The Top 5 Anime About Computer Science

Computer Science spans many theoretical disciplines, such as algorithms and automation, as well as practical ones like coding.

Computers and machines are everywhere and Japan is one of the most advanced countries in the world for technology and IT.

Anime represent technology as much as they can but there are only a handful of shows where it plays a big part in the plot.

This listicle includes the best 5 anime for Computer Science according to our personal opinions.

5. Battle Programmer Shirase

A 2000s comedy consisting of 12 episodes with computers and programming at its core.

Akira Shirase is a very talented computer programmer who, because of his incredible skills, is approached by various people to implement hacks, ethical or otherwise. The story revolves around his performing tasks and some parodies around the profession of the programmer.

A light and funny anime with ecchi scenes that manages to be just average. Recommended if you want to clear your mind and don’t want to watch something heavy.

4. The Perfect Insider

A pure thriller and detective anime featuring Sohei Saikawa, a member of the sophisticated and technocratic Saikawa Research Lab, as its protagonist.

During a vacation organized by the research lab, he meets Moe Nishinosono, the daughter of his mentor. However, the two find a dead body and end up getting involved in the investigation of a mysterious serial murder case.

An anime that will keep you glued as you wait for the resolution of the case, feeding you with plenty of details. The real downside is that it has slow pacing and is heavily based on dialogues, making it not suitable for those who prefer some action.

3. Dennou Coil

Another 2000s anime with the classic graphic style of those times, Dennou Coil is an original 26-episode story.

The story takes place in Japan in 2026, eleven years after an extraordinary development in augmented reality, which can be used through special visors, and cyber glasses.

Young Yiko Okonogi, an elementary school student, moves with her family to the small town of Daikoku, where there is a massive presence of cyber technology.

She will befriend Yuko, and the two will become involved in several technology-themed mysteries.

Dennou Coil because of the tender age of its cast could be mistaken for a disengaged and light-hearted work.

But it turns out to be very well constructed and with a certain degree of complexity and maturity in the themes it deals with.

2. Steins;Gate

Steins; Gate is an animated adaptation of the visual novel that premiered in the spring of 2011.

The plot follows Rintaro Okabe, a boy who with his two childhood friends runs the so-called Futuristic Gadget Laboratory. The only notable gadget the trio has created is a microwave that has the mystifying power to turn bananas into green goo.

Okabe, who is also a big fan of time travel, happens to be at a conference on it one day. It is here that he will find the dead body of Makise Kurisu, and from which everything will begin.

The group will discover that the microwave is more powerful than it seems. Apparently, it is able to send text messages in the past.

Steins:Gate is quite dramatic and heartbreaking but deals very well with Computer Science and Physics. The hacker Daru is a great example of why this series will be enjoyed by fellow programmers.

1. Serial Experiments Lain

Series Experiments Lain has 13 episodes and is an original story dating back to 1998, and is one of the most famous short original works due to its fairly deep meaning and plot complexity.

The plot tells the story of Lain Iwakura, a rather peculiar little girl partly because of a less-than-ideal family situation. Lain comes into contact with Wired, a global network very reminiscent of our Internet, where she will learn a lot of information regarding this mysterious virtual network. But the Wired hides more horrific things than expected.

In this case you will have well understood that the overwhelming threat is precisely due to Wired, but there is more behind that.

Indeed, the message of this anime lies in the warning to keep an eye on technology, computers, and all things related, for all the threats they can bring with them.