From I Want to Eat Your Pancreas (2018) to Howl’s Moving Castle (2004), here are 12 Best Romance Anime Movies To Watch.
Romance is a popular film genre with a wide range of cultural influences. Simultaneously, anime has evolved into an ideal form of entertainment for Generation Z. When these two forces meet, the result is some of the most beautiful, compelling, and heartbreaking stories ever told. In anime, love and love relationships are becoming increasingly popular plot devices. And, thanks to the advancement of anime in recent decades, we now have fantastic love stories that are more profound than any live-action film.
The way renowned anime filmmaker Makoto Shinkai (Your Name, Weathering With You) handled love and relationships was truly unique. He used science fiction and supernatural elements to delve deeply into the feelings of love.
12. Tamako Love Story
As the seasons change, the end of Mochizou Ooji’s third and final school year approaches. He wishes to attend a university in Tokyo but must leave behind his loved ones, particularly his childhood crush, Tamako Kitashirakawa. Tamako, who has no future plans, will remain in town to work at her family’s small mochi shop.
As Mochizou’s departure date approaches, the shy young man must muster the courage to confess his feelings to Tamako before it’s too late—or his love will go unnoticed forever.
11. Voices of A Distant Star
Noboru Terao and Mikako Nagamine are close friends who will soon graduate from junior high school in the year 2046. However, after an extraterrestrial attack on humanity, Mikako is selected for a United Nations military space expedition to retaliate against the aliens. Noboru and Mikako are separated and try to communicate by sending emails to each other via their cell phones. However, as the mission travels further away from Earth, the time required to broadcast and receive messages increases dramatically.
The film Voices of a Distant Star is about a couple’s struggle to stay connected despite the growing distance between them.
10. The Wind Rises
Despite his nearsightedness, Jirou Horikoshi leaves his village to study aeronautical engineering at Tokyo Imperial University for one simple reason: to design and build planes like his hero, Italian aircraft pioneer Giovanni Battista Caproni. His arrival in the capital coincides with the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, during which he saves a maid working for the family of a young girl named Naoko Satomi; this disastrous event marks the beginning of more than two decades of social unrest and malaise, culminating in Japan’s surrender in World War II.
Jirou’s famed Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter aircraft will put every fibre of his being to the test in the years leading up to its development. His numerous journeys and life experiences only serve to propel him forward, even as he recognises the role of his creations in the war as well as the harsh reality of his personal existence. He is forced to confront an impossible question as time passes: at what cost will he pursue his lovely dream?
9. 5 Centimeters Per Second
What happens when two people fall in love but are not meant to be together? Takaki Toono and Akari Shinohara were childhood friends severed by events beyond their control. They promise to stay in touch, and while the passage of time widens the chasm between them, the chain of memories remains.
5 Centimeters Per Second is a romantic drama about the monotony and brutality of long-distance relationships. Takaki and Akari cling to the hope of seeing each other again, trapped in the past and unable to create new memories. They go about their daily lives half-heartedly, endangering themselves and others.
8. Hello World
Kyoto in 2027 has seen significant technological advancement. In the city live Naomi Katagaki, a socially awkward and introverted young man with a love of books, and Ruri Ichigyou, a girl with a cold personality who is often blunt with others but shares his love of reading. Despite their common interests, Naomi is wary of approaching Ruri due to her unpleasant demeanour.
When Naomi goes for a walk one day, a crimson aurora briefly illuminates the sky before disappearing. Soon after, he meets a three-legged crow and a mysterious hooded man who reveals himself to be Naomi from the future, revealing that he has come to change an impending sad incident that happens to Ruri shortly after they start dating. Taking his words with a grain of salt at first, Naomi of today follows his future self’s advice and approaches Ruri, determined to save her.
Hello World focuses on Naomi in the present day, alongside himself ten years in the future. Naomi begins his preparations to save Ruri with the assistance of his future self. Will he be able to change the course of history?
7. A Whisker Away
Miyo Sasaki is an active high school student from a broken home that includes her insecure father and an overly involved stepmother whose attempts to connect with Miyo are irritating. She can’t stop herself from expressing her unconventional feelings for her crush, seeing Kento Hinode as a safe haven from her own problems.
While Miyo is unable to attract Kento’s attention, she is able to connect with him as a white cat, affectionately referred to as “Tarou” by Kento. But Miyo quickly realises that she can’t assist Kento with the numerous problems she overhears in her cat form and is forced to make a difficult decision. Will she maintain their cat-to-cat friendship, or will she reveal her identity and risk everything they have to help him as her human self?
6. Howl’s Moving Castle
That jumbled structure, hissing steam and groaning joints, smoke streaming from it as it moves on its own… That castle is home to the wonderful wizard Howl, who is well-known in Sophie Hatter’s small town for his magical abilities as well as his penchant for womanising. Sophie, the poor daughter of a hatmaker, has little hope for the future but is eager to learn the trade.
Sophie’s peaceful life, however, takes an exciting turn when she becomes entangled in a terrible situation and the mysterious wizard appears to rescue her. Unfortunately, despite the brief encounter, the vain and angry Witch of the Waste casts a curse on the maiden, turning her into an elderly woman, out of jealousy sparked by a previous disagreement with Howl.
Sophie must accompany Howl and a slew of strange companions—from a powerful fire demon to a hopping scarecrow—in his living castle on a perilous adventure as a fierce war tears their kingdom apart in order to return to normalcy.
5. The Garden of Words
On a rainy morning in Tokyo, Takao Akizuki, an aspiring shoemaker, skips class to sketch patterns in a beautiful garden. This is when he meets Yukari Yukino, a beautiful but mysterious woman. Takao continues to visit Yukari throughout the rainy season, offering to make her new shoes, and the two are able to soothe their hearts’ troubles simply by being together. Their personal problems, however, have not completely disappeared, and as the end of the rainy season approaches, their partnership will be put to the test.
4. A Silent Voice
As a wild adolescent, Shouya Ishida, an elementary school student, strove to beat boredom in the cruellest ways possible. Shouko Nishimiya, a deaf student, transfers into his class, and Shouya and the other students bully her for fun. He is singled out and blamed for everything that has happened to her after her mother informs the school. Shouya is now at the mercy of his peers, as Shouko has left the school. He is heartlessly ostracised throughout elementary and middle school, while teachers turn a blind eye.
Shouya, now in his third year of high school, is haunted by his youthful misdeeds. He embarks on a journey of redemption, hoping to meet Shouko again and make amends for his mistakes in the past.
A Silent Voice tells the touching story of Shouya’s reunion with Shouko and his sincere attempts to redeem himself, all while haunted by the ghosts of his past.
3. I Want to Eat Your Pancreas
The aloof protagonist: a bookworm who is completely disconnected from his surroundings. He is uninterested in others and believes that no one is interested in him. His tale begins when he comes across a handwritten book titled “Living with Dying.” He quickly recognises it as his popular, cheerful classmate Sakura Yamauchi’s private diary. She then tells him about her pancreatic disease and how she is aware that her time is running out. Only her family is aware of her deadly illness; even her closest friends are unaware. Despite this revelation, he has no sympathy for her plight, but caught in the tides of Sakura’s persistent buoyancy, he eventually agrees to accompany her for the rest of her days.
As the two polar opposites interact, their bond strengthens, intertwining through their daily decisions. Her unpredictability and apparent lack of concern disrupt the protagonist’s emotionless flow of existence, eventually opening his heart as he realises and accepts the true meaning of life.
2. Weathering With You
Tokyo is currently experiencing rain showers, which appear to be significantly disrupting everyone’s normal pace. Hodaka Morishima, a runaway high school student, arrives in the midst of this seemingly endless downpour, struggling to survive and eventually landing work at a small-time publisher. Hina Amano, an orphan, is also looking for work to support herself and her younger brother.
Both fates are intertwined as Hodaka tries to save Hina from shady characters and decides to flee with her. As a result, Hodaka realises Hina possesses an unusual yet incredible power: she can summon the sun whenever she prays for it. Given Tokyo’s unusual weather, Hodaka sees this skill as a possibility. He suggests Hina become a “sunshine girl,” someone who clears the sky for people in need.
Things start to look up for them at first. However, it is well known that power always comes at a high cost…
1. Your Name
Mitsuha Miyamizu, a high school girl, fantasises about living the life of a boy in Tokyo, a fantasy that stands in stark contrast to her current life in the countryside. Meanwhile, Taki Tachibana, a high school student juggling a part-time job and aspiring to be an architect, leads a hectic city life.
Mitsuha awakens one day in a different room and finds herself living her ideal life in Tokyo—but in Taki’s body! Taki, on the other hand, is forced to live Mitsuha’s life in the impoverished countryside. They start looking for each other in search of an explanation for this strange phenomenon.
Your Name is centered on Mitsuha and Taki’s activities, which begin to have a major impact on each other’s lives, weaving them into a fabric linked together by fate and circumstance.
BONUS: Josee, the Tiger and the Fish
Tsuneo Suzukawa, a university student with a love of diving and an interest in marine biology, works multiple part-time jobs to pay for his studies abroad. But then he meets a girl in a wheelchair one fateful night, forcing him to deviate from his current path.
Kumiko, who prefers the name “Josee,” comes across as unfriendly at first. Tsuneo, on the other hand, is persuaded to accept the paid position as Josee’s caregiver by Josee’s grandmother. Despite his displeasure with her domineering demeanour, Tsuneo sees an opportunity to save more money for his academic goals. After putting up with Josee’s behaviour for a while, Tsuneo attempts to quit, only to discover Josee’s fantasies of exploring the outside world—of experiencing a life free of her paralysing disease.
Tsuneo reconsiders and agrees to accompany Josee on her journey to discover the world’s wonders. During their time together, the two discover that the qualities that bring them together may be critical to achieving their individual goals.
That concludes the list; please share your favourite romance anime film in the comments section!
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