I will admit I’m not the biggest fan of the flower and heart themed Valentine’s Day. Not because I like to be bitter or rain on other people’s sunshine and sparkles but mostly because I kind of like my romance a little more spontaneous and a little less added as a scheduled reminder. That said, around February each year I start thinking about current romantic anime that I’ve watched or am watching and I like to think about their different takes on romance.
Now for those who have followed my blog for awhile you will know I usually have one or two anime with a bit of romance in my line-up even if isekai, horror and darker stories tend to steal a lot more of my focus. It is always nice to have a little bit of a lighter and brighter spot in my viewing each week and I did grow up on 1990’s rom-coms so I definitely have a sweet spot for a bit of cliched romance.
Winter 2022 has actually left me a little spoiled for choice with the current romantic anime being among the better anime I picked up this season. Admittedly, partly that is because I’m not up-to-date with the two big returning anime (Attack on Titan or Demon Slayer) which immediately ruled them out from the seasonal watch list. However even the bog standard isekai that are usually good for some light entertainment seem to be coming up a little wanting this season.
And so three romantic anime ended up on my watch list and while each has a different appeal and a different way of dealing with romance, all of them have so far been endearing in their own way. So if you are struggling to find your Valentine spirit, here are three current romantic anime that might get you ready to face the day.
Current Romantic Anime You Could Be Watching
My Dress Up Darling
Probably no surprise that the first romantic anime on my list is the anime that has taken over twitter each and every weekend (you know right before the episode of Attack on Titan drops and pictures of titans fill our feeds). My Dress Up Darling (or Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru) has so far been a rather charming affair carried mostly by the female lead, the adorable Marin.
Though right from episode one, I was kind of interested in how Gojo was going to develop in this series given the story seems largely to be following his perspective with Marin acting more like a hurricane blowing through his old views and ideas about himself and helping him open up to others again. And episode 4 kind of made some progress on that.
But what really sells this current romantic anime and makes it something so many people are talking about is it is an anime that really just celebrates the main characters enjoying their passions. While it is listed as a romance, and I’m sure they’ll get to that, really we have a cosplay fanatic with no ability to sew meeting the guy who is obsessed with the tradition of doll-making and so has learned to sew their clothes, coming together and both just respecting each other’s passion and helping each other out.
It’s one of those things where as an anime fan it is a joy to watch because here are two characters with slightly less common hobbies finding each other and just enjoying being who they are. And they are both great people. Not flawless or super genius’ or anything like that. Just normal people who have doubts and fears and don’t communicate well but get a genuine buzz out of seeing the other smile.
Admittedly, for those who don’t like it when female characters are objectified, the camera angles in episode one plus pretty much the entire measuring sequence of episode two (which is most of the episode) are probably not going to land great but for those that don’t have an issue with that kind of fan-service, particularly when it isn’t intruding on the narrative, My Dress Up Darling is an anime to dive into if you are looking for a current romantic anime to try.
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Love of Kill
I’ll be honest, of the three current romantic anime I’m watching, Love of Kill is the weakest by far in terms of character and story but it does have one thing that will keep me watching and has landed in a spot in this post: the characters aren’t in school.
Yes, romantic anime set in high school and middle school are more or less everywhere but finding adult anime characters in a romance is kind of difficult so when you get you Recovery of an MMO Junkie or similar style stories that have adult characters who are actually pretty capable humans, there’s definitely an appeal particularly for anime fans that are no longer in their teens (not saying you can’t enjoy high school romance but it is nice sometimes to see a different age bracket in the spot-light).
This current romantic anime isn’t one to watch if you are looking for the hearts and glitter version of romance. With the two main characters being a bounty hunter and a killer with one of them all but outright stalking the other and coercing her into a date, if you are looking for a romance that feels sweet and innocent or even just one that shouldn’t involve a restraining order, you might want to look elsewhere.
Despite that, I’m kind of hoping for the two main characters to end up together. Not because I believe in any way that this would be a healthy relationship in real life, but because I have genuinely enjoyed watching their interactions and as much as the male protagonist is not someone anyone should have to deal with in real life, as a character on screen he has some real charisma.
About the only real stumbling block for this one and the reason it isn’t my favourite current romantic anime is because Chateau, the female lead, is still pretty bland but much like Gojo from My Dress Up Darling, I’m hoping that through her interactions with her love interest she might open up a bit.
Sasaki to Miyano
The final of the three current romantic anime I’m watching is a boys love anime with two high school boys at the centre of the story (which kind of explains the name of the anime Sasaki to Miyano – its a little on the nose). Anyway, if you were after sparkles and flowers for your Valentine’s day mood setting viewing, then boy is Sasaki to Miyano for you. Practically every other scene has one boy or the other surrounded by pastel colours and dancing somethings.
The gimmick for this boys love story is that Miyano likes to read BL manga and after a chance meeting with senior student Sasaki, where Sasaki involved himself in a fight to save one of Miyano’s class mates, the two strike up a friendship including Sasaki borrowing various manga from Miyano.
Realistically, this one is the most standard romance of the lot despite being BL given you have the endless blushes, the wondering what this feeling is, sudden jealousy, and as I said the endless sparkly backgrounds. It is genuinely impossible to come out the other side of an episode of Sasaki to Miyano and not be in a more romantic mood and honestly if a guy gives you a Valentine’s gift and doesn’t look at you the way Sasaki looks at Miyano you might just be missing something.
What current romantic anime are you watching?
So are you ready for Valentine’s Day yet?
Yeah, didn’t think so.
But at least there are some adorable current romantic anime to take our minds off of other things and if none of these are working for you I’m sure you can dig up some older series that are worth a rewatch. In the meantime, I’d love to know your suggestions of anime to watch in the lead up to Valentine’s Day.
Thank-you for reading 100 Word Anime.
Join the discussion in the comments.
Karandi James