and they also learn to realize the individual qualities of their students and how to make great use of them.