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 that draws on a variety of cultural influences. Anime has evolved into an ideal form of entertainment for Generation Z at the same time. When these two forces collide, some of the most beautiful, compelling, and heartbreaking stories ever told emerge. Love and love relationships are becoming increasingly popular plot devices in anime. And, as anime has advanced in recent decades, we now have fantastic love stories that are more profound than any live-action film.
Makoto Shinkai (Your Name, Weathering With You) handled love and relationships in a truly unique manner. He delved deeply into the feelings of love by using science fiction and supernatural elements.
12. Tamako Love Story
The end of Mochizou Ooji’s third and final school year approaches as the seasons change. He wants to go to university in Tokyo, but he has to leave behind his loved ones, especially his childhood crush, Tamako Kitashirakawa. Tamako, who has no plans for the future, will stay in town to work at her family’s small mochi shop.
As Mochizou’s departure date approaches, the shy young man must summon the courage to confess his feelings to Tamako before it’s too late—or else his love will go unnoticed for the rest of his life.
11. Voices of A Distant Star
Mikako Nagamine and Noboru Terao are close friends who will graduate from junior high school in 2046. However, following an alien attack on humanity, Mikako is chosen for a United Nations military space expedition to retaliate against the aliens. Noboru and Mikako are separated and attempt to communicate by sending emails via their cell phones. The time required to broadcast and receive messages, however, increases dramatically as the mission travels further away from Earth.
Voices of a Distant Star is a film about a couple’s struggle to stay connected despite growing distance.
10. The Wind Rises
Jirou Horikoshi leaves his village despite his nearsightedness 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 employed by the family of a young girl named Naoko Satomi; this disastrous event marks the start of more than two decades of social unrest and malaise, culminating in Japan’s surrender in World War II.
Jirou’s renowned Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter aircraft will test every fibre of his being in the years leading up to its development. Even as he recognises the role of his creations in the war and the harsh reality of his personal existence, his numerous journeys and life experiences only serve to propel him forward. As time passes, he is forced to confront an impossible question: at what cost will he pursue his lovely dream?
9. 5 Centimeters Per Second
What happens when two people who are meant to be together fall in love? Takaki Toono and Akari Shinohara were childhood friends who were separated by circumstances beyond their control. They promise to stay in touch, and while time widens the gap between them, the chain of memories endures.
The romantic drama 5 Centimeters Per Second is about the monotony and brutality of long-distance relationships. Takaki and Akari, trapped in the past and unable to create new memories, cling to the hope of seeing each other again. They go about their daily lives half-heartedly, putting themselves and others in danger.
8. Hello World
Kyoto in 2027 will have seen significant technological progress. Naomi Katagaki, a socially awkward and introverted young man with a love of books, and Ruri Ichigyou, a cold personality who is often blunt with others but shares his love of reading, live in the city. Despite their shared interests, Naomi is hesitant to approach Ruri because of her unpleasant demeanor.
A crimson aurora briefly illuminates the sky before disappearing when Naomi goes for a walk one day. Soon after, he encounters 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 occurs to Ruri soon after they begin dating. Initially sceptical of his words, Naomi of today follows his future self’s advice and approaches Ruri, determined to save her.
Hello World follows Naomi in the present day, as well as him ten years in the future. Naomi begins making plans to save Ruri with the help of his future self. Will he be able to alter history’s course?
7. A Whisker Away
Miyo Sasaki is an active high school student from a broken home with an insecure father and an overly involved stepmother whose attempts to connect with Miyo irritate her. She can’t stop herself from expressing her unusual feelings for her crush, Kento Hinode, who she sees 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 whom Kento affectionately refers to as “Tarou.” But Miyo quickly realises that she can’t help Kento with the numerous problems she overhears in her cat form, forcing her to make a difficult choice. Will she keep their cat-to-cat friendship or reveal her true identity and risk everything they have to help him as her human self?
6. Howl’s Moving Castle
That jumbled structure, hissing steam and creaking joints, smoke streaming from it as it moves… That castle houses the wonderful wizard Howl, who is well-known in Sophie Hatter’s small town for both his magical abilities and his penchant for womanizing. Sophie, the poor daughter of a hatmaker, has few prospects in life but is eager to learn the trade.
Sophie’s peaceful life is disrupted when she becomes entangled in a terrible situation and the mysterious wizard appears to save her. 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 over a previous disagreement with Howl.
In order to return to normalcy, 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.
5. The Garden of Words
Takao Akizuki, an aspiring shoemaker, skips class on a rainy morning in Tokyo to sketch patterns in a beautiful garden. This is when he meets Yukari Yukino, a lovely but enigmatic woman. Throughout the rainy season, Takao visits Yukari, offering to make her new shoes, and the two are able to soothe their hearts’ troubles simply by being together. Their personal issues, however, have not completely vanished, and as the end of the rainy season approaches, their partnership will be tested.
4. A Silent Voice
Shouya Ishida, an elementary school student, was a wild adolescent who tried to beat boredom in the cruellest ways possible. Shouko Nishimiya, a deaf student, transfers into his class and is bullied by Shouya and the other students for fun. After her mother informs the school, he is singled out and blamed for everything that has happened to her. Because Shouko has left the school, Shouya is now at the mercy of his peers. Throughout elementary and middle school, he is heartlessly ostracized, while teachers turn a blind eye.
Shouya, who is now in his third year of high school, is haunted by his youthful transgressions. He embarks on a journey of redemption in the hopes of reuniting with Shouko and making amends for his mistakes in the past.
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, is told in A Silent Voice.
3. I Want to Eat Your Pancreas
The protagonist is aloof: he is a bookworm who is completely disconnected from his surroundings. He has little interest in others and believes that no one has any interest in him. His story starts when he discovers a handwritten book titled “Living with Dying.” He quickly recognises it as Sakura Yamauchi’s private diary, his popular and cheerful classmate. She then tells him about her pancreatic disease and how she knows time is running out. Her family is the only ones who are aware of her fatal illness; even her closest friends are unaware. Despite this revelation, he has no sympathy for her plight, but caught up in the tides of Sakura’s unwavering buoyancy, he eventually agrees to accompany her for the rest of her days.
As the two polar opposites interact, their bond grows stronger, and their daily decisions become intertwined. Her erratic behaviour 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
Rain is currently falling in Tokyo, which appears to be significantly disrupting everyone’s normal pace. Hodaka Morishima, a runaway high school student, arrives in the midst of this seemingly never-ending rain, struggling to survive and eventually landing work at a small-time publisher. Hina Amano, an orphan, is looking for work as well in order to support herself and her younger brother.
Hodaka’s fate is intertwined with Hina’s as she tries to save her from shady characters and decides to flee with her. As a result, Hodaka realises Hina possesses an unusual yet incredible power: she has the ability to summon the sun whenever she prays for it. Given Tokyo’s unusual weather, Hodaka believes this skill could be useful. He recommends that Hina become a “sunshine girl,” someone who clears the sky for those in need.
Things begin to improve for them at first. However, it is well known that power is always expensive…
1. Your Name
Mitsuha Miyamizu, a high school girl, fantasises about being a boy in Tokyo, a fantasy that contrasts sharply with her current life in the countryside. Meanwhile, Taki Tachibana, a high school student working part-time and aspiring architect, lives a hectic city life.
Mitsuha wakes up in a different room one day and discovers 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 rural poverty. They begin looking for each other in order to find an explanation for this strange occurrence.
The plot of Your Name revolves around Mitsuha and Taki’s activities, which begin to have a significant impact on each other’s lives, weaving them into a fabric bound together by fate and circumstance.
BONUS: Josee, the Tiger and the Fish
Tsuneo Suzukawa, a university student who enjoys diving and is interested in marine biology, works several part-time jobs to fund his studies abroad. But then one fateful night, he meets a girl in a wheelchair, forcing him to deviate from his current path.
Kumiko, who prefers the name “Josee,” appears hostile at first. Tsuneo, on the other hand, is persuaded by Josee’s grandmother to accept the paid position as her caregiver. Tsuneo sees an opportunity to save more money for his academic goals despite his displeasure with her domineering demeanor. Tsuneo attempts to quit after putting up with Josee’s behaviour for a while, only to discover Josee’s fantasies of exploring the outside world—of experiencing a life free of her paralysing disease.
Tsuneo changes his mind and agrees to accompany Josee on her quest to discover the world’s wonders. During their time together, the two realise that the qualities that bind them together may be crucial to achieving their individual objectives.
That concludes the list; please leave a comment with your favourite romance anime film!