Warning: consume in small portions to prevent a sweetness overdose.
As the year is coming to an end, it's time to wrap up some things. We've got a lot of fun and interesting romance shows in 2023, all of them dealing with their love stories in unique ways, and we're here to give you a summary of the most heartwarming and fluffy anime that we've stumbled upon. Grab a hot chocolate, load your streaming service, and dive into the world of nicely portrayed relationships.
My Happy Marriage (Watashi no Shiawase na Kekkon)
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A story of an arranged marriage that turned out well: both parties are incredibly in love with each other. Sure, it doesn't happen overnight, their relationship grows slowly, and at its base, this anime is a Cinderella story with an addition of superpowers. The plot itself isn't extremely multilayered, but the portrayal of the main couple of Miyo and Kiyoka is extremely sweet and charming — just what we need sometimes.
Ikenaikyo: I'm Giving the Disgraced Noble Lady I Rescued a Crash Course in Naughtiness (Konyaku Haki sareta Reijou wo Hirotta Ore ga, Ikenai Koto wo Oshiekomu)
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Don't be distraught by the title: the "naughtiness" is not what you think it is. In this series, Charlotte, a girl who's been betrayed by her country, is saved by a misanthropic genius magician Allen who decides that he can fix Charlotte's bad experiences by spoiling her rotten and teaching her to have some agency and trust in herself. The show has wonderful main and side characters, and Charlotte really shows a lot of progress as she goes through Allen's lessons (which include indulging in sweets and shopping, petting magical creatures, and doing boxing — you know, naughty things).
Insomniacs After School (Kimi wa Houkago Insomnia)
The vibe of this anime is serene, calm, unhurried — the night setting dictates its rules. It's about two high school kids, Nakami and Magari, who suffer from sleeping disorders but find the old observatory in school soothing. As they spend more time with each other, their feelings bloom — gradually, organically, through their shared problems and shared passions. The flow of the show is very calm, but nonetheless wholesome.
My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999 (Yamada-kun to Lv999 no Koi wo Suru)
Buckle up, gamers, it's time for you to find love — in a way that seems actually quite down-to-earth and not just one of the ecchi fantasies. Akane gets dumped by a guy and decides that escapism is gonna help her live through that — so she indulges in an MMO that they played together. But she stumbles upon Yamada and kinda latches on him: first, she uses him as a shoulder to cry on, but then they start seeing more of each other. The characterization of Akane is especially nice: her approach to romance is very realistic, albeit a little bit naive.
The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague (Koori Zokusei Danshi to Cool na Douryou Joshi)
A workplace romance anime! It's very relaxing, the whole premise focusing on the iciness adds to this slow and comfortable vibe. It's cute and wholesome, the way two characters — Himuro, who freezes everything around him when he gets nervous, and Guyutsuki, who calms him down by her mere presence and simple advice — get closer to each other and slowly fall in love. And if their dynamic gets boring, the side cast comes to help.
Skip and Loafer (Skip To Loafer)
Romance is not one of the main focal points in Skip and Loafer, it's much more than that. It's hard to find an anime that would've portrayed the emergence of a group of friends at school so realistically. Realism also applies to the romance between two main characters, Mitsumi, who came to Tokyo to study politics, and Sousuke, whom she stumbles upon on her first day. They gradually build their trust, gradually open up, and gradually let each other into their lives.
Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts (Niehime to Kemono no Ou)
Now this anime is quite unusual because in addition to the romance plot between Sariphi, a human girl, and Leo, the King of Beasts, there's another one focused deeply on politics. Sariphi is a sacrifice to Leo, but they end up combining their efforts in their goal to create peace between their fractions. This adds a whole new level to the premise, and a very well-written love story in this setting shines even brighter.
Tomo-chan Is A Girl! (Tomo-chan wa Onnanoko!)
We talked about this show when we were describing unusual shoujo romances. Tomo-chan is in love with her childhood friend Jun, but to Jun she's just "one of the boys" — he doesn't see a girl in her. And so she embarks on a quest to change Jun's perception of herself. It's a very wholesome show that subverts some of the shoujo stereotypes and shows proper character growth.
The Dangers in My Heart (Boku no Kokoro no Yabai Yatsu)
Love and hate are not that far apart from each other, and this show proves that. While at first Kyoutarou wants to see his classmate Anna dead, he reluctantly learns more about her, as he keeps seeing her in the library where he seeks refuge from the outside world, and Anna ends up being a pretty nice person. Slowly she morphs into someone who he wants to protect, and not destroy, and the way Kyoutarou freaks out at this development is hilarious.
The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten (Otonari no Tenshi-sama ni Itsunomanika Dame Ningen ni Sareteita Ken)
Sometimes we all just want to be taken care of, right? To be tucked in, cherished, handled with utmost care. This anime is the wish fulfillment for a fantasy like that. Shiina is nicknamed "Angel" for a reason: she's a pure-hearted girl who cannot leave anyone, including Fujimiya, her classmate and neighbor, in trouble. And he gets in this trouble because he lent her an umbrella — and got ill after that. Shiina nurses him back to health, but her help doesn't stop there: she starts taking care of his apartment too, and slowly seeps into his life.