Romance anime series can be some of the mostfun, heart-warming, and entertainingin the genre. Unfortunately, some of them are marred by boring, inappropriate, or otherwise unrealistic tropes that take a viewer completely out of the experience. Some of these series have great characters and well-written plots, but give their main heroes a harem chasing after them that takes the show to a completely different place. While there are plenty of series that can fit into this category,there are still many anime shows with realistic plot lines that any romance enjoyer can appreciate.
To be a realistic romance anime, a series doesn’t necessarily need to be realistic in and of itself. The most important aspects of any romance series arethe relationships within it.No matter how outlandish or silly a premise is, with grounded and realistic relationships that form organically, any series can capture the affections of anime romance skeptics who have grown tired of seeing two characters with little chemistry end up together.
Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for an Otaku
Cast
Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for an Otaku is a romantic comedy series that explores the romantic relationships of otaku, or passionate fans of anime and gaming, in the workplace. The show centers around childhood friends Narumi and Hirotaka, who navigate the complexities of love and friendship while embracing their geeky interests. The series delves into the challenges and delights of finding romance as an adult with otaku hobbies.
Thebest romance animesfeature at least two extremely lovable characters, and that’s an area whereWotakoi: Love is Hard for Otakushines. The series stars two office workers in Narumi Momose and her future love, Hirotaka Nifuji. Narumi is an office lady with a secret love for series about boy love, a popular genre in Japan about two guys who fall in love with each other. The term for her lifestyle is fujoshi, showing how serious she is about her entertainment. While she’s not the most awkward character around, Hirotaka might be. Hislove for all things otakumade his dating life a little rough at the outset.
Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otakushines because the will-they-won’t-they question is answered about as quickly as possible. Narumi was worried about finding a man who would accept her love for otaku and fujoshi culture, and she couldn’t have found a more supportive partner in Hirotaka. It’s a great series for anyone who might feel that their interests make them a little bit ofa weirder choice in the dating market, or for someone who just likes watching two otaku lovers fall in love with each other.
Blue Box
Taiki Inomata, a junior high student at Eimei Academy, is a dedicated badminton player with a crush on Chinatsu Kano, a star basketball player. Their paths intertwine in unexpected ways when Chinatsu moves in with Taiki’s family. Balancing sports, school, and budding feelings, Taiki aims to prove himself worthy of her admiration while striving for Nationals.
WhileBlue Boxis still airing at the time of writing, it’s shaping up to be an excellent,realistic romance anime.While there are some elements that might not be entirely relatable, like Chinatsu moving in with Taiki early in the first season, the explanations behind the events and the main character’s reactions to them are. Chinatsu, Taiki’s crush, moves in with him and his family after her family moves out of the area. She wanted to stay with her basketball team and go to Nationals with them. Luckily, her mom and Taiki’s mom were teammates back in the day, so she’s able to stay with them while shepursues her dreams.
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While Taiki is a little nervous about the whole thing, he acts like a gentleman and gets to know Chinatsu on a much deeper level than before. Taiki is a relatable character in a lot of key areas that makeBlue Boxrealistic. He’s nervous around his crush, doesn’t really know how to act, and tries to do his best to get her attention andhopefully impress her. He also has another character, Hina, vying for his love in an interesting love triangle that makes things a little harder for each character in the best way possible.
Kaguya-Sama: Love Is War
Kaguya-Sama: Love is War is an anime series that follows the psychological warfare between two high-ranking student council members, Miyuki Shirogane and Kaguya Shinomiya, who refuse to confess their feelings for each other first, believing it would demonstrate weakness. Set in an elite high school, the series blends comedy and romance as the characters engage in elaborate mind games to make the other admit to love.
Kaguya-sama: Love is Waris not only one of the best romance anime series of the last decade, it’s one of thebest anime in general. It’s hilarious, heart-warming, and thankfully, pretty realistic. The series has some silly, unrealistic moments, like when the cast turns Super Saiyan while arm-wrestling, but these moments aren’t pivotal to the series in the least bit. The show stars the titular Kaguya-sama as she tries to get Miyuki to admit his feelings for her before she admits her feelings for him. Unfortunately for Kaguya, he’s trying to do the same thing.Love truly is warin the series and their battles make the show stand out from a myriad of other romance series.
Kaguya-samaearns its spot as a great, realistic romance series because Kaguya and Miyuki truly are two hard-working, adorable, and altogether awkward characters who don’t have all the answers. Instead, they have relatable feelings for each other thatthey’re doing their bestto express without overwhelming the other person in their prospective relationship. The side characters like Chika Fujiwara, Miyuki Shirogane’s sister Kei, and Yu Ishigami also make the series much better every time they’re in it.
Pseudo Harem
Eiji Kitahama, a high school student with dreams of being surrounded by admirers, finds an unexpected ally in Rin Nanakura, a junior in the drama club. Using her acting skills, Rin adopts various personas to create a pseudo harem for Eiji, while her genuine feelings for him continue to deepen.
Pseudo Haremis one of the most inventive romance animeto come out in recent memory. Many ‘romance’ anime feature a character with a harem, deciding between around 5 separate girls at once. While this is a pretty great fantasy, it’s not the most relatable situation for most people.Pseudo Haremgives its main character his own harem inone of the most clever ways ever.Rin Nanakura is an actress who falls for Eiji Kitahama, the other main character in the series. In an attempt to give him a harem, keep their relationship interesting, and practice her skills as an actress, Rin acts like she’s multiple different girls at once.
Each of the girls Rin portrays are versions of herself and her emotions. She has a yandere, tsundere, and more personalities all in rotation for her boyfriend. It’sa funny, simple premisethat only gets better as the show progresses. The more the two get to know each other, the more Rin feels comfortable acting as different people and the show is so much better for it. Eiji himself doesn’t know what to do with all these different personalities and even gets them all separate gifts in an attempt to keep his ‘Pseudo Harem’ running smoothly.
Pseudo Haremchanged the genre of romance animeby portraying one of its most common, most unrealistic tropes in an adorable light. Eiji can still be loyal to his girlfriend and enjoy a harem at the same time, as the harem is just her with different hairstyles. Rin can also have fun in her relationship and improve her acting abilities at the same time. It’s a smart concept that’s good from the first episode and maintains its value through the entire season.
A Sign of Affection
A Sign of Affection follows college student Yuki Itose, who navigates the challenges of university life. When her senior, Itsuomi Nagi, assists her one day, he opens her eyes to a new world, sparking a blossoming romance between them in this pure love story.
A Sign of Affectionis a straightforward anime about two people falling in lovewith exactly zero bad tropes.It’s a series a lot of other romance anime could learn from in multiple key areas. The show stars Yuki Itose, a college student withcongenital hearing losswho forces her to communicate through reading lips, writing things down, or using sign language. When she meets fellow college student Itsuomi Nagi, her world is thrown upside down for the better. He’s one of the few people in her life to make an active attempt to get to know more about her and her world, taking serious strides to learn sign language and communicate with her in a way that feels comfortable.
There isn’t anything unrealistic inA Sign of Affection,and that’s one of its best strengths. It’s also one of the best anime to watch for anyone who wantsas little conflict as possible.Falling in love is already hard enough, so there’s no real reason to add even more adversity to a romance series.A Sign of Affectionis told from Yuki’s perspective as she learns to lower her guardaround Itsuomi and eventually learn what his world is like as well.
Grandpa and Grandma Turn Young Again
Grandpa and Grandma Turn Young Again is a 2024 television series that follows an elderly couple who, through mysterious circumstances, find themselves transformed back into their youthful selves. As they navigate their newfound youth, they must reconcile their past experiences with their newfound vitality and adjust to the challenges and opportunities that come with being young again.
On a technical level, the basic premise behindGrandpa and Grandma Turn Young Againis as unrealistic as it gets. Grandpa and Grandma run an apple orchard, and they find a golden apple within it. After eating it, they return to their physical youth, reverting to somewhere in their mid-20s to 30s after being well past the age of retirement. While this is certainly a supernatural element within the show,that’s not the point of the series.The crux of the show is Grandpa and Grandma’s opportunity to love each other all over again.
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LikePseudo Harem, Grandpa and Grandma Turn Young Againhas a great premise from the beginning that only gets better as the show continues. Watching two people who have been married for over 40+ years get to experience their youth with each other isone of the most beautiful things to be animated.They know each other extremely well, and it shows in every episode.
Horimiya
Horimiya follows high school students Kyoko Hori and Izumi Miyamura, who lead contrasting lives both in and out of school. As they uncover each other’s hidden sides, their relationship grows deeper, revealing the complexity and warmth behind their facades.
Horimiyais one of the most popular romance series around for a lot of great reasons. It features two incredibly lovable main characters, a fun cast of side characters, andno unrealistic tropes.The series stars two high-school students as they look to hide their personal lives from the people around them, until they see each other for who they truly are. Kyouko Hori is a popular girl who tries to hide her hard-working side from her friends as much as possible. Izumi Miyamura, on the other hand, is a boy with a ton of piercings that make him nearly unrecognizable. The two learn more about each other as the series progresses and can’t help but fall in love.
Horimiyais the best,most realistic romance seriesbecause it’s a concise seriesthat wastes no time in its story, shows Hori and Miyamura’s relationship evolving over the show’s run, and has plenty of great side characters. Each of their individual personalities adds a lot to the show as well, keeping everyone on their toes as to how Miyamura will react to Hori’s wishes and more.
