This post may contain affiliate links. If you buy something we may get a small commission at no extra cost to you. (Learn more).
School: a place of wonder and magic, full of great memories and broken hearts.
Where childhoods get shaped, and knowledge gets crammed into your young head.
Teachers are two-faced gods, being able to either ruin or enhance your experience.
A great teacher can fill your brain with knowledge and become a role model over time. These are the ones we all want, and they’re everywhere in the anime world.
So let’s check out some of the best teachers & mentors that anime has to offer.
20. Anna
Anime: Shaman King
Anna is the main character’s fiancé and also his hellish teacher.
She put him through fire and water, wind, and earth just to get the place of shaman queen.
Anna herself is a soul medium, an amazingly rare power that allows her to channel spirits through the medium of beads.
Anna regularly uses her abilities to control Yoh and Amidamaru, just to stop him from lazing about.
She also makes people cook for her, clean for her, do everything for her… she is the fiancé of the future Shaman King, after all!
19. Komoe Tsukuyomi
Anime: A Certain Typical Index
FBI, open up! Komoe is an example of a Certain Typical trend in Japanese media – Loli’s that are actually over 18.
Komoe is treated like a 12-year old child all the time.
Though up until about volume 5 of the story, she’s been the oldest known character in the series!
And no wonder she was treated that way… she’s 135 cm and acts very childish!
She’s not the best as a teacher, though pretty good.
18. Mephisto Pheles
Anime: Blue Exorcist
Mephistopheles… Or should I say Mephisto Pheles?
Mephisto is a demon, and quite controversially an exorcist trainer.
He’s a sly and cunning planer, who’s been watching the MCs life since his inception by Satan. He’s also a child of Satan and by that the half-brother of Rin and Yukio!
And I’ll admit he’s not the greatest educator, too, as he mostly spends his time plotting about Rin’s powers and stopping Satan.
But he’s also incredibly powerful, so he can block absolutely any attack from any lesser demon – or exorcist too – who tries to enter the academy without the infinity key.
17. Glenn Radars
Anime: Akashic Records of a Bastard Instructor
Lazy, perverted, powerful yet weak.
That’s how I would describe Glenn, “The Fool” Radars.
He was once a famous assassin with the number #0, specializing in killing powerful mages with his magic canceling abilities.
He’s a horrible teacher, mostly being too lazy to teach his students or even attempt to show up to the lectures.
He once was motivated and happy, yet he was broken when he realized that he can’t use most magic.
A Sad Record of a Bastard Instructor!
16. Muten-Roshi
Anime: Dragon Ball
This old man is no way a pushover! Straight from our childhoods, he’s called the “God of Martial Arts”.
Not an unearned title, either.
In fact, he’s so powerful that it’d be equal to about 500 Billion Tsar bombs in a single hit!
Roshi is Goku’s teacher and mentor from Goku’s childhood.
And well, I don’t really think I need to tell you much more… everyone knows about Dragon Ball by now. And I mean, he’s got a cool beard, yeah?
P.S. Master Roshi is swole as hell! This man could beat Schwarzenegger in a bodybuilding competition.
15. Ginpachi-sensei
Anime: Gintama
I’m sorry, ok? This was inevitable.
“Ginpachi-sensei” is what Gintoki calls himself in a filler episode of Gintama while trying to be a teacher.
Now to be serious, Gintoki is a sort-of teacher to Shinpachi, as he’s his Samurai-in-training.
And when Gintoki isn’t talking about strawberry milk or lazing about he can be a quite ok teacher! He can be serious and actually pretty diligent, and is very powerful!
Even with a wooden sword Gintoki easily beats almost anyone in a sword fight.
14. Eikichi Onizuka
Anime: Great Teacher Onizuka
Ooh, a delinquent teacher!
He wasn’t really a teacher before, more so a thug, being part of a very powerful duo called “Shonan’s Strongest Fighting Duo”.
He became a teacher way later in life, just to get together with some girls… but decides to stay one after helping a student.
Onizuka always was very powerful, often using this strength to help his students solve their problems.
Eikichi isn’t exactly the best role model for his students. He’s very presumptuous and vulgar, which often leads him into trouble, and he’s also a pervert.
He even hits on his friend’s girlfriend! Not cool bro.
Eikichi can be very serious when needed, often taking the hardest and most epic route to solve any given problem.
13. Shouta Aizawa
Anime: Boku no Hero Academia
Oh boy, Oh boy, here we go! Shouta is a lazy, constantly sleep-deprived teacher.
While he does sleep a lot on the job, he is very diligent.
He’s so overly diligent, in fact, that he expelled multiple whole classes before.
Shouta cares a lot for his students, though.
He could sacrifice his eyesight and/or life to save 1A’s lives.
He places them higher than anything else in his priorities, which is funny, as he tries to pretend he doesn’t.
Shouta is always sleepy, which is quite logical with how much work he actually does undercover! And here he is trying to seem lazy.
12. Genkai
Anime: Yu Yu Hakusho
Yu Yu Hakusho was an anime chok-full of different mentors and different teachers.
Yet one stands out higher than most.
Genkai was the master of the spirit detectives Yusuke Urameshi and Kazuma Kuwabara.
She often put Yusuke through such grueling training that he would wish he died during them!
She did love Yusuke, as she would often place her own welfare at considerable risk to protect him!
Genkai has a deep love of video games, which is hilariously contrasting to her personality.
11. Kisuke Urahara
Anime: Bleach
Why why why, Mr. StrawHat!
Kisuke is a mysterious man, the ex-captain of the 12th division, and the one who freed Mayuri Kurotsuchi. He helps Ichigo and his team through the series – training them, sending them to the Rukongai, awakening Ichigo’s inner hollow.
He’s very powerful and can procure the rarest resources, even when they’re illegal!
10. Iruka Umino
Anime: Naruto
Oh, Naruto. The little mischievous boy that climbed his way up to being the Hokage.
Who had to deal with is – oh, right, Iruka.
Iruka was the only one who didn’t hate on Naruto in the whole village.
So naturally, the lazy Naruto who skipped lessons constantly came to love him like his father.
Iruka is diligent and tries really hard to make Naruto study seriously.
He made him fix his messes and treated him to ramen after.
He was like a father Naruto never had – until Jiraiya, that is. It’s quite amazing, as the Nine-Tails killed his parents – and he still doesn’t hate Naruto!
9. Franken Stein
Anime: Soul Eater!
Franken Stein. The crazed doctor/teacher of Soul Reaper Academy.
Franken Stein is creepy, genius, and hysterical.
He’s considered mad and incredibly audacious.
But what about his confidence as an educator?
Well… I wouldn’t call Beating up your Students “Education” in the usual sense… Oh well.
He does teach Maka and Soul about soul resonance and size…
He’s more like a “tips & tricks” character in a game, rather than a real teacher. But he teaches, so I say he counts!
8. Izumi Curtis
Anime: Fullmetal Alchemist
My god do I love Fullmetal Alchemist. The show and cast are amazing, and some feel so real that I cared more for them then some real people!
Now, Izumi.
Izumi is a mentor for the Elric brothers when they learned alchemy.
She was harsh on them, and for a reason: she cared about them so much!
Izumiand her husband were basically second parents to the Elrics so they’re lovable characters for sure.
7. Yoko Ritona / Littner
Anime: Gurren Lagann
So, Yoko wasn’t a teacher at the start of the series.
She was 14, and a fighter, as most characters would be.
Yet at one point she left to a small island where she became a teacher under the name of Yomako.
I don’t trust Yoko was a very calm teacher – she’s a good one, sure. But probably hot-tempered.
While she tried to not involve herself in politics, she has no choice multiple times – what a life!
We don’t see hear near the end of the series, but we do hear her being addressed and then called “principal” by the kids – so it seems that she reached her goal!
6. Tōtōsai
Anime: InuYasha
A little old fire-breathing sword goblin, yes.
Totosai is the only smith that’s able to reforge the Tetsaiga, and is also a mentor on how to awaken the sword to InuYasha.
He’s very stubborn and loves his swords above all else!
Totosai is very old. He knew InuYasha’s father!
Now those are some connections.
Although as a teacher he’s somewhat not-so-good… he makes his students train by making him a bath. Seems legit.
5. Nozomu Itoshiki
Anime: Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei
Not the… best… influence, Nozomu is always negative and dark.
He claims to be a realist while crushing his students’ dreams one by one from episode 1.
Nozomu is made of pure negativity, and I’m not saying this figuratively: he’s literally made of pure negativity.
One time he got forced into a hot spring that removes impurities just too… die.
He dies a lot.
Nozomu is always recommending death and suicide – for example, him giving Matoi and her Ex a briefcase full of poisons and nooses, quoting it as “Suicide being the ultimate form of love.”
So as a teacher? Yeah he’s up there, but I don’t know man he’s a weirdo.
4. Junichiro Kagami
Anime: Ultimate Otaku Teacher
Just imagine having a teacher to discuss JoJo with you!
Or any other anime, or games, or manga… seriously this guy rocks.
Junichiro never actually wanted to become a teacher.
He only ever does things he likes, even when forced to do something else.
So as a physics teacher he influences his students with his games and anime.
Kagami is a failed scholar and also a videoblogger – these things are seemingly connected.
He still is a great teacher, actually giving his students knowledge while also entertaining them. And I bet most of us wish we had a teacher like that!
3. Koro-sensei
Anime: Assassination Classroom
Ah yes, fast tentacle boi.
Koro-sensei is a speedy octopus-like being that moves at Mach 20 speeds (24696 km per hour).
He took up a class to train in the assassination trade, with a condition: If no one can kill him in a year, Koro-sensei will destroy the moon. Seems fair.
Now Koro-sensei is an amazing teacher.
He shows deep care for his students – albeit he is teaching them to kill him.
He’d guide them, and correct their mistakes when they failed assassination attempts too. They came to love him over time, and I think you will too.
2. Aikurou Mikisugi
Anime: Kill la Kill
Aikurou is (spoilers!) a double agent.
He’s a teacher in boring, non-flashy colors and a monotonous tone that could bore even the most diligent students to sleep.
As a revolutionist, he’s flashy, sparkly, and very revealing.
Now he is a fun teacher, only if you know both sides of him. Otherwise, he’ll chuck chalk at you so fast you won’t see it coming.
Also, he’s probably the type to traumatize you for life… as he’s constantly nude (well, he’s a nudist).
Especially nude near Ryuko.
1. Jiraiya
Anime: Naruto
Ah, Jiraiya!
A pervert and a powerful ninja, Jiraiya is also Naruto’s mentor for a good chunk of the series.
He’s one of the 3 “Legendary Sanin”, a highly skilled sage and master of ninjutsu.
He’s a good mentor and fatherly figure to Naruto, also an erotic novelist – not something you see often, eh?
But Jiraiya is seriously the best teacher you could imagine.
He’s compassionate, will help you fix every mistake you make, and will always share his… “books”.
