There’s never been more options available for anime fans, whether they’re seasoned veterans or curious newcomers to the medium. There’s an endless variety of anime series to explore, many of which indulge in unique genres. There are many stories told in anime that would be impossible anywhere else.

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Anime can embrace bold displays of power and unimaginable fantasy worlds, but sometimes all a series needs to stand out is a compelling romance. Anime depicts romances of all shapes and sizes, and it’s a medium where “shipping” represents a big part of the fandom. That said, not all romantic anime meet expectations or leave the audience’s hearts a-flutter.

10 The Romantic Leads In School Days Have A Lot To Learn

Makoto Sekai and Kotonoha from School Days.

There's something to be said for anime that can take a completely mundane relationship and turn it into something that feels magical. School Days is not one of those series and while there's something affable about its low stakes scenario and simple premise, it's not enough to turn it into a memorable experience.

School Days commits the cardinal sin of any romance anime, which is that the chemistry between its two lovestruck leads is nearly non-existent. School Days looks fairly innocuous, but it explores some surprisingly dark and mature storylines for its characters, which don't feel tonally consistent.

9 Masamune-Kun’s Revenge Gets Cold Feet With Its Premise

Masamune and Aki from Masamune-kun's Revenge

Masamune-kun's Revenge is a devastating disappointment and a case of wasted potential that ultimately feels like it's the series' audience who are the recipients of the characters' revenge.

The anime begins with a strong plot where Masamune, who was bullied as a child, matures into an attractive adult and seeks to humiliate his former tormentor by getting her to fall in love with him. The anime is only 13 episodes, but it doesn't take it long to essentially drop the revenge angle and fall into a very generic school life structure.

8 Love Hina Helps Establish The Harem Formula, But Then Fails To Advance It

Anime Naru and Kitsune glare at Keitaro in Love Hina.

Love Hina has a revered reputation in the manga and anime community and it's still regarded as an archetypal harem series. Keitaro Urashima takes some time to regroup and properly focus on his studies, but his time at a girls' dormitory sets off a series of romantic misadventures with Naru Narusegawa and the rest of Keitaro's roommates.

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The biggest issue with Love Hina is that the 25-episode series can't possibly capture the nuance of its source material, which results in a fairly generic romance anime. Love Hina is the perfect example of an older series that's due for a substantial reboot.

7 Diabolik Lovers Is A Reminder That Vampires Aren’t The Best Marriage Material

Yui and her vampire roommates in Diabolik Lovers

All sorts of fiction love to romanticize vampirism, but the approach taken with Diabolik Lovers feels like an extended exercise in gaslighting. Yui Komori winds up in a very Twilight-esque scenario when she begins to live with six suave male vampires.

Each of these bloodsuckers set their sights on Yui, who begins to internalize their torment as a sign of affection. Diabolik Lovers presents its male characters as the monsters that they truly are, but it's crushing that the female lead is such a pushover who becomes conditioned to abuse.

6 Eromanga Sensei Looks For Love In All The Wrong Places

Anime eromanga sensei

The plot of Eromanga Sensei involves a budding light novel author, Masamune Izumi, who learns that his incognito artist is actually his younger step-sister. These two get caught up in passionate storytelling and the power of creation, but it's the romance between these two that pushes the series into problematic territory.

Significant power dynamics and issues with boundaries arise. Most of Masamune's affection towards Sagiri is expressed through infantilism as opposed to romance. The two never stop feeling like friends, or step-siblings, rather than the heavier relationship that Eromanga Sensei tries to make happen.

5 Girlfriend, Girlfriend Makes Its Female Characters Tolerate Too Much

Naoya, Nagisa and Saki gather around the phone.

Girlfriend, Girlfriend has both a generic name and storyline that comes across as lazy wish fulfillment storytelling. Naoya Mukai, a totally average guy who seems to lack any exceptional qualities, enters into a relationship only to then get asked out by another girl.

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Naoya decides that he should date them both, while they all live together, which leads to some unsurprisingly awkward situations. This crowded scenario isn’t inherently bad, but Girlfriend, Girlfriend doesn’t attempt to push it anywhere original. Girlfriend, Girlfriend removes any agency from its female characters and treats them like Naoya's props.

4 My First Girlfriend Is A Gal Coasts On Its Baser Instincts

Anime My First Girlfriend Is A Gal

My First Girlfriend is a Gal suffers from characters who are not just bland, but genuinely insulting to their respective genres. There's no one to respect in this anime and its depiction of "love" isn't something that anyone should admire.

The shallow Junichi enters into a relationship for the express purpose of physical gratification, something that his girlfriend doesn't admonish. Junichi's friends and the myriad of female characters who suddenly become interested in him are even more one-dimensional. Connections happen out of convenience rather than any genuine chemistry.

3 Peach Girl’s Warped Message Is A Danger To Its Audience

Anime Momo and Sae in front of school lockers in Peach Girl

Peach Girl is a romance anime that preaches all of the wrong values and it should absolutely not be turned to for dating advice. Peach Girl essentially tells its audience that the way to someone's heart is to change to fit their interests.

Momo Adachi suffers prejudice because of how she looks, which is unfounded, but she continues to make transformations so that she'll win the heart of a senseless boy. One might consider that all of this might be building towards a powerful final lesson that redeems a series' worth of questionable storytelling, but Peach Girl is frustrating right until its finish.

2 2001’s Fruits Basket Lacks The Nuance That Makes Its Odd Romance Bloom

Anime Fruits Basket 2001 Tohru holding Kyo, Yuki, and Shigure as animals

Natsuki Takaya's Fruits Basket is one of the biggest shojo series of all-time and its central romance between Honda Tohru and Kyo Soma is truly one for the ages. Fruits Basket effectively mixes genuine emotion with supernatural silliness through the Soma's family curse that transforms each of them into different animals of the Chinese zodiac.

Fruits Basket is a good series, but the 2001 anime only has 26 episodes to tell this comprehensive story and doesn't do it justice. Alternatively, 2019's reboot of the series is triple the length and substantially superior.

1 Maid Sama! Needs To Clean Up Its Act

Anime Maid Sama Misaki And Usui

Secrets can be an effective way to propel dramatic storytelling, but there still needs to be stakes and some empathy for these characters. Maid Sama! looks at Misaki Ayuzawa, a wunderkind who's reached the top rank at her all-male school's student council, yet she struggles to make ends meet at home.

Misaki moonlights at a maid cafe as a way to pay the bills, but this secret shame is hardly the bombshell that the anime presents it as. Misaki's male suitors are equally derivative and there's just nothing about this anime that jumps out in this genre.

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