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Shota and Sawako, Misaki and Takumi, Tomoya and Nagisa (Image via Production I.G, J.C. Staff, Kyoto Animation)

10 Best Romance Anime of all time

Priya MajumdarBy Updated:10 Mins Read Anime

Romance anime, or the shoujo and josei genre, has been a staple of the animanga community. While action, adventure, and fantasy are popular by the sheer motivation of having an escapist quality, romance anime also provide the same comfort, albeit in a different way. But one aspect about romance is that it never fades away with time, after all love reigns it all. 

However, like action and adventure series, romance anime shows have much diversity. While one can find love in the parody narrative of Kaguya-sama Love is War!, many viewers seek comfort in tragic romance that can be seen in Your Lie in April. In all cases, for a relationship to survive, a conflict is important, which becomes the determining factor in understanding how well the ‘happily-ever-after’ be. Conflicts can range from miscommunication, complications arising out of socio-cultural differences, illness, and academic rivalry, among others. These factors often provide a study in relationships that viewers look forward to even if they may not say, and the exploration of these complications is enough to sustain the weight of the genre.

On that note, here’s a list of ten best romance anime with many complications and occasional happy endings to leave an indelible impression on a viewer’s mind.

Your Lie in April, Kaichou-wa Maid sama, and 8 other brilliant romance anime shows

Fruits Basket

Natsuki Takaya’s Fruits Basket revolves around the orphan protagonist, Tohru Honda. At some point, she starts living with her classmates Yuki and Kyo under the guardianship of Shigure Sohma. However, the twist in the story comes when she discovers that all 13 members of the Sohma family, including Yuki, Kyo, and Shigure, are possessed by the animals of the Chinese zodiac and can turn themselves into the animals under special circumstances. 

Rather than the romance, the anime focuses majorly on the hardships and sorrow faced by each member of the family. Moulding herself into the classic shoujo protagonist, Tohru shows her kind and loving nature and extends her love to them. Thus, this gradually culminates into a journey of discovering oneself, self-healing, and healing others. As for the love triangle between Yuki, Kyo, and Tohru, all of them find love eventually, leading to a satisfying happy ending.

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Kaichou wa Maid Sama!

Heralded as a classic by longtime rom-com fanatics, Kaichou wa Maid Sama! focuses on Misaki Ayuzawa in a predominantly male populated school. Her aim is to make the school a better place for the minority section of girls who study there, so she excels in academics and sports and her good reputation among her teachers and peers leads her to be the first female student council president. However, she has a secret job, where she works at a maid cafe to support her mother and younger sister. Eventually, Takumi Usui, a popular classmate of Misaki, discovers her secret and takes a liking to her, which leads the two to become a couple.

But the story of Misaki and Takumi doesn’t end there, as familial problems and social differences pose a difficulty in their union. Ultimately, the couple do get their happy ending even if it takes them years. With all the dramatic flair that accompanies the sweet romance and comedic moments, Kaichou wa Maid Sama!’s reputation as a well-recommended anime is constant.

Kamisama Kiss

From the story of Julietta Suzuki, the supernatural elements in Kamisama Kiss involve the love between a human and a yokai (mythical being). When high school student Nanami Momozono finds herself homeless, she meets a Land God, Mikage, of a particular character whom she saves from a dog. To reward her, the god offers her his shrine as her new abode and bestows upon her his powers, making her the new god of the land. As a hardworking person, Nanami gives her all to live up to the expectations of others. And here, she meets Mikage’s familiar, Tomoe, along with shrine guardians, Onikiri and Kotetsu. However, amidst her adjustment with new life, Nanami finds herself falling in love with Tomoe, who refuses to reciprocate her feelings because the love between a human and yokai is considered taboo. Yet, Tomoe can’t help but fall in love with Nanami as well.

Much like Kaichou wa Maid Sama!, Kamisama Kiss has its own cult following. In a similar fashion, the plot involves much comedy alongside romance for viewers to get a nice dose of rom-com. Although Nanami is meek, she is kind and adaptable. When pitted against the cynical, haughty, and mocking demeanor of Tomoe, her goodness provides a fresh change that is even agreed by the gods in the anime. At the end of the series, despite all the complications that comes with a supernatural x human love, Tomoe and Nanami do end up getting married as humans, treating the viewers and the characters with the happy ending.

Kimi no Todoke

Karuho Shiina’s Kimi no Todoke is a sweet, heartwarming romance story between Sawako Kuronuma and Shota Kazehaya. During her high school years, Sawako is often referred to as Sadako (the ghost from the movie The Ring) by her classmates due to resemblance with the character. Naturally, this makes her a loner until Kazehaya starts talking to her. Because of him, she eventually makes friends and finds the courage to confess to Kazehaya, who reciprocates her feelings. 

Despite some occasional ups and downs, including when Sawako and Shota faced a rough patch in their relationship, the couple manage to go past the obstacles in a self-discovering journey. The spotlight is primarily on Sawako, who, by the end of her high school, is able to clear the air surrounding her reputation as ‘Sadako’ and find love, ambition, friends, and more. As such, Kimi no Todoke’s not-very-complicated and cute relationship provide a good remedy to one’s heart when one needs something simple after a particularly rough day.

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Nana

A rollercoaster of emotions, Ai Yazawa’s Nana is a detailed study on various facets of relationships and friendships. Centering around the lives of Nana Osaki and Nana Komatsu, the two women move to Tokyo at the age of 20 for different pursuits in life. Here, the two Nana become codependent on each other as they navigate through love and aspirations with other people and sharing the emotional intimacy that comes with having a good friend. 

Although the romance is not between the two main protagonists, the psychological sketch of the various relationships portrayed on screen along with drama and music is riveting enough for any fans of romance to give it a try. Moreover, the anime is often hailed for realistic writing and character development, so for anyone hoping to watch a complex series along the lines of romance, then this series might be it.

Clannad and Clannad: After Story

Clannad and its sequel, Clannad: After Story, are often known for their tearjerking quality. The story follows the lives of Tomoya Okazaki and Nagisa Furukawa. In Clannad, Tomoya, although aloof, decides to help Nagisa and her friends revive the school drama club because he thinks he has nothing better to do. Nagisa is revealed to have been held back by one year due to severe illness, but the story’s charm is in its exploration of relationships. Just like Nana, Clannad is also character-driven, but it eventually leads to the blossoming romance between Tomoya and Nagisa.

Clannad: After Story, on the other hand, takes a more mature step into dissecting Tomoya and Nagisa’s relationship after they have become adults. While together, Tomoya learns to understand the complexities of life and go on to navigate them with the support of Nagisa. Although tragedy strikes their small family, the Illusionary World grants the husband what he wishes back in his life. 

Your Lie in April

Your Lie in April sees 14-year-old piano prodigy Kosei Arima losing his ability to hear his own piano sound even though his hearing is perfect. The incident happens after his mother dies. Some time later, he meets a free-spirited classmate named Kaori Miyazono, a violinist who helps Kosei to get back into music. Through the course of their interaction, Kosei realizes that he is in love with Kaori, but the latter pretends to have her attention on their mutual friend Ryota. Sometime later, it is revealed that Kaori is sick and is admitted to the hospital. 

Although tragedy ensues, the anime takes the viewers on a self-healing journey of Kosei as he gains back the ability to hear his piano sounds and love for playing the instrument. Through subtle pining and heartwarming relationships, Your Lie in April establishes its reputation as one of the best romantic classics of all time.

Junjou Romantica

A BL series, Junjou Romantica is divided into three narratives, following the story of Misaki Takahashi and Akihiko Usami, Hiroki Kamijou and Nowaki Kusama, and Shinobu Takatsuki and You Miyagi. Through light hearted comedy and brilliant romance, the anime follows the three couples in their daily lives as they learn to love each other, but that’s not all. The themes of acceptance and denial have also been major sites of exploration in this anime.

Toradora!

Yet another sweet and light-hearted rom-com that would make viewers go gaga over it. The story sees Ryuji Takasu being calm and content with his life, but he is also misinterpreted for being a delinquent due to his intimidating face. On the other hand is Taiga Aisaka, a feisty but petite girl who is often referred to as ‘Palmtop Tiger.’ Following an embarrassing incident, the two end up realizing their misconception of the other and form an alliance to help them get romantically involved with each other’s best friend.

As is common for rom-com series, nothing goes as they initially plan, and the duo end up catching feelings for each other. What could be labeled by most rom-com fanatics as adorable, Ryuji and Taiga do continue to uphold the tag through their relationship.

Lovely★Complex

This anime is about high school students Risa Koizumi and Atsushi Ootani, whose quest for finding the perfect ends up in them being together. However, the story is not that simple. Koizumi stands tall at 172 cm, while Ootani ends up being a shorter-than-average male at only 156 cm. To add to that, their respective crushes fall in love with each other, leaving the two together heartbroken. And they even get labeled as a comedic duo by their teacher and classmates due to their difference in their height and personalities.

But amidst this hilarious turn of events, Koizumi and Ootani develop and endearing relationship that soon blossoms into sweet romance. What started out as unusual and unfortunate for the mismatched duo, ended up with them being together. So, viewers hoping for a light-hearted romance with funny moments, Lovely★Complex is a sure watch.

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Priya is an anime lover and writer at GamesHorizon. A graduate from EFL University, she is deeply interested in anything remotely anime, manga, and fan culture. In her free time, she likes to draw, cook, visit cafes, and read fanfiction on a variety of anime fandoms' ships.