Which Anime to Watch for Your Favorite Romantic Trope

Different romantic tropes can be seen in all kinds of media. From books to movies, it's easy to consume whatever trope your heart desires. But, have you ever considered watching your favorite romantic scenario play out in an anime?

Whether you’re a seasoned anime watcher, or you have never seen a single show, here is a list of different animes that contain all your favorite romantic tropes.

Friends to Lovers: Toradora!

The friends-to-lovers trope is perhaps one of the most common, yet iconic scenarios within romance, and the anime Toradora! perfectly showcases it.

The show revolves around the lives of two high schoolers, Taiga Aisaka and Ryūji Takasu. “Ryuji looks after Taiga, cooking and cleaning for her and acting as her dog while they both attempt to help each other with their love life,” says the show's plot author when describing it.

Toradora! is perfect for anyone who is a fan of slow-burning love. As Taiga and Ryūji become closer as the show progresses, you’ll be left screaming at the screen “OPEN YOUR EYES, THEY’RE RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU!” You can check this anime out on Netflix.

Star-Crossed Lovers: Sailor Moon

When it comes to star-crossed lovers, there’s no anime couple that fits this trope better than Princess Serenity and Prince Endymion—a.k.a Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask. The anime we are referring to of course is none other than Sailor Moon.

Sailor Moon is about a young girl named Usagi Tsukino who—after meeting a black cat named Luna—finds herself becoming a Sailor Guardian, tasked with the duty to protect the earth from evil villains. Packed with action and cuteness, this series has grown a cult following, and for good reason.

Though the show doesn’t exclusively focus on Usagi’s love life, her eternal love story with Mamoru Chiba—Tuxedo Mask—is woven into the plot so perfectly that it will make you believe in love again. You can watch the original series on Hulu, and the remastered version, Sailor Moon Crystal on Netflix.

Will They, Won't They: Kamisama Kiss

If you are a fan of male protagonists with some attitude, then you’re going to love Kamisama Kiss. Stacked with lovable characters, and laughable lines, this anime follows the anxiety-inducing will they, won't they plot.

Following Nanami Momozono—the female protagonist of the series—we watch as she is anointed as land god, whose responsibility is to take care of a designated shrine. The plot progresses as Nanami meets the past god’s familiar Tomoe—our story's love interest—who, in order to make him her own familiar, she must kiss.

Kamisama Kiss continually gets better as the anime progresses, watching how Tomoe and Nanami’s love for each other grows, but the question remains: will they end up together? You can find that answer out for yourself by streaming it on the animation studios website Funimation, or on Apple TV.

Enemies to Lovers: Nisekoi

Who doesn’t love a good enemies-to-lovers storyline? We certainly do, and the perfect anime to fulfill our desires is Nisekoi.

This anime series details a fake relationship plot, as characters Raku Ichijou and Chitoge Kirisaki—who hate each other—must pretend to be in a relationship to keep the peace between their two feuding families. Nisekoi's protagonists’ opposing personalities and playful bickering make the perfect enemies-to-lovers arc.

You can check this anime out on Hulu, as well as Crunchyroll, the anime streaming service. One thing to note about Nisekoi is that it is only available in a subbed (subtitled) version, though it is well worth it to watch Raku and Chitoge’s relationship bloom.

Love Triangle: Fruits Basket

Last, but certainly not least, the trope we are covering today is none other than the love triangle. This trope can be seen all over the media, but as far as anime goes, we had to go with Fruits Basket (which happens to be this author’s favorite anime series, ever.)

Our protagonist Tohru Honda, after circumstances—including her mother’s passing—is left to live in a tent, when she is found by some members of the Sohma family, Yuki, Shigure, and Kyo. Tohru is invited to live with the boys, and when doing so uncovered the Sohma family secret: that members of the family—including Kyo, Yuki, Shigure as well as others—are possessed by the spirits of the Zodiac animals.

Throughout Fruits Basket, the love triangle revolves around Kyo the cat spirit, Yuki the rat spirit, and Tohru. With the rivalry between the two boys over a centuries-long feud, we get entertaining, yet touching interactions between the three as the boys navigate living and loving Tohru.

You can watch this beautifully touching series—and we highly recommend you do—on Hulu. It will have you bursting out laughing and curled up sobbing, which we think makes for the perfect series.

No matter what your preferred romantic trope is, we know that you will find an anime series that you’re sure to love. What is your go-to romantic anime series? Comment Below.