Any manga series may benefit greatly from getting an anime adaptation, but something is often lost in the process. It’s expensive and labor-intensive to turn manga into anime, and countless anime series fail to get renewed for later seasons to continue the story. This also happens with romance manga, and that can completely ruin the story.
Too many romance anime fall flat because the ultimate payoff — the two leads declaring “I love you” and starting a relationship — never actually happens. Such things typically happen at the end of manga romance stories, and if the anime doesn’t get that far, then the manga’s big payoff is lost and the anime feels too open-ended. Fortunately, several popular romance anime do reach the big “I love you,” often with a final season or perhaps a movie to finish the story.
The Quintessential Quintuplets Resolves Its Wholesome Harem With a Movie
For a brief time, The Quintessential Quintuplets ranked among the many incomplete romance anime series out there. It only had two seasons to cover the original manga, and when Season 2 ended, nothing was resolved with protagonist Futaro Uesugi and his wholesome harem of quintuplet sisters. Then the Quintessential Quintuplets movie hit theaters to finish the story at last, and more recently, this was added to Crunchyroll’s streaming library, where the first two seasons also reside. All this content tells the complete, satisfying story of Futaro’s quest to tutor the five Nakano sisters, one of whom will be his bride a few years in the future. However, viewers don’t find out which it will be until the end out of the responsible eldest sister Ichika, the energetic tsundere Nino, the bashful Miku, the athletic Yotsuba or the compassionate Itsuki.
Aharen-san Is Indecipherable Tells a Complete Kuudere Love Story in 12 Episodes
There’s been a trend of anime series featuring calm, quiet kuudere lovers such as The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague, but even the office rom-com Ice Guy couldn’t provide a satisfying ending, while Aharen-san Is Indecipherable does. It’s a high school rom-com where the petite, whisper-quiet Reina Aharen befriends her kuudere classmate Raido, and they begin a gentle, goofy kuudere romance where games and food are their primary love language. Even if both teens are reserved and don’t talk that much, they pull off a spectacular ending where Raido plays one last game to prove himself worthy of Reina — and the feeling is mutual. Raido openly declares his love, and their classmates even throw a tea party to celebrate the new relationship.
Fruits Basket Has Romance, Drama, Comedy and an Incredible Ending
Fruits Basket is a romantic comedy, a serious drama and a whirlwind tale of family curses and high school hijinks all in one, making it hugely popular for romance fans of all kinds. Based on Natsuki Takaya’s legendary shojo manga of the same name, the 2019 Fruits Basket reboot anime finishes what the 2001 version couldn’t, telling a complete — and rich — romance story in three seasons and just over 60 episodes. Fruits Basket stars the lovable deredere protagonist Tohru Honda, who makes it her mission to help save the Sohma family from their zodiac curse and find true happiness and freedom as people who desperately need a second chance at life. By the story’s end, it’s not just Tohru who gets her happily-ever-after but also almost everyone else, wrapping up numerous romantic arcs with expert precision.
Toradora!
The ending of Toradora! has some elements of “the more things change, the more they stay the same,” but the anime does have a solid, conclusive ending that proves that true love wins in the end. Protagonist Ryuji Takasu soon befriends the tiny but fierce tsundere Taiga Aisaka, though at first, they’re more interested in pursuing each other’s opposite-sex best friend. Over time, Ryuji and Taiga realize they love one another, and Taiga faces her fears and personal demons in the process instead of running away from them yet again. By the anime’s end, Ryuji and Taiga declare their intent to marry someday, and they share a real kiss at Ryuji’s grandparents’ house. Amusingly, Toradora! ends with Ryuji finally declaring “I love you” one year later, earning him a headbutt from his favorite palm-top tiger girlfriend.
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