Highlights
- Historical romances offer emotional depth and themes of the romance genre, while also providing a history lesson.
- Love stories set in different time periods, such as the Victorian era or ancient China, can be just as compelling as contemporary settings.
- Many popular historical romance anime have inspired other forms of media, including manga, stage plays, and live-action films.
Historical romances give fans the best of both worlds. Not only do they get all the emotional depth and themes of the romance genre, but they might get a history lesson in the process. Many works in this genre also throw in some fantasy elements, but plenty of historical romances are grounded in the real world.
While a lot of romance anime are set in contemporary settings, like a high school or the workplace, there’s something special about a love story that transports fans to a different time period. Love stories can ring true whether they take place in the Victorian era, the various eras of Japanese history, or a completely different point in time altogether.
10 My Happy Marriage
MyAnimeList Score: 7.82
In a fantastical version of the Taisho era, a woman named Miyo Saimuri was born without any powers. To make matters worse, her birth mother died when she was very young, and now her stepmother treats her like dirt. When she receives the news that she will be married to an allegedly cruel commander, Miyo loses all hope for a better life.
But when she finally meets her fiancé, Kiyoka Kudou, Miyo is surprised by the sort of kindness she gets, kindness she’s been yearning for forever. Adapted from a light novel, My Happy Marriage has also inspired a manga, a stage play, and a live-action film.
9 Fushigi Yuugi
MyAnimeList Score: 7.61
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Release Date |
April 6, 1995 |
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Creator |
Yuu Watase |
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Studio |
Pierrot |
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No. of Episodes |
52 |
This classic isekai series follows two high-school girls, Miaka Yuki and Yui Hongo, who find an old book called ‘The Universe of the Four Gods’ which transports them to ancient China. There, Miaka finds out she’s the priestess of the god Suzaku, and is tasked with gathering his seven Celestial Warriors to have her wishes granted.
Meanwhile, Yui manages to return to Japan almost immediately. Back home, she has no choice but to read about Miaka’s adventures with worry and fascination. Fushigi Yuugi is one of the earliest examples of a reverse harem isekai, featuring a female lead with several male love interests. Its popularity has inspired a visual novel, a musical, a prequel series, and three stage plays.
8 Romeo x Juliet
MyAnimeList Score: 7.59
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Release Date |
April 4, 2007 |
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Creator |
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Studio |
Gonzo |
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No. of Episodes |
24 |
Despite the title, Romeo x Juliet is only loosely based on William Shakespeare’s classic play. In the anime, Lord Leontes Montague carries out a coup and slaughter of all the members of the House Capulet. Prince Capulet’s daughter, Juliet, is the sole survivor of the massacre.
Fourteen years later, Juliet is a vigilante fighting Lord Montague’s tyranny. She meets Montague’s son, Romeo, at a ball, and they fall in love at first sight. Of course, since they come from warring families, the two star-crossed lovers face obstacles that prevent them from being together.
7 Emma: A Victorian Romance
MyAnimeList Score: 7.62
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Release Date |
April 3, 2005 |
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Creator |
Kaoru Mori |
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Studio |
Hal Fim Maker |
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No. of Episodes |
24 |
As the title suggests, this anime is set in Victorian England. Unlike many on this list, the setting is purely historical and has no fantasy or speculative elements. Emma is a maid working for the retired governess Kelly Stownar, when she meets Stownar’s former student, William Jones. They fall in love, but unfortunately, Jones’ father wants him to marry someone of higher status.
Against of the backdrop of 19th-century England’s strict moral codes, the two must choose between tradition and love. In Japan, Emma: A Victorian Romance was popular enough to inspire a themed maid café and an official maid cosplay outfit.
6 Inuyasha
MyAnimeList Score: 7.86
On her fifteenth birthday, Kagome Higurashi gets dragged into a well by a demon and gets sent back in time to Japan’s Sengoku era. There, she meets a half-demon named Inuyasha. He tells Kagome that she is the reincarnation of a shrine maiden named Kikyou who died with a wish-granting jewel in her grasp, and Kagome now unknowingly carries the jewel.
Unfortunately, the jewel is shattered during a fight, and Kagome and Inuyasha must work together to recover the shards. Though they initially had bad blood, they grow closer as the series progresses. Inuyasha is one of the most successful franchises in Japan and the West, with three video games, a light novel, a stage play, and a sequel anime called Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon.
5 The Story of Saiunkoku
MyAnimeList Score: 7.89
Set in the fictional, Imperial China-inspired kingdom of Saiunkoku, The Story of Saiunkoku follows Shurei Kou, a descendant of a noble family. The anime follows her journey to become a government official, a career forbidden to women. Fortunately, she gets called to be the new Emperor’s consort for six months. Her friend, Seiran Shi, joins her as her bodyguard.
The light novel for The Story of Saiunkoku was adapted into a manga series in 2005, an anime series in 2006, and a live-action Chinese drama in 2023.
4 Gosick
MyAnimeList Score: 8.05
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Release Date |
January 7, 2011 |
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Creator |
Kazuki Sakuraba |
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Studio |
Bones |
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No. of Episodes |
24 |
Gosick is set in the 1920s in Sauville, a fictional Southern European country. Kazuya Kujou is a foreign student at St. Marguerite Academy, a prestigious boarding school. In the library, he meets Victorique de Blois, a reclusive but beautiful girl who spends all her time solving mysteries, even assisting the police at times.
Kazuya gets entangled in Victorique’s struggle to solve criminal cases, and the two develop a relationship as they try to get to the bottom of all these mysteries. Combining elements of mystery and romance, Gosick is a treat for any armchair detective.
3 Katanagatari
MyAnimeList Score: 8.31
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Release Date |
January 26, 2010 |
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Creator |
Nisio Isin |
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Studio |
White Fox |
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No. of Episodes |
12 |
In the backdrop of the Edo era, Yusuke Shichika is a swordsman who practices the most unique sword art of all: fighting without a sword. His life is changed one day when a strategist named Togame asks him to join her in her mission to collect the 12 Deviant Blades, since Yusuke is immune to the magical blades’ corruption.
However, the blades are all wielded by formidable opponents. Togame and Yusuke must band together to face the tough journey ahead of them. Katanagatari has been praised for its unique art and animation style, which comes to life during its fight scenes.
2 The Rose of Versailles
MyAnimeList Score: 8.33
Oscar Fançois de Jarjayes, a woman who was raised as a boy from birth, is appointed as the personal guard of Marie Antoinette, the Queen of France during the French Revolution. This classic shojo series follows Oscar as she navigates France’s economic disparities and her growing relationship with André Grandier, a Swedish count.
The Rose of Versailles is as close to a ‘true’ historical romance as one can get, since it features real historical figures and events. The manga and anime are some of the most influential series in history. Oscar has since inspired similar cross-dressing heroines, like Utena Tenjou from Revolutionary Girl Utena.
1 Millennium Actress
MyAnimeList Score: 8.25
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Release Date |
September 14, 2001 |
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Creator |
Satoshi Kon |
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Studio |
Madhouse |
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Runtime |
87 minutes |
Millennium Actress is a blend of many genres: drama, historical, romance, and a bit of fantasy. It follows Chiyoko Fujiwara, a retired actress, as she recounts her illustrious film career spanning several decades.
While the film isn’t primarily a romance, Chiyoko’s pursuit of a mysterious man she met in her youth is a recurring theme throughout her films. Millennium Actress has a similar storytelling style to Satoshi Kon’s other film, Perfect Blue, with the blending of fantasy and reality. Unlike the latter, however, the former is a more positive spin on the entertainment industry, with an emotionally rich, non-linear story.
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