What Is The Best Romance Anime?
 

I am just curious, guys. Which anime is the most romantic one for you, or which is the best romance anime? Here are mine:

1. Kanon 2006 - Best Romance - er, just best - anime ever. It's sad, but very fulfilling.
2. Shuffle! - I seem to like this series and find it cute. :p
3. Karin - Another great anime for me with originality too.
4. Suzuka - Meh, I don't like her attitude, but I gotta admit it's good.
5. Onegai Twins - Just plain cute! :p

I liked Yoake Mae Yori Ruriino Na, it was very beautiful and well done in my opinion (if the ending was a bit over-the-top).

Otome Wa Boku Ni Koishiteru made me smile too.

Shuffle was a good romantic anime, but for as ood as it was it had a lot of flaws.

But for classic romantic anime, OMG and it's movie is where it lies IMO.

In no particular order:
Kare Kano - Great/quirky characters and unique presentation really help this anime stand out. The first 3/4 was amazing but it became a little tedious towards the end - still a great romance though.
Hana Yori Dango - I've watched the entire anime and I can say I prefer it much more than the drama (still got to read the manga though). Lots of twists and turns.
Bokura ga Ita - Wow'd me. Great leads, wonderful and well timed insert songs and good art style...really everything about this one is amazing.
Mai HiME - although not a fully fledged, the romance it delves into is touching. I can always tell a good romance cause I'll get goosebumps and this one delivered.
Even though it's not an anime, special mention goes to Kare First Love

I've seen a lot of romances but I can't seem to remember some of them at the moment but those ones came to mind for now.

There's a lot of great anime that has an element of romance in it. Pure romance anime though? I would have to say Kare Kano. Yes, it's suffers later on in the series, and the animation isn't that great, but it is such a nice story. There's drama, but it's not the shallow teen drama common in other teen romances. But the absolute best of young romance (if we are not talking pure romance, as I mentioned above) is Whisper of the Heart , which is where my sig is from.

Based on the shows you listed, you seem to be looking for shounen romance anime. Of the shows out there, the best is probably Kimagure Orange Road. It may date from 1987, but there really hasn't been anything since to top it. On the other hand, if you don't mind shoujo romances, there's literally tons to choose from - the ones listed above are definitely worth checking out. While I don't think of Whisper of the Heart primarily as a romance, it will probably meet your requirements. Regardless, it's probably the very best of the non-Miyazaki Ghibli films, and that means that it's one of the best anime ever made.

I suppose this thread should be taken with a grain of salt - after all, you are looking for a show you can enjoy, not a show that other people like.

Nevertheless, here are my thoughts on some past romance anime:

Maison Ikkoku - The gold standard when it comes to shounen romance? Plenty of hijinx, comedy, and melodrama line this work, but it also has its share of touching and dramatic moments. One of the few romances that deal with adults.

Candy Candy - Safe to say this is the unquestioned #1 when it comes to shoujo romance. A fairy tale set in the early 20th century.

Kimagure Orange Road - Another renowned classic; I suppose you could call it MI with teenagers. More than a passing resemblance between Madoka and Kyoko...

Touch - Adachi's most acclaimed work, but I found it tedious. Getting Tatsuya and Minami together was like pulling teeth. I preferred his other romantic works, such as Hiatari Ryoko and Miyuki.

Sailor Moon - More of a coming-of-age/magical girl story, but the romance is strong as well.

Laputa: Castle in the Sky - Mostly an action/adventure, but the romance elements are definitely there - even if Pazu has to be tied up and hit upside the head a few times to "get it".

Omohide Poro Poro - An amazingly realistic and mature view of romance. The ending really hits home. One of Ghibili's least appreciated works?

P.S. If you liked Kanon 2006, also make sure to check out the 2002 version. The animation and character designs may be sub-par, but there was much greater emphasis on the Ayu-Yuuichi-Nayuki love triangle.

Out of what I've seen so far, I'd have to say either Air, Shuffle!, or Onegai Teacher for me. I've just finished watching Air and Shuffle!, so they're really up on my list, but from what I remember I really enjoyed watching Onegai Teacher a year or so ago. I'm not much of one for romance.. but I do have the Kanon '06 series, so I'll have to give it a watch one of these days. It would seem most people agree that it's up there.

In no particular order, my own choices would be:

1. Ai Yori Aoshi - Yeah, its a harem comedy, but once you look past that there is a very nice romance story between the two main characters.
2. Onegai Teacher - Sure, its a silly premis (I married my home room teacher from outer space?!) but once you accept that part, the development of the relationship between the two main characters is one of the most "real" relationships I have ever seen in anime.
3. REC - A wonderful romance between two wonderful characters thrown together by chance.
4. Banner of the Stars - A very understated romance that develops across three series, against an epic "Star War"-esque background.
5. Midori no Hibi - Another silly concept with a wonderful love story featuring two great characters.

Kare Kano ~ Just like Kingdom said it's unique....

Kanon (specially the remake) ~ it has nice story and and a good char. development..,

School Rumble ~ the romance part had been done in a nice comedy scenes :)

Saikano ~ a very nice romantic anime... it maybe sad but it's done in a nice way...

Rurouni Kenshin (OVA 1 Trust and Betrayal) ~ a pure gem of mixing a romance type anime and samurai/action type anime...


Maybe some special mentions...

Chrno Crusade ~ though the romance isn't as many as the action scenes... it's uniqueness made me to mention this...
Fate Stay/Night ~ just like Chrno Crusade... consist mostly of action and also a + for uniqueness..

Hands down, my favorite romance series are Mahoraba ~Heartful Days~ and Lovely Complex. Both are comedy/romance, and in the case of Mahoraba, it's very subtle - don't expect kiss scenes or pervy grope scenes; it's a very lighthearted series.

Lovely Complex is more "romance" than Mahoraba is, since it's pretty much all about a tall girl wanting to get together with a short guy. Very funny series, this one is as well. :)

Aishiteruze Baby is one that sticks out in my mind. The plot is serious enough and it has good comedy but doesn't take itself too seriously.

I also enjoyed Ultra Maniac because the personalities of the characters really warmed up to me.

I always liked This Ugly Yet Beautiful World. The story line is a bit strange, but it's an apocalyptic theme. I like the fact that Hikari found simple things to be wonderful, especially things that we take for granted.

For me the best romance isn't about 26 episodes of a love/hate relationship (see: Love Hina and isn't about 26 episodes of a hate/hate relationship (see: Suzuka). Drama is okay, but some shows are just overly dramatic. The best romance isn't what makes me feel like crap for the next three days thinking about it, but rather a mix between how much it kept me interested and how much impact it had on me afterwards. Of course, this means that my "best romance" won't be purely romance/drama but mixed with other genres or sometimes romance isn't even the domination genre.

1) Cardcaptor Sakura
2) Kimi ga Nozomu Eien
3) Kumo no Mukō, Yakusoku no Basho
4) Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora
5) Suzumiya Haruhi no Yūutsu

Yeah, I'm weird like that.

(Even though I said that my 6th best would probably have to be Love Hina.)

A lot of the ones I like have already been named (Kanon, Hantsuki, etc.), so let's see what else is there...

I don't think Honey & Clover and Nodame Cantabile have been mentioned (I'm surprised Kholdstare didn't mention NC). Personally, I think I like Honey & Clover a little more. I like its laid-back slice-of-life approach to its slowly changing characters over the course of the story. That, and Morita-senpai is made of awesomeness. Too bad Hagu really annoys me (I blame the SD-drawn eyes that she has most of the time...it's honestly overused in H&C compared to even Azumanga Daioh).

It's kind of my policy to only put completed anime on my lists. I did this because a certain anime from a long time ago was done beautiful until the last three episodes where it turned worst than crap. But yeah, NC will definately be on my top ten list and more when it ends, and probably the only reason it wouldn't be is that if the ending is Chiaki and Nodame goes on a plane to Paris and it crashes in the ocean then they both die.

:eyebrow: <-- I think this pretty much sums up my reaction to opinions that claim Shuffle! is good romance.

Koi Kaze deserves huge raps as a romance, IMO, particularly the way it maturely handles a taboo theme. Bokura ga Ita as well is an outstanding romance/drama. Maison Ikkoku is undoubtedly a classic, and, even though I haven't seen it myself (though it is high on my list of things to watch) I've heard some great things about Kimagure Orange Road. Kare Kano is another series that deserves the acclaim that it gets and can be a very witty romance series when it wishes, but it was hurt quite a bit by its non-ending.

Honey and Clover (both series) is great as well, even though it isn't a straight romance. And, even though I'll probably get some raised eyebrows from this comment, when School Rumble finally gets off its ass and begins to move its romance plot forward, it will be epic.

I loved Kanon, but I wouldn't really consider it a great romance. Kanon's execution of its romance component was fair, but not great. Kanon's true strengths were its drama and comedy... romance was a distance third for it there.

Edit: Oh yeah, forgot to mention, Rurouni Kenshin: Tsuiokuhen is one of the greatest romances in anime history. To this day, it's one of only two anime I've seen that I consider worthy of a perfect rating.

Another good romance series not metioned so far would be Victorian Romance Emma.

Which begs the question - what was the other anime?:p

Yeah, a lot told me to watch Bokura Ga Ita. I got 20 episodes of this, but haven't started it yet. How long is it, dude?

And Kare Kano is good, but honestly I didn't like the ending that much. :(

I wanna add Onegai Twins here. ;) It's better than Teacher, imo.
I love Fate Stay./Night!! Chrono has a REALLY sad ending though... :(

Hmmm... Nodame is more of a music anime for me, though. :p

I forgot to mention D.N.Angel. I think it falls here too, and I love it. Chobits is pretty good too. I like the original concept of this anime.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned To Heart: Remember My Memories though. IMO it's better than the two other To Heart titles.

Kanon (2006), Air (TV), sola, and School Rumble really give me the sensations i need when watching romance story : tears!

animes
 

Elfen LIed

This ugly yet beautiful world
please twins
please teacher