Academy City in Japan is known around the world for having the latest in technology, particularly since more than 75% of its people are students developing their special abilities. Lost among the countless other students is Touma Kamijou, a high school student with the lowest psychic rank of all. Kamijou’s ability itself is unusual as well. Called “Imagine Breaker,” he seems to be able to negate others’ powers. When he meets a girl named Index Librorum Prohibitorum who has memorized all of the forbidden grimoires, Kamijou’s life gets even stranger! Kamijou decides to defend this girl from her pursuers, learning about a new supernatural realm in the process…

Though the characters of Dances with the Dragons are a bit older than those of A Certain Magical Index, the sci-fi feel of the magic used is the same in both anime. In both series, the mystical aspect of magic is taken away and given a more scientific, studied portrayal. These two series also blend the unusual nature of this magic into a modern society. As in Dances with the Dragons, A Certain Magical Index focuses on one unusual pair working together. Kamijou and Index may even be a stranger team than that of Gayus and Gigina!

Rin Okumura is a troubled young man, though most of his problems involve staying in school or holding down a job. Everything changes when he discovers that he is actually the son of Satan, a being who has been trying to take over the human world of Assiah. With only his twin brother Yukio left for family after a devastating attack, Rin decides to become an exorcist alongside Yukio. Attending an exorcist cram school posing as an elite academy, Rin will meet many new friends. But how can he keep his secret origins hidden from his comrades? In learning how he can use his gifts against Satan and the demons of the underworld Gehenna, Rin begins his journey that will change how he sees the world forever.

Blue Exorcist has the same type of setting that Dances with the Dragons boasts, being a modern world with fantasy and sci-fi blended in. The monsters and demons are an integral part of both worlds, yet most average people do not deal with them at all. A select few, such as the exorcists or the jushikiists, fight off the dangers while most people live in peace. In addition, both anime involve political discussion to some degree. The political decisions of higher-ups affect the lives of those characters fighting on the front lines, even as the main characters struggle with moral decisions.

Humanity lives behind walls, hiding from the threat of the flesh-eating Kabane that dwell outside. To get from sanctuary to sanctuary, people travel by high-speed train, moving supplies and information around the few colonies left standing. Ikoma is one of the engineers that works on these trains, keeping them running smoothly – yet he dreams of the day he can try out his latest invention to destroy the Kabane. Unfortunately for him, his chance may come much sooner than he had expected…

Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress is another anime that has a similar setting to Dances with the Dragons. The horrors Ikoma and his comrades have to fight are counterbalanced by scientific technology that creates their weapons and strength. The same is true for Gayus and Gigina, though their weapons are infused with a blend of science and magic. The political aspect is present in Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress as well, with humanity’s leaders often making decisions that lead to their own downfall. Though Koutetsujou no Kabaneri has a bit more horror in it than the calmer Saredo Tsumibito wa Ryuu to Odoru, these two anime both give off a similar vibe overall.

Yato is a lesser deity who dreams of one day being worshipped by millions of people, though he currently functions as a “delivery god.” He has no weapon partner to help him fight, and he does minor chores for others to earn money. But one day, his luck changes when he runs into middle school girl Hiyori Iki. Hiyori tries to save Yato from a car accident, though she ends up getting hit instead. Though she lives, her soul is now able to divert from her body. Hiyori asks Yato to help her return to normal, but she ends up agreeing to help the minor god instead. Finally, Yato’s dream might be closer to being realized!

Noragami’s setting is another that is reminiscent of Dances with the Dragons, with a blend of modern city and fantasy mechanics. Dances with the Dragons seems like an alternative reality, where most of society is set in the present but has otherworldly elements. Noragami is much the same, set in a modern day Japan with an unseen world of gods. Both anime have an explanation for these unusual elements that are logical in their own universes. While Dances with the Dragons is more serious than Noragami in many ways, both of these series share the same core setting.

Magic is no longer something that is mystified, as it is taught as a technical skill, a technological achievement. At the First High School, students are taught magic, though they are separated into two groups based on their entrance exam scores. Siblings Tatsuya and Miyuki Shiba are both enrolled in First High School. After taking the exam, Miyuki is accepted in to the high scoring class, while Tatsuya is left in the class of magically inept. Yet Tatsuya is actually quite excellent in magical abilities, although his test scores don’t show that off. Tatsuya truly is irregular in his class…

Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei uses idea of magic as a science, something that can be easily quantified and studied, similar to the magic used in Saredo Tsumibito wa Ryuu to Odoru. The settings are a bit different, one being in a school and one in a foreign city, but the modern feeling of both settings is the same. Though Tatsuya doesn’t have a partnership like Gayus and Gigina, he does have the strength to fight that these two characters possess. Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei may be criticized for some elements, but it definitely has an interesting take on magic that we enjoy!

Maka Albarn and her partner Soul Eater Evans are a team, a death meister/weapon pair, striving to become a Death Scythe one day used by Lord Death himself. Along with their other friends, Maka and Soul study at Death Weapon Meister Academy in Death City. To become a Death Scythe, one must defeat 99 evil souls, known as kishin, as well as one witch’s soul. Soul Eater follows Maka, Soul, and their friends as they work toward this goal, while learning more about themselves in the process. And when the sanity of their world becomes endangered, how will these students find courage to fight on?

As in Dances with the Dragons, Soul Eater contains a unique blend of seemingly modern society and a fantasy element that makes sense. Though Death City is far away from everything else in the world, when the characters travel to other places, we can see that the rest of the world appears much like our own. And if you’ve been enjoying the hard-hitting action and political discourse in Dances with the Dragons, Soul Eater has these elements as well, especially as the show gets further along!