It’s that time of year again, when an otaku’s heart turns to love. There’s nothing better than a good romance anime that makes our hearts soar as we watch two people finally find love together. In this post, let’s explore the 12 best drama-free romance anime to rewatch this month!
This blog post contains spoilers.
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What We Want in a Romance Anime
One of the most compelling things anime offers is the ability to tell stories that deeply affect fans emotionally. There’s no end to the kinds of stories that can be told. I especially love the romance anime category, which lets us follow characters as they slowly discover their feelings for each other. The crescendo of sweet emotion as they finally become a couple is the best thing ever.
Today’s post is specifically about dere-dere romance anime, or “lovey-dovey” stories made to be enjoyed without much tension.
- There can’t be a huge dramatic element weighing down the story. MAL lists Clannad, A Silent Voice, Plastic Memories, and Your Lie In April as being in the romance anime category. While there is a romance element to these shows, I’m leaving them off this ranking because the main driver of the story isn’t wholesome romance.
- We want serious romance stories about two people who successfully find love together, with low amounts of drama. We don’t want to be frustrated with “misunderstanding arcs”, love triangles, and tsundere characters.
- Since this list is mostly about serious love, we’re leaving sexy fan service and harems off.
Check Out the Best Drama-Free Romance Anime to Rewatch During Love Season!
Let’s look at J-List’s picks for the best ‘lovey-dovey’ anime to re-watch this month!
Golden Time Is the Quintessential ‘Dere’ Anime
Some fans dislike the negativity that can come from tsundere characters like The Familiar of Zero, with Louise always calling Saito her “dog” at the end of every episode. If you want to taste love in its sweetest form, I recommend Golden Time. Yui Horie’s voice work alone made it worth watching.
Kubo-san Won’t Let Us Stop Obsessing over Kana Hanazawa’s Voice
If you love Queen of Voice Acting Hana Kanazawa’s silky voice, there are a lot of romance anime you can check out. Nisekoi, Oreimo, Tsurezure Children, and Quintessential Quintuplets are four great places to start. But for the best HanaKan romance experience, the show you should watch is Kubo-san wa Mob wo Yurusanai. Read my post about the show here!
Love, Chuunibyo and Other Delusions Was a One-Season Anime, and You Can’t Change My Mind
One of the best-executed single seasons of anime was Love, Chuunibyou and Other Delusions by the great Kyoto Animation. The anime masterfully blended high school romance with chuunibyou — the tendency for junior high school-age kids to create internal fantasy worlds. It was great watching the characters grow and change…until season 2 undid all the progress they had made.
Why do fans demand new seasons of anime and then refuse to watch them when they arrive? Read my thoughts here!
Toradora! Was the Perfect Gateway into Romance Anime
A lot of fans discovered anime through Toradora!, the incredible anime about Taiga and Ryuji, who team up to help each other find love with their crush. It was such a well-crafted story that fans still re-watch it every Christmas season. When did you discover Toradora?
Rascal Definitely Dreams of Bunny Girl Senpai
A great anime about a young man who needs to help various girls solve some supernatural problem so he can get back to dating his straight-haired girlfriend. I’m not talking about Bakemonogatari, but Rascal Does Not Dream Of Bunny-Girl Senpai. It was truly magical, and the follow-up movie is one all fans should watch.
Waiting In The Summer, the Please Teacher Sequel We Never Expected
Another breakthrough anime was Onegai☆Teacher, about a young man who ends up married to his space alien teacher, because why not? It was the show that started the “anime holy land” boom, and if you’re a fan, there’s nothing quite like visiting the Lake Kizaki area made famous in the anime. In 2012, we got a “sequel” by the same creators but animated by a different studio in the form of Waiting In The Summer.
Oregairu: As Expected, My Teen Romantic Comedy Is Awesome
Another popular romance anime was Oregairu, about a pessimistic but realistic boy with poor social skills. So his teacher forces him to join the school’s “service club” and help others solve various problems so he can gain life experience. The resolution to the story was extremely satisfying for fans.
Amagami SS Was the Best Game-To-Anime Conversion
Another perfectly executed anime was Amagami SS, a romance anime based on a visual novel from Enterbrain. Since there were six heroines, each girl got a three-episode arc, allowing every story to be told properly. Because it was based on an all-ages Playstation title, the story had to get extremely creative at giving “fan service” to fans, and the result was quite enjoyable.
I especially love the “character monologues” from the show, in which each girl explains her inner feelings for Junichi, which some kind person has uploaded to YouTube. The Ai Nanasaki version is here.
Horimiya Made Our Hearts Melt
Another cotton-candy-sweet anime was Horimiya, about a quiet and awkward boy named Miyamura who is secretly into tattoos, and how he wins the heart of his classmate, Hori. There’s literally nothing not to love about this fun anime.
My Dress-Up Darling Made Us Want to Date a Cosplaying Gal
The only thing better than a super-cute gal is one who loves cosplay more than anything and wants us to sew costumes for her. The show was a huge hit, giving J-List lots of sexy figures and doujinshi to offer to our customers!
BokuYaba Warmed Our Hearts
Fans fell in love with the tall and stylish Yamada, who for some reason, had developed a crush on her classmate Kyoutarou. It was so cute, watching Kyoutarou grow into a boy worthy to date Yamada one day.
Kaguya-sama: Perhaps the Most Perfect Romance Anime
Kaguya-sama: Love Is War was a fantastic anime that took the standard rom-com formula and elevated it with a mix of psychological warfare, ridiculous humor, and references to Japanese TV series from the 1970s that generally sailed over the heads of Western fans. I loved every minute of it.
TONIKAWA Is the Love Story That Will Send You over the Moon
Finally, the best example of the dere-dere anime love story is Tonikaku Kawaii: Over The Moon For You, about a boy who gets saved by a mysterious girl he’s just met. As he passes out he confesses his love for her, and she agrees to date him…if he’ll marry her. There is no reason for this anime to be so enjoyable, but for some reason I just love it.
Thanks for reading this blog post about the best no-drama “lovey-dovey” anime series to enjoy this February. Which one of these is your favorite? Tell us in the comments below!
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Happy New Year from your Friend in Japan, J-List! We hope 2026 is a year of happiness and peace for you. To get things off right, we’re having a huge site-wide New Year’s Sale through Jan. 6, giving you 15$ off all in-stock products. Start browsing now!
