Ever since I was young I have always been a sucker for any story that has some kind of romance in it. That is still true today even as an adult, and is definitely obvious in a lot of the anime that I watch. This is a list of some of my favorite romance animes because personally I love all of these shows so much and I also love giving recommendations. The rankings of shows probably aren’t as accurate as they could be because I have watched some more recently than others and in all honesty, I love these shows so much it’s like picking favorite children. They all hold a special place in my heart.
I’m going to start with honorable mentions. These shows are currently airing and aren’t finished yet so I’m not going to put them in the list. But they are all really good so I still highly recommend. In no particular order:
Honorable mentions
- Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible
- The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague
- Tomo-chan Is A Girl
- Sugar Apple Fairy Tale
- Endo and Kobayashi Live! The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte
- The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten
Now on to the actual list:
12. Raven of the Inner Palace. This is the story of a girl who is a consort under an emperor. But, she’s not actually meant to meet the emperor. Her job is to perform magic and help with spirits. The romance in this show isn’t super prevalent which is why it is lower on the list. It came out during the Fall 2022 anime season and it didn’t take long for me to get hooked. There is adventure and mystery in this show and even though there isn’t much romance, it is still a very good watch.
11. Say I Love You. This is a show about how the popular guy falls for the shy girl who refuses to trust people and make friends. Say I Love You doesn’t depict a perfect relationship and that’s why I love it. The characters are flawed and their relationship is rocky. There are disagreements and jealousy and it all gets resolved in a healthy way. You get to see the characters grow on their own and grow with each other in their relationship.
10. Horimiya. A guy and a girl fall in love with the sides of each other that they keep hidden from the outside world. The only way I can describe this show is wholesome. Their relationship is healthy and there is strong sense of comfort that comes from it. This show would be higher on the list but in my opinion, once the main couple gets together, they don’t show enough of them being together. Halfway through the show the focus switches to the other characters. Which is fine, but you only see the main couple get together and not much of seeing them interact after they start dating.
9. Bibliophile Princess. I am an absolute sucker for a fairytale romance story. Our main female protagonist sees herself as a phone fiance to the prince until she realizes that she is actually in love with him. We get to see her grow from someone who is unsure of her future to see how she is adapting to the changes that come with being the fiance of the crown prince. Oh, and did I forget to mention that she likes books more than most people?
8. Romantic Killer. The show was the first anime made by Netflix that I have ever watched so I didn’t know what to expect. The main character gets her three true loves, (video games, chocolate, and her cat), taken away by a magical being so that she can focus on having romantic relationships. She gets put in love triangles and all these scenarios with different boys in an attempt to get her to fall in love. Except she is determined to do anything but fall in love. The first few episodes are cringy and gave me a lot of second hand embarrassment but by the end I had fallen in love with the characters and the story ends up being so much deeper than it seems on the surface.
7. Yona of the Dawn. This is personally one of my favorite stories that I’ve seen. If I was basing this list on the anime and manga, this would definitely be higher. But, because the show is so short it doesn’t really give much of a chance for the romance to develop. With only one season there is much more adventure than romance but I couldn’t bring myself to put it lower on the list because I love the story. The princess has to flee the castle with only her childhood friend to protect her. She sets out on a quest to find 4 magical beings to help her try to take back her country.
6. More Than a Married Couple, But Not Quite Lovers. What would happen if you got paired up with someone of the opposite gender and had to live with them in a pretend marriage for a school project? Throw in a classic love triangle and then you’re all set. I won’t lie, the main female protagonist is kind of annoying in the beginning. We get to see how she grows and opens up to the main male protagonist and it turns from being an awkward relationship to something with a lot of adorable moments and really makes you root for them.
5. I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss. In a story where you are meant to be the villain, why not take your life into your own hands and rewrite the story? Fiance to the crown prince gets dumped by him and decides to get his older brother, the demon lord, to fall in love with her. What could go wrong? The pacing of this show works really well. It has three arcs fit into the 12 episode long series. It shows you that sometimes the “villain” isn’t as bad as you might think. The dynamic between the characters is fantastic and the main female protagonist isn’t a damsel in distress waiting for someone to fix things for her.
4. Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku. Romance between fangirls and fanboys working 9-5 desk jobs. This show is really refreshing and gives a contrast to the normal high school romance animes. The relationships between the main characters are wonderful and it’s just a nice wholesome romance story. I don’t really know what else to say for this. I just think it’s really good.
3. Fruits Basket. Romance with a heavy dose of trauma. This show and the characters are incredibly well written and is definitely a fan favorite. It does a really good job at showing each character’s backstories so you can understand the way that they are and the way that they act. And you will absolutely be rooting for almost all of the end-game couples by the end of the show. The only thing left I have to say is that while they might try to give a character a redemption, it doesn’t mean you always have to accept it.
2. Kaguya-sama: Love is War. The funniest romance show I have seen hands down. President and vice president trying to get the other person to fall in love with them, when they are both in love with each other but don’t want to admit it. This show is full of scheming and trying to get different ways to get the other person to confess their love. What makes this show one of the best is the narrator. Without the narrator, this show just wouldn’t be the same.
1. Snow White with the Red Hair. No matter what other shows were on this list, this would always end up at the top. I have seen over 50+ animes and I don’t think I will find one that I will love more than this show. The main female protagonist has to feel her home country after the prince tries to make her his concubine. While she fled, she ended up getting rescued by the prince of the neighboring country. What I just said might not make it seem like it, but the main protagonist is not a damsel in distress. At the beginning we see her trying to fix things and figure things out on her own but we get to see her grow into being able to depend on others. I can only describe this show as whole some and unlike other shows, it doesn’t take until the end of the show for the main couple to get together! This will forever be one of my favorite shows and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to stop talking about it.
I could honestly write so much more about these shows. And don’t even get me started on romance anime movies. I personally don’t think you can go wrong with any of these shows and I will continue to recommend them as much as I can.