Being a hopeless romantic comes with the responsibility of endlessly finding new and exciting shows, movies, and games with a romance that lives up to the high expectations that come with the title. A great source of funny, touching and lighthearted love stories are the many romantic comedy anime that have come out over the years. The last decade in particular has been a goldmine of romantic comedy anime with unique characters, fast-paced humor, and intriguing storylines.
There are so many shows in the genre that it can be hard to find the ones that really stand out and give off the dizzying vibes that come with watching a really great romance. To save some time, here’s a list of the best romantic comedy anime from the last ten years!
10/10 Snow White With The Red Hair
Snow White With The Red Hair was released in 2015 and currently has two seasons. It takes place in a fantasy setting, and with the beautiful art, it is reminiscent of a fairy tale. The main character, Shirayuki, is a herbalist with long, unusually red hair. This gets her the attention of Prince Raji, who wants to force her to become his concubine. Instead, she cuts off her hair and flees to a neighboring kingdom. This is when she meets Zen, the second prince of Clarines’ kingdom. After saving his life when he eats a poison apple meant for her, she decides to join him with the aim of becoming his court herbalist. The two eventually develop a romantic relationship, with both of them constantly trying to make each other better.
9/10 My love story!!
My love story!! was released in 2015 and has one season of 24 episodes. It follows Takeo, a tall, creepy-looking high school student who scares everyone away from him with his looks, despite how sweet he is. He also has an extremely attractive boyfriend, Makoto, who makes all the girls around the duo fall in love with him. When Takeo first meets Rinko, a frail and innocent classmate, he saves her from a grope on the train. He assumes, like all the other girls he meets, that she is afraid of him and just hangs around him to get close to Makoto. But this misunderstanding is quickly cleared up and the two become a couple quite early in the series. The rest of the episodes focus on the two adorable characters navigating their relationship together. This anime is easily the most wholesome of the options on this list.
8/10 Science fell in love, so I tried to prove it
Science fell in love, so I tried to prove it was released in 2020 and currently has two seasons. The premise of the series is unique and revolves around two scientists, Ayame and Shinya. When Ayame declares her love to her overly logical colleague, Shinya, he wonders what exactly “love” is. Since the two are totally inexperienced in romance, they turn to what they both do know: science. They create scientific tests to definitively prove if they are really in love. This series is not only adorable, but also incredibly quick-witted and funny.
7/10 The old magician bride
The old magician bride was released in 2016 and currently has one season, but a second season has been announced to be released in 2023. This anime differs from the others on the list in that it features much darker themes while still focusing on romance and comedic elements. It follows Chise, a fifteen-year-old girl with a dark past and nowhere to call home. She is auctioned and bought for a huge sum by the magician Elias. It turns out that Chise is a Sleigh Beggy, which makes her perfect to be Elias’ magical assistant. However, when Elias returns her to his beautiful cottage in the countryside, she discovers that he bought her for more than just being his assistant. He intended that she should also be his bride.
6/10 My dressed up babe
My dressed up babe was released in 2022 and currently has one season, but a second season has been announced in the future. The series is an antithesis that attracts romance with the main characters being Wakana, a notoriously shy loner, and Marin, a beautiful, popular girl who is always surrounded by her friends. Wakana enjoys making Hina dolls, a practice he learned from his grandfather. When Marin runs into him and sees his sewing skills, she immediately asks him for his help in making her cosplay outfits. At first it seems that Marin only uses Wakana, but it becomes clear that he means more to her than that as they continue to grow closer over the course of many cosplays.
5/10 Toradora!
Toradora! was released in 2009 and currently has one season. This is another series with main characters who are complete opposites. Ryuji is a kind, sweet-natured student who enjoys doing housework but scares everyone away with his intimidating face. Taiga is very small and cute, but she has a feisty attitude and isn’t afraid to throw hands if she sees fit. The two run into each other and realize that they are both in love with each other’s best friend. For Taiga, this is Student Council Vice President Yuusaku, and for Ryuji, this is Minori. Since Taiga is often home alone and they live close to each other, Ryuji starts taking care of her as they both make plans to help each other date their crushes. This show is hilarious, but also has many heartwarming, intimate moments that prove how much the characters mean to each other that are hard to find in other anime.
4/10 Horimiya
Horimiya was released in 2021 and currently has one season. The series revolves around the popular and smart Hori and the meek, forgettable Miyamura. When Miyamura saves Hori’s brother and brings him back to Hori’s house, the two start spending some time together and realize they are not the people they appear to be at school. Hori’s life isn’t perfect; she is always busy with housework and taking care of her younger brother. Miyamura is not as meek as he seems and when he is not in school he shows off a large number of tattoos and piercings that his uniform usually hides. The two quickly realize their feelings for each other and develop a deep relationship that is touching to watch.
3/10 Wotakoi: Love is hard for Otaku
Wotakoi: Love is hard for Otaku was released in 2019 and currently has one season. The main character of this series is Narumi, a woman who starts a new office job with a dark secret: she is an Otaku (nerd). She is determined to keep this information hidden from her new colleagues, but runs into a problem when she learns that she is working with her childhood friend Hirotaka, who is very aware of her secret. He is an Otaku himself, as are her new friends and colleagues, Hanaka and Torou.
Narumi is finally around people who accept her as she is, but still complains to Hirotaka that her last boyfriend broke up with her because of her Otaku hobbies, including her love for Yaoi. Hirotaka suggests she date him, someone who looks like her and would never judge her. She immediately accepts, but the relationship moves slowly as they are both comically awkward about anything close to romance.
2/10 Fruit Basket (Remake)
The original Fruit baskets was released in 2001, but the popular remake of the show was released in 2019 and currently has three seasons. The optimistic and always helpful Tohru lives in a tent after the death of her mother. However, things change when she meets the Sohma family, and they offer to let her live with them after her tent is crushed. She soon realizes that there is something very different about the Sohma family, discovering that they have a secret that causes each of them to turn into a different animal from the Chinese zodiac when they become emotional, weak, or hugged by the opposite sex.
She promises to keep their secret and try to help them break their curse, especially after meeting Kyo. Kyo is the black sheep of the family, just as he is the cat, the animal that never officially made it to the zodiac. Initially, Kyo pushes Tohru away due to the many dark secrets he hides, but she breaks through his barriers and the two develop a meaningful relationship that blossoms into romance.
1/10 Kaguya-Sama: Love is war!
Kaguya-Sama: Love is war! was released in 2019 and currently has two seasons. The series follows two student council members, Kaguya and Muyiki, at an exclusive academy. In the first episode, the two already have intense romantic feelings for each other, but they have not been acknowledged throughout the relationship. Why? Both are too proud to be the person to confess first. So instead, they both create complicated situations to try and get the other to admit their feelings first.
The romance is slow, as their convoluted plots tend to fail spectacularly, though a winner is always declared at the end of each plot. This anime is genuinely laugh-out-loud funny and despite how frustrating it is to watch the two characters refuse to admit how much they love each other, it has an extremely satisfying conclusion that makes it worth waiting for.