My Top 7 Romance Anime
Romance anime is by far my favourite genre of anime and one I have had the desire to do a ranking on for a while. It is one of the more established genres in anime, with its own unique tropes and it offers a wonderful blend of coming-of-age and slice of life stories.
As per the title, I will be giving you the top 7 romance anime I have watched. These are my personal choices, and our opinions may differ. It will be a top tier list nonetheless.
This list is for newcomers to anime and fans who want to try the romance genre and are looking for the best shows to start with. I promise the anime on this list are all terrific and you will enjoy them all.
For this list, only anime with romance as one of its main elements will be considered. It doesn’t have to be the anime’s only genre, it just has to be one of the main genres.
Here are my top 7 romance anime and I hope you enjoy this list as much as I enjoyed making it for you.
7- O Maidens in Your Savage Season
The story starts with five girls in a high school literature club trying to get to know each other with the question “What is the one thing you want to do before you die?” and one of the girls answers with “Sex”. This one answer sends them into a spiral of conflicting emotions and a state of panic as they try to discover themselves on their way to adulthood.
O maidens is a really underrated romance/coming-of-age anime and I think is a must-watch for anyone that’s into romance anime. If you’re looking for a very intriguing story on adolescent love and sexuality, this anime is the one for you. It properly explores each character and equally addresses the dilemmas each character faces. The characters are forced to address their long-standing feelings and try to make sense of them.
6- Fuuka
This was one of the first romance anime I ever watched and it struck a chord within me right from the first episode. The story follows a girl with an undying love for music and a loner boy fully immersed in social media whose life is changed by a chanced and very awkward meeting with her. As the story goes on they both learn to love and appreciate each other
Fuuka has many sweet and heartfelt moments that would make the coldest of anime fans teary-eyed. It is one of my personal favourites and I always recommend it as a starter for anyone going into romance anime.
5- My Mysterious Girlfriend X
Women are mysterious, especially to teenage boys, but they don’t come as mysterious as Mikoto Urabe. Tsubaki, her classmate, soon becomes infatuated with Urabe when he tastes the drool she left on her desk after an after school nap.
The anime does a good job of keeping you invested in Urabe’s and Tsubaki’s relationship. They are by far one of my favourite anime couples. Mysterious Girlfriend X has a perfect blend of fantasy and romance any anime viewer would absolutely love. It is a personal favourite and I think it’s one anime every anime viewer has to see.
4- Horimiya
Horimiya is the most recent anime on this list, coming out in 2021. It follows two teenagers, Hori-san and Miyamura-Kun, in their 3rd year of high school. They live totally different lives but share one thing in common, they both have private lives they make sure no one knows about. Hori-san is the beautiful and popular girl in school while Miyamura-Kun is the exact opposite, shy, awkward, and very distant from his classmates.
As the story goes on, they both share sides of themselves they’ve never shown to anyone before and they build a beautiful friendship from it. Horimiya applies the “popular girl falls in love with awkward nerd” trope in a way I have never seen. Horimiya is perfect, from the opening song to how the story is written and to how characters are properly developed and fleshed out.
3- Your Lie in April
Your lie in April is so many good things it’s hard to put into words what they are. A reserved boy’s life is changed for the better by a chanced meeting with a vibrant and spontaneous teenaged girl. The boy being Kousei, a former pianist child prodigy who quit playing after the devastating loss of his abusive mother and the girl being a carefree and free-spirited violinist named Kaori. They quickly become best of friends and through this friendship, Kousei is finally able to overcome his trauma and perform as a pianist again.
Your lie in April is a rollercoaster of emotions, a real tear-jerker, and by the end of the series, you’ll be left in a much worse emotional state than which you started it. Its use of colours and amazing visuals will leave you glued to your screen. It’s a really amazing anime and I think it’s a must-watch for anyone.
2- Your Name
A masterpiece by Makoto Shinkai, who to me, is the best at directing anime films of this nature. Any of his movies could have made this list but I had to settle for just one and that was Your Name. Being one of the highest-grossing anime movies is nothing to scoff at.
The term star-crossed lovers have never been more applicable. The story starts with a boy from Tokyo named Taki and a girl from the country named Mitsuha who begin to switch bodies. Although they initially struggle to navigate each other’s lives as they switch bodies, it eventually blossoms into an unexpected friendship and romance.
The movie has one of the best animations I have ever seen. The visuals are amazing and they really supplement an already superb story. It’s a movie everyone should watch, even non-anime viewers would love it.
1- Toradora!
Has there ever been a better case of “opposites attract”? Toradora is the best romance anime I have ever watched. It was always going to take the number one spot. Taiga Aisaka, who represents the tsundere archetype to a tee and Ryuji Takasu, an easy-going student who is often mistaken for a delinquent due to his seppuku eyes, agree to win their respective crushes' hearts. Toradora is well written and all the characters are given their time to shine.
It’s not an emotional rollercoaster but it’s a very fun watch with its perfect blend of comedy and romance. This is the cutest anime couple I have ever watched, and I assure you it would be the same for you too.
Honourable Mentions
These anime could have definitely made this list but sadly missed out. So here are some honourable mentions;
- A silent voice
- Suzuka
- Nisekoi
- Ai Yori Aoshi
