5 Wholesome Romance Anime

Romance means different things to different people and there are a myriad of romantic anime to reflect just that. Some love the drama that inevitably comes from romance while others enjoy watching for good feels. Lately life has been a little rough on my end so I decided to binge a bunch of romance in order to find ones that I can go to for endless good feels and cuteness. The goal was to find anime where you could enjoy the romance and growing feelings without too much worrying about whether they will get together or stay together. Please enjoy this list I’ve come up with for when you’re in a similar head space:

Tonikawa: Over the Moon for You

They say it’s important to date your spouse, but they didn’t specify that you needed to date them before marrying. When Nasa is finally struck by the beauty of a girl, he unfortunately also happens to be struck by a truck. The beautiful girl, Tsukasa, saves Nasa from dying and Nasa takes his chance to ask her out despite horrible injuries. Tsukasa agrees to go out with him on the condition that they marry first, which Nasa accepts. Follow the adorable newlyweds as they adjust to life together and get to know each other at the same time. And is Tsukasa hiding some kind of secret? Hopefully there will be another season of the show where we can find out. Even if another season is more of the same, I’d still gladly watch for the cuteness and I hope you’ll give it a try for the same reason.

Ore Monogatari!! Or My Love Story!!

My Love Story is about the relationship between the gentle giant Takeo and the petite amateur patissiere Yamato. It’s as much about friendship as it is about innocent love as Takeo’s childhood friend Sunakawa appears in most, if not all, episodes as a good friend and gentle support to Takeo and Yamato’s relationship. The pair meet when Takeo saves her from a transit groper and for both it’s practically love at first sight, though Takeo initially mistakes Yamato’s interest to be in the handsome and cool Sunakawa (as it has been for all his love interests so far in life). The pair seems unlikely when you look at it initially, but they are honestly perfect for each other. Watch the show to see them get through the trials of adolescent life together and root for them as hard as they are rooting for their own relationship!

HoriMiya: Hori-san to Miyamura-kun

This anime probably has the calmest energy on the list (great for when you don’t want anything too crazy thrown at you), though it’s no less cute than the others. It’s the story of the relationship between the smart, beautiful Hori and the gloomy loner Miyamura. Though they are in the same class at school, their relationship doesn’t begin to blossom until a chance incident causes their out-of-school alter egos (rather, their true selves) to meet through Hori’s little brother. This love story is all about how difficult it is to be your true self in high school and the love and closeness that comes from letting your walls down with another person.

Sasaki to Miyano

This anime is the most recent on this list (as in currently coming out) and has been an absolute delight to watch. The story takes place in an all boys high school where you get to see the relationship between cool upperclassman Sasaki and cute lowerclassman Miyano. Miyano is a fudanshi who is happy to keep all his BL happenings in his reading or watch them vicariously through others. This is tested, however, when the cool Sasaki takes an interest in both Miyano and his hobby. Sasaki to Miyano is the story of two boys struggling to understand their feelings for one another, while keeping their relationship wholesome and cute. Definitely enjoyable for those who love romance!

Tsurezure Children

This anime is short and sweet, something easy to turn on and enjoy without too much of a time commitment. Or, if you’re like me, something fast to binge. Tsurezure Children consists of a series of vignettes about various relationships happening at the same high school. From the first episode regarding confessions to the last episode taking place just before the beginning of summer break, you get to see the progression of multiple relationships. There’s a little something for everyone, from childhood friends to the stereotypical oblivious confession recipient to the school delinquent and student council president pairing. Each relationship charts its own course and you can enjoy the highs and lows (not too low, though, remember these are low drama shows) that these students go through. It’s short and sweet and worth a watch!

Official Runner up:

Given

I struggled with whether or not to put this on the list, but in the end couldn’t not recommend it so it gets an official runner up placement. The reason it’s not part of the official five is that one of the main characters is dealing with a tragedy so while no less wholesome than the others, there’s a little more drama than I was comfortable with putting on the list. However, I still highly recommend this anime. It’s the story of the introverted Mafuyu who asks guitar genius Uenoyama to teach him to play his inherited instrument. At first Uenoyama refuses, but he is eventually won over by the surprisingly stubborn Mafuyu. Their relationship grows as music both brings them closer and helps Mafuyu heal (though not without first threatening to tear them apart). The side characters and the antics of the main four members of this band make this anime a very cute journey full of the magic of music and friendship. Then, the second season is actually a movie that focuses on the relationship between Akihiko and Haruki (the older two members of the band). It’s much more mature because they’re older, and has a lot more drama in case you are looking for that after a cute first season. It’s got all flavors of romance. Please give it a try.

P.S. I watch all my anime on either Crunchyroll or Funimation so you can find all of these on one or both of those platforms.