Viewers would be forgiven for thinking of Doga Kobo as a newer anime studio -- despite having been founded in the early 1970s by Hideo Furusawa and Megumu Ishiguro, both former members of the venerable Toei Animation, the studio has only been producing their own televised work since 2007. Known especially for creating and adapting slice-of-life and romantic comedies, Doga Kobo also has something of a reputation for producing titles with strong yuri or moe elements.

Nonetheless, the Doga Kobo catalog does feature some variety, including a few more serious titles and even one based on a josei manga. From their first series in 2007 until today, here are the studio’s best shows and what makes them stand out from the rest.

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Natsuyuki Rendezvous (2012)

An under-watched and underappreciated josei series, Natsuyuki Rendezvous (A Summer Snow Rendezvous) follows three main characters: Hazuki, a young man who gets a job working in a flower shop, Rokka, the manager of the flower shop with whom Hazuki is in love and Atsushi, Rokka’s dead husband, who is hanging around in spirit form and has no intention of allowing Hazuki’s relationship with Rokka to progress. However, only Hazuki can see Atsushi -- Rokka herself is completely oblivious to her dead husband’s presence, despite him interfering at every turn, unwilling to see her with another man.

This may sound like a comedy setup, but while Natsuyuki Rendezvous occasionally adopts a light-hearted tone, it’s mainly a drama, albeit one featuring supernatural elements. Things take a particularly surreal turn from the fifth episode, with much of the storytelling conveyed via a dream landscape that serves as a metaphor for the characters’ emotional development. While the series does have a few pacing issues, it’s also a poignant and nostalgic-feeling anime that should at the very least earn praise for its originality.

Love Lab (2013)

Riko and Natsuo from Love Lab

While appreciated during its season, Love Lab is another Doga Kobo title that seems to have been now largely forgotten. The series centers on several main characters at Fujisaki Girls Academy, all of whom end up joining in on student council president Natsuo Maki’s “research” about romance and dating.

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While on paper, Love Lab sounds like a recipe for yuri-baiting and thinly-veiled excuses for fanservice, this romantic comedy focuses mostly on the genuinely funny yet heartwarming dynamics and evolving friendships between the characters, all of whom bring something new and interesting to the table. Overall, Love Lab is an extremely fun and lively series that manages to cleverly subvert several rom-com stereotypes while never coming across as mocking or cynical.

Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun (2014)

Nozaki Sakura Embarassed in Monthly Girls Nozaki kun

Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun (Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun) is easily one of Doga Kobo’s most well-known anime, and for good reason. It centers around high schooler and manga artist Umetarou Nozaki, who writes flowery shoujo romance manga under the pen name Yumeno Sakiko, and fellow classmate Chiyo Sakura, who has a crush on the ever-dense Nozaki and ends up becoming his assistant. The show quickly becomes an uproarious comedy about both the creation of manga and the one-sided love between the two main anime leads, although the rest of the cast is every bit as off-the-wall and dynamic.

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Nozaki-kun frequently borders on parody rather than just straight rom-com material, and it does so in a way that feels somewhat true to life while simultaneously playing off common tropes and stereotypes. The result is pure comedy gold, in large part due to the show’s brilliant sense of timing. For audiences who find themselves tiring of tired slapstick humor, this fresh, vibrant and above all innovative title is definitely one to watch.

Sing "Yesterday" for Me (2020)

Haru sits next to Rikou on a bench in SYFM

Sing “Yesterday” for Me (Yesterday wo Utatte) is something of a return to Doga Kobo’s earlier works, in that its tone is far quieter and more introspective. A slice-of-life drama, Yesterday follows recent college graduate Rikuo Uozumi, whose tedious life spent working in a convenience store is turned upside down when he is befriended by Haru Nonaka, a seemingly Manic Pixie Dream Girl-type character who nonetheless has plenty of secrets beneath her cheerfully quirky exterior, as does the rest of the cast.

Because nearly all the ‘action’ of the series plays out internally, Yesterday isn’t a show for everyone. Its charm lies in its contemplative realism and deep sense of nostalgia, and its pacing is extremely deliberate; even much of the drama, particularly in the first few episodes, is more meditative than melodramatic. However, for viewers who enjoy heavily character-driven slice-of-life themes, especially those focusing on jaded working adults rather than clear-eyed high schoolers, Yesterday is well worth a try.

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