Anime have an incredible power to influence the audience with captivating stories and memorable characters. However, that doesn't exempt the industry from the fact that giving representation to toxic male tropes and relationships is just not enjoyable. Yes, romance anime is quite gullible in its interpretation, but it's fair to say that the audience can still tell the difference between a complex love story and a disturbing one. There are many lovable yet classic shows that are considered the pinnacle of the romance anime genre, but at the core, they are somewhat toxic.
From celebrated shows like Nana to more recent classics like Future Diary, these anime may portray unhealthy relationships, but they're so captivating that fans can't help but ship them as a guilty pleasure. So, here are some of the most toxic romance anime that are still fan favorites.
Domestic Girlfriend Is a Dumpster Fire
Based on a manga series by Kei Sasuga, Domestic Girlfriend can be labeled as a pure "family drama" where the participants literally live under one roof. Natsuo may be the most average guy in the world, but he gets swept up in the most scandalous romantic drama ever. There's the usual student-teacher relationship that comes highly "unrecommended", but the protagonist can't help it. He is in love with his female teacher, and when he gets rejected, he thinks the best way to get over it is to sleep with a random high school girl.
This isn't even the most scandolous aspect of Domestic Girlfriend, as it turns out Natsuo's parents remarry, and his step siblings are none other than the women, who, for one, slept with him and the other rejected him. It's glorious trash to watch as the male lead does everything to keep his feelings intact for the teacher but also welcomes the other girl's advances.
Scum's Wish Is Borderline Toxic
The protagonists of Scum's Wish are in an unrequited spiral of romantic feelings with two different people, but they look towards each other to find relief from their heartbreaks. Mugi Awaya is in love with his former tutor, while Hanabi Yasuraoka has feelings for her current teacher and old family friend. When both of them find no way to progress in their quest for love, they pretend to date each other because neither can have who they want.
This concept is very confusing, and quickly devolves into somethign toxic. Drowning themselves in fake feelings isn't even the most problematic part. The tutor Mugi is in love with eventually bows to his feelings, and they get together only for the audience to find out that using teenage boys fuels his tutor's obsession.
My Little Monster Has Multiple Downsides
My Little Monster is one of the best romance anime out there, but that doesn't mean it's perfect. It must be the audience's biggest shipping guilty pleasure because, at some point, the show downplays just how toxic the dynamic actually is. People were screaming when Haru and Shizuku finally managed to have a relationship, but their journey was filled with shojo male tropes that are now very underappreciated.
Their relationship isn't the healthiest, and most of the time, Haru is pushing himself on Shizuku. At one time, he even pulls her to a deserted alley and literally threatens to harass her if she makes a noise. That just doesn't seem right coming from a person who consistently wants to pursue the other party to be in a romantic relationship.
School Days Doesn't Make Sense
School Days doesn't do justice to how high school romances can and should be be – just look at Horimiya or Nijiiro Days. It's a disaster from beginning to end and does nothing to add something appreciable to the "young love" genre. It follows the story of a very complicated love triangle where one party is constantly trying to cheat them while the other supports this cheating. Makoto is a high school boy who likes to cheat on his girlfriend with a girl who encouraged them to date in the first place.
This isn't even the worst part, as there are other girls who fall for Makoto's charm -- no matter how dull they may be -- and end up obsessing over him. So, yes, it's a real dumpster fire that would want the audience to stick around to the end to know what happened to these characters.
Wolf Girl and Black Prince Showcases Toxic Masculinity
No matter how insanely gorgeous Kyouya happens to be, or how adorable the protagonist is, no guy gets to call a girl his "dog," even if she's a fake girlfriend. Wolf Girl and Black Prince's Erika finds herself in a bind when she lies to her friends that she's dating Kyouya. In fear of getting found out, she seeks out his help thinking he is exactly the "princely" type that he looks like, only to find out that he has a dark side. He treats her like his pet, orders her around, and even makes fun of her feelings.
Kyouya is that typical male lead who thinks bullying his way into a girl's heart is the way to go. Even though the show isn't half bad, it simply messes up the entire vibe by inflicting a toxic relationship and, again, taking a damsel in distress approach.
Junjo Romantica Literally Glorifies Harassment
"Boy Love" is openly welcomed in the anime world, but shows like Junjo Romantica don't really do much to glorify same-sex relationships. Instead, Junjo Romantica dwells on this disturbing line of thought, believing that harassing and forcing oneself over someone else will eventually lead them to fall in love with them.
The story is about an "alleged" romance between a young college student and his brother's author friend, who writes erotic novels. Not only does Masaki dislikes about Akihiko's explicit interest in writing about homosexual relationships, but he gets physical with him without permission. As much as the audience likes a great BL couple, some shows just don't draw the line between flirting and unwanted touching. Anime like these should portray a mature side to an age-gap romance.
Future Diary Follows Unhealthy Obsession
Well, when the romantic moments come, the audience loves it, but what's displayed in Future Diary is as unhealthy as it can get. The fact that one has to be a cold-hearted person to "survive" a surviving game isn't enough, but killing people because the person thinks they might steal their lover is, of course, messed up. Future Diary may have its shipping moments, but if the audience looks at the plot, it simply isn't portrayed as a good love story.
Yuno will kill anyone in a heartbeat if she even gets a sense of someone trying to get close to Yukiteru. It seems like there's no way out of this relationship because even when Yukiteru threatens to leave her, there's a chance she might shoot him in the head too.