With laidback romance series like TONIKAWA: Over the Moon for You returning in 2023 and Valentine’s Day just around the corner, it’s the perfect time to get into some lower-stakes romance anime where gentle laughs and cute moments are the main focus. Whilst serious drama and high stakes have their place, there’s nothing like a gentle romance for a cozy time.
Romance anime is often dominated by will-they-won’t-they relationships and love triangles but these shows are great because the central couple getting together is more or less guaranteed from the start. From HoriMiya to Kaguya Sama: Love is War, these anime are perfect for anyone looking for low-stakes romance.
Wotakoi: Love Is Hard For Otaku (2018)
Available On Amazon Prime Video
As the name suggests, Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku is all about the unique challenges and perks of dating as an otaku, someone obsessed with things like games and anime, and it gives the viewer a good idea of what to expect from the start. In the first episode, Narumi’s nerdy nature is exposed on her first day at a new job after running into her old friend Hirotaka.
Later that day, after she complains about her romantic troubles, the two otakus decide to try dating each other. Whilst their otaku obsessions cause unique issues and awkward moments, it’s almost always a source of cute and gentle comedy rather than any real drama. Good characters and an unusual premise make Wotakoi worth a try.
My Little Monster (2012)
Available On Crunchyroll
An odd-couple shoujo anime with plenty of great comedic moments, My Little Monster is ideal for anyone looking for lighthearted romance and fun characters. Centered on Shizuku Mizutani, a studious girl who lacks any friends, and Haru Yoshida, a delinquent student with a reputation for violence, My Little Monster is all about how people can make unexpected connections.
The two connect thanks to neither having any friends in the class and, though Shizuku’s lack of social skills means she struggles at first, they soon develop feelings for each other. Whilst My Little Monster is a little light on romantic moments, that’s also what makes it such easy viewing.
Maid-Sama (2010-2011)
Available On Hulu
Whilst shoujo anime has produced some great dramatic endings, it’s also responsible for a ton of incredibly fun and largely laidback romances. Maid-Sama! is arguably one of the best to come out of shoujo anime, centered on Seika High School’s strict new school council president and the one secret she doesn’t want to get out.
Of course, when a popular boy named Takumi Usui discovers that she works at a maid cafe and starts to tease her about it, a romance begins to blossom between the two. Along with cute romantic moments, Maid-Sama! has plenty of slice-of-life fun for a relaxed good time.
Komi Can’t Communicate (2021- Present)
Available On Netflix
An adaptation of one of the most popular manga in recent years, Komi Can’t Communicate is all about the titular Komi and her problems making friends at school. Though she’s immensely popular as a mysterious figure, Komi doesn’t actually have any friends because of her struggle with talking to others.
Hitohito Tadano discovers her problem and decides to help her make friends, resulting in a sweet comedy with some genuinely memorable moments. The only downside for romance fans is that the relationship between the two is often sidelined during Komi’s quest to make friends and connect with her fellow students.
My Love Story!! (2015)
Available On Hulu
With his huge, intimidating stature, Takeo Gouda stands out a lot among his fellow high-school freshmen, and it’s bad news for the kind boy’s love life in My Love Story!!. Compounded by his best friend being the school heartthrob, it’s not until he meets the cute Rinko Yamato that his fortunes finally begin to change.
Though he’s resigned to playing matchmaker for the girl, the two are the perfect pair for each other despite looking like total opposites. For anime fans that love cute moments, comedy, and odd-couple romances, My Love Story!! is one of the quintessential cozy romance anime series.
TONIKAWA: Over the Moon for You (2020-Present)
Available On Crunchyroll
Tonikaku Kawaii, or TONIKAWA: Over the Moon for You as the first season is titled in English, certainly starts with some drama, with protagonist Nasa Yuzaki narrowly avoiding death in a truck accident only to chase after the mysterious girl that saved him, injured, to ask her out.
Luckily, after she accepts his confession on the odd condition that the two of them get married, it gives way to a show with little drama and tons of sweet romantic moments. Plenty of anime leave shocking twists for the very end but Tonikawa leaves the high stakes behind after the opening and each episode is a wholesome treat guaranteed to leave the viewer with a smile.
Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-Kun (2014)
Available To Buy On Apple TV
The downside of low-stakes romcoms is that they often focus a lot more on the comedy aspect rather than developing the central relationships. Whilst Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-Kun arguably suffers from this, the show’s unique humor and charming characters more than make up for it.
The show is centered on Chiyo Sakura, a girl with a massive crush on the deadpan, oblivious shoujo romance author Umetarou Nozaki, and her attempts to get her feelings across to him form the heart of the show. They aren’t its only charming pair, however, as the side characters all get their own romantic subplots that are just as much lighthearted fun.
Horimiya (2021)
Available On Hulu
Proof that low-stakes romance doesn’t have to mean generic characters, Horimiya boasts one of the most distinctive central couples in anime in the form of the apparently very different Kyouko Hori and Izumi Miyamura. Though she appears to be popular and sociable, and he appears timid and withdrawn, Horimiya sees them discovering the surprising things they have in common.
How much a viewer enjoys the series is dependent on how well they get along with Horimiya‘s cast of side characters and their stories, as the show dedicates plenty of time to developing them as well. There are some emotional moments too, but the show stays very much in the realm of lighthearted romcom, making it perfect as sweet low-stakes entertainment.
Kaguya-Sama: Love Is War (2019-Present)
Available On Funimation
Though it may portray the relationship between elite students Kaguya Shinomiya and Miyuki Shirogane as a battle of wits to rival that of Death Note, the stakes in Kaguya-Sama never go beyond the question of who will embarrass themselves in each episode. That’s because Kaguya and Miyuki are both in love from the start, but both are too proud to admit it.
Kaguya-Sama: Love is War centers on their attempts to force the other to confess their feelings and, as they’re two of the top minds at Shuchiin Academy, their matches get quite intense. Those looking for a lot of development may be disappointed by the show’s focus on comedy, but there are some genuinely touching moments to keep romance fans happy.
Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions! (2012-2014)
Available To Buy On Apple TV
For a romcom that gently pokes fun at some of the more embarrassing aspects of school life, few are better than Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions! The series is centered on Yuuta Togashi, a former ‘chunibyo’ who once called himself Dark Flame Master in middle school and now wishes to leave that life behind.
Unfortunately, the appearance of Rikka Takanashi, an eccentric girl with even worse delusions of grandeur, means he can’t quite forget his chunibyo past just yet. Wholesome and full of slice-of-life humor that makes low-stakes shows the best, Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions! is eminently watchable and also includes one of the best shoujo anime endings of all time.
