Last Updated on March 18, 2022
You can’t have an anime with just action and style. A healthy dose of romance also defined the genre. Some fanbases only watch anime if it has interesting partners and a romantic fling happens.
In today’s article, we decided to share our shortlist of the best anime couples of all time.
Now, some of them, maybe even all of them, might be familiar to you, but that’s only because you’re a big anime fan.
Cute anime couples will make you fall in love all over again with someone new or familiar. In any case, you can’t help but root for those you love through various anime shows and specials.
So without further ado, here are the 10 best anime couples of all-time to watch.
Table of Contents
10. Tomoe And Nanami
“Kamisama Kiss” is a heart-breaking anime in which a girl, Nanami Momozomo, is left homeless after her father runs away due to debt concerns.
The plot narrative gives fans some interesting scenes, most notable of which is when Nanami saves a man called Mikage and in return is given a roof over her head.
In this new house, she encounters a character called Tomoe. Nanami later learns that this is Mikage’s familiar or ‘yokai’, supernaturally speaking. She actually falls for him over time, meeting resistance in the yokai.
But eventually, Tomoe gives in and returns Nanami’s feelings. The story is so well-written that this romance feels exceptionally heart-warming and meaningful rather than inappropriate. You simply need to see this anime to believe it.
9. Kou And Futaba
Few people tend to forget their first love. In this anime “Ao Haru Ride” we are taken into the lives of Kou and Futaba, who contribute a uniquely complicated-and-cute romance to the anime genre.
Futaba crosses paths with her former lover Kou in high school. He has apparently changed a lot since last they met, and she feels repelled by the ‘new Kou’.
In her memory, Kou was once compassionate and courteous but has become someone rude and callous. His change in attitude draws her closer to helping them both understand what went wrong, and when.
Futaba falls for Kou all over again, all the while changing him for the better. This is a beautiful anime by romantic standards.
8. Hak And Yona
A royal romance unravels in the anime show “Yona of the Dawn” between Hak and Yona, who have seen their share of tragic moments. Yona is next in line to the throne.
She is a rather spoiled princess whose birthday turns out to be a dark one when her father the king is killed in cold blood by her own cousin. She is then forced to flee the village with help from her trusty bodyguard Hak.
Together, they delve into a world of multiple kingdoms and legendary dragons, and how they can go about reincarnating the latter.
Hak also happens to be her childhood friend, which plays a key role in keeping Yona’s affections focused on him instead of the other guys who feature in this anime. Ever-protective of his friend and ward, Hak makes a case for anime-centric chivalry.
As the series progresses, the two of them develop such profound feelings for one other that fans have come to term their romance ‘phenomenal’.
7. Yuki And Zero
Interesting idea, whoever thought to mix human and vampire students in an academy known for being mysterious.
Keeping people and vampires apart seems to have become Yuki Cross’s duty. She encounters Zero, a former human turned vampire. The two ‘forbidden’ darlings fall for one another and fall hard, in the anime “Vampire Knight”.
Zero strives to avoid giving in to the temptation of drinking Yuki’s blood. His attempts to keep her from harm are genuinely nice to see. Yuki, meanwhile, can’t seem to make up her mind between Zero and another guy at the academy.
If you’re thinking ‘Twilight’, stop, because this show is uniquely superior in several regards. Near the end of the series, however, Zero and she get together and even have a child. Around this time, they find a way to make Zero human again.
6. Izumi And Ryouma
A show centering around show business, “Love Stage!!” takes us into an alternate-reality entertainment business dominated by the protagonist Izumi’s family. Not only is he an aspiring manga author, Izumi’s attempts to manage personal aims and the demands placed on him by his family are relatable.
This Japanese yaoi manga series defines same-sex relationships in a positive way. We see plenty of subtext rising to the surface when the writers put Izumi in a feminine role for production and the way his stage pair Ryouma is drawn to him assuming that he is an actual girl.
Even when the proverbial cat is out of the bag, these two start developing a beautiful bond that drives the show’s narrative.
5. Yuu And Haruka
Yuu Sonoda and Haruka Takayama have been buddies since middle school. In the anime “Sakura Trick”, fans receive a graceful lesbian budding-romance tale featuring these two.
Neither of them wants their relationship to become a thing of the past. A kiss draws them deeper, even though Haruka seems more eager to explore the bond than Yuu who ends up feeling embarrassed by all the secrecy and constant kissing.
Near the end of the series, we see these two resolving their emotional differences, and actually accepting that they have a ‘thing’ for each other. This results in them openly dating in their second year at school.
The show makes a case for long-term same-sex bonding, especially how it can prove conflicting for some couples.
4. Saito And Louise
A magical academy and an even more magical romance features in the anime “Zero No Tsukaima”.
It all begins when Louise finds herself an abject failure in her magical studies. Little does she realize that her spell-based explosions are leading up to a romantic blast. She comes to be nicknamed ‘Louise the Zero’ for being so bad at what she does.
In her attempts to summon a familiar as part of her curriculum, she ends up summoning a normal Japanese boy called Saito whom she treats more like a servant than a friend.
Her terrible initial treatment of him gradually modifies into something sweeter, one where she learns to appreciate all the support and service Saito gives her. Their getting together makes for a highly anticipated moment in this anime.
3. Haru And Shizuku
This show proves that opposites do attract. In “My Little Monster” fans see this happen through the studious top-of-her-class Shizuku and the troublemaking rarely-shows-up-to-class Haru, who sits beside her in school. The bond between them blooms when Haru is asked to deliver some papers to Shizuku.
Despite rumors of him being violent, we see a gentle side to Haru when he is around Shizuku, hinting at a potential romance. The same can be seen in the way Shizuku goes against her cold reputation and turns caring when she’s with Haru.
Bringing together two outcasts and making them work is the crux of what this anime is about. It highlights how first impressions are not always reliable. In the end, fans got one of the cutest romantic couples in anime.
2. Yuuko And Teiichi
Love is said to transcend both life and death. In the anime “Tasogare Otome x Amnesia”, paranormal investigations meet budding romance as seen through the eyes of Teiichi and Yuuko.
A haunted setting becomes the foundation for two of anime’s unforgettable pair-ups to, um, pair up. When schoolboy Teiichi meets ghost-girl Yuuko, he learns of her past and how she died several years ago.
Her spirit is linked to the old school building within the premises of the sizeable academy that Teiichi attends. Yuuko first starts developing feelings for Teiichi, but the boy’s energetic attempts to help her spirit find the peace it needs to move on give fans a lesson in unconditional love.
1. Ban And Elaine
In the anime “The Seven Deadly Sins”, fans found themselves spoiled for killer relationships.
Though not a masterpiece in the animation quality department, the show portrays two characters in one of the most thematically exceptional ways, especially by anime standards. Elaine and Ban are so different and yet so drawn to each other. In fact, their physical encounters are almost palpable.
Imagine an edgy Ban falling for a frail fairy Elaine. He never gives up on her, even when he is still romantically tied to a lost lover.
He goes more than the extra mile to save Elaine, making fans realize that anime is less about breaking character and more about evolving emotional narratives. Theirs is a short-term romance, but as Lao Tzu once said: “The flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long.”