I selected some lighthearted, cute romance comedies to get you in a romantic mood for Valentine’s Day.
Toradora
Ryuuji Takasu has the face of a delinquent, but is gentle and loves housework. Taiga Aisaka is small and cute, but has such a fiery personality that her classmates call her the “Palmtop Tiger.” When these two discover they have crushes on each other’s best friend, they decide to work together to help each other get closer to their respective crushes. Their alliance leads them to learn more about each other and form a bond that grows stronger the more they interact with each other.
Say “I love you”
After Mei Tachibana was falsely blamed for the death of a class pet by her so-called friends, Mei decides she doesn’t need friends anymore. She isolates herself from everyone in hopes of never being hurt again. However, the school’s most popular boy, Yamato Kurosawa, wants to be Mei’s friend after a misunderstanding between the two. She tries to ignore him, but Yamato kisses Mei when she calls for his aid. She develops feelings for him, and when they learn their feelings are mutual, they begin to date, but that throws Mei into a world of friendship and love she has never experienced before.
Lovely Complex
Risa Koizumi is taller than most women. Atsushi Ootani is shorter than most men. Their heights make it difficult for them to find love, and to make matters worse, their teacher and classmates label them a comedy duo. They are tired of being grouped together because of their height, but as they learn they have a lot in common and support each other in their search for love, they form a bond that just might blossom into love.
Itazura Na Kiss
Kotoko Aihara is clusmy and performs poorly in school. She writes a love letter to her crush, the popular and smart Naoki Irie, but he rejects her. She decides to forget about him, but when an earthquake causes her house to collapse, her father’s friend invites her and her father to live with them, which happens to be Irie’s residence. Now that they are living together, Kotoko and Irie are thrown into a life together that sees them slowly fall in love with each other.
My Little Monster
Shizuku Mizutani prefers to concentrate on her schoolwork rather than relationships with people. Her teacher forces her to take school work to Haru Yoshida, who was suspended after a fight. Although she tries to do the assignment and move on, Haru wants to be friends and proclaims that he has feelings for her. As the two get more involved in each other’s lives, they are thrust into a world that neither of them understands. Together, they learn more about these new feelings and experiences.
Special A
Hikari Hanazono has always been exceptional at everything she does. Until she met Kei Takishima, she felt that no one would ever be able to beat her. She names him her rival when he defeats her and vows to one day win against him. Hikari enrolls in the same school as Kei, where they both hold the two top ranking positions, along with seven other gifted students who make up the Special A class. She constantly challenges him in hopes of one day defeating him. Kei Takishima, on the other hand, is head over heels in love with her.
Kimi Ni Todoke
Sawako Kuronuma’s classmates think she looks like Sadako from The Ring. They believe she can see ghosts and curse people. However, Sawako is kind and shy. She is drawn to the popular Shouta Kazehaya because of his friendliness and yearns to be like him. After the two talk with each other during a test of courage, Sawako decides to make friends, starting with Ayane Yano and Chizuru Yoshida. As Sawako learns how to be a friend, she also starts to learn about a new feeling called love.
Maid-sama
Misaki Ayuzawa is the first female student council president of a school that recently switched from an all-boys to a co-ed school. She is harsh with the boys and uses her Aikido techniques to keep rowdy boys in line and protect the girls. However, she secretly works part-time at a maid cafe to help her family pay bills. She has worked hard to keep her work hidden and present herself as a model student, but she fears that her reputation will be ruined when the most popular boy in school, Takumi Usui, finds out. Instead, he takes advantage of the situation to grow closer to Misaki.
Recovery of an MMO Junkie
Moriko recently quit her job and spends all of her time in the online game Fruits de Mei as the male hero, “Hayashi.” She meets a healer named Lily, and the two become close friends. Moriko becomes a recluse, only leaving her apartment when absolutely necessary. Yuuta Sakurai is a shy office worker who also plays Fruits de Mer. They bump into each other while at a convenience store, but assume nothing of it. Their lives, however, are more intertwined than they realize.
Science Fell in Love, so I Tried to Prove it
Ayame Himuro confesses her love to fellow scientist Shinya Yukimura. Because they are both ignorant about love and romance, they begin a research project to determine what love is and whether Shinya feels the same way Ayame does. They conduct detailed studies with the help of their colleagues, such as going on the perfect date or practicing kabedons to see how each other’s heart rate changes.
You can learn more about each of these anime on their myanimelist pages.
If romance and Valentine’s Day isn’t your thing, you can check out my weekly recommendations for other anime to watch.
Do you plan to watch any of these rom-coms for Valentine’s Day? Let me know in the comments.