Anime is the universal word used to describe all types of animated work of content, regardless of its style, origination, and genre. Anime originated in Japan and has become a huge part of entertainment media all over the world.
The term “Love” is a surreal emotion that is felt and expressed, not heard and portrayed. It is not experienced in the same way by two people because it comes differently in its essence and makes our hearts soar.
Because of that, romance has had a huge part even in the animation genre ever since anime came into being from Japan. We enjoy watching the timeline of two people getting to experience romance in their own ways in an animated series depicting their love story slowly.
While live-action romance movies are widely loved, romantic anime series take the cake when it comes to audience enjoyment because we get to see a love story play out more in-depth and at a slower pace than movies. From sultry to thoughtful to wholesome to painful heartbreaks and everything in between, anime series serve it all on a golden platter to us.
So, to help you find your next romantic binge-watching series, we’ve narrowed down the 10 best romantic anime series that’ll make you feel included in the journey of the characters as they fall in love.
List of the 5 Best Romantic Anime Series on Netflix
Now that we know all about what romantic anime series including high school romance anime really stand for and provide to us in the form of entertainment, without further ado, the list of the 5 best romantic anime series on Netflix is presented in a table below:
| Series Name | Release Date | Ratings |
| Kaguya-Sama: Love is War | January 12, 2019 | IMDb Rating: 8.6/10 Crunchyroll Rating: 4.9/5 |
| Fruits Basket | April 5, 2019 | IMDb Rating: 8.6/10 Crunchyroll Rating: 4.9/5 |
| Violet Evergarden | July 4, 2018 | IMDb Rating: 8.4/10 MyAnime List Rating: 8.7/10 |
| Horimiya | January 10, 2021 | IMDb Rating: 8.1/10 Crunchyroll Rating: 4.9/5 |
| Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You | October 6, 2009 | IMDb Rating: 7.8/10 Crunchyroll Rating: 4.8/5 |
1. Kaguya-Sama: Love is War
Director: Shinichi Omata
Main Characters:
- Kaguya Shinomiya voiced by Aoi Koga
- Miyuki Shirogane voiced by Makoto Furukawa
- Chika Fujiwara voiced by Konomi Kohara
- Yu Ishigami voiced by Ryōta Suzuki
- Ai Hayasaka voiced by Yumiri Hanamori
- Miko Ino voiced by Miyu Tomita
Trailer:
Kaguya-Sama: Love is War is a romantic comedy anime series adaptation of the manga series, Kaguya-Sama: Love is War written and illustrated by Aka Akasaka. It is a production of the animation studio named A-1 Pictures and is one of the romantic anime series on Netflix that you should watch right now!
As of present, the anime series has a total of three seasons available for streaming worldwide. Each season has a total of twelve episodes, each episode having an average running time of 23 to 25 minutes.
The storyline of the anime series revolves around our titular main character, Kaguya Shinomiya. Kaguya Shinomiya is the daughter of a wealthy conglomerate family and she is portrayed as a very egocentric but talented high schooler.
She studies in the senior high school division at the Shuchiin Academy where she is the vice president of the student council. The president of the student council is the top student at the school and a hard worker well-known across the prefecture of a person named Miyuki Shirogane.
Kaguya and Miyuki are said to be each other’s perfect match and people go as far as assuming that they are dating. Although their likeness to each other is portrayed in various ways, their pride stops them from confessing to each other.
Because according to their mental fixtures, whoever confesses first loses in the game of love. The anime series follows their story as they both plot cunning schemes and come up with different ways to make each other confess or at the very least, show some signs of romantical attachment or display affection.
2. Fruits Basket
Director: Yoshihide Ibata
Main Characters:
- Tohru Honda voiced by Manaka Iwami
- Yuki Sohma voiced by Nobunaga Shimazaki
- Kyo Sohma voiced by Yuma Uchida
- Shigure Sohma voiced by Yuichi Nakamura
- Arisa Uotani voiced by Atsumi Tanezaki
Trailer:
Fruits Basket is a supernatural adventure and romance anime series adaptation of the manga series Fruits Basket written and illustrated by Natsuki Takaya. It is a series produced by the animation studio named TMS Entertainment.
The manga adaptation series has three seasons so far which are available for streaming worldwide, and there will be no more new seasons. Each of the seasons has a total of 25 episodes, except the third season, which has 13 episodes, each with an average running time of 23 to 24 minutes.
The storyline of Fruits Basket follows our main female character by the name of Tohru Honda, who is an orphan and high schooler. She became an orphan after her mother died in a car accident and has since been living with her grandfather at his house.
But due to renovations being held at the house and being victim to the insults of an unkind and unsupportive family member, she decides to move out of the house temporarily. Due to not having any other refuge to stay in and refusing to stay with one of her close friends because she doesn’t want to be a burden, she moves into…..a tent and starts supporting her own needs.
Tohru ends up discovering a nearby house, which to her surprise, is inhabited by the Sohma family, in which her popular classmate, Yuki Sohma, and his cousin, Shigure reside. However, tragedy strikes after her tent are destroyed in an unexpected landslide, and inevitably she ends up moving in with the Sohma family.
On her first night of moving in, she meets the orange-haired Kyo (Cousin of Yuki and Shigure), who unceremoniously crashes in through the ceiling and challenges Yuki to a fight. Tohru tries to stop them and ends up accidentally embracing them.
Much to her surprise, Yuki, Kyo, and Shigure turn into a rat, a cat, and a dog, respectively, due to her accidental embrace. Because of this mishap, Shigure tells Tohru about the Sohma family’s curse.
Shigure explains to Tohru that all twelve members of the Sohma family turn into an animal based on their birth month in the Chinese Zodiac. This transformation happens only when they are under a lot of stress, feel weak, or are embraced by someone of the opposite gender.
Upon experiencing and hearing about the bizarre phenomenon of the curse, Tohru is astonished but she agrees to keep their family’s secret anyway. Due to her kind and soft nature, she resolves to help their family lift the curse and restore peace to them once and for all.
3. Violet Evergarden
Director: Taichi Ishidate and Haruka Fujita
Main Characters:
- Violet Evergarden voiced by Yui Ishikawa
- Gilbert Bougainvillea voiced by Daisuke Namikawa
- Claudia Hodgins voiced by Takehito Koyasu
- Benedict Blue voiced by Koki Uchiyama
- Erica Brown voiced by Minori Chihara
- Iris Cannary voiced by Haruka Tomatsu
Trailer:
Violet Evergarden is a slow-burn romantic anime series that is adapted from the light novel, Violet Evergarden, written by Kana Akatsuki and illustrated by Akiko Takase. It is a series produced by the animation studio named Kyoto Animation exclusively for streaming on Netflix.
It is one of the most underrated yet best romantic anime series on Netflix that you can watch right now because it has only one season with a proper ending and an OVA i.e, an original video animation episode. The one season has a total of 13 episodes, each with an average running time of 23 to 24 minutes.
The storyline follows the journey of our main female character, Violet Evergarden, who is an emotionally detached young ex-soldier returning home from war. We follow their journey of Violet as she settles down into postwar life and starts reconnecting to her feelings to find a purpose in her life.
In the story, a past timeline shows us a prior unfinished prototype named the Auto Memory Dolls for typewriters. It was invented by a certain Professor Orlando who is portrayed as a researcher on mechanical dolls and the authority for letterpress printing facilities.
It is shown that his wife, Molly, who was a former novelist, became blind and could not write anymore after losing her eyesight. Driven by that cause, Professor Orlando created the first ever Auto Memories Doll for his wife, which is meant to record and register everything said by a human voice.
At the present time, the recording and registering process are referred to as the term “writing for others.” The usage of the invention is commonly seen in postal companies where ghostwriters do the writing job.
Our main female character, Violet Evergarden, is employed as a ghostwriter at a postal company where she is given the job of writing letters solely based on connecting one person to another using the Auto Memories Doll. She juggles all these problems and responsibilities in her life while trying to figure out the meaning behind the last words of her mentor and guardian, Major Gilbert Bougainvillea which was: “I love you.”
4. Horimiya
Director: Masashi Ishihama
Main Characters:
- Kyouko Hori voiced by Haruka Tomatsu
- Izumi Miyamura voiced by Kouki Uchiyama
- Tooru Ishikawa voiced by Seiichirou Yamashita
- Yuki Yoshikawa voiced by Yurie Kozakai
- Kakeru Sengoku voiced by Nobuhiko Okamoto
- Remi Ayasaki voiced by M.A.O
Trailer:
Horimiya is a slice-of-life romance and comedy i.e, a romcom anime series adaptation of the manga series of the same name written by HERO and illustrated by Daisuke Hagiwara. It is mainly an adaptation of the original webcomic named Hori-San to Miyamura-kun written and illustrated by HERO.
The series is produced by an animation studio named CloverWorks. The series has one complete season with a total of thirteen episodes and each of the thirteen episodes has an average running time of 23 to 24 minutes.
The storyline begins by introducing us to the main female character, Kyouko Hori, who is a high schooler admired by everyone for her friendly demeanor, polite attitude, and academic accomplishments. But in reality, Hori has to hide another side of herself, the side that has to take care of her younger brother and do all the housework because her parents have to be away from home for work.
Because of her home responsibilities, Hori is left with no opportunity whatsoever to socialize outside or hang out with friends outside of school. On the other hand, we are introduced to the main male character, Izumi Miyamura who is portrayed as a quiet, brooding, and gloomy glasses-wearing otaku.
But his actual personality is that of a gentle person who is hopeless at studying. He has long hair up to his shoulders which hides his nine different piercings and he has a tattoo on his left shoulder along with one on his back.
By sheer coincidence, Hori and Miyamura cross paths on the road while they are outside of school and are shocked to find each other’s appearance to be completely different. But the seemingly polar opposites of a pair seem to form a connection that quickly turns into a friendship, through which they share their personalities which are hidden and never shown to other people.
5. Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You
Director: Hiro Kaburaki
Main Characters:
- Sawako Koronuma voiced by Mamiko Noto
- Shōta Kazehaya voiced by Daisuke Namikawa
- Ayane Yano voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro
- Chizuru Yoshida voiced by Yuko Sanpei
- Ryu Sanada voiced by Yuichi Nakamura
- Kazuichi “Pin” Arai voiced by Yūki Ono
Trailer:
Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You is a romantic anime series adaptation of the Japanese manga written and illustrated by Karuho Shiina. The anime series is produced by an animation studio named Production I.G. and it originally aired on Nippon TV.
The anime series has two complete seasons with a whopping total of 38 episodes which makes it one of the best romantic anime series on Netflix that you can watch right now. The first season has a total of 25 episodes while the second season has a total of 13 episodes, where each of the episodes has an average running time of 21 to 22 minutes.
The storyline is set on the island of Hokkaido, where all the happenings play out. The story focuses mainly on the main female character, Sawako Koronuma, who is a 15-year-old high school freshman.
She is given the nickname “Sadako” by her classmates due to her appearance resembling that of the ghost character in the movie The Ring. Because of her appearance, she has also always been feared and misunderstood.
False rumors around the school also state that she can see ghosts and curse people however she desires. However, this is all false because she is actually a sweet and demure young girl who only wishes to be helpful to others but due to always being shunned aside, the idea of making friends has become a foreign concept to her.
But everything changes when the popular guy, Shōta Kazehaya, starts talking to her and strikes up a friendship with her. She finds herself involved in a completely new world surrounded by new people.
She begins making new friends and talking to different people. For all of this, she can’t thank Kazehaya enough as he gave her all of these new opportunities.
Inevitably, Sawako and Kazehaya slowly begin to fall in love with each other, and their friendship blooms into a sweet love story. We get to see their journey together through circumstances and many obstacles standing in the way.
Conclusion
Romantic anime series are one of the best binge-watching forms of entertainment media to exist in the world of anime because it allows us to journey through a different realm of stories. It allows us to get an insight into the romantic lives of couples portrayed through animation.
It shows us that love is not by any means an easy commitment and experience. It makes us go through a rollercoaster of emotions as we watch our favorite characters struggle in their love lives as they go through obstacles.
We get to relate to them on a spiritual level and learn something new about different emotions every time. They inspire us to treat our loved ones with the utmost care and attention.
So what are you waiting for? Dive straight into the world of romantic TV shows and give yourself a nice dosage of some wholesome love stories in the Japanese anime world. Turn on your TV and choose one of the 5 best romantic anime series on Netflix to binge-watch with some snacks and an eager mind ready to absorb a world of new emotions!
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