There are plenty of healthy romantic relationships to be found across anime. The medium has gotten significantly better are its depiction and inclusion of what a fruitful relationship should look like. However, anime still has a long way to go in its depiction of dangerous dynamics that may skew a younger viewer's idea of what love should be.

RELATED: 10 Shojo Anime Tropes That Have Aged Poorly

Many anime relationships make light of disrespecting someone else's boundaries and skirting around consent. Obsessive behavior is also prevalent in problematic anime couples. Some of the medium's most toxic couples are downright abusive or illegal, glorifying age-gap pairings and unhealthy power dynamics.​​​​​​

Updated on October 14th, 2022 by Sarah Martin: Though anime has avoided its most problematic tropes in recent years, there are still plenty of unhealthy couples in the medium. Many of these relationships wouldn't work in real life. Since this list was published in 2019, we've added a few more toxic relationships and updated information about the couples previously added.

10 Yuno & Yukiteru's Relationship Is Rooted In Obsession & Manipulation

Future Diary

Yukiteru and Yuno from Future Diary.

Future Diary is one of shonen's most controversial titles for several reasons. However, Yuno and Yukiteru's relationship is a major pitfall for the series. Yuno is a classic violent yandere whose obsession with Yukiteru leads her to do awful things, whether to others or Yukiteru himself.

Yukiteru realized Yuno's strength and willingness to protect him, so he used her to his own advantage to survive the game. Yukiteru manipulated Yuno's intense feelings and made their dynamic ten times more toxic. Yuno and Yukiteru's relationship isn't one of love and mutual trust, but instead one of obsession, fear, and manipulation.

9 Sawa & Takao's Relationship Is Based On Blackmail

The Flowers Of Evil

Sawa Nakamura in Flowers of Evil.

Sawa & Takao have a contractually bound relationship in The Flower Of Evil. Sawa watched Takao steal a female student's undergarments, so she blackmailed him into a contract with her. However, he still started dating Nanako, his crush, while in the contract.

Sawa manipulated Takao and used blackmail to justify treating him like a plaything. Sawa wanted to drag Takao into the depths of chaos alongside her. She even forced Takao to wear Nanako's gym clothes under his own while going on a date with her. Sawa never leaves Takao alone, and whenever she's smiling, it's a sure sign that she's up to no good.

8 Makoto & Sekai's Relationship Ended In Bloodshed

School Days

Sekai and Makoto from School Days.

Makoto Itou from School Days is a certified terrible boyfriend and walking red flag. His relationships ended in failure and heartbreak, and Makoto was the common denominator. Still, Sekai's obsession with him took things to a new level that ended in violence.

RELATED: 10 Worst Couples In Shojo Anime, Ranked

Sekai helped Makoto with his crush on Kotonoha. Makoto somehow fell for both of them but didn't want to break things off with Kotonoha, so he dated both at once. After that, he started dating tons of other girls. Makoto tried to get his life back on track and just focus on dating Kotonoha, but Sekai killed him as soon as he did.

7 Light Abused Misa

Death Note

Misa from Death Note.

Throughout Death Note, it was clear that Light didn't care about Misa other than for what she could do for him in his pursuit as Kira. Light primarily took interest in Misa's Shinigami Eyes since he could use them to his advantage.

Light realized that playing with Misa's feelings and stringing her along was the best way to achieve his goals. Unfortunately, Misa signed up for it and knew Light was treating her poorly, but she was just happy to have his attention and feel useful.

6 Yukako Kidnapped Koichi

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure

Yukako harassing Koichi in Jojo's Bizarre Adventure.

Most Jojo's Bizarre Adventure fans would rather forget about Yukako Yamagishi's relationship with Koichi in Diamond Is Unbreakable. Most viewers agreed that Koichi deserved so much better than Yukako.

Yukako has always been in love with Koichi, but her affections are always obsessive and violent. She's typical yandere who took extreme measures to force Koichi into reciprocating her feelings. Most viewers thought their relationship had no future after the kidnapping incident. However, Yukako took drastic measures to change her appearance so Koichi would love her. For some reason, they got together after that.

5 There's Nothing Healthy About Akito & Shigure's Relationship

Fruits Basket

Akito takes Shigure's face in her hands (Fruits Basket).

Fruits Basket has quite a few questionable relationships, but few are as toxic as Akito and Shigure. Throughout Fruits Basket, Akito's violent temper, possessiveness, and overall abusive behavior tore apart and traumatized several members of the Sohma clan. Shigure essentially acted as the puppet master behind all of it and enabled Akito's toxicity because he wanted a relationship with her.

RELATED: 10 Toxic Relationships In Anime That Aren't About Romance

Many fans argue that the end of Akito's character arc should have focused on self-discovery and taking accountability for her actions rather than getting shoved into a relationship. Plus, Shigure's pot-stirring feels unforgivable since he pulled everybody, including Tohru, into his and Akito's mess.

4 Kyoya Constantly Objectifies Erika

Wolf Girl And Black Prince

Erika & Kyoya From Wolf Girl And Black Prince.

Erika and Kyoya from Wolf Girl And Black Prince have a bizarre dynamic. It all started with Erika lying to everyone at school about having boyfriend. She took a photo of Kyoya as proof, but she didn't realize how popular he was among her peers. Erika convinced him to play along, but Kyoya made things ten times weirder.

Kyoya constantly objectified and dehumanized Erika, often calling her his "dog" and demanding she stay at his beck and call. There were certain lines Kyoya never crossed, but there's no denying this ordeal's mental toll on Erika. Somehow, Erika and Kyoya became a canonical couple by the end.

3 Misaki & Takumi's Relationship Just Wouldn't Work Out In Real Life

Maid-Sama!

Maid-sama! cover art with Takumi and Misaki.

Most anime fans have a love-hate relationship with Maid-Sama!. It's a shojo classic and widely regarded as one of the best romance anime of all time, but its flaws are hard to ignore.

Takumi spent most of Maid-Sama stalking and bothering Misaki at work. Since Misaki was such a tough student council president, Takumi also blackmailed her into being nicer to the school's male student body. Otherwise, he'd reveal her employment at the maid cafe to everyone else. Though their relationship isn't as toxic as others, Takumi and Misaki's romance is just unrealistic.

2 Domyouji Tried Buying Makino's Love

Hana Yori Dango

Domyouji & Makino From Hana Yori Dango.

Domyouji and Makino from Hana Yori Dango had a chaotic relationship dynamic that, unfortunately, is all too common in real life. The pairing shows that a man can get away with his bad behavior as long as he's rich. Domyouji constantly tried asserting his dominance over Makino through money. At one point, he also tried forcing himself on her.

RELATED: 10 Most Toxic Ships In My Hero Academia, Ranked

Domyouji even blackmailed Makino's family and kidnapped her at one point. At the end of the day, Domyouji was obsessed with Makino and even tried buying her love. Somehow, it worked, and Makino reciprocated Domyouji's feelings by the end.

1 Haru Coerced Shizuku Into A Relationship Through Fear Tactics

My Little Monster

My Little Monster Haru grabbing Shizuku from behind with a hand covering her mouth

My Little Monster is a classic shojo series that's chock full of the genre's most problematic tropes. Right off the bat, Haru threatened to sexually assault Shizuku in the first episode. For some reason, however, Shizuku still kept hanging out with him. This behavior is illegal in real life, but My Little Monster portrayed Haru's fear tactics as humorous and adorable.

My Little Monster essentially argues that girls are capable of "fixing" or "taming" violent men. This never works out and it's always dangerous for the person attempting the "fixing."

NEXT: The 10 Worst Anime Couples Of All Time, Ranked