Although, love needs a reasonable amount of time to sprout romance between a couple, it is not always true. Sometimes you don’t need 20 episodes just to witness a kiss or hug from your crush.
Romance anime movies can move you with just an hour and a half-time frame, as much as 20 long episodic series. So, what are the best romance anime movies of all time? In this article, we’ll give you some delightful recommendations.
Best Romance Anime Movies List!
15. Voices of a Distant Star
Although Nagamime prefers to live a normal life with friends and her love Noboru, she enlists in the galactic army to fight an alien war. Now she travels far away into the space where a single email could take 8 years to be delivered.
We were really shocked to see how quick this anime ended and couldn’t appreciate the creator, Makoto Shinkai enough. It is a work of art which can move any anime viewer and in just 25 minutes, you could tell it is one of the best romance anime movies of all time.
14. Fragtime
Misuzu Moritani has an out-of-world ability despite living an ordinary life. With her power of stopping time for three minutes a day, she does all naughty things.
However, it doesn’t work on her school’s idol Haruka, and she gets caught while sneaking a peek under her skirt. Despite the odds, a beautiful relationship blossoms between these two girls.
Without a yuri anime movie, we wouldn’t feel right with this list. Fragtime axes the story more towards their relationship rather than focussing on her ability.
Being a 1-hour film, it consists of countless adorable moments and emotions. If you’re looking for a beautiful lesbian romance anime film, try this one out.
13. 5 Centimeters Per Second
Tono Tanaki and Shinohara Akari were inseparable and built a close bond until one of them moved to another town shortly after elementary school.
After several years, afraid of losing that precious bond, they set a meeting for just the two of them. Do they still feel affectionate for each other?
This short one-hour journey can be classified as a romantic drama, yet its depiction is not like our traditional anime. It feels unique and potentially lets you feel many emotions by being totally realistic to people’s lives. A wonderfully crafted movie which you must watch if you love sad romance anime movies.
12. Hello World
In the year 2027, a high schooler named Naomi Katagaki encounter his future self by a timeframe of 10 years. Now they must save his classmate Ruri, whom the present self will be dating in three months.
If by mistake, you looked past this anime based on CGI, you’ve missed quite a gem. Sure, it made the plot a bit confusing on the way, yet we found it to be a perfect romance anime movie with quite an emotional journey. Let it be your movie of the weekend by giving it a shot.
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11. The Princess and the Pilot
It’s been years since Levamme Empire and the Amatsukami Imperium have been in war. The prince of Levamme declared his love for Juana del to put an end to the war in a year. However, Amatsukami decides to target Juana’s life and as a last ditch effort, they employ a mercenary to save her.
Although this story might seem like it will go in a similar road as in other romance anime movies, you’re wrong. It is entirely different from what we expected, and we loved the ending.
The animation is so beautiful, fitting to MADHOUSE’s efforts in the 2010s. It is a great movie to watch if you’re looking for a simple anime film.
10. A Whisker Away
When Miyo Sasaki seeks comfort from her Crush Kento due to her family issues, she can’t convey her feelings. However, when she turns into a cat, she begins to get involved in his life more. Will she stay as the cat and help him with his life, or reveal who she truly is and risk what she has now?
Two things we can’t help but appreciate in this anime: The Story and the Animation. Especially, the animation brings out so much life to the anime and the chemistry between the characters is just awe-inspiring. If you’re looking for an emotional and a cute love story, this one is for you.
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9. The Garden of Words
Takao skips his class in favor of sketching in a rainy garden, he meets a beautiful older woman named Yukina. After a few encounters, they both form an unusual relationship but as the rainy season is coming to an end, many complicated things are etched in their hearts.
We applaud The Garden of Words for its astounding story telling and in timely manner. The animation is nothing short of a spectacle from which you can’t take your eyes off.
It is one of the few modern classics filled with emotions, love, beauty, unusual yet delightful romance, and many more.
8. Ride Your Wave
When Hinako moved to a seaside town, she encountered a fire incident and luckily, a handsome firefighter named Minato saved her.
Later they both fall in love, but one day a tragedy occurs. Ever since, Hinako summons her lover Minato by singing a song, in any watery surface.
Ride Your Wave is a beautiful yet heart-wrenching love story you’d never want to watch again (not because it isn’t good, but how sad and heartbreaking it feels).
You connect with the characters so well and feel the pain as if it is real. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call someone “stone-hearted” if he/she doesn’t cry while watching this film.
7. The Wind Rises
Jiro Horiskoshi dedicated his life to build a beautiful aircraft after getting inspired by aesthetic and freedom of flying. However, after creating the Mitsubishi A6M Zero airplane, he never thought it would be eventually used for war.
Although the synopsis sounded like a classic Ghibli film, it is indeed a similar one with a touch of romance. Its fast-paced storytelling, impeccable animation, and forever undying direction of Hayao Miyazaki won the hearts of us. It is a perfect romance anime film for this weekend for you.
6. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
Makoto Konno spends most of her time hanging with two male friends and out of the blue, she gains an ability to leap through the time one day.
After using the ability to do some things like cheating on a test and singing karaoke for 10 hours, the small alterations create unforeseen consequences in her life.
This bittersweet anime is nothing short of a beautifully depicted story. Despite being a sci-fi anime with time travel concept, its focus lies on friendship, love, and relationships. Every aspect was worth the view, and it keeps you on the edge of your seat every second.
5. Doukyuusei
Rihito is an ideal student with excellent grades, while Kusakabe loves to play guitar in his band while performing live events. One day, they both cross paths to discuss regarding the upcoming chorus festival, and who would’ve thought that would be the first step into their lovely relationship?
Doukyuusei deserves all the love it gets for perfectly blending every aspect together and for such a terrific execution. Although it seems quite unusual at first, it perfectly captures the love between both the main characters in a magical way and gives you a beautiful journey.
4. Josee, the Tiger, and the Fish
In hopes of flying abroad, Tsuneo took an assistant job at Josee, an artist with unrivaled talent and imagination. Although she is disabled and can only move through her wheelchair, they inspire a love story which changes both of their lives.
One of the greatest things this anime offers is a satisfactory feeling after watching. The story is quite simple yet so beautiful to the point you’d cry over a few small moments. The artwork and animation are absolutely beautiful, and we highly recommend it to the viewers who love romantic anime movies.
3. I Want to Eat Your Pancreas
The Protagonist finds a diary in a hospital and learns his classmate Sakura is suffering from a terminal illness and aside from him and her family, no one knows about it. He decides to spend her last moments together, despite being quite the opposite personality.
Although some people draw parallels with Your Lie in April upon reading the synopsis, this movie felt quite different. The two main characters have their issues, and regardless of everything, their chemistry worked out really well.
Even though it steps into the lane of developing and understanding themselves, the romance sparked like a branch in the wind. Overall, a beautiful romance anime film with an emotional touch.
2. Hotarubi no Mori e
During the summer break at her uncle’s house, six-year-old Hotaru gets lost in the woods. However, she gets rescued by a youkai named Gin, who is suffering from a curse which will cause him to disappear through any physical contact.
After a few years, while Hotaru growing up normally, Gin ages more slowly than humans. How will Hotaru deal with these complicated feelings when their ages converge?
Right after watching this anime, you’ll have all the complicated emotions squeezing out of your heart. It feels heart-wrenching to part with it, and everything was so beautifully laid out. This is one of the fewest short romance anime movies we’ve loved wholeheartedly
1. Howl’s Moving Castle
Leading a relatively normal life, Sophie never thought she’d have a mystical encounter and turns into an old woman. To put an end to her curse, she must find How’s Castle and the wizard who lives in it.
One of the finest Studio Ghibli movies and also our personal favorite from the list of best fantasy romance anime movies, Howl’s Moving Castle is an undeniable masterpiece. While the story is so immersive and the animation is impressive, you can’t deny how romantic it can get.
If you want to watch a beautiful romance anime movies with a fantasy theme, this is a pretty good pick.
Final Thoughts!
Romance anime movies we’ve mentioned on the list are well-picked through our experience of watching anime for the past 5 years. We really hope you go through every title, so you don’t miss out on a good film.
Well, you can have a great watch with all these splendid movies, and you can even watch them with your girlfriend/boyfriend to have a romantic time. Look who’s blushing here!
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