Death Note is a classic example of an anime with smart protagonists and antagonists fighting an incredible battle of wits. The story pits the genius Light Yagami against the world's best detective, L, with both of them battling it out to catch the other and prove their own brand of justice superior. Anyone who loved that high IQ anime can find plenty more to love, too.
Even if Death Note set a high bar as an intelligent anime, plenty of other high IQ anime series measure up well, even with totally different writers. A variety of crime thriller, drama, sci-fi, and even romance anime series star some breathtakingly intelligent characters who can concoct the perfect plan before making a move. This lets them take not just their enemies, but also their friends, by total surprise.
Update on August 3rd, 2023 by Louis Kemner: this article has been updated with exciting anime trailers and five more entries introducing Death Note fans to excellent high IQ anime with genius characters and elaborate plots to keep viewers hooked until the very end.
15 Yu-Gi-Oh!
Yu-Gi-Oh! is a classic and long-running shonen anime series centered around the in-universe Duel Monsters card game. This game has immense strategic depth with a huge card pool and endless options for strategies in duels, meaning it's a thinking man's game, not just strength vs strength.
Protagonist Yu Muto and his pharaoh companion are crafty experts at this game, thinking their way out of seemingly hopeless duels with the right cards at the right times. This is a high IQ anime for anyone who wants to watch a hopeful boy shuffle up and play to become the King of Games someday.
14 JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
Even if JoJo's Bizarre Adventure looks like a conventional combat shonen anime series at first, the combat is far more than just force vs force. The Joestar heroes are resourceful and crafty Stand users who can easily think their way out fo a tricky fight, which creates incredible suspense.
The first hero, Jonathan Joestar, wasn't really like that, but his successors are. Joseph Joestar is a beloved prankster rogue who can defy any odds, while Jotaro Kujo is ill-tempered but brilliant as the third arc's hero. Most recently, heroine Jolyne Cujoh proved her worth as a smart, sharp-witted Stand user who used Stone Free to escape prison and take on the terrifying Father Pucci.
13 Kakegurui
Kakegurui takes place in an unusual private high school called Hyakkou Academy. In this high IQ anime, Hyakkou's students learn how to weigh the odds and risk it all in games of chance, and millions of yen may be won or lost in these games. It takes serious guts, willpower, and brilliance to get ahead in this predatory system.
That's where Kakegurui's protagonist, Yumeko Jabami, comes in. She cares nothing for flashy displays of wealth or delicate hierarchies of power -- Yumeko only seeks the erotic thrill of gambling fairly, and she detests cheaters. Yumeko may be carefree and instinct-driven, but she is also scarily smart and insightful, as is her rival, Mary Saotome.
12 Science Fell In Love, So I Tried to Prove It
The main characters of the high IQ anime Science Fell In Love, So I Tried to Prove It are grad students at Saitama University, studying the hard sciences. They may be academically gifted, but these characters are charmingly ignorant and foolish with real love, but that won't stop them from trying.
The beautiful and caring Ayame Himuro and the handsome, supportive Shinya Yukimura are too awkward to admit their feelings, so they'll let science do the talking. To everyone else's amusement and exasperation, Ayame and Shinya will conduct a creative variety of experiments to verify their true feelings -- and whatever the tests say is final.
11 Spy x Family
As a high IQ anime series, Spy x Family is actually a mixed bag, and for all the right reasons. This is a comedic spy thriller anime with a smart and witty hero in Loid Forger/Agent Twilight, but that's all balanced with his hilariously dense foster daughter, Anya Forger. Loid is a Westalis spy who must create a fake family and get intel on Donovan Desmond, a top Ostania leader. While Loid has endless spy tricks and a sharp mind on his side, his goofy daughter tends to fumble with Loid's plans when she tries to help. Still, Loid will learn that there's more to foster father life than being the smart one -- there's love and friendship, too.
10 Detective Conan
High school student Shinichi Kudou is an excellent detective. He uses his sheer intellect to solve every challenging case he faces. However one day he becomes part of a drug racket where he’s dosed with an unknown substance. The next day he wakes up as a seven-year-old boy, much to his shock.
Now he assumes a new identity (Conan Edogawa) but has retained his original memories and intelligence. From there, Conan will spend the rest of Detective Conan solving a stunning variety of clever and original mysteries, which is sure to keep viewers on their toes in this high IQ anime.
9 Terror In Resonance
Two teenage boys are caught being involved in terror activities, although their motives remain unclear. Half a year later, they release a video on the internet, challenging the police to a game of cat and mouse. That is when detective Kenjirou Shibazaki is roped in to be part of a special task force whose only job is to bring these terrorists to justice. The more involved Shibazaki becomes in the case, the less confident he becomes about the two boys being terrorists.
8 Log Horizon
In the isekai anime Log Horizon, student Shiroe finds himself transported into the world of a game called Elder Tale. Thousands of others are stuck alongside him, but unlike the rest of them, Shiroe is a veteran at this game. Shiroe adjusts quickly by learning how to use his brain. He negotiates with the NPCs, plays politics in order to curry favor, gathers a group of loyalists, and sets out to make the best of everything that he can. That is what sets Log Horizon apart as a high IQ anime in the isekai subgenre, not relying on cheap OP characters to move the story along.
7 The World God Only Knows
Keima Katsuragi is an otaku who is fooled by the demon Elucia into helping her retrieve hell’s runaway evil spirits. The only way to do so is by conquering the hearts of girls. Keima is a self-professed God of Conquest, but his success rate with women is restricted strictly to the 2D world. Keima isn't used to dealing with people in real life, but now he has no choice, and he must spend the rest of The World God Only Knows forging meaningful connections with all the girls around him. He uses his knowledge of the 2D world to apply it to the 3D world, and it proves to be a winning strategy for him.
6 No Game, No Life
The NEET brother-sister duo of Sora and Shiro find themselves transported to a world called Disboard. Here, all issues and conflicts are resolved by playing high stake games. For these two pro gamers, this is even easier said than done, especially seeing how they have no problem cheating in order to win games.
This strange new world gives the due a new purpose in life as well – to beat everybody who crosses their path and become the new Gods of this world, The only downside to this wonderful high IQ anime is that it only got one season, and fans have waited in vain for over a decade for another.
5 Monster
The high IQ anime series Monster is an iconic seinen story. It revolves around the life of neurosurgeon Kenzo Tenma, who is forced to make extremely difficult choices in his life. The show’s treatment is quite different, because Monster deals with many psychological issues and philosophical questions and not just smart people playing games.
Psychosis, mental issues, and nihilism are discussed freely, as are the inner turmoils of various main and side characters. This show is a slow burner, but those who enjoy intelligent anime are sure to love it. Interested fans might try other major manga series from the original author as well, such as 20th Century Boys and Pluto.
4 The King’s Avatar
Ye Xiu is a professional gamer who gets suffers at the hands of his bosses, in exchange for a newer and younger face. Determined to get back at them, he starts his journey afresh in the game of Glory under the pseudonym of Lord Grim. Armed with his intellect and years of experience as a pro-gamer, Xiu is easily able to obliterate any and every obstacle that he faces in the game. He thinks he can do it all alone, but even he has his limitsw in this high IQ anime, and the stake for losing are enormous.
3 Code Geass
The sci-fi anime series Code Geass ranks among the most popular anime with smart protagonists. The antihero Lelouch Lamperouge may seem like a posh high school student, but he is also royalty and the leader of a resistance movement in Area 11, once known as Japan. He uses his brilliant mind to play both sides of the war against the Britannia Empire.
That makes Lelouch a hero to some and a villain to others, but Lelouch isn't doing this for the accolades. He wants to become a symbol of revolution and hope as the mysterious vigilante Zero, and he might even give his very life for the cause. Aside from his powerful mind, Lelouch also has the benefit of a Geass, a mind control ability found in his eye.
2 One Outs
Toua Tokuchi is a shrewd man who uses his wits to amass an unbelievable number of wins in the One Outs game. Hiromichi Kojima wants to recruit him as a talent for his team, the Saikyou Saitama Lycaons. But internal politics and jealousy get in the way. However, Toua is once again able to use his wits and come out with a win-win strategy that impresses everybody around him. But with millions at stake, is Toua really up for such a high staked gamble in this thrilling high IQ anime series?
1 Kaguya-Sama: Love is War
Kaguya-Sama: Love is War is one of the most popular romance anime series out there, a high IQ seinen anime with a charming high school setting as the backdrop. Shuchiin Academy's two top students, Miyuki Shirogane and Kaguya Shinomiya, are deeply in love but are too proud and stubborn to admit it. Instead, Kaguya and Miyuki will play an endless series of mind games with one another, using devious but well-meaning tricks to make the other confess first. That throws open the doors to all kinds of heartfelt and hilarious hijinks, especially when their mutual friends and classmates get dragged into it, too.