Anime is infamous for having precocious genius characters who look like children, and often are indeed children, some of whom might even teach at schools. But the opposite happens too, with genius students so smart that viewers wonder what they benefit from being in school.

RELATED: 10 Strongest Anime Detectives, Ranked

In some stories, these types of characters are much older than they look, but go to school to keep up appearances. Often, they enroll in school for legal complications or because they want to. Given how much anime emphasizes the importance of friendship, they might attend for the social aspect. In more cynical stories, the writers might actually be making a statement on how banal the educational system is through these characters.

10 Detective Conan: Conan Counts With Both His Biological & His Chronological Ages

Shinichi Kudo in his teenage form and child form.

In Detective Conan, Shinichi Kudo has a few years on his classmates and is trapped in the body of a younger child, but it can be easy to forget that his true age is still just a teenager. With his vast intelligence, he solves the constant slew of murders and crimes that seem to pop up once a week.

The setting really lends itself to intelligent young people. From Heiji Hattori, one of the few characters able to figure out Conan is Shinchi. To Ai Haibara, also known as Shiho Miyano, who also is stuck in a child's body.

9 Sailor Moon: Ami Mizuno Is The Brains Of The Sailor Scouts

Ami Mizuno wearing glasses in front of a computer in Sailor Moon.

In Sailor Moon, Ami is known for her intelligence, regularly getting top scores on her exams and being one of the most accomplished students in the country. Rather than lord her intelligence over others, she heads a study group for Usagi and the other Inner Scouts. She studies to one day become a doctor. While she doesn't go through with it, Sailor Moon has a story where she gets invited to study medicine in Germany.

Being a Sailor Scout also entitles her access to powerful technology, presumably remnants from the Silver Millennium, like her supercomputer and its visor. Her attack, "Hyperspatial Sphere Generate," is implied to represent her connection to technology and intelligence.

8 Neon Genesis Evangelion: Asuka Is In School Despite Being A College Graduate

Rei And Asuka Share An Awkward Elevator Ride In Neon Genesis Evangelion

In Neon Genesis Evangelion, Asuka managed to be a college graduate when she was middle-school aged. This hasn't kept her from having to attend school in Japan.

RELATED: 10 Anime Villains Who Lost Their Cool (& Why)

Ironically, she's been shown to do rather poorly in her classes thanks to being unable to read or write the kanji. Another issue is that schools often teach the "approved" version of events, such as the Second Impact, which she fully knows aren't exactly accurate.

7 Astro Boy: Astro Boy Attends School, As Does His "Parents"

Astro Boy School

Astro Boy, being a robot, starts out as even younger than he looks, but still has access to powerful artificial intelligence. This hasn't kept him from attending school. Depending on the version, this is sometimes said to be for socialization purposes. In Astro Boy, his robotic parents, despite being designed with adult appearances, are shown attending a lower grade than him - because they're chronologically younger than him.

6 Cardcaptor Sakura: Eriol Goes To School Despite Being A Centuries-Old Wizard

Eriol Cardcaptor

In Cardcaptor Sakura, Eriol is an incarnation of Clow Reed, the centuries-old wizard who created the Clow Cards. In addition to remembering his past self and all the years he lived, Eriol also stopped his body's aging process at around eleven years old, meaning it's hard to guess what his actual age is. Despite this, he still attends school with Sakura. Granted, this is probably part of his plan to get close to her, considering he needs her to transform the Clow Cards.

5 The World God Only Knows: Keima Katsuragi Gets Top Scores Despite Spending All His Time Playing Dating Sims

keima World God Only Knows

In The World God Only Knows, Keima Katsuragi constantly plays dating sims, at home and at school. This hasn't stopped him from getting perfect scores on tests and paying attention to lectures.

This is effectively why his teachers allow him to play games during school. Although he is rarely seen studying, it's implied he uses the same analytical skills he uses while gaming and applies them to academics, to the point where he can accurately predict test questions.

4 Azumanga Daioh: Granted, Chiyo Has Already Skipped A Few Grades

chiyo mihama in azumanga daioh

In Azumanga Daioh, schools have already noticed Chiyo is smarter than average, as she already skipped 5 grades to the 10th grade. Chiyo is effectively a high school student at 10 years old.

RELATED: 10 Manga That Initially Got A Bad Anime Adaptation (But A Good One Later)

She continues to get top scores on her tests and proves to be mature and level-headed for her age. She also tutors her classmates and becomes valedictorian. This hasn't stopped her from being somewhat naïve at times, such as thinking Sakaki stole her height. Sometimes, the ridiculousness of her situation works to her benefit. She once got a part-time job because the employer assumed a 10-year-old who claimed to be in high school must be desperate for work.

3 Yu-Gi-Oh!: Seto Kaiba Is Shown Attending Classes Despite Running A Company

Seto Kaiba reading a book

In early Yu-Gi-Oh! stories, Seto Kaiba is shown attending Yugi's school, Domino High School, and can be seen in class like everyone else. Seto also runs a large company, is a prodigy and a genius, and has impressive talent for a children's card game.

Most of Yu-Gi-Oh! takes place when the characters aren't in school, so it doesn't pop up that often, but an employee is once shown complaining that Seto is too busy for school with all his responsibilities. Considering he later found a school revolving around a card game, the Duel Academy in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, he might just value the importance of education.

2 Yu Yu Hakusho: Kurama Is A Centuries-Old Entity Who Mostly Goes To School To Please His Mother

Yu Yu Hakusho Kurama School

Like many characters too smart for school, Kurama is technically much older than he looks, being the incarnation of a centuries-old spirit fox. And one doesn't push past centuries without learning a trick or two. In fact, he is often considered the most intelligent and worldly character in Yu Yu Hakusho.

He originally planned on running away, but his love for his human mother compelled him to live as a normal human, including attending school. While his school life rarely comes into play, one of his classmates refers to him as a prodigy who gets top test scores each week. He's also shown to take school very seriously in the manga, to the point of wearing a uniform when it wasn't required.

1 Himouto! Umaru-Chan: Umaru Doma Somehow Excels In School Despite Putting In Zero Effort

Himouto! Umaru-chan

Umaru Doma, the protagonist of Himouto! Umaru-chan, is the type of character who seems like she has it all. She's a top honors student with outstanding grades, she's popular and beloved, and she's one of the top gamees in the country.

In private, however, she's incredibly lazy and unkept, devoting all of her free time to video games, anime, manga, and junk food. This implies she manages to excel in school with no effort whatsoever. Fans may wonder what would happen if she actually applied herself.

NEXT: The 10 Most Disliked Anime Characters Of All Time