The Haruhi series is probably the most famous and popular of this style of “supernatural high school story” out there, and a groundbreaking show that anime fans should probably experience in general! The series is about the titular Haruhi Suzumiya, an extremely energetic and competitive girl who is obsessed with all things paranormal, be they aliens, time travellers, espers, etc. Dissatisfied with the club offerings at her high school, she starts her own which she names the SOS Brigade. Roping in cynical student Kyon, quiet bookworm Yuki Nagato, ditsy beauty Mikuru Asahina, and the ever-cheerful Itsuki Koizumi into her crazy antics, Haruhi leads them in a series of missions in search of the supernatural.

As the story progresses, we learn that the strangest things might actually be the members of the SOS Brigade themselves as the mysteries of the characters and world are slowly revealed. Like Rascal/Senpai, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya similarly mixes school life, romance, and strange, vaguely-scientific/psychological events. It has a strong cast of characters, high production values from Kyoto Animation, and great music. The follow-up film, Suzumiya Haruhi no Shoushitsu (The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya), is also definitely worth checking out after watching the series. It also features a somewhat similar plot idea as the first part of Rascal/Senpai.

From the outside, Yuu Otosaka seems like the model student with some of the best grades in his class, but it’s really all thanks to an amazing power that lets him take over anyone’s mind and body for up to 5 seconds, letting him cheat his way to the top. When mysterious girl Nao Tomori, another student with powers of her own, figures out Yuu’s trick she forces him (and his little sister Ayumi) to transfer to Hoshinoumi Academy, a school for students with special abilities like him, and makes him join the student council in finding and punishing people who misuse their powers.

Charlotte dives into the lives and backstories of Yuu, Nao, Ayumi, and others as they discover the true nature of their abilities and their school itself. It’s a show full of drama interspersed with some comedy, courtesy of famous writer Jun Maeda. It also has some great visuals from P.A.Works and solid voice acting. Like Rascal/Senpai, the powers in Charlotte are tied with adolescence like “puberty syndrome”. They both also have a loving younger sister character and the anime-ubiquitous high school setting. While it’s a bit of a controversial show, we think you might enjoy Charlotte if you like Rascal/Senpai.

After an unfortunate accident, Banri Tada is left an amnesiac with almost no memory of his past. Seeking to reinvent himself, he is persuaded to go to law school with his new friend Mitsuo Yanagisawa. In college, Banri gets caught up with the rich and beautiful Koko Kaga, Mitsuo’s ex and childhood friend, who followed Mitsuo after he secretly applied to law school to get away from her. Koko is determined to marry Mitsuo but things soon get complicated when she gets involved with Banri. Mitsuo falls for Chinami Oka, a bubbly girl who loves making home movies with her friends, and Banri himself meets the slightly mysterious Nana "Linda" Hayashida, who seems to keep showing up in his life.

Golden Time is a dramatic romantic comedy exploring many character relationships and abounding in love triangles. The show also has a somewhat subtle touch of the paranormal, or at least highly unusual circumstances, that ties it all together and keeps things exciting throughout. While not quite as explicitly supernatural as Rascal/Senpai, they share a lot in their general feeling and tension. Golden Time also has excellent music and voice acting from Yui Horie and others, and feels a little more mature and unique due to it taking place in college, a surprisingly underutilized general setting in anime.

CLANNAD (and it’s follow up series CLANNAD〜AFTER STORY〜) tells the story of Tomoya Okazaki, a delinquent with a troubled past who spends his days skipping school with his friend Youhei Sunohara, intent on wasting away his high school years. Things start to change after he meets Nagisa Furukawa, an awkward and self-conscious girl who has had to repeat the grade due to her illness. The two form a strange bond that inspires Tomoya to start to turn his own life around as he helps Nagisa achieve her dream of re-establishing their school’s drama club. Along the way, he meets others, each with their problems that he tries to understand and help with.

The story of CLANNAD, and AFTER STORY in particular, is famous in the anime community for being an extremely emotional one, mainly as a tearjerker. The main theme is exploring the meaning of family but it does this in probably the most moe way possible with a cast of cute girls connecting it firmly to its visual novel origin. We’ll also mention that CLANNAD’s soundtrack is masterful and, like Charlotte, is another work from Jun Maeda. Like Rascal/Senpai, CLANNAD features an element of the supernatural but it is more magical and subtle in CLANNAD, not being fully explained until the end. Both shows feature a social outcast male protagonist helping out a series of girls with their problems but, at least from what’s been revealed so far, Rascal/Senpai isn’t as emotionally intense as CLANNAD and a bit less overtly moe.

Jinta Yadomi is a gloomy teenage hikikomori (shut-in) who stopped attending school after losing one of his childhood friends, Meiko "Menma" Honma, years ago. Sitting inside in the summer heat, he receives an unexpected visit from Menma, asking him to grant her final wish. Although first dismissing her as a hallucination brought on by the heat, Jinta soon realizes she’s the real deal and starts trying to bring together his childhood friends who have all grown apart over the years.

Anohana is a beautiful and dramatic story of friendship that really tugs on the heartstrings and tackles tough subjects of loss, guilt, and adolescence in a way that feels natural and relatable despite its supernatural elements. Compared to Rascal/Senpai, Anohana is much less of romance, although it does play a role in the story, but many of the plot points and mechanics of the paranormal are very similar between Menma and Mai Sakurajima, as well as the general idea of a recluse male protagonist reaching out and helping others. Anohana is also not harem/harem-adjacent unlike the majority of the other shows here and Rascal/Senpai itself.

After he is attacked by a vampire, third-year high schooler Koyomi Araragi manages to avoid changing into one himself but is left with super-enhanced vision and healing ability. However, it seems that his encounters with the supernatural have just begun. Starting with his classmate Hitagi Senjougahara, who he discovers is nearly weightless after catching her from a fall due to a strange spiritual possession, Koyomi meets more and more girls, each affected by equally bizarre conditions, and tries to understand and help them.

What most sets Bakemonogatari apart is its unusual presentation, both in its avant garde visual style, punctuated by unorthodox camera angles and set design, and its trademark punchy dialogue that feels very unique, albeit sometimes a little nonsensical. The music and voice acting in the series are also top notch. While not without controversy, Bakemonogatari feels truly different from almost everything else, but does share some characteristics with Rascal/Senpai that make it worth mentioning as a recommendation. Both series, again, deal with a loner male protagonist helping out girls with the supernatural. A big similarity is with Hitagi and Mai in their character and relationship with their protagonist. Rascal/Senpai could be described as “Bakemonogatari-lite”. If you’re looking for something weirder and a bit more ecchi than Rascal/Senpai, and love Mai and Sakuta’s witty exchanges, look no further!