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Romance is one of the most loved genres in anime due to the kinds of enthralling storylines that entirely immerse viewers into an uncanny utopia. This genre captures the story of two individuals and their endearing journey, where their destined fate brings them together after going through lots of hardships, as conquering someone’s heart is a great task.
There have been many romance animes that are timeless and hailed as the best of all time, but beneath the pile of their success, a few underrated gems never got the spotlight.
Underrated romance anime that fans should binge on right away
1) Honey & Clover
Honey & Clover follows Yuta, Takumi, and Shinobu, three arts college students who share a ramshackle apartment. One day, after they encounter a new student, Hagumi Hanamoto, both Yuta and Shinobu fall head over heels for her.
While Yuta hides his feelings for Hagumi, Shinobu goes the extra mile to express his love in weird ways that always result in disaster.
Hagumi eventually befriends Ayumi Yamada, known for her prowess in pottery and is regarded as one of the most popular personalities in school. Ayumi also has her eyes set on Takumi, who considers her a friend. Later, it turns out that Takumi is also in love with someone else.
2) Bluer Than Indigo
Bluer Than Indigo follows Kaoru Hanabishi, a 20-year-old college student who lives in Tokyo. Kaoru belonged to a Hanabishi Zaibatsu and was about to become its head, but after his mother's death, he exiled himself from the family and left.
Living in Tokyo, one fated day, he crosses paths with a beautiful girl in a Kimono who seems lost. Kaoru wants to help that girl, and after she shows him the picture of a kid who was him, he realizes that the girl is Aoi Sakuraba. She was his childhood friend, who he was supposed to marry one day.
3) Scum’s Wish
Hanabi Yasuraoka and Mugi Awaya are said to be the perfect couple, but behind their make-believe facade, they’re suffering. The former was and still is in love with her older childhood friend, Narumi Kanai, who has now become a homeroom teacher. He is in a relationship with Akane Minagawa, a music teacher in the school.
Seeing Narumi with Akane broke Hanabi’s heart. However, she meets Mugi, who shares a mutual pain with her as he is in love with Akane. To overcome their heartbreak, Hanabi and Mugi entered into a fake relationship to satisfy their loneliness.
4) Venus to Mamoru
Venus to Mamoru follows Yoshimura Mamoru, a brilliant 16-year-old who got himself enrolled in the prestigious Tokyo Beatrice University to learn about the mysterious power called “Beatrice.” On his first day at school, he meets Takasu Ayako, but she is one year older than him.
Although Ayako has never met Mamoru before, she confesses her love for the latter out of the blue. The former carries a serious demeanor almost all the time, but around Mamoru, she can’t help stop herself from blushing.
5) Tsuki ga Kirei
Kotaro Azumi and Akane Mizuno ended up in the same class in the final year of junior high. They started as strangers and became good friends in no time.
Despite their differences, they find each other’s company comfortable. Although Kotaro and Akane developed deep feelings for each other, confessing it forthright is a harder task for them.
One fated day, Akane had no other option than to move to Chiba due to her father’s work. Kotaro became helpless as he would not be able to see Akane every day like he used to do. However, to profess his love for Akane, Kotaro published an online story promising to love her forever.
Moreover, they never let the long distance become a hindrance to their love, as they kept in touch and visited each other every now and then.
6) The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time chronicles Makoto Konno, a senior high school student confused about her career who often kills time with her friends. Suddenly, Makoto’s life turns upside down when she finds out she has gained the ability to leap through time.
She uses her ability to save the people around her from undesirable circumstances and prevents herself from professing her love to Chiaki Mamiya. However, it turns out that the latter has come from the future as he froze the time, to be honest with Makoto.
Although Chiaki has to return to his timeline, Makoto needs to get real this time and proclaim her feelings.
7) Kokoro Connect
Taichi, Inaba, Aoki, and Yui are five students of Yamaboshi Academy who banded together and formed the “Student Cultural Society,” as there were no active clubs in the academy.
All of them were living their best high school, but one day, Aoki and Yui experienced a strange anomaly, where their bodies got switched. Later, and gradually, each person in the group randomly experienced the same anomaly.
Everything was amusing to them until they discovered each other’s painful secrets. Knowing each other’s past, Inaba and Taichi became closer, and imagining a life without each other became impossible for them.
8) My Monster Secret: "Actually, I am..."
For Asahi Kuromine, keeping a secret is a task harder than climbing Mount Everest. However, he finds out one of the biggest secrets of his life by finding out that Youko Shiragami is a vampire.
Asahi doesn’t want Youko to leave the school, so he is forced to keep this secret buried within him.
Being around Asahi, Youko starts developing feelings for him, but the only thing that’s becoming an obstacle to her confession is the doubt that she thinks Asahi likes Nagisa Aizawa. However, in reality, Asahi also likes Youko, but he’s scared of confrontation.
Note: This article reflects the author’s views.
