The 20 Best Romance Anime Movies Of All Time, Ranked
Vote up the romance anime films that are worth watching.
There's nothing like a great romance anime. Anime movies are an especially good way to get absorbed into a touching love story, because you don't have to wait around for the next episode - the fate of the lovers will usually be present in the film itself. Also, anime movies often have fabulous animation.
Which are the best romance anime movies? Pretty much anything love-themed that's created by Studio Ghibli or Makoto Shinkai is worth mentioning - we especially want to highlight Howl's Moving Castle and Your Name. But these giants of the genre aren't the only ones creating great romantic films. Looking for something that will make you cry buckets? Try I Want to Eat Your Pancreas. Looking for a good time? Try The Night is Short, Walk on Girl.
No matter what you choose, these love stories are bound to make your heart beat faster.
- 11,213 VOTESPhoto: Your Name / CoMix Wave Films
A country girl named Mitsuha Miyamizu suddenly starts swapping bodies with a busy Tokyo boy named Taki Tachibana. Confused by this inexplicable phenomenon, the two begin learning about each other's lives while trying to figure out what the heck is going on.
They soon realize that they don't exist on the same timeline - and that in Taki's timeline, Mitsuha is no longer alive. To save the girl he's come to love, he'll have to literally transcend time itself.
- 21,066 VOTESPhoto: A Silent Voice / Kyoto Animation
As a child, Shouya Ishida used to bully his classmate Shouko Nishimiya, mostly because she was deaf. He ended up paying the price for his actions after he was ostracized by his classmates - many of whom participated in the bullying too.
Years later, he doesn't just feel bad about losing his own social life - he also feels genuinely remorseful for how cruel he was to Shouko. When he meets her again as a teenager, he hopes to make up for what he did. He soon realizes that there's a lot more to their budding relationship than just the pain of the past - but at the same time, the pain of the past never truly goes away.
- 3828 VOTESPhoto: I Want to Eat Your Pancreas / Studio VOLN
An unnamed protagonist sees no point in interacting with other people and spends most of his time alone. When he discovers that his classmate, Sakura Yamauchi, has a terminal pancreatic disease, he doesn't feel particularly sympathetic.
But Sakura wants the protagonist around to help her fulfill her bucket list for the end of her life. As he gets dragged into a variety of social activities, he starts to care about Sakura - and to realize that human connection is more important than he thought it was.
- 4648 VOTESPhoto: Josee, the Tiger and the Fish / Bones
Hoping to make his dream of studying marine biology abroad come true, Tsuneo Suzukawa works multiple part time jobs. After rescuing a young woman whose wheelchair is hurtling down the street, he ends up with another job - Josee's caretaker.
Josee doesn't think she needs a caretaker - she's perfectly fine by herself. If not for the fact that just about every place outside her home is inaccessible for wheelchair users, she'd be right - but her overprotective grandmother insists. Though Josee has no intention of making things easy for her unwanted caretaker, the two grow close as Tsuneo focuses on helping her do what she wants to do - not what her grandmother wants her to do. Meanwhile, Josee starts to understand Tsuneo's own dreams and aspirations.
- 5544 VOTESPhoto: Hotarubi no Mori e / Brain's Base
Hotarubi no Mori e is a great movie to watch if you need a good cry. When six-year-old Hotaru Takegawa gets lost in the woods near her grandfather's house, a strange boy in a mask named Gin helps her find her way. She tries to give him a hug out of gratitude, only to be rebuffed.
It turns out that Gin is under a curse - if a human being touches him, he will disappear. For this reason, he asks Hotaru not to return - but something draws her back to Gin again and again. As Hotaru gets older, the two begin to fall in love. But how can their love bloom when Gin can't be touched?
- 6665 VOTESPhoto: Weathering With You / CoMix Wave Films
For unexplained reasons, Tokyo has been overwhelmed with near constant rain. This makes life harder for everyone - especially people like runaway high school student Hodaka Morishima, who is barely scraping by with his job at a small-time publisher, and like orphaned Hina Amano, who is trying to find work that will help her support herself and her younger brother.
The two collide when Hodaka saves Hina from some nefarious men. When Hodaka finds out that Hina can make the sun temporarily appear by praying for it, the two go into business, marketing her as a ‘sunshine girl.’ Such incredible power doesn't come for free, though. There is a terrible price to be paid.
- 7662 VOTESPhoto: Howl's Moving Castle / Studio Ghibli
Sophie Hatter spends her days working diligently in her family's hat shop, never dreaming of more for herself. Her everyday life changes when an accidental encounter introduces her to Howl, an eccentric wizard who lives in a traveling castle. Their connection sparks the jealousy of the Witch of the Waste, who transforms Sophie into an elderly woman.
She joins Howl in his castle in the hopes of finding a way to break the curse. In the meantime, she meets Howl's strange companions and gets closer to Howl himself. As she does, she learns more about what she actually wants out of life. But she still has to deal with the Witch of the Waste, not to mention the war brewing around.
- 8311 VOTES
Tamako Love Story
Photo: Tamako Love Story / Kyoto AnimationThroughout Tamako Market, Mochizou Ooji has had a massive crush on Tamako Kitashirakawa, the daughter of his family's rival mochi shop. As he prepares to leave for college, he's struck with a dilemma. He wants to study in Tokyo, but he also doesn't want to leave Tamako behind.
Tamako has no plans to do anything but continue working at her family's mochi shop, so they're looking at a long separation. If he ever wants to tell Tamako how he feels, he'll have to do it now - but can he work up the courage?
- 9417 VOTES
Whisper of the Heart
Photo: Whisper of the Heart / Studio GhibliWhen 14-year-old Shizuku Tsukishima realizes that a boy named Seiji Amasawa has been checking out many of the same books that she is at the library, she decides that she wants to get to know him. She gets the chance when she meets a strange cat at the train station who leads her to an antique shop. There, she discovers a mysterious statuette called the Baron - and Seiji Amasawa.
The two quickly grow close, but one thing gets in the way - Seiji has an important goal that he wants to fulfill, while Shizuku is still trying to decide on a direction in life. But her new relationship with Seiji might be just what she needs to figure it out.
- 10386 VOTESPhoto: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time / Madhouse
Makoto Konno is in her last year of high school, and she's having trouble deciding what to do next. In between hanging out with her friends and playing baseball, she gains an unexpected ability - the power to literally leap through time. After using it for trivial things like marathon karaoke sessions and getting to school on time, she realizes that she only has a few time leaps left. Not only that, but the changes she makes in the fabrics of time have unforeseen consequences.
Makoto isn't the only person messing with time - a friend of hers named Chiaki is doing the same thing for his own reasons.
- 11281 VOTESPhoto: The Wind Rises / Studio Ghibli
Fans of historical romance definitely shouldn't miss this acclaimed Ghibli film. The film focuses on a fictionalized version of Jirou Horikoshi, the aeronautical engineer who helped create the Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter aircraft. This is the aircraft that was used in the attack on Pearl Harbor. For American viewers, this film depicts a perspective on those events that we don't often get to see. But it also tells a more personal story of Jirou's journey to create this weapon while enduring challenges like earthquakes and the ravages of war. He begins to question the purpose of what he's doing - and the potential human cost.
While dealing with all this, he falls in love with a woman named Naoko Satomi. Though the love is mutual and they get married, Naoko's poor health poses another major challenge.
- 12476 VOTESPhoto: 5 Centimeters Per Second / CoMix Wave Films
Like most of Makoto Shinkai's films, 5 Centimeters Per Second is about two people who love each other, but can't be together. This is one of his more realistic takes on the subject.
Takaki Toono and Akari Shinohara are childhood friends who have fallen in love. But they aren't adults who can control their own destinies - they're kids who have to go where their parents do. So when Akari's family moves away, the two are separated. They try to stay in touch, but it isn't the same. Just before Takaki finds out that he'll have to move even further away, the two resolve to meet up one last time. A snowstorm and a resulting train delay upends their meeting, and they end up with very little time together.
- 13233 VOTESPhoto: Ride Your Wave / Science SARU
Hinako Mukaimizu is a college student who has no idea what she wants to do with her life - all she knows is that she loves surfing, and she loves the ocean. When her apartment catches on fire, firefighter Minato Hinageshi saves her life. Hinako is impressed by Minato's diligence and dedication, while Minato kind of wants to learn how to surf. Through the process of Hinako teaching Minato about her passion, the two fall in love.
While surfing may be fun, it can also be dangerous. An accident completely changes Hinako's life, and forces her to truly face what she's going to do with her life. With Minato by her side, this daunting task is eased.
- 14286 VOTESPhoto: Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop / Signal.MD, Sublimation
Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop is an adorable love story about two people who have trouble communicating - but in very different ways. Yui "Cherry" Sakura mostly communicates through haiku instead of words. Meanwhile, Yuki "Smile" Hoshino is a bubbly, enthusiastic girl who wants to be an influencer who gets everyone else smiling - but she hides her own smile behind a mask because she's embarrassed about her buckteeth.
The two start getting to know each other while working at a welfare facility. There, they both wind up helping an old man find a record from his youth that he wants to hear one more time before he goes fully senile. In the process, they bond with each other - and learn to show their true selves.
- 15218 VOTES
The Stranger by the Shore
Photo: The Stranger by the Shore / Studio HibariShun Hashimoto and Mio Chibana are both staying in Okinawa - Shun because his parents kicked him out for being gay, and Mio for unknown reasons. The two click right away, but their budding relationship unravels when Mio has to return to mainland Japan.
When Mio returns three years later, he's planning on telling Shun that he's in love with him. This gets complicated when he realizes that Shun has been through a lot since they last met, and he's a lot warier about committing to a relationship than he used to be. A lot is going to have to change if their relationship is to stand a chance.
- 16186 VOTES
The Anthem of the Heart
Photo: The Anthem of the Heart / A-1 PicturesJun Naruse is an optimistic, talkative girl who believes in fairy tales and happy endings. Unfortunately, her talkativeness has some major consequences - she accidentally reveals her father's affair, which leads to her parents getting divorced and blaming her for it. Traumatized by the event, her feelings manifest as a “fairy egg” - a magical creature that seals her ability to speak.
Although she can't speak, she ends up being cast as the lead in her school's musical alongside Takumi Sakagami, Natsuki Nitou, and Daiki Tasaki. Nervous at first, she starts getting invested in the musical when she hears Sakagami's beautiful singing voice. Not only might singing be a way for Jun to communicate, she might be falling in love with Sakagami - the fairy tale prince of her dreams.
- 17157 VOTES
Hal
Photo: Hal / Wit StudioAfter Kurumi's boyfriend Hal passes away in an airplane accident, she's left completely devastated, and ends up isolating herself at home. Hoping to break her out of her misery, her uncle acquires a highly realistic robot called Q01.
Q01 is designed to behave and look just like Hal. At first, Kurumi sees him as a poor replacement, but she eventually opens up to him. But Q01 is more than just an object - he has secrets of his own. Can artificial life and human life ever truly connect?
- 1886 VOTESPhoto: Macross: Do You Remember Love? / Artland, Tatsunoko Production
Looking for an old-school classic? Try Macross: Do You Remember Love? The spacecraft Macross is on its way back from warping light-years away from Earth with a city full of civilians and soldiers on board. Despite the constant threat posed by the alien races Zentradi and Meltrandi, mecha fighter pilot Hikaru Ichijou manages to find time to fall in love with the city's idol Minmay Lynn.
But not everyone is as happy about their relationship as they are - Minmay's idol status causes the people around them to strongly disapprove. With Hikaru's life constantly at risk from the aliens, nothing is easy for these lovers. Minmay pours her feelings into her music, which ends up being exactly what's needed to create peace.
- 19153 VOTES
Doukyusei
Photo: Doukyusei / A-1 PicturesDoukyusei is a simple but heartwarming love story between two boys with opposite personalities. Hikaru Kusakabe is an easy-going kid whose main focus is his rock band and the good times he's having in the future. Rihito Sajou is a straight-laced honor student who puts a ton of effort into getting good grades in order to secure his future.
The two get to know each other when their entire class is made to participate in a chorus festival. Rihito can't sing, and Hikaru is more than happy to help him out.
- 2087 VOTESPhoto: The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl / Science SARU
The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl is a chaotic and joyful film about a young woman's journey through her town's bustling nightlife. But it's also a love story.
While she's out drinking with supernatural beings, her ‘senpai’ is trying desperately to locate a rare book from her childhood that he hopes to present to her and win her heart. If you want to see a movie that's both utterly surreal and surprisingly heartfelt, don't miss this one.
