Plenty of anime feature tasty-looking dishes, including the culinary feats of Food Wars!! or the bizarre ingredients of Toriko. Even something as simple as omurice or a bowl of ramen tends to get viewers' stomachs rumbling when they're animated with care.
But food in anime doesn't only exist to get audiences drooling -- it can also be a way of showing how characters care for each other. Whether it's a family sharing dinner together, or two characters putting their differences aside over a plate of something delicious, here are 10 anime with meals that warm hearts as well as stomachs.
10 Shinji's Cooking In Neon Genesis Evangelion Represents His Relationship With Misato
Neon Genesis Evangelion's Misato Katsuragi might seem on the surface like NERV's confident, put-together operations director, but one of the first hints at her traumatic backstory and troubled psyche is the fact that she doesn't take care of herself when it comes to food. When Shinji moves in, she has been surviving on convenience store junk food -- and Shinji decides to change that.
Misato and Shinji's relationship is a rocky one. But it's in the moments where they share a home-cooked meal in their tiny flat that they come the closest to feeling like a family.
9 Ryuuji From Toradora Is An Amazing Cook
Toradora is often cited as one of the best romance anime out there, with thousands of fans moved to tears by the series' confession scenes and emotional ending. Another reason why it works so well is the chemistry between the two leads, as the fiery tsundere Taiga butts heads with the gentle domestic god Ryuuji.
True to his personality, Ryuuji often shows he loves the people around him by cooking for them, whether it's his friends or his mother. His generosity with food is one of the many things that make him so endearing to the audience.
8 I Can't Understand What My Husband Is Saying Has Food That Isn't Great -- But Is Made With Love
It's one thing for a character to enjoy a delicious meal that someone makes for them, and quite another for them to eat a complete failure of a dish with a smile on their face. This is the relationship between Hajime and Kaoru in I Can't Understand What My Husband Is Saying, a short and sweet show about an otaku and his wife.
It's Hajime who does most of the cooking in the relationship, as Kaoru -- despite being the daughter of a famous chef -- is a complete terror in the kitchen. When she does cook, however, Hajime enjoys it as much as a Michelin star-worthy meal. Now that's true love.
7 Kyo From Fruits Basket Shows His Feelings In A Bowl Of Soup
One of the many things Tohru Honda brings to the Sohma family in Fruits Basket is the joy of home-cooked meals. It's not a dish cooked by her, though, that's at the center of one of the series most heartwarming moments, but rather one cooked by someone rarely seen in the kitchen: Kyo, the awkward tsundere.
Kyo makes leek soup for Tohru when she's sick, and this shows not only how much he cares for her (despite what he might say), but that he's willing to use an ingredient he absolutely hates if it means she'll feel better.
6 Yuru Camp Shows How Great It Is To Cook Outdoors
The slice-of-life anime Yuru Camp is dedicated to showing the wonders of the great outdoors, and one element it pays particular attention to is the meals that the main characters cook on their little campfires -- usually while surrounded by a truly beautiful landscape.
Even the simplest of dishes taste amazing when prepared from scratch outside, and seeing a bundled-up Rin tucking into a bowl of instant noodles is enough to get most viewers reaching for their maps. It's the more complex dishes that the girls prepare together, though, that really show how rewarding camping with friends can be.
5 Howl's Moving Castle Has Some Of Ghibli's Most Delicious-Looking Food
The titular building in Howl's Moving Castle is easily one of the coziest and most inviting places ever animated, from the rustic main room to Howl's trinket-stuffed bedroom. And there's no scene that will have viewers wanting to jump through the screen and take a seat at Howl's table more than when he and Sophie make breakfast together.
Delicious-looking bacon and eggs, enjoyed in a gentle chaos of chipped bowls and mismatched cutlery: what says "family" more than this? Even the grumpy fire demon Calcifer helps out by providing the fire that cooks this drool-worthy meal.
4 Run With The Wind Features Plenty Of Team Dinners
Run with the Wind is fairly unique as sports anime goes as, rather than focusing on a high school sports team, its main characters are college students who all live together under one roof. This creates an atmosphere of camaraderie that's truly special -- and a big part of that is the meals that the members of the Kansei University track team share every night.
The head chef is Haiji, the de facto leader of the group and its undisputed mother hen. Haiji truly cares about his teammates, and making a filling and healthy dinner is as important to their success as runners as his leading them on their training drills.
3 In K-On!, Friendship Is As Sweet As Cake
It's common knowledge that, while the main characters of iconic slice-of-life anime K-On!! might claim to work hard every day in the Light Music Club, they spend most of their time sitting around and eating cakeand drinking tea.
Their tea parties, provided by the wealthy Tsumugi, always look incredibly delicious, and the entire show is a tribute to the hilarious conversations and heartwarming moments of connection that can happen over a plate of some sweet treats. Just make sure Tsumugi doesn't get to close to anyone else's strawberries.
2 March Comes In Like A Lion Invites Viewers In For A Meal
March Comes in Like a Lion tells the story of Rei, a lonely, depressed teenage shogi professional who ends up in an unlikely friendship with a family of three sisters. The way that they save him and give him a family is communicated perfectly by the series' scenes of relaxed, cozy dinners.
One of the best things about this show, though, is that it's not just a big fancy meal that can communicate love. The cheap pot of pudding that Rei brings to Hina in Kyoto, or the admittedly terrible cookies that Hina and her friends make as a way of reconciling, are as important as any gourmet dish.
1 Sweetness & Lightning Is A Touching Story Of A Father And Daughter
It's easy to take family dinners for granted, as Kouhei Inuzuka discovers after the death of his wife. He wants to cook his daughter, Tsumugi, the homemade meals she remembers, but doesn't have the skills -- until the daughter of a local restaurant owner asks him if he would be willing to practice with her.
Sweetness & Lightning is a truly special show that highlights how food can both be the center of a family and a way of bringing strangers together. Plus, each episode teaches the audience a new dish, making them a part of the family, too.