Well it is Valentine’s Day so today I’m counting down my top 5 favourite Valentine episodes. This was actually harder than it sounded because while I know I have watched a million different anime versions of Valentine’s Day (seriously, this was not an exaggeration at all) I really struggled to remember which shows they were in. And that’s because they are all pretty much the same.
My list ended up being based on which episodes stuck with me (which will explain some of the weird choices). Feel free to add your favourite Valentine episode in the comments below.
Please Note – There will be spoilers below.
Number 5: Vampire Knight
While I’m not the biggest Vampire Knight fan (way too Twilight in anime form and I was too old when this came out to really appreciate the brooding teen romance element), I must admit the Valentine’s Day episode is memorable. Screaming fan girls, crowd control, Zero actually being kind of nice and getting punched for it, a couple of broken hearts and all and all it is a perfectly watchable Valentine episode.
Which is more than can be said for Yuki’s attempt at handmaking chocolate. Not entirely sure how you manage to mess that up but somehow she not only manages to make a disaster out of the kitchen but the single chocolate ball she creates is, if Zero’s reaction is anything to go by, unpalatable.
Number 4: Acchi Kocchi
Alright this is one of my weirder choices for best Valentine Episode and yet Acchi Kocchi definitely deserves the place on the list. It isn’t that anything particularly different happens in this episode. Its Valentine’s Day and Tsumiki wants to make chocolates for Io but he doesn’t like plain chocolates so she’s making mousse. That’s all pretty standard but the reason this episode sticks is because of Mayoi and her surprise chocolates.
Surprising because she claims she put frog meat in them after feeding them to the guys. Of course, she wouldn’t be Mayoi if she left it there. She follows this up with coating Tsumiki’s lips with chocolate flavoured lipstick and pushes her toward Io. Fortunately Io is a gentlemen (or at least smart enough not to put up with Mayoi’s rubbish) and manages to come out of the situation more or less unscathed though Tsumiki might have exploded. In short it is Valentine’s Day the way only Acchi Kocchi could do it.
Number 3: Fruits Basket 2001
This Valentine’s Episode is pretty straight forward in the original Fruits Basket anime. Tohru decides to make everybody chocolate however when she is about to give it to everyone Kyo, who is annoyed with Kagura, declares he hates chocolate. He is then guilt tripped into eating both Kagura’s and Tohru’s chocolate. It isn’t a profound episode but I really like Kyo as a character so I kind of enjoyed this moment.
With so many super sweet moments across its run having a Valentine Episode that still stands out is no easy feat so extra points to Fruits Basket for managing that and getting the mix of comedy and sweetness pretty spot on.
Number 2: Kimi Ni Todoke
Honestly, this should be number 1 on my list of favourite anime Valentine Episodes. The reason it isn’t is because Sawako doesn’t give him the chocolates. So frustrating (though not unusual for Kimi ni Todoke). She gives chocolates to everyone else but then questions the meaning behind the chocolates she wants to give Kazehaya and after hearing he won’t accept chocolates with real feelings she hesitates and loses her chance.
As much as I love this show, this episode is really frustrating. Certainly it is memorable and he does eventually get given the chocolates but Valentine’s Day is not a particularly happy one in this series.
Number 1: My Love Story
At first I thought this was going to go down the same path as Kimi ni Todoke but thank goodness Yamato from My Love Story is a lot tougher than Sawako. While the group date is pleasant it is her arrival at his house later with the most ridiculously over the top Valentine’s cake ever. It is adorable. And honestly, who doesn’t want that cake?
There they are, my top 5 Valentine’s episodes.
What anime Valentine Episode would you have chosen?
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Join the discussion in the comments.
Karandi James
I will say that it’s very romantic to know that Rinko will still love Takeyo when he has diabetes. Cause damn.
Easily my all time favorite VD episode as well.
Glad you liked the list.
Great post. Late Happy Valentine.
ヽ(●´∀｀)/【ﾟ+｡:.ﾟ♪Happy Valentine’s Day!♪ﾟ.:｡+ﾟ】
Happy Valentine’s Day Karandi!
You too.
I adore that episode of Fruits Basket! Like many others, I find Valentines specials to be less than great most of the time, usually because it either involves someone feeling very obligated to do something huge (and it’s usually the guy that fills that role) or its overloaded with saccharine romance that makes my bitter single person self say whatever the Valentines equivalent of ‘ba humbug’ is. But that episode of Fruits Basket really hit the mark. It’s a great mix of comedy and legit sweetness and despite not being a huge fan of Kyo, he and Tohru are great in that episode.
And I keep forgetting Vampire Knight existed. 😐
Kyo and Tohru are adorable in that episode. I think Fruits Basket gets away with a Valentine ep because the show is pretty sickly sweet all the time and they just used Valentine’s Day as another chance to help Kyo along in his character growth.
Oh I love all of these, but YES!!! My Love Story is just soooo cute!!! My poor little heart exploded with fuzzy hearts when I first saw the anime, hahaha. Happy valentine’s to you!! ♥
I literally have read all shoujos , and I ‘m not exaggerating, either. However , I can’t think of any that stands out to me, except one …. that of Ookami Shoujo To Kuro Ouji. The main guy is a first class jerk who tossed out the chocolates that the main girl gave him , right in front of her, because he saw that another guy, a good friend of Erika ( the main girl ) was also given exactly the same chocolates.
I really dislike the guy from that and I really dislike Erika for actually continuing to pursue him. I know at first she has her reasons but surely she should have got to the enough is enough point.
My words exactly ! ! This manga really has sent out the wrong message to the readers, who are unfortunately young and impressionable.
My Love Story was a pleasant surprise. Have you checked out the Live action version by any chance?
No, I haven’t seen the live action. Other than future diary and death note I haven’t watched a lot of live action adaptations because they just don’t seem to capture the fun of the anime. Still, My Love Story was one I thought would go well as a live action.
Valentine’s Day and all I’ve done is hide in room. Ah well.
I haven’t watched any of these except Vampire Knight (which was not really to my taste) and I tend to cringe my way through valentine shenanigans in shows I do watch but it was still fun to read why you picked each of these scenes.
I really dislike Valentine’s episodes as well and really struggled to find 5 episodes I liked that had a Valentine’s Day theme. I think next year I’ll do cute couples or something because I know I’m not thinking of another 5 Valentine episodes that would be worth checking out.