10 Best Romantic Anime to Delve Into Japanese Love Drama 

Graceful, touching, sensual – all these words perfectly describe stories about first love. And when anime masters get down to the nitty-gritty, movies and TV series become not just fascinating fairy tales, but wise tales about the meaning of life, the search for oneself and one's place in the world.

1. Romantic Killer

In the fall of 2022, Netflix released an anime show about gamer Anzu, who is used to not paying attention to men, playing games, and spending evenings with her cat. But one day, a character from the game burst into her reality from virtual space and began to say that it was time to get married and have children.

To focus the girl on the most important thing, the creature takes her to a world where there are no games, no cats, no delicious food, no other entertainment, but only men.

2. Tsuredure Children

A touching romantic anime about teens experiencing relationships for the very first time. School love story is portrayed in all its facets: the fear of being rejected is combined with naive sincerity and courage about one's feelings.

One of the characters, the shy Haruhiko Takase, plays soccer, and almost all the girls in the school are in love with him, but his heart belongs to the one and only Saki Kanda. Tsuredure Children is a funny, sweet show that paints a very light-hearted composition of love experiences.

3. Your Lie in April

A very sad anime that can touch the deepest strings of the viewer's soul. Kosei played the piano masterfully from an early age. But his rapidly developing career is interrupted at the age of 11 when his mother dies. For many years, Kosei tries to come to terms with the loss – the boy becomes depressed and stops playing piano.

His loyal friends Ryota and Tsubaki introduce him to the bright and emotional Kaori, a virtuoso violinist. The girl's music inspires Kosei, awakening him from a long sleep of sadness, and he decides to join the girl in a music competition.

4. Tomo-chan Is a Girl

A very common plot, but with a very realistic interpretation of the experience of falling in love. Tomo is a girl who has been used to the company of boys since childhood and even looks like a boy. One day she confesses her love to her best friend Jun, but he does not reciprocate.

Rejected, Tomo makes a difficult decision: it's time to go against her personality for the sake of her beloved. She embarks on a journey in search of femininity. But Jun soon realizes that he likes Tomo the way she is and that she shouldn't change.

5. Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You

A sweet story about overcoming bullying. Sawako is a high school student. She is a walking contrast: on the outside she looks like Samara from The Ring, but inside she is the kindest creature on the entire planet. Of course, no one cares about her soul, the high school students laugh at her and spread rumors that Sawako is a cursed child.

Sawako is protected from her classmates by her friend Kazehaya, with whom she is deeply in love. He takes her into his home and helps her cope with social anxiety and the bitterness of loneliness.

6. Fruits Basket

Tohru is an orphan who has long lived in a tent near the wealthy Sohma estate, but the typhoon left her without this modest shelter. One of the Sohma family members saw the girl and invited her to live in their big house. Tohru accepted such a tempting offer without hesitation.

But the man didn't tell her the most important thing – a curse was placed on his family and none of the Sohma are destined to love, because something terrible will happen. After learning about the family curse, Tohru finds herself caught up in the clan drama and desperately wants to help get rid of the evil curse.

7. Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku

Office worker Narumi is worried about her inability to build a personal life: all her energy goes to work, and in her free time she is only interested in her hobbies – gaming and reading manga.

At a new job, Narumi meets her former classmate, Hirotaka, who is also addicted to games. Feelings immediately flare up between them, but their similarity prevents them from getting along; funny fights and troubles begin to spoil the romance, which adds realism to their story.

8. Your Name

An anime adored by many, enveloping viewers in warmth, tenderness and love, piercing the viewer with sincerity. The plot of this anime follows a country girl, Mitsuha, and a young man, Taki, who lives in Tokyo. Mitsuha dreams of a life in the big city, but there are many responsibilities that keep her at home. And Taki is an aspiring architect who lacks the money to live in busy Tokyo.

The characters have never seen each other in real life, but their unconscious intersects – they meet in their dreams, change bodies, and live the lives they have dreamed about. A metaphysical connection is formed between them, and each tries to find the way to the other.

9. Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai

The name alone is impressive. The story of this anime begins quite ordinary, but it takes an unexpected supernatural twist.

Sakuta meets Mai, a popular actress who wears a bunny costume. Mai's career was on the rise, but she decided to take a break, which turned out to be a mistake: people just stopped noticing her, and now only Sakuta can see the actress. Together, they decide to launch a full investigation to understand the reasons why only he can see Mai.

10. I Want To Eat Your Pancreas

Yes, the title is strange, but this is a heartbreaking and very touching anime. Despite an incurable pancreatic disease, Sakura wants to live her remaining days to the fullest.

One day Haruki finds her diary and decides to spend the remaining time with the girl. The completely different characters become an obstacle to their romance – he is gloomy and she is very cheerful, but in the end the two become friends and fall in love with each other, though not for long.