Dr. Stone depicts the story of the young scientific genius, Senku Ishigami, as he goes about restarting the scientific age of humanity after human civilization mysteriously came to a stop when humans were all petrified over 3,700 thousand years ago. After reawakening to a new mysterious world, Senku first tried to understand his new surroundings before using science to aid his everyday life.
After enough time, Senku was able to uncover a way to undo the petrification, and he used this to free his friends, Taiju and Yuzuriha. These three then went on to establish the Kingdom of Science, a group determined to take humanity back to its glorious, scientific heights. Dr. Stone handles science well to make an interesting premise to work with and, with its interesting main cast, it is one of the anime of the season.
Update on May 16th, 2023 by Louis Kemner: Dr. Stone's third anime season is now well underway, ushering in a brand-new and exciting era of exploration, advanced science, and the chilling mystery of Why-Man's origins and plans for humanity. Anyone who's caught up on the Dr. Stone anime is encouraged to try out a handful of similar titles that also emphasize themes of science, edutainment, exploration, and much more, from isekai anime to slice-of-life to science fiction and more.
15 The Disastrous Life Of Saiki K.
In The Disastrous Life of Saiki K., a teenager has intrinsic powers of teleportation and mental abilities, but has to hide them in order to lead a normal life. His attempts to remain hidden become more difficult when at school, as he looks to inject some life into the mundaneness he finds himself in.
Being the only source of power among a bunch of normal people can be tough, especially in a setting that provides the freedom that anime universes have. This series also benefits from a comedic angle that goes well with its premise.
14 Ascendance Of A Bookworm
A young woman dies early in Ascendance of a Bookworm's story and wishes to be reincarnated in a world where her life can revolve around books. Reborn in the body of a child, she awakens in a new world where books are scarce and resolves to use her past life’s memories to print her own line of books.
Ascendance of a Bookworm can feel surreal at times, since the series looks into a subject matter that isn’t too common. Still, the anime looks into a different kind of survival. Retaining knowledge is vital, something the protagonist understands all too well.
13 Death Note
The famed series Death Note is a supernatural crime thriller anime starring Light Yagami, a brilliant high school student finds a notebook that grants him the ability to kill anyone as long as he knows their name and appearance. Using this Death Note, Light resolves to take out all the corrupt people in the world and create a utopia.
A supernatural story that doesn’t shy away from thrilling its audiences, Death Note takes the dark comedy approach to the concept of learning. Although the premise sounds heavy, the series is an easy watch because of its fast pace and over-the-top characters.
12 Are You Lost?
Four teenagers/high school classmates are in a plane crash and become stranded on a remote island to set up Are You Lost?'s premise. One of them utilizes the survival skills she learned from her father and leads the others on their bid to survive the island until they can find a way off.
Its simple premise should be enough to communicate to viewers what this show is about. What makes Are You Lost? a fun watch is the different personalities the girls bring. Each of them fulfills one particular aspect that, when combined, makes this anime a complete experience.
11 Planetes
A unit of the Space Debris Section is in charge of clearing debris out of the way of the Earth and the moon’s orbits in the sci-fi story of Planetes. While a thankless job, for the most part, it comes with its dangers as the Space Defense Front’s true motives are realized.
The survival aspect in Planetes anime has to do with the characters ensuring they don’t get lost in the process of their jobs and the lack of respect they get. With many new storylines appearing in the midst of space, plenty of twists soon develop.
10 Cells At Work!
Cells at Work! is a lively depiction of the daily lives of human cells, as they go about their day in each of the episodes. It supplies the audience with a solid amount of science without ever getting too complicated to understand.
This makes Cells at Work! an easy-to-watch anime. Still, fans of Dr. Stone might like Cells at Work! due to its educational nature, and enjoy the whimsical antics of cells who are always a little behind on their never-ending work.
9 Steins;Gate
Senkou Rintarou is a genius ahead of his time in Steins;Gate, and like all genius ahead of their time, he yearns to advance even further. Steins; Gate depicts the story of Rintarou and his friends as he attempts to build future devices in their lab.
Through constant trial and error, they discover that the "Phone Microwave" that can send emails to the past. With this comes the revelation that once sent, these emails alter history itself. Steins; Gate is a classic science fiction anime and all fans of the genre will want to give it a watch.
8 From The New World
From the New World depicts a world that has fallen into chaos, once members of the population developed psychokinetic abilities. This new development led to a great period of instability and upheaval, so much so that the people with special psychic abilities had to isolate themselves from the normal world.
The story depicts the life of Saki Watanabe and her friends at the mysterious Sage Academy. The children quickly grow into their expected roles, but it's not too long before they start noticing the inconsistencies of their "Utopia."
7 The Promised Neverland
The Promised Neverland is a psychological thriller, meant to get the audience off their seats. It leads the audience down one path before throwing a plot twist in the formula to leave the fans wanting even more about the characters. A major strength of this series is that it gets the audience to care about the children before slowly taking them away.
This adds drama to each episode, since the audience is never truly sure what will happen next. The Promised Neverland follows the story of Emma, Rei, and Norman, as they try to escape from the human farm they once called home. Though it is not quite the same type of survival anime as Dr. Stone, the premise is interesting and the execution is fantastic, making this anime a much-watch.
6 Silver Spoon
Yuugi Hachiken is a hardworking high school student but, after becoming frustrated with his workload, he decides to enroll in a new school. There, he believes it will be easier for him to get by, while not having to work as hard. Reality soon hit Hachiken when he realizes that all his classmates are experienced and skilled at farm work, unlike him, who struggles with even the most menial tasks.
To succeed at this new school, Hachiken is going to need to work harder than he has ever done. Along the way, he meets lovely people who teach him different lessons about himself and the world at large, which is a large part of Silver Spoon's appeal.
5 Uninhabited Planet Survive
The anime series Uninhabited Planet Survive is set in the 22nd century, where planet Earth has become uninhabitable, forcing humans to colonize other parts of space. In this great technological age, space travel is an everyday thing that the citizens have grown accustomed to.
One day, a freak accident leaves Luna, her dog, and six of her classmates stranded on a supposedly uninhabited planet. The students must bond together if they want to make it in this interstellar fight for survival. The students cooperate and search the island, but the more they explore, the more it seems like they may not be alone.
4 Astra Lost In Space
Astra Lost in Space is a sci-fi anime that takes place in 2063, an era when space travel is a common thing. One day, a group of teenagers is dispatched to a campsite as a part of team B-5. As soon as the teenagers arrive at the site, they notice that a lot of things seem to be out of the ordinary but, before they can do anything, they are sucked into space.
Now stranded, the group of survivors must band together if they wish to survive in the depths of space. The group eventually finds out that they unknowingly wondered light years away from their previous location, and as the series continues, the true nature behind this "accident" is revealed.
3 7 Seeds
After a giant meteorite crashes into Earth, it was believed that all the living creatures on the planet had been wiped out. Oddly enough, the government predicted the eventual downfall of the planet. As such, they left a contingency plan in place, hoping humanity would live on.
This contingency plan takes the shape of seven seven men and women who were cryogenically frozen, hence 7 Seeds' title. When these people awoke from their long slumber, they see a new and dangerous world that they were vastly under-prepared for.
2 Moyashimon
Moyashimon depicts the life of first-year agriculture student, Tadayasu Sawaki, as he tries to navigate his university life. The anime has as much capacity to teach as there is to learn.
Tadayasu possesses a special ability which allows him to see and communicate with bacteria and other microscopic organisms. Though useful, this ability often places Tadayasu in situations that he's not quite comfortable with. Despite this, he must quickly grow if he is to achieve his goals.
1 Tokyo Magnitude 8
At the beginning of summer vacation in Tokyo Magnitude 8, Mirai Onozawa is tasked with taking her younger brother to a robot exhibit he wanted to see. Mirai does this, but can't help feeling as if she would rather be somewhere else, doing something else. This frustration builds up and, eventually, she begins to think, "I wish everything would fall apart."
Unfortunately for Mirai, her wish is granted. A few moments later, the Kanto region, where the robot exhibition was taking place, gets hit by a massive earthquake that leaves the children stranded. Eventually, they receive help from Mari Kusakabe and begin their long journey to get back home to safety.