The 21 Best High School Romance Anime

Kyouko Hori and Izumi Miyamura don't seem to have anything in common. Hori is a popular girl with a strong personality, while Miyamura sort of fades into the background. But both of them are hiding something about themselves. Because her mom works full time and her dad works overseas, Hori has to spend most of her free time caring for her younger brother and herself. Meanwhile, Miya is hiding a more badass side - he has tattoos and piercings that he never shows anyone. 

The two might not have much in common, but they do have camoflage. That's enough to spark a beautiful relationship. 

The couple at the center of A Silent Voice may not attend the same high school, but they're both experiencing their first love during adolescence, so it counts. In elementary school, Shouya Ishida used to bully his deaf classmate, Shoko Nishimiya. Though he wasn't the only one responsible for doing so, he ends up taking the blame for the whole debacle and being ostracized himself. Once in high school, Shouya feels tremendously guilty about what he did and wants to make it up to Shouko. He gets the chance when he comes across her randomly, and the two begin building a positive and loving relationship - but not one without obstacles. Whether it's Shouko's protective younger sibling, Shouya's guilt and Shouko's trauma, or acquaintances with their own grudges, something is always getting in the way.

A Silent Voice is a beautiful movie that will definitely make you cry - but in a good way.

In middle school, Futaba Yoshioka and Kou Tanaka are the best of friends, and both are harboring a mutual crush. When they start high school, they're completely estranged from each other. Both of them have changed dramatically - Futaba has altered her personality to be more popular with her female classmates, and Kou has changed his last name and is a lot angrier than Futaba remembers. The story revolves around their struggle to reclaim their old relationship - or build a new one that serves them better. 

One thing that makes Blue Spring Ride particularly noteworthy as a high school romance is how much high school politics play a role. Kou changed because of personal trauma, but Futaba changed intentionally so that she would be able to fit in and have a social life. This dramatically impacts her budding relationship - something that might not happen in another setting. 

Its translated title might be awkward, but Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai is highly rated for a reason. Puberty Syndrome is a mysterious 'illness' that can do anything from turn the victim invisible or force them to switch bodies with someone else to leaving bloody claw marks on their chest. Sakuta Azusagawa was once afflicted with Puberty Syndrome himself and now dedicates his time to helping out other sufferers. The first person he helps is his celebrity classmate, Mai Sakurajima, who turns invisible to everyone except Sakuta as a stress reaction to being constantly in the public eye. This ordeal, as well as their progress in helping others with similar problems, bring them close enough to want to date each other. 

This anime does a great job combining new and bizarre situations involving the students at their school with the protagonists' developing relationship. 

If you're tired of the saccharine nature of some high school romances, My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU offers a cynical take on young love. Hachiman Hikigaya is convinced that the whole social structure of high school is set up to make everyone miserable, and that he has no chance of ever experiencing a meaningful connection of any kind. When he writes an essay expressing his dark views, his teacher assigns him to participate in the Volunteer Service Club - a position that forces him to interact with others and actually help them. 

To some degree, the show is about Hikigaya unlearning his toxic mentality - but it's also about him forging quasi-romantic relationships with the two girls in his club, Yui and Yukino, crushing hard on a male classmate named Totsuka, and building friendships and working partnerships with people he'd never have spoken to before. My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU goes much deeper into its characters psyches than one might expect from its appearance, which is part of what makes it so special. 

Fruit Basket is more of a family drama, but it does have elements of high school romance. After Tohru Honda's mother passed away, she ends up living in a tent on the Sohma family's property. She soon finds herself embroiled in the family's complex dynamics and magical curse.

As she tries to uncover the family's secrets and heal its members hearts, she starts getting closer to one member in particular, who happens to go to her high school.