By “competency porn”, I mean you get to see team dynamics at its best, with a leader that genuinely can be a role model like Jean-Luc Picard.
Sound Euphonium S3 was the closest I can find among those that I have already watched
Code Geass and Death Note do not qualify.
The Idolmaster if it can be cheesy.
Mushishi though it’s not about a team.
Aim for the Ace! may be the closest, and I strongly believe that Hibike! Euphonium is intended to be a retelling of this story.
Kill la Kill for the antagonist Satsuki.
The First Slam Dunk which I see you’ve already seen, but leaving it here for others.
BanG Dream! It’s MyGO!!! takes a long time for a leader to emerge and I hated it for the first ~9 episodes but the birth of hope and vision and confidence is so amazing that it’s worth the maximally melodramatic early stretch. You’ve also already seen it 👋🙄I’m not sure how much it qualifies but this is a big part of Romelia War Chronicle (ongoing). It’s not the best anime all around for multiple reasons, but this is an element it does well I think.
I second Unboxious’ recommendation of Ghost in the Shell. You’ve seen Oshii’s movie, so maybe try 2026 version, it’s pretty different in tone, but Major stil remains badass. Also:
- Assassination Classroom – Koro-sensei is quite a role model
- Classroom of the Elite – it’s very edgy, so given that you disqualified Code Geass and Death Note, this might not be to your taste as the MC is that kind of character, just more autistic. Also I’m not sure if I can call this anime good. Somehow I managed to watch a bunch of seasons, but ended up dropping it during the most recent one.
- Saga of Tanya the Evil – Tanya can hardly be called a role model, and we see her struggling a lot, but I cannot deny her competency in what she does if we look at it through the eyes of people around her
I also wanted to mention Jujutsu Kaisen – Gojo is generally a goober, but he’s a menace when he locks in; Amagi Brilliant Park, because it’s a funny take on competency; Lycoris Recoil, because Chisato is such a pro, but it looks like you already watched those.
Generally, it’s hard to find something good that fits these criteria, so pretty much everything I mentioned is stretching your definition of competency, but that’s best I can think of right now
The only downside is that it only got an 8 episode ONA adaptation, which is just enough to introduce the setting and the principal characters, and get them through their first few crises. The manhua is excellent though.
+1 for
Release That Witch
but -1 for
The manhua is excellent though.
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Headhunted to Another World: From Salaryman to Heavenly King!
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Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for My Retirement
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Handyman Saitou In Another World
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How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom
These are a few good ones where they are just really good at their jobs. Headhunted was a hidden gem I didn’t expert to like it.
I may give Realist Hero a consideration since I really like Crusader Kings
If you do light novels, I’d recommend checking it out there too, there’s only 20 volumes and it’s completed, compared to a lot of series that just feel like they could go on forever, or take really long between releases. The Audiobook is up to volume 16 I believe.
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Only a couple of things come to mind: Ghost in the Shell (probably any of them) and maybe Legend of the Galactic Heroes. The good news is that they’re both extremely good!
Ghost in the Shell (probably any of them)
I’d start with Stand Alone Complex, really ticks the competency porn box.
Now that I think of Cowboy Bebop works too, all very competent in their ways, you can consider Jet the father figure / ‘leader’, but it’s more in the vein of the formation of a team / family. Worth the watch anyway, if only for the music.
I don’t know about Cowbow Bebop; maybe if they ever did well enough at a job to get paid for it!
Fair, but it was generally for a good reason. Lots of property damage though.
