Romance

[TheThing]

General Rules

Post a reply here with your favorite Romance anime titles along with a short description (and pictures ). Remember to read the Guidelines and tips before continuing.

Thread rules

This thread is for anime titles where romance is a main plot feature. This is a low-ecchi thread: If your show contains a lot of nudity or fan-service (in your opinion), consider posting it in the Ecchi/Harem thread instead. Titles like Kiss x Sis belong there.


Anime titles

• Ano Natsu de Matteru
• Clannad (by Kuroneko)
• Kaitou Saint Tail (by Krozam)
• Karin
• Otome Youkai Zakuro
• Sukitte Ii na yo
• Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun

Anime titles in other threads

• Acchi Kocchi
• Asatte no Houkou
• Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai!
• High School DxD
• Kaichou wa Maid-sama
• Kaze no Stigma (by TheThing)
• Kokoro Connect
• Millennium Actress
• Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakama-tachi (by Krozam)
• Planetes
• Summer Wars
• Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo
• Toradora

[Hanover Fist]

Otome Youkai Zakuro

Romance, Action, Supernatural, Historical
MAL - Torrent

The newly westernized government in an alternate Japan's Meiji era creates the Ministry of Spirit Affairs: Three imperial army officers are assigned to partner with four half-fox-spirit girls working together to resolve ghost and demon issues.

However, the head of the military side - Agemaki Kei - has a severe phobia of Youkai while Zakuro - the spiritual powerhouse - has a loathing of all things influenced by the west, especially Jesuit concepts.

This was a favorite of mine from 2010. It alternated from cute and sweet, through Zakuro's severe tsundere episodes, with laugh-out-loud hilarious moments and flashes of excellent action. An all-around fun and interesting show.

Pictures

(click to show/hide)

[Krozam]

Kaitou Saint Tail

Adventure, Magical Girl, Romance, Slice of Life, Comedy, Shoujo

MAL | Torrents: HQ.mkv, XviD.avi

(click to show/hide)

• Saint Tail 01v2 HQ [6DE64C7D].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail 02v2 HQ [1957EA12].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail 03v2 HQ [E72EBB76].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail 04v2 HQ [029402BD].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail 05v2 HQ [33ACE1DA].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail 06v2 HQ [A7B25814].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail 07v2 HQ [5A5A7644].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail 08v2 HQ [ADEB40DB].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail 09v2 HQ [BE1B42F8].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail 10v2 HQ [7B2047AC].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail 11 HQ [09D5507B].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail 12 HQ [F4CC8F0E].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail 13 HQ [2859E5DB].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail 14 HQ [CC050A8E].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail 15 HQ [5ED81150].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail 16 HQ [9C470D04].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail 17 HQ [CCAB4758].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail 18 HQ [C18BD32D].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail 19 HQ [FBDB1F54].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail 20 HQ [A3FF0D44].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail 21 HQ [473878FB].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail 22 HQ [9D7F958C].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail 23 HQ [A39E214E].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail 24 HQ [EC3AC875].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail 25 HQ [46BA2E40].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail 26 HQ [1086E6CF].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail 27 HQ [A90FE617].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail 28 HQ [157B97EB].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail 29 HQ [DF9CB40F].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail 30 HQ [BC6C570F].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail 31 HQ [581FEAE6].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail 32 HQ [6A1F687C].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail 33 HQ [E9949F0D].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail 34 HQ [09C8FD1A].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail 35 HQ [43602DC5].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail 36 HQ [9E942618].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail 37 HQ [8E844BA6].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail 38 HQ [AFDD2520].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail 39 HQ [0D897AB5].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail 40 HQ [6D2FD022].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail 41 HQ [3B2CA309].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail 42 HQ [BCB76B7F].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail 43 HQ [472143A7].mkv: DDL

Openings and Endings:

• Saint Tail ed 1 HQ [2C1092CA].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail ed 2 HQ [6F9A25F8].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail ed 3 HQ [B06BD56A].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail op 1 HQ [46A159B7].mkv: DDL
• Saint Tail op 2 HQ [FF824795].mkv: DDL

Megaupload coming soon. If you get an error using DDL link, try refreshing.

Meimi Haneoka, 14, is a normal girl during the daytime, but during the night, she assumes the "position" of Saint Tail, a modern-day Robin Hood who steals from thieves and gives items back to their original owners. She is aided by her friend, Seira Mimori, a nun-in-training, and she is chased by her classmate (and soon-to-be love interest), Daiki Asuka (often called "Asuka Jr."). (Source: ANN)

Saint Tail is hardly the kind of anime I usually watch, as I think magical girl is a thoroughly silly genre. However, once I got over my prejudice and started watching, I quickly came enjoy this anime. It's light-hearted, episodic, silly... and romantic. I'd be lying if said I consider Saint Tail to be a "quality" anime, as my standards are quite high, but there's one aspect in the story that stands out as superbly done, and it's the romance. Throughout the story, the romance is built with patience and expertise you hardly see in anime, making you care about the main characters, and finally ending things with a bang. That is, ending things in a most satisfactory way that made me cry my eyes out for fifteen minutes. I've seen Toradora, Ah! My Goddess, Onegai Teacher&Twins, Shuffle and a bunch of other romance anime series, but none of them ever came close to inducing this level of an emotional reaction.

Don't take me wrong, Saint Tail has other qualities: it makes you laugh, it has moe, somehow it keeps you entertained through 43 episodes of more or less repetitive episodicness, but romance is clearly its strongest point and the reason why I highly recommend the series to anyone who enjoys light-hearted romances, regardless of gender.

My full review: http://www.anime-planet.com/users/Krozam/reviews/4336

Pictures

(click to show/hide)

[Hanover Fist]

Karin

Romance, Comedy, Supernatural
MAL - Download

In a Japanese vampire family, each vampire desires a certain flavor of blood: The father loves blood from those full of pride. The mother seeks liars. The son goes for stress. When blood is sucked, the flavoring emotion is also drained. Victims are then temporarily humble, truthful or calm. Karin Makka, the family's oldest daughter is a vampire mutant, loving sun, garlic and producing blood rather than sucking it. When her vampire lust arises, she's like a transfusion rather than a trauma.

Complications begin when Karin feels her blood begin to overproduce every time she gets near the new transfer student Usui. Karin's taste preference turns out to be misfortune. Usui and his mother already have a quite unfortunate life. Has Usui has discovered her secret? If so, how on earth can she get him to keep it?

This is a light romantic comedy for when you want something fun and funny, possibly as a change of pace from heavy shows. I love the original spin on vampires with this one. There have been a LOT of vampire shows over the years and this is a unique and hilarious plot. While the class of troubles Karen gets into that Usui has to cover up for her are admittedly formulaic, it keeps the humor going. Finally it's a cute romance that actually comes to a conclusion, rather than fading out without any closure.

Pictures

(click to show/hide)

[Hanover Fist]

Ano Natsu de Matteru
<Waiting in the Summer>

Comedy, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi
MAL - Torrents: 720p BD, 480p XviD

Ichika - an alien girl - crash lands on Earth, seriously injuring Kaito - an amateur film-maker at the crash site. She revives him with nano-tech and wipes his memory of the event. They later meet at school as a group of friends plan a summer film. He daydreams of inviting the homeless girl to stay at his house while his sister visits Bolivia for the summer. To his shock and embarrasment he realizes he said it out loud. The memorable summer begins ...

In my eyes this is one of the best romantic comedies ever (maybe the best). It plays with many anime tropes only to resolve them in unexpectedly straightforward ways. There's plenty of comedy to balance the romance, yet it still spins a great multi-layered story. The screenplay and character designs are by the makers of Please Teacher but it quickly goes beyond into it's own territory. The show was never really predictable week-to-week and regularly threw me for a loop, much to my enjoyment. It ends well with nearly everything tied up, even if I wish there were more episodes.

I strongly recommend it.

Pictures
Screencaps again courtesy of RandomC

(click to show/hide)

Ichika's ship crashes ...

... while Kaito is testing a new film ...

... but he wakes from the "dream" to a normal next day.

Looking through his viewfinder ...

... Kaito is entranced.


At lunch, Kaito's friend Tetsurou asks if Ichika will join the film project ...

... surprisingly she says yes, and Remon-senpai [still in the Please Teacher
school uniform] even volunteers to write the script.


On the way home from school, Kaito finds Ichika fishing in an empty river.

He fantasizes about suavely offering the homeless girl a place to stay ...

... only to realize he said it out loud.


Later that night, Kaito collapses as the nanobots begin to fail ...

... and Ichika must apply another dose ...

... right as Nee-san and Kanna walk in the door.


Kaito explains Ichika's homeless situation ...

... and Nee-san - believing Ichika to be an orphan too - offers her a place to stay.


Remon-senpai offers Dynamite Drink at the first film planning meeting ...

... it certainly is dynamite.


Ichika's fear/dark fantasy of being exposed and taken away by the Men In Black.


"Fu fu fu fu fu."

[Hanover Fist]

Sukitte Ii na yo
<Say "I Love You">

Drama, Romance - MyAnimeList overview
Torrents: [Commie] 720p BD, [IB] 720p TV, [HorribleSubs] 480p TV
XDCC: Search for "sukkitte" on Ginpachi-sensei for [IB] 720p packs.

The basics of this show have certainly been done before: Popular and cute boy falls for the shy, socially awkward girl. Jealousy arises among the fangirls, bullying starts. Kimi no Todoke comes to mind. However, in Sukitte Ii na yo the story actually moves and it does so a lot faster: A relationship is sparked in the first episode and they’re going out soon after. There’s no waiting two seasons for things to progress here.

There is depth and real feeling in this show. The relationships build and change at a believable pace, whether they are romances or friendships. A lot of this comes from the main character Mei. She starts isolated and alone, but she is no shrinking violet. There is a core of strength within her and she really can take care of herself and others. You see it when she’s helps and defends her new friends. She steps out of her shy comfort zone for the first time in years. She does it because it's the right thing to do, even if it's scary and painful.

The cast explore ordinary but strong experiences: Overcoming years of isolation; overcoming one’s fears and moving onward; trying to be accepted by the others - even to the point of harming oneself; the meaning of real friendship and dealing with fake friends; handling the envy of others and dealing with fake friendships. These themes and more are explored and overcome with real growth and change in everyone. I was drawn along impatiently week to week because I wanted to see what would happen next. At least you’ll be able to marathon it.

On the romance side of things, the characters show each other what love really means in how their relationships develop. They learn how to dedicate themselves to each other and still have their own lives. Overall it is a cute and sweet show that moves at a believable pace, with characters you care about. It’s not excessively sappy and worth a try, even if romance shows aren’t your standard fare.

Pictures
Screencaps courtesy of RandomC as usual.

(click to show/hide)

Aside from her mother, Mei has lived alone in isolation for years.
She's never had a boyfriend and doesn't have any friends either.


The popular Yamato puts up with his friend Kenji's fixation on Asamicchi's boobs.


Kenji fools around, peeping up skirts, and goes a little too far.


Mei is enraged,


but roundhouse kicks the wrong guy.


Yamato becomes curious and interested in Mei,


even though she can barely talk to him, she still feels guilty about his injury.


She gives him band-aids and he gives her his cell phone number.


A creepy guy watches Mei at work,


... and follows her on the way home.


Her mom can't answer at work and Mei calls the only other number she has.


Yamato runs to her rescue,


and chases off the stalker by kissing Mei ...


... to Mei's complete shock.


Mei wants to learn more about Yamato, and a friendship is sparked.


Bitchy girls call Asami a slut because of her big boobs.


Mei tells them off, hesitantly, but defiantly.


It hurts, but it was the right thing to do.


Near the end of their first date.

[Kuroneko]

Clannad / After Story

Comedy, Drama, Romance, Slice of Life

Clannad -	MAL	- Torrents & XDCC: [Doki] BD batch post
Clannad After Story -	MAL	- Torrents & XDCC: [Doki] BD batch post

Clannad

Clannad After Story

(click to show/hide)

Tomoya Okazaki is a high school delinquent resentful of life. His family consists of a distant and alcoholic father. One day, on the way to school, he meets an odd girl named Nagisa Furukawa who catches his attention. The two slowly become friends and Tomoya learns more about Nagisa's past. Claiming nothing better to do, Tomoya helps Nagisa with her dream of reviving the drama club. As time goes by, Tomoya finds his life shifting in a new direction. As he tries to help the girls of the drama club overcome their problems, he realizes life is better than he thought.

After Story continues Tomoya's story through his last semester of high school and onward.

Clannad is a staple of Doki. If you're here, it's just a given that you need to watch this if you haven't already.

Pictures
Screencaps from RandomCuriosity.

(click to show/hide)

[Hanover Fist]

Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun
<My Little Monster>

Comedy, Romance, Slice of Life - MyAnimeList overview
Torrents: [FFF] 720p, [Commie] 720p, [HorribleSubs] 480p
XDCC: [FFF] 720p on the Ginpachi-Sensei packlist, search for tonari.

I think this is an excellent and hilarious show and I’m hoping for a second season. While Tonari starts off using all of the usual rom-com elements, it takes a much different path than the average show. I condensed and paraphrased the following from Zanibas’ final impressions on Random Curiosity:

Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun has many ups and downs. It challenges how we view the characters with a rare perspective on relationship growth. Each character has flaws and potentially unlikable aspects. Their relationships follow a rough road that adolescence often goes through, while also providing the character growth needed to follow that road to its end. There is no quick resolution, no problems neatly split into convenient arcs. It doesn’t build up to some pre-destined climax. Instead, a different side of the relationship story is shown, the long error-prone part of the social dynamic. It brings out frustrations, stupid mistakes, and sometimes downright irrationality. All the while it softens the tension (for the audience) with comedic humor.
 
A defining factor of this show is how blunt everyone can be to each other: Haru has no social restrictions at all. Shizuku tells it as she sees it. Natsume speaks out for her friends, and Sasayan speaks up when the time comes. The characters usually speak plainly to one another without any hesitant mumbo jumbo. Ideally, this would lead to flawless communication, but that doesn’t happen here. Each character, in their own way, gives out only partial truths with important information conveniently left out. This creates many of the conflicts within the show. People can sense conflict within each other, but are fooled by the plain speech, unable to read behind those seemingly clear words.

One fault in many romances is when a female character starts off strong and then becomes weak in situations when the male protagonist saves them. The female becomes lovey-dovey and never recovers, creating a “damsel in distress” scenario. Mitty mostly avoids this, finding a balance between her feelings for Haru without becoming powerless. Haru may be a genius without effort, but Mitty constantly works to improve her grades. While Haru may steal Mitty’s heart, she doesn’t give up easily, calling bullshit when needed. She may not make the best decisions, but she does things that make sense to her, maintaining her individuality. One does not need to give up their individuality to give themselves up to another person.

All of this gives us a show that stands out among the rest, that doesn’t make things easy. We get angry and annoyed at a character’s inability to do SOMETHING, but perhaps that is the point it’s trying to hit home. Life isn’t easy and real relationships take work.

Pictures
Screencaps courtesy of RandomC as usual.

(click to show/hide)

Mizutani Shizuku values grades over any social life and is always studying.


Her teacher bribes Mitty to deliver handouts to the delinquent that never attends class.


Shizuku meets Haru and passes on the teacher's request that he come back to class.


Paranoia: Could Shizuku be a spy for the teacher?


And yet, this is the most social life Haru has had for a while.


In fact, he wants to be more than just friends ...


... and returns to class.


Shizuku ponders just what she's feeling,


but it's not all bad.


Classmate Natsume begs for help studying ...


... but it doesn't help much.


Mitty's class life is getting stranger and stranger.



It's uncertain whether Yamaken is actually interested in Shizuku,


but it pisses Haru off anyway.


Mitty and Haru's relationship remains a strange one.