February’s here. You know, that pesky second month of the year that doubles as a painful reminder of the New Year’s resolutions we’ve yet to begin. But, hey, at least there’s Valentine’s Day. Cupid’s arrow easily helps us forget our worries (and our gym memberships), replacing them with boxes of chocolate, red roses, and romance anime. So, why not enjoy this lovely day by watching your favorite animated characters experience the good, the bad, and the ugly of this rollercoaster ride we call love? Here are 10 anime you should watch this Valentine’s Day.
I want to eat your pancreas
Kick off your Valentine’s Day anime marathon with one of the best movies of 2018, I want to eat your pancreas. The film follows Sakura Yamauchi, a young girl with pancreatic cancer, and the aloof Haruki Shiga as they spend time together in Sakura’s final days.
At first glance, I want to eat your pancreas may seem to offer nothing more than the usual romantic tropes, such as a young girl suffering from an illness and a standoffish boy. But in actuality, its story runs much deeper than that, thanks to its focus on celebrating life and friendship. Of course, this doesn’t mean it isn’t full of unexpected heartbreaking moments. I want to eat your pancreas is a beautiful, sad story that will give you all the feels and make you appreciate the time you have left with your loved ones.
Your new favorite romance movie will have a subtitled screening on February 7 and a dubbed showing on February 10 in the U.S. Tickets are on sale now at fathomevents.com.
Your Name
Your Name centers around Mitsuha Miyamizu, a girl living in the countryside, and Taki Tachibana a boy residing in Tokyo. Well, that is until a mysterious incident causes these two high schoolers to repeatedly swap bodies, which leads to a ton of questions — and awkward moments.
To keep from ruining each other’s lives, they come up with a plan to leave notes for each other. That way, when they return to their bodies, they can pick up where the other left off. They initially grow frustrated with each other. But eventually, they develop feelings for each other and decide to meet in person. Meeting one another in their own bodies, however, will prove much more difficult than they ever imagined.
Not only is Your Name a visual masterpiece, but it also tells a charming love story that will make you laugh and cry — sometimes simultaneously. Not only that, viewers also get a front row seat to various Japanese traditions and customs.
Tsurezure Children
Love is awkward, especially when you’re a teenager. Hormones get in the way, and then there are the various other emotions that make confessing your feelings a bit difficult. Just ask the characters in Tsurezure Children. The series follows various high school students at different stages of romantic courtship, from being unable to confess their feelings to not knowing what real love feels like — and the various obstacles they encounter along the way.
Although each episode is only about 12 minutes long, the series still manages to hit all the necessary tropes, and will even have you shouting at your screen. In the end, Tsurezure Children teaches us that love isn’t always pretty or direct. It’s a rollercoaster ride where you have to hold on for dear life.
Vampire Knight
There are two groups of students at the prestigious Cross Academy: the Day Class and the Night Class, which is comprised of aristocratic vampires. Thanks to the School Guardians — Yuki Cross and Zero Kiryu — the Day Class has no idea that they share the school grounds with blood-sucking creatures.
But Zero hates this job and harbors a deep hatred towards the vampires. Yuki, on the other hand, can only see the good in them, especially when it comes to the Night Class’ president, Kaname Kuran, who also happens to lead the Vampire Society.
Things get complicated for the trio when feelings get involved, leading Zero and Kaname to try to keep Yuki safe, from both humans and vampires. The result is a sordid love triangle worth sinking your teeth into.
Toradora
Love can be funny sometimes. You can spend all your time longing for a single person only to miss the opportunity that’s right in front of you. Unfortunately, this happens to be the case with Taiga Aisaka and Ryuuji Takasu, who are in love with two of the most popular students at their school. When they find out about each other’s secret crushes, they decide to help one another. But Taiga and Ryuuji’s opposite personalities get in the way, leading to many conflicts.
Despite looking like a delinquent, Taiga has a kind heart. Meanwhile, Ryuuji is sarcastic but willing to destroy anyone who crosses Taiga. Thanks to Cupid’s arrow, Taiga and Ryuuji find themselves falling for each other. Their genuine interactions make for some laugh-out-loud and dramatic moments. So if you’re looking for a relatable romantic comedy to enjoy with that special someone, then check out Toradora.
My Love Story!!
My Love Story!! is the perfect combination of comedy and romance without the drama, focusing instead on the funny, tumultuous relationship of a teenage couple. The anime follows high schooler (and Yakuza lookalike) Takeo Gouda who, due to his bulky exterior, isn’t having any luck with the girls at his school. But when he saves a young girl named Rinko Yamato from a molester on a train, things start looking up for him, as they start dating soon afterward.
My Love Story!! explores the hurdles the pair encounter as their relationship grows and develops, proving that love comes in all shapes and sizes. The series also makes use of many romantic tropes without overdoing it. It’s the perfect show for you and your partner to watch on Valentine’s Day while snuggling under the blankets.
School Days
Not every romance anime is about falling in love and having cute moments. It also has an ugly side and School Days tells us such a story. The anime starts as your typical romance, Makoto Itou has a crush on new transfer Kotonoha Katsura but is too afraid to make a move. His best friend Sekai Sainoji tries helps him out, but she secretly has a crush on Makoto.
While things start out fun and cute, they take a drastic turn, when Makoto takes advantage of his crushes and publicly embarrasses them. But not only that, the sordid love affair pushes these young women to do unspeakable things to be the number one girl in Makoto’s eyes.
So if you want to see a love story go horribly wrong with some slashing on the way this Valentine’s Day then remember to watch School Days.
Nodame Cantabile
Nodame Cantabile follows the developing relationship between Chiaki Shinichi, a serious piano and violin student who dreams of becoming a conductor, and Noda Megumi, an eccentric pianist with a ton of hidden potential. Both studied music at the prestigious Momogaoka Music Academy. While their passion for music brings them together, their conflicting personalities lead to many unfortunate yet funny moments.
The musical pair’s romance is the icing on the cake for this series. The anime is full of slapstick humor and a musical score that will make you fall in love with love — and the show. Unlike many other romance anime that follow the trials and tribulations of teenage love, Nodame Cantabile focuses on the relationship between two adults. As such, it’s a slow-burn love story that takes the time to explore the various stages of courtship.
Orange
We’ve all wished we could go back in time and fix our mistakes. But it’s impossible, unless you have a working time machine. Luckily for Naho Takamiya, she’s found another way to avoid life-changing slip-ups, and it’s all thanks to a letter she receives from herself — 10 years in the future. While Takamiya is skeptical about the message, it does describe several events taking place. Believing that the note is from her 26-year-old self, she reads that her future life is filled with regrets. But it also warns her to keep an eye her new classmate and crush, Kakeru Naruse.
Orange not only explores the romantic relationship between its main characters, but it also portrays the love between a group of friends, a friendship that lasts for more than a decade.
Hi Score Girl
It’s 1991, and arcades are all the rage, inspiring kids everywhere to try to become professional gamers. One such kid is sixth-grader Yaguchi Haruo. Haruo isn’t the brightest or most athletic student, but there’s no denying he’s a videogame master. He spends all his free time at the local arcade honing his skills, which, in turn, gives Haruo confidence and pride. But when the popular rich girl in his class, Oono Akira, easily defeats him in Street Fighter 2, it crushes him. Now he has only one mission in life: to defeat Akira in the most humiliating way possible.
Right from the start, the series nails its nostalgic 90’s gaming setting, complete with a crowd that gathers around the kids as they play various games in the arcade. But the love story doesn’t take a backseat to nostalgia. We get a glimpse at their sweet gaming skills and get to see how their relationship evolves from an intense rivalry to a cute romance.
