Wholesome romance
 

If you look at my previous requests then this post is a complete U-turn on everything I've ever looked for in an anime, yet here we are. I've watched a few anime recently with slowly blossoming wholesome relationships that leave me with a warm but empty feeling at the finishing line, because well I need more. Notably I've watched Your lie in April, ReLIFE and am currently watching Bunny girl senpai, why I decided that I should start watching this genre I'll never know but I might as well accept what I've become and ask for more. The school setting never hurts just because it's fun.

Sorry for the wall of text, thanks in advance.

What have you seen so far?

Personally, I can't think of anything better than Toradora!

I've heard good things about Kimi ni Todoke.
I didn't enjoy Maison Ikkoku as much as some, but it's pretty wholesome all things considered.

Only Toradora comes to mind.

Tsuki ga Kirei...that is how you make a romance

Amagami SS(all routes are so lovely) ditto Seiren

I heartily, enthusiastically second Tsuki ga Kirei. Not only is it a wonderful series, you're practically describing it in your request.

Clannad
Mashiro-Iro Symphony

I have seen toradora but for some reason I only shipped the MC with Taiga's best friend and not Taiga herself, leaving me feeling disappointed come the end.

If you like Bunny girl senpai, try Steins;Gate.

I've tried to get into Steins;Gate multiple times but I just can't seem to trudge through it, I don't find any of the characters to have a personality interesting enough for me. Although that could change past the first couple of episodes, I just can't get that far.

Possibly because you have good taste? :heh:

Funny that you mention that....because that happens to be true about the start. It gets better by far. The unfortunate balance of having to pander to certain people with typical tropes before getting to actual contact.

If you can handle same-gender romances, Bloom Into You is definitely 'wholesome.' A bit slow but it certainly has the most tact of any title in that style along with some characters with a lot more going on with them than first seems apparent.

I loved nearly all of them, but being a nerd an a bit of a chuuni myself probably helped a lot in relating to their personalities. They do develop through the series, though, se if you are willing to give it another chance it might be worth.

Since no one mentioned it yet, Hantsuki

Well if you want wholesome love you can't ignore My Love Story, just about the sweetest romance around.
I would also second Tsuki ga Kirei as a great love story.
If you're ok with any age and maturity level you could also try Card Captor Sakura, one of the most innocent series out there with a very slow but touching love developing between the two main leads.
On a similar vein if kids are ok Juuni-sai (Age 12) is quite heartwarming (what can I say, I'm a sucker for kids and puppy love), even if it surprisingly tackles a lot of uncertainty and suspicion in the relationships.
I too would say Toradora works well, as do other series with Rie Kugimiya to varying levels.
Working! is a very slow romance with a whole lot of slapstick violence involved, but the two certainly are cute together.
I'd also recommend Amagami, as well as its spiritual successor Seiren (I particularly like the last arc in that one).
Engaged to the Unidentified is very cute and simple and wholesome, taken from the perspective of a girl who doesn't remember a boy from her childhood with whom she's now arranged to marry.
Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai (Love, Chuunibyou and Other Delusions) is also a very sweet romance growing over multiple seasons.

Of course, I can't guarantee my taste since I'm a guy who really liked Eromanga Sensei (I seriously don't get the hate on that one, especially since a lot of it seems to come purely from the fact that they're "brother and sister", or more specifically they met after their parents married and the parents who created this bond died immediately afterward, leaving them in a very tenuous situation with no real clear relationship at all).

You do need to suffer through first 12 episodes before it actually becomes engaging so yeh...


Feel like I might be slightly misunderstanding what you are after but I'll try. I guess you mean non harem that actually has a couple by the end:

Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! is a slow romance that develops over seasons. Shy characters.

Clannad has a full romance that ends up with an actual child so it follows characters in their adulthood.

ef: A Tale of Memories and ef: A Tale of Melodies focus on several different couples at the same time. It has a beautiful animation and a bit unique way of story telling.

Hotarubi no Mori e is a short film that focuses on relationship between human and a spirit.

Inu x Boku SS was a nice comedy romance with a spirit as well.

Kaichou wa Maid-sama! - comedy/romance

Lovely★Complex is a romance comedy between tall girl and short guy.

Nodame Cantabile comedy romance between musicians that develops over several seasons. I only saw one so far.

Ore Monogatari!! - one of the rarities where main couple gets together very early in the series so most of anime is about their small adventures and flirting.

Romeo x Juliet - speaks for itself I guess. Anime changed things around and made it more action/fantasy.

White Album 2 - it's a love triangle with a bit of an open ending but still the best handling of love triangle I've seen.

Zetsuen no Tempest - action series that does have love story as one of main parts.

Strong second for Nodame Cantabile.