Based on the award winning manga by Yumi Tamura, 7 Seeds takes place anywhere from centuries to many millennia in the future as five selected groups consisting of seven individuals throughout Japan awakened from cryogenic slumber to rebuild the world. Each new group represents a season, but the summer group has a group B. What makes the individuals of group B distinguishing is that NONE of the members have any special skills to survive in this new world filled with new flora, fauna and more, while the other groups each have members that specialize in something. In this new world that has long since recovered from a devastating meteor shower, they must re-acquaint with the new and evolved life that is out there.

If any anime comes close to relating to Sounan Desu Ka?, it’s certainly 7 Seeds with how the rest of the cast besides Homare don’t have any special skills, but you see how the person with the skills becomes a mentor to the rest. As time passes, the characters in both series progress and show they can improvise, adapt and overcome. However, 7 Seeds takes things more intensely since it takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where they can expect little to no help. Even when they can find help, they don’t know who to trust while Sounan Desu Ka? takes things a little more innocently due to the nature of using teenage girls and that they have a better chance of survival since they’re not living in a hell hole.

In the 22nd Century, Earth has become uninhabitable, but thankfully, mankind has managed to survive by migrating to space. Numerous planets have been colonized and mankind can still thrive and advance. However, all of that changes for Luna and six of her classmates when a malfunction causes their spaceship to crash on an (allegedly) deserted planet. With no means of escape, Luna and her classmates must work together and survive their conditions.

Mujin Wakusei Survive was pretty much Sounan Desu Ka? before Sounan Desu Ka? As opposed to taking place on a deserted island, the series takes place on a planet that resembles a tropical island. Compared to the cast of Sounan Desu Ka?, the cast of Mujin Wakusei Survive goes beyond four characters and each character represents a certain personality type that you’re also like to see in Sounan Desu Ka? such as the bookworm, the spoiled rich kid, jock, but you’re getting more such as the student council president. Together you see how their personalities can mesh and cause conflict, but you see with teamwork, anything is possible!

In modern Japan, Senkuu (a teenage science whiz) and his friends wanted to live an ordinary high school life. His best friend Taiju wanted to confess his feelings to Yuzuriha, another childhood friend of theirs. However, those plans are put on hold for the next 3000+ years when a mysterious light turns EVERYTHING into stone! Senkuu (allegedly) awakens first and uses his natural knowledge to figure out the situation and rebuild civilization. After over half a year of tinkering, he has managed to find “the cure” to the stones and wants to free everyone. Naturally, he frees his friends first but in a moment of desperation, they free Tsukasa, a teenage MMA prospect who could be the next Fedor. Unfortunately, differences of philosophies in how to proceed in the new world has made them mortal enemies as Senkuu wants to bring back civilization to what it once was before the event, and Tsukasa wants to keep things the way they are to keep the world pure.

Like Sounan Desu Ka?, Dr. Stone uses high school students as a backdrop in this post-apocalyptic world, and they do represent certain personalities. Like Homare, Senkuu has special skills in science in which he applies at a primitive level to keep things progressing. With Senkuu representing the brains, his best friend Taiju represents the brawn, but will never fight offensively. Though Tsukasa is a great fighter, the series also demonstrates that he is clever in his own ways and can deduce Senkuu’s plans. Both series’ are valuably educational in their own way but with Dr. Stone, it goes out of its way to acknowledge that some of the science that is applied in its anime is real, but should not be tried at home! What makes this series more distinguishing as how conflict is applied in this series with Tsukasa since it goes to the point that Senkuu and Tsukasa are considering killing each other if it comes down to that.

Based on the manga by Kenta Shinohara, Kanata no Astra tells the story of how a group of high school students who were supposed to go to camp in space, ended up 5,000 light years away on the opposite side of the galaxy! So, how does a bunch of kids end up lost like the crew of the Voyager from Star Trek Voyager? Upon arriving at camp, they were suddenly engulfed in a mysterious sphere and that sphere just teleported them. Thankfully, these kids found a functioning spaceship and must now plot their journey home!

As opposed to being stuck in one place, the kids in Kanata no Astra do have a way of getting home, but it’s not going to be easy. Every 20 or so days, the crew of the Astra must stop at a suitable planet to re-supply for food and water, and throughout their journey to each planet they stop at, unforeseen obstacles such as certain animals not being edible for food, and how certain spores can poison the air seem to stand in their way. Like Homare, Kanata has prior experience in survival and he’s willing to put himself in harm’s way to show that he’s a capable leader. Thankfully, the majority of the crew each has certain skills that are of contribution, but each character serves as an archetype that you see in anything that features teenagers are main characters such as the natural leader, the jock, the brain, the spoiled rich kid, the lone wolf, etc.

As opposed to being stranded in space, an island, or some natural disaster that has made the world return to its natural state, what if the world went to hell with a zombie apocalypse? One such example is with Gakkougurashi!. Yuki Takeya just wants to live a normal high school life, and the zombie apocalypse has obviously ruined that. It goes further than that since it has completely messed up Yuki’s psyche as she doesn’t believe the situation is real, and just training. However, the rest of her friends also have to pick up the slack and make it through!

What makes this anime distinct compared to Sounan Desu Ka? Is how it portrays PTSD or any kind of trauma when such a disaster happens. With Yuki, you clearly see how the situation has affected her mentally, or it’s just her way of processing the situation with denial. Of course, when it comes to something as serious as loss, denial is one of those steps and you see how it relates to Yuki for most of the series. Despite her delusional state, you do see that she is still contributive to the group and that she has her use.

Like Gakkougurashi!, HighSchool of the Dead deals with high school students and a zombie apocalypse. For the surviving kids of Fujimi High School, they pull out all the stops in order to combat threats both human and zombie (or “yatsura,” or “them”) alike. Not only do these kids have to face these external threats, they also face internal issues such as teenage hormones!

Once again, HighSchool of the Dead focuses on teenagers of various personalities and backgrounds uniting for their survival, but is taken to different extremes in comparison to Sounan Desu Ka?. While you still have a jock, brain, and rich kid in the mix, this series appropriately includes a gun otaku. However, none of these kids are trained in any form of urban warfare, so they’re going with their guts and will to live and sometimes, that’s all you need.