TV Tokyo; Tezuka Productions; Toho; Lay-Duce; Funimation; Design by Yoora Kim for Seventeen
1Tomo-chan Is a Girl! (2023)
Lay-duce If you've ever been "one of the guys" but later develop feelings for one of your guy friends, then this is the TV show for you.
Tomo is crushing on Junichiro, but he doesn't seem to see her as more than a friend. Can Tomo get herself out of the friend zone?
Watch Now on Crunchyroll
2Adachi and Shimamura (2020)
Tezuka Productions This TV series puts an LGBT love story front and center with BFFs Adachi and Shimamura, who soon realize their friendship is turning into something more.
Watch Now on Crunchyroll
3A Whisker Away (2020)
netflix Miro turns herself into a cat to get closer to her crush, Kento. However, she ends up trapped in her cat body and is unable to transform back into a human.
Watch Now on Netflix
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4Yuri!!! On Ice (2016)
Mappa In this mini-series, Yuri vows to give up figure skating after losing a major competition. However, when his skating idol, Victor, offers to train him for the next Grand Prix, Yuri puts his skates back on. During their training, the two men begin to fall in love.
Watch Now on Crunchyroll
5Romantic Killer (2022)
Netflix Teen Anzu loves being single and living her best life... until a magical creature turns her existence into some kind of rom-com. Now, Anzu has to see this new situation through if she has any hope of getting returned to her real life.
Watch Now on Netflix
6Your Lie in April (2014-2018)
Toho After his mother dies, music prodigy Kousei suffers a mental breakdown and loses his ability to play the piano. With the help of a girl named Kaori, Kousei learns how to live life to the fullest again.
Watch Now on Hulu
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7Toradora! (2008-2009)
TV Tokyo 8Fruits Basket (2019-2021)
Funimation Orphan Tohru goes to live with the Somas — a family whose members each turn into an animal from the Chinese zodiac in times of stress, weakness, or when they're embraced by someone of the opposite sex who isn't possessed by a zodiac spirit.
As Tohru gets to know her new roommates, she looks for ways to end the family's curse.
Watch Now on Hulu
9Plastic Memories (2015)
Tokyo MX In this sci-fi series, humans and androids (which look like humans) live harmoniously. However, some of the machines have gone rogue, and it's up to Tsukasa, a human, and Isla, an android, to hunt them down. Eventually, they begin to develop feelings for each other.
Watch Now on Hulu
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10ItaKiss (2008)
TMS Entertainment Also titled Mischievous Kiss, this rom-com series follows a girl named Kotoko who is head over heels in ~love~ with Naoki. Unfortunately, Naoki doesn't feel the same way about Kotoko.
Fate eventually intervenes thanks to an earthquake. Suddenly without a home, Kotoko and her father go and live with her father's childhood friend — Naoki's dad. Now, Kotoko and Naoki are living under the same roof. Awkward.
Watch Now on Hulu
11Bubble (2022)
Netflix In this movie, Tokyo is cut off from the rest of the world by giant bubbles that defy gravity. The people still living in the city hold parkour tournaments to trade supplies.
When Hibiki, who is gifted at parkour, accidentally falls into the ocean, the bubbles mixed with his last exhale and create a girl. Calling her Uta, Hibiki and his newfound friend begin to practice parkour together. But, how long can Uta last as a human made from bubbles?
Watch Now on Netflix
12Sing "Yesterday" For Me (2020)
Doga Kobo College graduate Rikuo lacks ambition and resigns himself to live a dull life. However, that changes when he begins meeting new people who may turn into romances.
Watch Now on Crunchyroll
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13Revolutionary Girl Utena (1997)
TV Tokyo Utena participates in a sword dueling tournament to win the hand of the "Rose Bride," a girl who supposedly harnesses the power to transform the world.
Watch Now on Crunchyroll
14Your Name.
Toho 15Bloom Into You (2018)
Troyca High schoolers Yuu and Touko have zero interest in relationships — that is, until Touko begins catching feelings for Yuu.
Watch Now on HIDIVE
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16Weathering With You (2019)
Toho 17Castle in the Sky (1986)
Toei Company; Studio Ghibli While the romance aspect isn't nearly as obvious in this anime, compared to others on this list, it's still a classic Hayao Miyazaki movie that deserves your attention.
After her kidnapper's plane is attacked by pirates, orphan Sheeta is able to escape. She meets Pazu, a fellow orphan, and together the two of them embark on a journey to uncover the mystery of a floating island in the sky.
Watch Now on HBO Max
18Violet Evergarden (2018)
Tokyo MX This 13-episode series is about Violet, a former soldier who gets a job as a ghostwriter penning letters for clients.
Watch Now on Netflix
Stacey Grant is a senior editor at Seventeen who runs the brand's Snapchat Discover channel. She also covers entertainment topics specializing in nostalgia, such as classic '90s and '00s Disney Channel and Nickelodeon content.
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