Regular listeners to “Make Me Smart” will know host Kimberly Adams is a big anime fan. And while it can be a good escape from the news cycle, there are plenty of series that sneak in some lessons about economics, business and entrepreneurship, as well as balancing work and life.  Here are a few of Kimberly’s recommendations — read to the end for her favorite.

“Spice and Wolf” 

In this beautifully illustrated, slow-paced series, the wolf goddess, Holo, decides to move on from the town she’s spent centuries protecting as a harvest god. Sensing the townsfolk no longer need her, she converts to a human form and hitches a ride with a traveling merchant, using her wisdom and cunning to help him make complex trading and investment deals (and sometimes get out of trouble) along the way. There are actually two versions of this show —the original 2008 series and a 2024 remake (“Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf”), both of which are good, and you can find each of them on the streamers below. 

Available on: 

• Crunchyroll ($7.99/month)  

• Hulu ($9.99/month)  

“Trillion Game”

The sad truth about the business world is that sometimes the liars, the cheats, and the schemers do come out on top. In this series, two young men, the charismatic Haru and shy computer programmer Gaku, become friends in middle school and make a pact to one day become trillionaires. After finishing college, Haru drags Gaku along on a wild ride of schemes, scams, bluffing, lying, and the actual hard work of starting and running businesses that sends them racing up the income ladder to at least become billionaires by the end of the series. (This show does have some adult moments and themes, so may not be appropriate for younger viewers). 

Available on: 

• Crunchyroll ($7.99/month)  

• Amazon Video ($2.99/episode)  

• Apple TV + ($9.99/month)   

“Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation out of Debt“

The people of the kingdom of Natra love their Prince Wein, who everyone thinks is kind and capable and ready to step in when the king falls ill. But the prince secretly wants to escape his duties managing the kingdom’s poor economy and massive debts, so he launches a scheme to basically sell off the country so he can retire in comfort. His own skills and good nature tend to get in his own way (along with “helpful” allies who have no idea of his plans), and he keeps accidentally improving the economy and winning battles—making it even harder for him to extricate himself from his royal destiny.  

Available on: 

• Crunchyroll ($7.99/month)  

• Amazon Video ($2.99/episode)  

• Apple TV + ($9.99/month)   

Many of the anime series with strong economic themes are in the genre isekai, which involves someone usually dying and being reincarnated into a new world, or magically being transferred to an alternate world, with knowledge of their previous life intact. Some of these characters use that knowledge to become heroes of leaders, especially if the kingdom in the new world is in financial distress, or the character is born down on their luck.  

“Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for My Retirement” 

18 year-old Mitsuha loses her whole family in an accident, doesn’t get into the college she wants, and is generally having a terrible time of it when she’s pushed off a cliff by bullies. But rather than dying, she gains the ability to switch between her current world (modern-day Japan) and an alternate world that lacks many of the modern conveniences of 21st century life. She quickly realizes she can sell cheap goods from her original world for a massive profit in the new one, then use the gold she earns to eventually retire comfortably in both. But to reach her goal, she has to navigate the rules, power dynamics, and conflicts of the new world.  

Available on: 

• Crunchyroll ($7.99/month)  

• Amazon Video ($2.99/episode)   

• Apple TV + ($9.99/month)   

“High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even in Another World”

Seven high school students that are global “prodigies” in fields of politics, science, medicine, journalism, magic/ illusions, swordsmanship, and economics are in plane crash and wake up in a world of magic and mystical creatures. They put their skills together to help improve the economic and political lives of the townspeople who stepped up to help them, and to try to get themselves back home.  

Available on: 

• Crunchyroll ($7.99/month)  

“That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime” and “Slime Diaries” 

A super-fun series with a variety of plots, sub-plots, narrative arcs and interesting characters. This show (and spin-off show, and a few movies) focus on a man who dies and is reincarnated in a different world as a lowly slime monster. While much of the series focuses on him using kindness and cleverness to gain allies and power, a big part of the story (and especially the spin-off, “Slime Diaries”) is about how he uses his skills and knowledge from his previous life to build a safe and commercially successful community for other monsters and the humans, demons, and other species that are willing to work with them. 

Available on: 

• Crunchyroll ($7.99/month)  

• Amazon Video ($2.99/episode)  

• Hulu ($9.99/month)  

• Apple TV + ($9.99/month) 

“How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom” 

Rather than dying to end up in a new world, in this series, a young man named Kazuya is summoned to the kingdom of Elfrieden to become king save them from a looming invasion by the Demon Lord (and suppress a coup along the way). Rather than gearing up for battle, the new king instead focuses on using his education and knowledge from his previous life on earth to improve the living conditions of the people, including a nationwide “casting call” for new civil servants. Sometimes, it’s the bureaucrats that get the job done.  

Available on: 

• Crunchyroll ($7.99/month)  

• Amazon Video ($2.99/episode)  

• Hulu ($9.99/month)  

• Apple TV + ($9.99/month)    

“Log Horizon” 

There’s a whole sub-genre of anime of people getting “trapped” inside video games. One of the most popular shows in this genre is “Log Horizon,” where thousands of people all over the world get stuck in the world of the online RPG (Role Playing Game) “Elder Tale”. After recovering from the shock, depression, and (honestly) trauma of their situation, many of the players set about using the rules of the game to create a functioning economy with jobs, guilds, and government. This show is interesting within the genre in terms of how it explores the relationship between the “players” and NPCs (Non-Player Characters) in this strange world.  

Available on: 

• Crunchyroll ($7.99/month)  

• Amazon Video ($2.99/episode)  

• Hulu ($9.99/month)  

• Apple TV + ($9.99/month)   

“Headhunted to Another World: From Salaryman to Big Four “

Many anime series focus on the drudgery of office work, and much of the isekai genre involves people with terrible, boring lives as office workers (often with terrible bosses) escaping their hum-drum lives to another world where they can live as heroes or other lives of fantasy and adventure they always dreamed. “Headhunted to Another World” takes a spin on this where the unappreciated “salary man” is summoned to another world because his skills as a head-down, hardworking, collaborative employee just so happen to be exactly what the Demon Lord needs to help whip his army and his kingdom’s economy into shape.  

Available on: 

• Crunchyroll ($7.99/month)  

• Amazon Video ($2.99/episode)  

• Apple TV + ($9.99/month)   

“Dahlia in Bloom”

Kimberly’s favorite! After literally working herself to death as an office worker in Japan, the main character is reborn as Dahlia, the daughter of a “magical artisan” in a new world. Raised to take over the family business of creating magical devices that can ease day-to-day life, Dahlia aspires to use her memories from her previous life to create commercially successful products. She uses her magic skills to develop items like waterproof fabrics, a portable stove, and a blow dryer. But after the sudden death of her father and the betrayal of her fiancé, Dahlia finds herself needing to start over as an independent person and a businesswoman. She leans into her new life, starting her own company, making powerful allies, and building new friendships along the way.  

Available on: 

• Crunchyroll ($7.99/month)  

• Amazon Video ($2.99/episode)   

• Apple TV + ($9.99/month) 

Did we miss your favorite? Let us know! For more on all things anime, listen to our podcast “Make Me Smart”!