Japanese anime is an adaptation of their famous comics or popularly called ‘manga’. With their gripping plots, versatile characters, beautiful representation of their culture and finally the way their stories are structured, all of these factors have made them a cult favourite. An anime version on these comics is just the kind of icing on the cake most of the manga mongers need. New anime’s get released every year but there are a few that leave an impression.
Here are the Top 6 Japanese romcom animes to watch
6. Marmalade boy
Miki Koishikawa enjoys a simple life as a high school student but her ordinary life takes a quick u-turn when her parents decide to remarry. I can only reveal this much as the twist in this anime is revealed in the very first episode which would leave its audience in a rather awkward situation and I don’t want to take that moment away from you guys. The plot revolves around Miki and Matsuura Yuu who attend the same high school and grow fond of each other and eventually fall in love. But things get more complicated when Miki’s best friend expresses his feelings for her and tries to keep them separate. This anime also has subplots that involve the lives of their friends.
5. My little monster /Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun
The female protagonists Shizuku Mizutani is a loner who does not like to socialize and only cares about her grades. Things change when she meets Haru Yoshida who is misunderstood to be a delinquent. When Shizuku stands up for Haru when his friends talk behind his back he proclaims Shizuku as his friend and confesses his feelings for her.
Though she ignores him in the beginning he keeps pursuing her. Slowly their friendship progresses and Shizuku also begins to develop feelings for Haru. So the entire plot revolves around how Shizuku and Haru slowly change their perspective about the world and fall in love.
4. Say I love you/Sukitte li na yo
Mei Tachibana is a high school student who leads a lonely life because of a bitter experience in grade school which left a mark in her life to never have friends. Due to the dramatic turn of events, she encounters a popular student Yamato Kurosawa. Mei’s nature intrigues Yamato which eventually draws him towards her. She starts developing feelings for Yamato when he saves her from a stalker and they start dating. But like in every relationship Yamato’s popularity sometimes concerns Mei which leads to some misunderstandings, only to become stronger after overcoming them. After Yamato’s entry into her life Mei’s personality changes and she starts acting less awkward around people. She even overcomes her fear of trust and friendship and makes some friends.
3. Kaichou Wa Maid Sama
Misaki Ayizawa is the first female president of her school which recently transitioned to co-ed from an all-boys school. She uses Aikido, a form of martial arts, to incur discipline in the boys. Due to this style of disciplinary style, the boys call her ‘Demon President’. This dynamic beast of a personality has an embarrassing secret. She works at maid latte where she has to dress like a maid and act super cute with the customers(polar opposite to her personality in school) to help her family pay bills. One day her cover gets blown when she encounters Takumi Usui at the cafe. If the school gets to know that she works at a cafe then they will never respect her as a president. But Usui keeps this secret to himself and tries to get close to Aizawa. The plot revolves around how Usui uses this secret to twist her around his fingers and how Ayizawa tries to cover her act and eventually grow fond of Usui.
2. Ouran high school host club/Ouran Koukou Host Club
Haruhi Fujioka is a bright student who on scholarship gets admitted into the one and only Ouran Academy, an elite school for students who come from highly influential and rich families. Due to some unfortunate turn of events, she ends up being a member of the host club led by Tamaki Suou. Because of Haruhi’s dressing and her short hair the host club members initially mistake her for a boy. But when Tamaki realizes that she is a girl he starts developing feelings for her. The plot revolves around how the host club members and Haruhi become close friends over helping others to overcome their fears and help people to get close to their loved one’s. The Ouran high school host club is a funny take on how wealthy people lead their day to day life as opposed to a normal middle-class person like Haruhi. This show is more inclined towards the funny genre than a Romcom and the funniest on this list
1. Ao Haru Ride/Blue Spring Ride
Finally my favourite on this list. The comic itself sold over 5.84 million copies and released in Germany, France, Italy, Taiwan and Poland. Yoshioka Futaba was an attractive girl back in middle school which drew a lot of boys towards her. This attention from boys ignited jealousy in all the other girls in her school which left her with no friends. But she only had her eyes on one boy, Kou Tanaka. Their feelings were mutual but due to Kou’s parent’s separation, he transfers to a different school leaving Yoshioka all alone. Cut to the present as a high schooler Yoshioka completely transforms her personality a tomboy. She pretends to be non-girly so that she can have friends ,but they turn out to be just pretend friends as they do not stand up to her when she gets into trouble. Somewhere during this time, she encounters Kou after 3 years ,who joined the same school as her. But this Kou also changed completely from a soft-spoken boy to a hard-hearted man. The plot revolves around how Yoshioka finds her way into Kou’s heart while accepting his new personality at the same time awakening the soft side of him. She also makes some loyal friends on this journey. The anime version only aired 13 episodes but I highly recommend reading the manga as-well ,as the story takes more twists and turns moving forward. I need to specially mention the music of this anime. It is out of the world. It is so soothing that you can listen to it sitting in your balcony on a nice evening.
So these are some of the anime’s which we consider as classics as they are a perfect amalgamation of comedy and romance.
