Best Romance Anime Films, Ranked

Highlights

• Romance anime films offer unique storytelling, captivating animation, and relatable characters, making for an impactful viewing experience.
• Films like “5 Centimeters Per Second” and “The Garden of Words” explore love and its complexities, leaving a lasting emotional impact on the audience.
• Anime films such as “Whisper of the Heart” and “Your Name” showcase beautiful love stories set in different settings, leaving fans with a rewarding and unforgettable experience.

Romance anime films have garnered a lot of attention and risen in popularity in recent years. Fans of the medium love these movies for their unique storytelling style, captivating animation quality, and relatable cast of characters. Though light-hearted for the most part, these films do not shy away from tackling deeper themes, such as heartbreak, sacrifice, and journeys of self-discovery.

Romance anime films tend to offer a deep emotional connection between the audience and their characters, which makes the narrative feel even more impactful. It isn’t always easy to portray love and all its complexities, but these films often find the right blend of elements to keep the story engaging.

Updated on December 12, 2023, by Mara Cowley: Romance and anime are a perfect marriage, bringing stories of love, hope, and tragedy to anime fans far and wide. Both anime series and movies delve wholeheartedly into this genre, bringing some truly cinematic masterpieces with phenomenal and heartfelt romantic stories at the heart of it all. While romantic anime movies aren’t as plentiful as series, there is still a plethora of fantastic romance anime movies, which is why this article has been lovingly updated to include more of the best romance anime movies of all time.

10 5 Centimeters Per Second

MyAnimelist Score: 7.57

• Release Date: June 25th, 2007
• Studio: CoMix Wave Inc.

There is no anime lover alive who hasn’t at the very least heard of the title, 5 Centimeters Per Second. It is a romance drama movie split into three acts that all revolve around two young lovers, Takaki and Akari, and their lives that end up diverging in very different directions. It’s more of a story of almost than definite love, which makes it all the more tragic.

Striking visuals and a heart-breaking love story help to make this movie a masterpiece that will have viewers rooting for the two primary protagonists. This tragedy of their parting at the end comes as a heart-breaking surprise, without detracting from the quality of this movie.

9 The Garden of Words

MyAnimelist Score: 7.88

• Release Date: November 15th, 2019
• Studio: CoMix Wave Inc.

To say that The Garden Of Words is a stunning visual marvel would still be an understatement of just how gorgeous the film looks. Beneath the rainy atmosphere of the film lies a unique love story of two individuals who meet by a chance encounter. The film stars a high school student named Takako who wants to be a shoemaker, and an older woman named Yukino who wants to move on from the past.

The two meet each other in a beautiful garden on rainy days, and as they spend time in each other’s presence they start to form a deep connection. Their feelings, however, become further complicated by their age difference and personal lives.

8 The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

MyAnimelist Score: 8.11

• Release Date: November 19th, 2006
• Studio: Madhouse

Time travel, teen drama, high school, the future, and romance—these are all the themes present and explored in The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, a fantastic anime movie that is essential viewing for anime fans.

High school student Makoto discovers she has the power to reverse time for a short amount of time, rewinding minutes, hours, or days depending on how far she leaps. But as she is using these new powers to better her life, she unknowingly worsens the lives of others around her, such as Chiaki, who traveled back in time to see a painting lost in the future. Though there is a romance that blossoms between the two, the pair eventually separates as Chiaki returns to his own time, giving the movie a heartbreaking conclusion.

7 Whisper of the Heart

MyAnimelist Score: 8.22

• Release Date: March 7th, 2006
• Studio: Studio Ghibli

Another entry in Ghibli’s movie library, Whisper of the Heart is one of the few romance movies set in the big city of Tokyo. It revolves around the two central protagonists, Shizuku and Seiji, who are both old souls, a creative writer and violin player respectively, with each of the duo loving books and antique stores. The two meet in the store and grow closer over their love of the same books.

Though this movie sounds more simplistic than other entries, Whisper of the Heart stands out as beautiful and heartfelt, with a very real love even between the two young main characters with a meet-cute story kicking off their romance. And with the promise of a happy ending at the movie’s closing scene, it is a rewarding film to watch.

6 Weathering With You

MyAnimelist Score: 8.28

• Release Date: January 20th, 2020
• Studio: CoMix Wave Inc.

Weathering With You is a gorgeous romantic adventure starring a high school boy named Hodoka. Hodoka runs away from his small town to Tokyo, only to meet a girl named Hina, who has the power to control the weather. The two start to grow closer, but the consequences of Hina’s mysterious abilities start to catch up with them. They must figure out a way to deal with the strange occurrence concerning Hina’s weather-shifting powers while keeping evil forces at bay.

The film is brimming with style and captivating animation, making the best use out of its weather-centered theme. Weathering With You tests the power of friendship and love, and is a must-watch for fans of Makoto Shinkai films.

5 Your Name

MyAnimelist Score: 8.39

• Release Date: April 7th, 2017
• Studio: CoMix Wave Inc.

Your Name is one of the most popular and influential anime films to date and really helped turn the anime film industry into a global phenomenon. This critically acclaimed film by Makoto Shinkai tells a beautiful tale of two high school students, Mitsuha and Taki, who out of nowhere, start to switch bodies. The two then try to make sense of this strange occurrence while navigating through each other’s lives.

Romance lovers will love the dynamic between the two main leads, as without even meeting each other they start to fall in love. The story involves heavy twists near its end which makes this love story even more intriguing. Your Name is a must-watch anime film that has cemented itself as a modern classic of the genre with its gorgeous visuals and intricate storytelling.

4 Josee, The Tiger And The Fish

MyAnimelist Score: 8.40

• Release Date: July 12th, 2021
• Studio: Bones

Josee, the Tiger and the Fish is a charming and heartwarming romance anime film that has a very grounded but impactful premise. The film tells the story of a college student named Tsuneo, who becomes a caretaker for a wheelchair user named Josee. Though starting off on the wrong foot, the two form a deep connection and begin to inspire each other to pursue their dreams.

The film makes a great depiction of how difficult life can be for someone with a physical disability, while also emphasizing the importance of never giving up on dreams despite your apparent restrictions and setbacks. Josee, the Tiger and the Fish is another visually stunning feature film bound to leave fans in awe of its beautiful winter scenery.

3 I Want to Eat Your Pancreas

MyAnimelist Score: 8.55

• Release Date: October 29th, 2019
• Studio: Studio VOLN

Not all lovers are meant to stay together forever, and this fact is made evident in the film I Want to Eat Your Pancreas. This romance anime is an emotionally challenging ride from start to finish, as it deals with many heavy themes. The film stars a high school girl named Sakura, who has a terminal illness, and her ordinary classmate Haruki.

As Sakura’s condition deteriorates, Haruki decides to help her check off all the things she wants to experience before she dies. The film is a celebration of life and is meant to emphasize the importance of the present as nothing is guaranteed. I Want to Eat Your Pancreas is bound to leave many fans in tears with its sad but grounded ending.

2 Howl’s Moving Castle

MyAnimelist Score: 8.66

• Release Date: June 17th, 2005
• Studio: Studio Ghibli

Based on a novel of the same name, Howl’s Moving Castle is a fantastic entry in Ghibli’s movie library, telling the tale of the famed wizard Howl and the ordinary human woman named Sophie who ends up entangled and living in the wizard’s titular moving castle.

Magic, drama, war, and romance are all at the heart of this film, with a slowly developing romance between Howl and Sophie. Despite being cursed and turned into an old woman, the two start to develop a slowly growing love, with a happy ending that could rival all of Disney’s Princess movies. What makes this movie stand out so much is the morals that looks aren’t everything, and true love can conquer all.

1 A Silent Voice

MyAnimelist Score: 8.93

• Release Date: October 20th, 2017
• Studio: Kyoto Animation

A Silent Voice carries a powerful message at its core and presents it with such finesse that fans cannot help but be captivated by its charm. The film stars a deaf high school girl named Shoko Nishimiya, who is tormented by her past, and a boy named Shoya Ishida who was one of the perpetrators that once caused Nishimiya great pain. Years later, Shoya is haunted by his own actions. After having a chance encounter with Nishimiya, he seeks to redeem himself by making things right.

Shoya does his best to win over Nishimiya’s trust and befriend her, and he also starts to appreciate the world from her perspective. Along with a beautiful storyline, the film is bathed in beautiful visuals and amazing soundtracks that really make the film resonate with the audience.

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