Spooky season might be over, but that doesn’t mean the rest of the year is without its excitement. This is the time of year where you can bundle up in your favorite blankets, get comfy on the couch, and enjoy the ambiance of cozy season. And I believe there is no better way to get into the spirit of it than with the following romance anime, all of which are distinct from what you’d expect and have the capacity to tug on your heartstrings.
Honorable Mention: My Dress-Up Darling
I really hate to place this anime as a mere honorable mention, but its content can be . . . let’s just say “pretty mature.” However, if you look past this, you can find a sincere and touching love story. The story goes that Gojo, a high schooler who loves hina dolls and even works at his grandfather’s doll shop, has lived a life of loneliness due to feeling isolated from other people. That all changes when he meets Kitagawa, an extremely social and energetic girl from his class, who begs him to help her design a cosplay for her favorite anime character.
From there, they embark on a journey of designing costumes and helping Kitagawa pursue her dreams. However, she also helps Gojo grow out of his shell by supporting his interests, encouraging him to gain confidence in himself, and even open up to more and more people. She also especially encourages him to be honest about his own feelings, and to not let people walk over him but to speak his mind and stand up for himself.
5. Snow White with the Red Hair
Ironically, the only thing that possesses any resemblance to the classic fairy tale is that the protagonist risks a poisoned apple at the beginning of the show. Otherwise, there’s nothing to indicate anything close to Snow White. Instead, we find a humble herbalist named Skirayuki, a girl draws many eyes because of her red hair (which is apparently a unique feature in the land). Unfortunately, it’s because of her hair that a cocky prince relentlessly pursues her to make her his concubine. Thankfully, a nicer prince from the next kingdom comes to her rescue and even hires her as the royal herbalist for his castle.
Over time, the nice prince (Zen) explores his feelings for her and Shirayuki also explores her relationship with the man who saved her life, and both of them attempt to navigate but also tackle through the social pressures surrounding their relationship. However, there’s more to this than a simple (yet beautiful) love story, as Shirayuki also ends up changing the lives of everyone around her and helping them become better versions of themselves. It’s not only satisfying to see a well-paced romance pan out, but when you see the female protagonist serve as an inspiration rather than a simple love interest, that’s a truly amazing experience.
4. How A Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom
This is one of those anime where an average Joe from our world gets magically transported to a fantasy world, where he has to save everyone and is even promised the king’s daughter as a reward. However, the anime flips that classic trope and its stereotypes onto their heads, as the protagonist (Kazuya) saves the kingdom in the most unexpected way possible. He doesn’t go out with OP abilities or wage wars, he instead uses political reforms and strategies from our world and incorporates them into the struggling kingdom to settle debts and prepare for the future.
Such actions inspire the king to surrender his crown to Kazuya and even set up his daughter Liscia as his fiancé, but it doesn’t automatically become sunshine and rainbows for them. At first, Liscia is unsure of this stranger and his reforms, so she keeps him at arm’s length for a while. Along the way, the pair earn each other’s trust and support each other, eventually finally realizing their feelings for one another. And while Kazuya does gain other women (because apparently they allow that kind of thing in this world), he doesn’t treat any of them like objects but makes sure to establish honest relationships with each of them, but always returns to Liscia. However, with his focus primarily on the welfare of his kingdom, you can be sure that the romance in this show will not devolve into anything inappropriate like other anime.
3. Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai
I know what you’re thinking but I PROMISE you it’s nothing like that! Instead, I personally believe this is one of the most beautiful, well-written, and thought-provoking anime I have ever seen.
The story follows Sakuta, a depressed loner in high school who goes to a library and spots a girl named Mai, who wears a shocking bunny outfit. Yet, in spite of something that would normally be very eye-catching, no one can see her except Sakuta. This sparks their journey to uncover the source of their problems: Puberty Syndrome, which basically means weird stuff happens (mind swaps, time loops, etc) for some deep psychological reason. In this case, they’re driven to find out why no one can see or even remember her existence, and also navigate through other problems that surface throughout the show.
The beautiful art style and music is already enough to stir emotions, but the dialogue is so deep and provocative that you can’t help but keep your eyes glued to the screen to follow along. For instance, Sakuta once said “I don’t mind if I only had one person. Even if the whole world hated me, I could keep living if that person needed me.” It could mean anything from a parent to a significant other and even to a best friend, but that’s the kind of insight this show forces you to confront, which is one of its most beautiful qualities.
2. The Quintessential Quintuplets
If you had the opportunity to tutor a rich young girl for a pretty large sum, would you take it? How about if you had to tutor not only her, but her four other sisters, and all five of them making your job as needlessly complicated as possible? Well, that’s the challenge that Futaro decided to accept.
Due to his family’s financial troubles, it’s no wonder he decided to accept the position as the tutor for Ichika, Nino, Miku, Yotsuba, and Itsuki Nakano. However, things get off to a very rocky start when he first meets them, leading to at least half the sisters hating his guts while the rest either hate him less or completely enjoy his company. Motivating them to study is already difficult enough, but he also has to earn each of their trust and connect with them if he wants their full cooperation. As Futaro wins them over one at a time, he becomes less motivated by money and academics, and more so by genuine concern and the desire to help them. In return, Futaro’s actions inspire the sisters to explore their relationships with each other and even look inside themselves, slowly pushing them to become better versions of themselves not just for his sake but for their own.
I haven’t even talked about the deeper mystery surrounding Futaro’s relationship with them, and how it even goes all the way back to his childhood, but I’ll leave that for you to discover on your own.
1. Teasing Master Takagi-San
In my honest opinion, this is undoubtedly one of the best (if not the best) romance anime out there. They don’t push stereotypes, they don’t over-sexualize the female protagonist, and the romance between Nishikata and Takagi is beautifully innocent and spread out.
The premise is extremely simple: Nishikata spends every episode plotting a way to get back at Takagi for always teasing him, only for literally every single one of his plans to be turned back on him and blow up in his face. Each hilarious failure never fails to put a smile on anyone’s face, but it also helps bring the two ever closer together even if Nishikata never realizes it.
Eventually, Nishikata grows to see that Takagi isn’t the evil mastermind he always thought she was, and soon sees her as an actual friend. He also slowly realizes how Takagi is helping him learn basic skills like riding a bike and even how to allow himself to open up to her and drop his tough-guy act, which becomes all the more satisfying whenever he responds nicely instead of retorting some witty comeback. But it’s especially satisfying to see the cracks in Takagi’s cool and collected facade, such as letting her feelings for Nishikata slip out either with a not-so-teasing remark, blushing, or even privately celebrating whenever he returns her affections.
Watching these characters try to outwit each other, while also grow closer at the same time, just warms your heart in a way you just can’t explain.
Conclusion
While you can never go wrong with putting on a bit of Harry Potter or Twilight around this time of year, I hope at least one of these recommendations will be on your minds. Although, if you decide to embark on any of these journeys, I would suggest having your doctor on speed dial. This is to account for symptoms including your heart melting, excessive crying of happy tears, angry shouts for anything to happen, and increased binging habits.
Nishikata and Takagi is suck a cute couple!!! I support them from the first episodes :33