Romance is such a widely loved genre of anime, but not all the series are diamonds. Many romance anime, old and new, tend to dabble in rather problematic stories to keep up with current romance tropes. These can often lead to the anime showing its age shortly after being released as the audience realizes that these plot lines were unhealthy.

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Even though this is more common with old anime, as times have changed since they were released, more recent romance anime can fall int the same category as time goes on. Even though these anime are rather recent, it's hard to imagine a time when some of these tropes were ever seen as acceptable, let alone romantic.

Updated by Alexandra Locke on February 9, 2023: Romance anime are a much-beloved group of anime that boast a wide variety of topics, settings, and couples. Many romance anime can be enjoyed regardless of when audiences watch them. Unfortunately, that is not always the case, as a growing number of modern anime perpetuate harmful or problematic story elements. Although unfavorable tropes are more common in older anime, this article has been updated to include more modern anime that were problematic from the start.

This article mentions sensitive topics, including abuse and sexual assault.

10 My Teen Romantic Comedy Snafu Played On The "Jerk" Love Interest Angle

My Teen Romantic Comedy Snafu was actually a fan-favorite anime that had a pretty rough ending that left many fans extremely unsatisfied. The entire series continued to build on the relationship between the main two characters and as they feelings and maturity grew. However, the show didn't give present the kind of character growth fans were expecting.

Instead, the male protagonist was still a jerk, and the female remained problematic. My Teen Romantic Comedy Snafu had amazing reviews before the final season, but the moment it aired, its ratings dropped significantly. Clearly, modern audiences had grown tired of the "love interest is a jerk" trope.

9 Rent-A-Girlfriend Implies One Needs A Romantic Partner To Feel Whole

While Rent-A-Girlfriend is still a relatively new anime, it's already a mess. Kazuya Kinoshita is a college student who seemingly can't do anything for himself. His girlfriend breaks up with him and to make himself feel better, he hires himself a new girlfriend. The show's core problem isn't its plot but its main character.

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Kazuya was unsympathetic and didn't grow at all throughout the series. He moped around over his ex as his feelings grew for his rented girlfriend. Kazuya made the series hard to watch, and even as it aired, its viewership dropped episode by episode. The idea someone needs a romantic partner to be whole doesn't sit well with modern audiences.

8 Eromanga Sensei Romanticizes Relationships Between Step-Siblings

Eromanga Sensei is known for its absurd plotline and themes. An ecchi rom-com series, it takes the step-siblings falling in love to a new level as a pair unknowingly works on a light novel together. After their parents die, Masamune tries to support what remains of his small family, including his step-sister Sagiriby writing and selling a light novel.

Masamune works with the mysterious and lewd illustrator, Eromanga Sensei, only to discover that it's been Sagiri the whole time. The whole plot is incredibly messy and lewd. Even fans of this genre were vastly disappointed by the mess it created.

7 In Another World With My Smartphone Features Problematic Depictions Of Women

In Another World With My Smartphone is known to be one of the most generic isekai anime there is and is a big reason why the genre is often frowned upon. Many fans of anime feel like the whole isekai thing has been too overdone, and this anime was just another addition to the already-played-out genre.

On top of being a standard isekai, In Another World With My Smartphone is a harem series where the main character attracts a plethora of girls who endlessly crave his attention. The characters are incredibly weak, leading many anime fans to disregard the series. The harem genre has grown specially controversial with modern fans who feel like it paints a negative image of women and "their roles" in society.

6 Kiss Him, Not Me! Supports Unhealthy Body Image And Other Issues

Kiss Him, Not Me! Is a series about a girl obsessed with yaoi manga. This series is funny and relatable, but it does some pretty questionable things like promoting unhealthy body image and ways to achieve it. Kae Serinuma fantasizes about her male classmates being together just as if they were in a BL series, but none of them pay her any mind because she is overweight.

After watching one of her favorite characters die in a show, Kae becomes deeply saddened and doesn't eat for an entire week. Somehow in that time she miraculously becomes a skinny shojo protagonist. Just as suddenly, all the boys Kae fantasized about kissing each other now want to kiss her.

5 Domestic Girlfriend Won't Let The Protagonist Pick A Love Interest

Domestic Girlfriend is another anime that promotes step-sibling romantic relationships and inappropriate age gaps between couples. The show also highlights infidelity and pits sisters against each other for the affection of one male.

Natsuo Fuji is caught between his two step-sisters Hina and Rui Tachibana and continues to make increasingly poor choices regarding both of them. The whole show, while full of drama, romanticizes poor decision-making and even worse couples while Natsuo struggles to choose a partner.

4 Happy-Go-Lucky Days Fails To Express Realistic Relationships

Happy-Go-Lucky Days is an anime movie that didn't do so well. On MyAnimeList it only received a 5.51 user rating and has some pretty negative reviews that reveal many felt unsatisfied with its plot. The movie follows a few different couples and, while it tries to portray realistic relationships, it does a terrible job.

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Happy-Go-Lucky Days also features several weird romances that have horribly done yuri, teacher-student relations, and implied inappropriate relations between family members. These ideas are super problematic, and with the slow story-telling, it feels like each of the characters' stories are left unresolved.

3 ReLIFE Romanticizes Large And Inappropriate Age Gaps

ReLIFE is an amazing anime, super well done, and worth the watch for a slice-of-life sci-fi series. As a romance, however, it may raise a few eyebrows. Many anime overlook the age gap between couples, meaning older characters will pair up with younger high schoolers. This trend even exists in popular series such as Fruits Basket.

This romance trend makes many audiences feel weird, and the romance in ReLIFE is no exception. Twenty-seven-year-old Arata Kaizaki gets the opportunity to take a pill that makes his body physically seventeen again. Because he is down on his luck, he warmly takes it. So when Arata starts to fall for his high-school classmate, it gets strange.

2 Brothers Conflict Highlights Step-Sibling Relationships, Inappropriate Age Gaps, And Other Questionable Content

Brothers Conflict is a reverse harem anime that romanticizes a teenage girl being pined for by her thirteen new step-brothers. Familial relationship aside, only three of the Asahina boys are an acceptable age for the teenage Ema Hinata. Most of the brothers are adults, and one is even a small child, yet fans are still expected to root for Ema to form a relationship with one of her brothers.

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Even though Brothers Conflict has many charismatic characters, there are just too many problems for modern fans to really enjoy it. This show highlights almost everything that is wrong with anime romances, making Brothers Conflict hard to watch overall.

1 Citrus Romanticizes Abuse And Step-Sibling Relationships

Citrus is a yuri anime that many fans were incredibly excited about, since it was a mainstream GL anime getting a ton of attention. However, the first episode made it clear that this would be just as problematic as other messy romance anime.

Citrus features two girls who end up becoming step-sisters. The show then turns two siblings' bickering into strange sexual assault. Not only does this anime fall under the "step-sibling" trope it also features the two leading girls in a horribly toxic relationship with one another and features poorly executed romance.

NEXT: 15 Best Romance Anime That Are Not For Everyone