My Love Story!! is a slightly off-beat but absolutely delightful shojo manga/anime series about second chances. The hulking male lead, Takeo Goda, doesn't have much luck with girls because most girls his age are more interested in his conventionally handsome friend, Makoto Sunakawa. Takeo the gentle giant still had a good heart, though, and he got a chance to share his kindness when he met a girl named Rinko Yamato.
Against all odds, Rinko fell in love with Takeo rather than Makoto, launching a pleasant, inspiring romance about people seeing past appearances and understanding one another more deeply. Any shojo fan who enjoyed the story of Takeo finding love despite his appearance may also enjoy some similar romance anime, most of which are about people finding love despite their unusual quirks. Such anime send a clear message: everyone can and should find true love, even if they look or act differently than everyone else.
10 Best New Gen Romance Anime Tropes
Romance tropes may not be new, but elements like the reserved kuudere or a cranky tsundere are finding new life in new gen romance anime.Komi Can't Communicate Is About a Silent Girl Looking For Friends
Komi Can't Communicate
An elite and aloof schoolgirl is in fact severely withdrawn and anxious about communicating with others. An ordinary schoolboy befriends her and helps her to open up and talk with people.
Release DateOctober 21, 2021
Cast Rie Murakawa, Gakuto Kajiwara, Aoi Koga, Rina Hidaka
Main GenreAnime
GenresDrama, Comedy, Anime
RatingTV-14
Seasons2
Komi Can't Communicate Scores:
- MyAnimeList: 7.88
- IMDb: 7.7
Komi Can't Communicate, just like My Love Story!!, is a romance anime featuring a misunderstood protagonist who has a big heart no one can see. Takeo Goda couldn't find a girlfriend because of his brutish appearance, while Shoko Komi in Komi Can't Communicate can't find love or make friends because of her overwhelming social anxiety.
Fortunately, Shoko Komi will meet someone who supports her despite her social anxiety: Hitohito Tadano, her classmate. Even if Hitohito is plain and forgettable in his classmates' eyes, he is an empathetic and gracious boy who will become Komi's first friend and help her achieve her goal of making 99 more friends for a full 100. In the process, Komi and Hitohito just might fall for one another, slowly and surely.
One-Week Friends Shows a Girl Finding Love Despite Her Memory Problem
One Week Friends
Kaori has distanced herself from her peers due to a condition that causes her memories to reset every week, but one of her classmates is determined to become friends with her no matter what.
Release DateApril 7, 2014
Main GenreAnime
GenresDrama, Comedy
RatingTV-14
Seasons1
StudioBrain's Base
CreatorMatcha Hazuki
Number of Episodes12
Main CastYoshitaka Yamaya, Sora Amamiya and Yoshimasa Hosoya
One Week Friends Does an Admirable Job of Exploring the Nature of Loneliness
One Week Friends is a slice-of-life series that explores what life is like when someone can't remember their friends.One-Week Friends Scores:
- MyAnimeList: 7.52
- IMDb: 7.0
One-Week Friends is one of many anime series that depicts a seemingly unlovable character getting a miraculous chance to make friends and build a strong romance after all, just like My Love Story!!. In One-Week Friends, the high schooler Kaori Fujimiya is a kind and likable girl, but she also has a memory problem preventing her from forming social connections.
For unknown reasons, Kaori loses all memories of her friends every Monday morning, preventing her from making friends or looking for a lover. She has since given up on making friends, but then her classmate Yuuki Hase will give her another chance, determined to become her friend no matter the memory reset. With the help of a notebook and Yuuki's passion, Kaori can make friends after all and might find love, too.
Skip and Loafer's Protagonist is All Business But Still Might Find Love
Skip and Loafer
Mitsumi moves to Tokyo to attend a prestigious school and achieve her dreams of making positive change in the world. But while she's got book smarts, she soon finds herself inexperienced in big city norms, and struggles to make friends.
Release DateApril 4, 2023
CastAkinori Egoshi, Tomoyo Kurosawa, Megumi Han, Maaya Uchida
Main GenreAnime
GenresDrama, Comedy, Anime
RatingTV-14
Seasons1
StudioP.A. Works
Skip and Loafer Scores:
- MyAnimeList: 8.13
- IMDb: 7.9
Skip and Loafer's heroine, Mitsumi Iwakura, is a country girl with an analytical mind who is determined to become a politician someday and make life better for Japan's rural citizens. She has a total ESTJ personality type that doesn't leave much room for romance, but when Mitsumi arrives at her new high school, she will learn that business and romance both have a place in her life.
After some awkward early fumbles, Mitsumi will make some new friends — including a charming boy named Sosuke Shima, an easygoing classmate of hers who will easily become her friend. What follows is a slow-burn romance between a great guy and a girl who presents herself as all business all the time, but there's more to Mitsumi than her future aspirations.
Kubo Won't Let Me Be Invisible Gives the Unpopular Boy a Chance at Romance
Kubo Won't Let Me Be Invisible
Junta Shiraishi wants a fulfilling youth, but achieving his dream seems next to impossible. No one around him seems to notice his existence except for Nagisa Kubo, the girl who sits next to him. Kubo makes a habit of teasing Shiraishi, often pushing him into situations that provoke his anxiety. Little does he realize, with Kubo on his tail, his life might not be near as boring as he thought.
Release DateJanuary 10, 2023
CastAyana Taketatsu, Sora Amamiya, Miku It, Kengo Kawanishi, Ai Kakuma, Kana Hanazawa
Main GenreComedy
GenresAnimation, Romance, Comedy
RatingTV-14
Seasons1
StudioPine Jam
Characters ByNene Yukimori
CreatorNene Yukimori
DistributorSentai Filmworks
Main CharactersNagisa Kubo, Junta Shiraishi, Akina Kubo, Saki Kubo, Hazuki Kudo, Tama Taira
Production CompanyPine Jam
Story ByNene Yukimori
WritersYya Takahashi
Number of Episodes12
Kubo Won't Let Me Be Invisible Scores:
- MyAnimeList: 7.57
- IMDb: 7.1
Kubo Won't Let Me Be Invisible is a charming little romance anime set in high school, featuring the shy Junta Shiraishi, who is so outwardly unremarkable that people often literally cannot see him. Junta accepted that as his fate, but then his delightful classmate Nagisa Kubo noticed him and decided to be his friend.
Like My Love Story!!, the Kubo anime depicts a male lead who seems unlikely to get any girl's attention, but he will get a rare chance at love and won't waste it. Junta will slowly but surely accept Nagisa as his friend and get to know her better, all while timidly trying to build a romance with her and see if he can find true happiness. Kubo, for her part, is more outgoing but is equally bashful about romance, so it's a slow burn for both her and Junta.
A Sign of Affection Is About a Sweet Romance in a Silent World
A Sign of Affection
Yuki Itose is a college student who's into friends and fashion. She's also deaf. A chance meeting on a train leads to a serious crush... But can it grow into something more?
Release DateJanuary 6, 2024
GenresRomance
Creatorsuu Morishita
Production CompanyAjia-do Animation Works
Streaming Service(s)Crunchyroll
How A Sign of AffectionCommunicates the Five Love Languages in the Anime Medium
A Sign of Affection creatively uses the five love languages to develop Yuki and Itsuomi's relationship.A Sign of Affection Scores:
- MyAnimeList: 8.34
- IMDb: 7.9
A Sign of Affection is one of the newest romance anime out there right now — a wonderful new shojo anime starring Yuki Itose, a college student who lives in a silent world. Yuki is deaf, which tends to limit her social circle, but she does cherish her few friends and is ready to make some more. Most of all, Yuki will befriend a handsome boy her age named Itsuomi Nagi, who is always curious to explore new things.
Itsuomi isn't just handsome and friendly; he is also eager to learn sign language so he can get to know Yuki better and connect with her on her own terms. Overall, this anime is a great example of deaf representation done right, showing a girl who has real challenges with her disability but doesn't let that keep her down. Yuki is ready for friendship, work, and love, and Itsuomi is right there by her side.
My Dress-Up Darling Shows a Quiet, Unpopular Boy Finding True Love
My Dress-Up Darling
Traumatized by a childhood incident with a friend who took exception to his love of traditional dolls, doll-artisan hopeful Wakana Gojo passes his days as a loner, finding solace in a room at his high school.
Release DateJanuary 8, 2022
Main GenreAnimation
GenresRomance, Comedy
RatingTV-14
Seasons1 Season
Characters ByHina Suguta, Shoya Ishige, AmaLee
CreatorShinichi Fukuda
Production CompanyAniplex, CloverWorks, Square Enix Company
My Dress-Up Darling Scores:
- MyAnimeList: 8.2
- IMDb: 8.0
Takeo Goda is a misunderstood but good-hearted boy in My Love Story!! with a kind soul behind his brutish face, so he would understand Wakana Gojo from My Dress-Up Darling. While Wakana may have ordinary looks, he has an unusual hobby for a boy: hina dolls. It's a feminine hobby that leads people to misunderstand or mock him, so he gets used to having very few, if any, friends.
One day, Wakana's genki girl classmate, Marin Kitagawa, will ask Wakana to help her with her cosplay hobby, a request that changes both their lives. Marin doesn't see Wakana as a weirdo with a ridiculous hobby; she sees a hard-working friend with respectable tailoring skills, showing what an open-minded person she really is. A solid friendship and slow-burn romance will soon follow. It isn't just wish fulfillment, either — it's about opposites attracting and complementing one another.
Tomo-Chan is a Girl! Stars a Girl Grappling With Her Feminine Identity
Tomo-chan Is a Girl!
Tomo is a tomboy who has been in love with her childhood friend Junichiro, and strives to make him see her as a romantic candidate.
Release DateJanuary 4, 2023
CastKhei Amasaki, Sally Amaki, Rina Hidaka, Rie Takahashi, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, Kaito Ishikawa
Main GenreComedy
GenresRomance, Comedy
RatingNot Yet Rated
Seasons1
FranchiseTomo-chan Is a Girl!
Characters ByFumita Yanagida
DistributorCrunchyroll
Main CharactersTomo Aizawa, Junichiro Kubota, Misuzu Gundo, Carol Olston, Kosuke Misaki, Tatsumi Tanabe
Production CompanyLay-duce
Story ByFumita Yanagida
WritersMegumi Shimizu
Number of Episodes13
Tomo-Chan is a Girl! Scores:
- MyAnimeList: 7.8
- IMDb: 7.6
Tomo-Chan is a Girl! is one of many romance anime whose protagonist is totally misunderstood and gives off the wrong vibe. Tomo Aizawa is an energetic, tomboyish girl who loves karate, which tends to intimidate other girls and weakens her appeal to boys who favor more traditionally feminine girls. Meanwhile, Tomo's friend and love interest Jun thinks of her as one of the boys — or at least, he acts that way.
Tomo is a different person than her behavior and lifestyle would suggest. Her love of karate is quite real, but she also has a genuine feminine side that hardly anyone can see, and Tomo hopes she can express it to convince Jun to love her back. Along the way, Tomo must carefully balance her personality's two sides and make sure she doesn't give up a part of who she is.
Wotakoi: Love is Hard For Otaku Shows Geeks Falling For One Another Without Judgment
Wotakoi: Love Is Hard For Otaku
A gaming otaku and a fujoshi reunite for the first time since middle school at work.
Release DateApril 12, 2018
CastKent It, Arisa Date, Miyuki Sawashiro, Tomokazu Sugita
Main GenreAnime
GenresRomantic Comedy, Romance, Comedy
RatingTV-14
Seasons1
CreatorFujita
How Wotakoi's Narumi and Hirotaka Set the Perfect Standard for Low-Maintenance Relationships
Wotakoi: Love Is Hard For Otaku is one of the best rom-com anime that depicts the realities of being in a relationship with an otaku.Wotakoi: Love is Hard For Otaku Scores:
- MyAnimeList: 7.93
- IMDb: 7.5
Wotakoi: Love is Hard For Otaku is a josei romance anime whose protagonists will soon find love in the office, continuing a delightful trend of office romance for 20-something audiences. In Wotakoi, the four protagonists are all total geeks who love manga, anime, video games, and cosplay, but they don't want their "normie" co-workers to know that, for fear of judgment or mockery.
Most of all, protagonist Narumi Momose is determined to hide her geeky hobbies, especially since her previous boyfriend dumped her for being an otaku. Like Takeo Goda, Narumi fears she can't find true love being her authentic self, but her childhood friend Hirotaka Nifuji sees things differently. He's ready to date Narumi and possibly fall for her since he knows and accepts the real Narumi for who she is.
Horimiya Reminds Viewers That There's Always More Than One Side to People
Horimiya
Two very different people - an academically successful schoolgirl and a quiet loser schoolboy - meet and develop a friendship.
Release DateJanuary 10, 2021
CastHaruka Tomatsu, Seiichiro Yamashita, Koki Uchiyama
Main GenreAnimation
GenresDrama, Comedy
RatingTV-14
Seasons1 Season
CreatorHiroki Adachi
Production CompanyAniplex, CloverWorks
Number of Episodes26
NetworkCrunchyroll
Streaming Service(s)Crunchyroll
Horimiya Scores:
- MyAnimeList: 8.2
- IMDb: 8.1
The Horimiya anime is widely adored for being a gentle, realistic romance anime where the main characters generously understand and accept each other's true selves, no matter what their first impressions might be. Horimiya's main theme, at least at first, is that outward appearances never tell the full story of what another person is really like.
Some characters in Horimiya struggled with love or friendship for a time, such as Izumi Miyamura, but when his classmate Kyoko Hori sees and accepts his true self, everything will change for the better. Izumi and Kyoko will become lovers no matter their differences or false impressions, and it will set a fine example for their classmates to follow.
Aharen-san is Indecipherable Shows a Quiet Girl With a Big Heart That No One Can See
Aharen-San is Indecipherable
Follows small and cute Reina Aharen, as she starts an odd friendship with her classmate Raidou Matsuboshi.
Release DateApril 2, 2022
CastInori Minase
GenresRomance, Comedy
Seasons1
CreatorAsato Mizu
Production CompanyFelix Film
Number of Episodes12
Aharen-san is Indecipherable Scores:
- MyAnimeList: 7.29
- IMDb: 7.0
Aharen-San is Indecipherable is a wacky romantic comedy anime whose two protagonists are both kuuderes — calm, quiet lovers who use gestures to show their affection for one another. The petite Reina Aharen is quiet and lonely since she speaks so softly, but then her classmate Raido will hear her and become her friend.
Everyone else at school sees a tiny, forgettable girl in Reina Aharen, but Raido sees the real her: a kind, fun-loving person who just needs friends. Thus, Raido will ignite a charming friendship with Aharen, sharing her love languages of food and games before declaring his love for her.