Summary

  • Love triangles can add depth to romance anime by intensifying emotional connections with characters.
  • While some fans enjoy the drama, others find love triangles tiresome and forced, craving simpler love stories.
  • Series like "Science Fell In Love, So I Tried to Prove It" focus on the main couple's relationship without romantic rivals.

Adding a love triangle to a romance anime can be a double-edged sword. Some fans enjoy the heightened drama and tension because it allows them to form a deeper emotional connection with the characters. Plus, it gives them a character to passionately root for on internet forums.

12-Best-Yakuza-Romance-Manga,-Ranked
Best Yakuza Romance Manga, Ranked

Romance stories involving the Yakuza can be highly compelling, as the following manga illustrate.

Other fans, on the other hand, immediately roll their eyes at any sort of love polygon. They can feel a little forced, and after a while, all the wacky hijinks and misunderstandings can get a little tiresome. Understandably, these fans may crave a simpler love story, one where two people just meet and fall in love, and the drama comes from something other than a romantic foil.

1 Science Fell In Love, So I Tried To Prove It

MyAnimeList Score: 7.35

science fell in love so i tried to prove it main couple
  • Release Date: January 11, 2020
  • Creator: Alifred Yamamoto
  • Studio: Zero-G
  • Japanese Title: Rikei ga Koi ni Ochita no de Shoumei shitemita
  • No. Of Episodes: 24
  • Genre(s): Romance, Comedy, Slice of Life

Science Fell in Love, So I Tried to Prove It follows two Computer Science students, Ayame Himuro and Shinya Yukimura, who use the scientific method to prove they're in love with each other. All of this starts when Ayame confesses her feelings to Shinya, who, being a man of science and logic, cannot accept them without scientific proof.

The focus of the series is primarily on Himuro and Yukimura's relationship, with the other characters either already being in relationships or cheering on the main duo to get together. Even the side characters' relationships have next to no romantic conflicts.

2 The World Is Still Beautiful

MyAnimeList Score: 7.59

Nike and Livius
The World is Still Beautiful
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget Display card main info widget end Display card media widget start Display card media widget end
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info

Release Date
April 6, 2014
Creator
Dai Shiina
Studio
Pierrot
Japanese Title
Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii
Number of Episodes
12

The story of The World is Still Beautiful takes place in a world with two kingdoms: the Sun Kingdom and the Rain Dukedom. Nike Remarcier, the fourth princess of the Rain Dukedom, travels to the Sun Kingdom to marry the Sun King Livius Orvinus Ifrikia as part of a political arrangement to bring peace and rain to the Kingdom.

Best-Romance-Anime-About-Married-Couples
Best Romance Anime About Married Couples

Not all romance anime focus on young couples falling in love. These great works show characters who live, grow, and love in committed relationships.

Since The World is Still Beautiful is about a couple in an arranged marriage developing feelings for each other, there aren't many characters vying for either Nike or Livius' affections. The series avoids love triangles for the most part, and any hints of a love rival are quickly resolved.

3 Plastic Memories

MyAnimeList Score: 7.91

plastic memories anime
Plastic Memories
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget Display card main info widget end Display card media widget start Display card media widget end
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info

Release Date
April 5, 2015
Studio
Doga Kobo
Number of Episodes
13

Plastic Memories is a sci-fi anime about a college dropout named Tsukasa Mizugaki. He manages to land a job at the SAI Corp, where he's tasked with retrieving advanced androids known as Giftias who are nearing the end of their short lifespan. He's partnered with a Giftia named Isla, and the two eventually develop feelings for each other.

Plastic Memories does not feature any love triangles and is entirely about the relationship between Isla and Tsukasa. The series' drama mainly comes from the two coming to terms with their feelings amid Isla's fleeting lifespan, and not the presence of romantic rivals.

4 Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun

MyAnimeList Score: 7.82

Flawed Romance Manga Protagonists- Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun
Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget Display card main info widget end Display card media widget start Display card media widget end
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info

Release Date
June 1, 2014
Creator
Izumi Tsubaki
Studio
Doga Kobo
Japanese Title
Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun
Number of Episodes
12

Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun features three couples - Chiyo and Nozaki, Yuu and Masayuki, and Yuzuki and Hirotaka. And surprisingly enough, there aren't any significant romantic rivalries between them. While there are plenty of misunderstandings to be found, they're not treated as serious threats to characters' relationships.

The manga artist herself has stated that she does not like dealing with love triangles, which explains why the series is the way it is. Overall, the misunderstandings and one-sided crushes in the series are mostly played for comedy and don't create any real competition for the main characters.

5 My Happy Marriage

MyAnimeList Score: 7.75

My Happy Marriage E09 Kiyoka Hugging Miyo
My Happy Marriage
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget Display card main info widget end Display card media widget start Display card media widget end
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info

Release Date
July 5, 2023
Creator
Akumi Agitogi
Studio
Kinema Citrus
Japanese Title
Watashi no Shiawase na Kekkon
Number of Episodes
25

My Happy Marriage is set in a slightly fantastical version of the Taisho era and revolves around a young woman named Miyo Saimori who hails from a noble family. After years of mistreatment by her adoptive family, she is arranged to marry Kiyoka Kudou, a man who's rumored to be a callous and cold-hearted individual. To Miyo's surprise, he actually treats her with kindness and compassion, in contrast to what his reputation would suggest.

Like The World is Still Beautiful, My Happy Marriage focuses on the main couple's transition from a contractual marriage to a romantic relationship. The series is mostly about healing from trauma and the primary threat to Miyo and Kiyoka's relationship is their families.

6 Wotakoi: Love Is Hard For Otaku

MyAnimeList Score: 7.93

Wotakoi: Love Is Hard For Otaku anime Hanako Kabakura Narumi Hirotaka
Wotakoi: Love Is Hard For Otaku
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget Display card main info widget end Display card media widget start Display card media widget end
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info

Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku is about the everyday life of two otaku couples. Narumi Momose and Hirotaka Nifuji are childhood friends who start dating at the beginning of the series, while Hanako Koyanagi and Tarou Kabakura have been in a relationship for a while.

The series focuses on these two couples navigating the challenges of dating an otaku. It's a feel-good anime with next to no romantic drama, and that includes love rivals and love triangles.

7 TONIKAWA: Over The Moon For You

MyAnimeList Score: 7.87

tonikawa over the moon for you season 2 tsukasa and nasa holding hands
TONIKAWA: Over The Moon For You
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget Display card main info widget end Display card media widget start Display card media widget end
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info

Release Date
October 3, 2020
Creator
Kenjiro Hata
Studio
Seven Arcs
Japanese Title
Tonikaku Kawaii
Number of Episodes
24

TONIKAWA: Over the Moon For You follows a newly married couple, so romantic entanglements with other characters are basically non-existent. It's about a boy named Nasa Yazuki, who gets saved by a girl named Tsukasa Tsukuyomi from an oncoming truck. Nasa falls in love at first sight and asks Tsukasa to marry him.

The series is as straightforward with its romance as it can get, with Nasa and Tsukasa navigating the joys and challenges of married life. TONIKAWA: Over the Moon For You avoids romantic melodrama for the most part, making it a relaxing watch.

8 Maid Sama!

MyAnimeList Score: 8.00

Maid Sama, Takumi Usui and Misaku Ayuzawa
Maid-sama anime
Maid Sama!
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget Display card main info widget end Display card media widget start Display card media widget end
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info

Release Date
April 2, 2010
Creator
Hiro Fujiwara
Studio
J.C.Staff
Japanese Title
Kaichou wa Maid-sama!
Div
Number of Episodes
26

Maid Sama! Centers around an all-boys school that has recently started accepting female students. Misaki Ayuzawa, the first female student council president, works hard to create a safe environment for the female students, all while working at a maid cafe to support her family. Her world gets turned upside down when Takumi Usui, the most popular boy in school discovers her secret identity.

While both Misaki and Usui have several admirers in the series, they're not played all that seriously. Maid Sama! Puts the spotlight on the main characters' growing feelings for one another, with the presence of romantic rivals being extremely brief and not posing a significant threat.

9 Horimiya

MyAnimeList Score: 8.20

Horimiya anime izumi miyamura and kyouko hori
Horimiya
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget Display card main info widget end Display card media widget start Display card media widget end
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info
Display card community and brand rating widget

Release Date
January 10, 2021
Creator
Hero
Studio
CloverWorks
Number of Episodes
26

Horimiya follows two high school students who both live secret lives. Kyoko Hori is both popular and academically gifted, but she's also a responsible homebody who takes care of her younger brother and keeps the house in order. Izumi Miyamura is a reserved and quiet nerd who is quite outgoing off-school, with numerous piercings.

14-Romance-Manga-You-Should-Read-(Now-They-Are-Complete)
28 Romance Manga You Should Read (Now They Are Complete)

Fans looking for completed romance manga should turn their eyes to these series.

For the most part, Horimiya avoids major love triangles that drag on throughout the series. There are side characters who develop unrequited crushes on both Hori and Miyamura, but they are not treated as serious obstacles to their relationship.

10 Clannad: After Story

MyAnimeList Score: 8.93

Clannad-after-story
Clannad: After Story
Display card tags widget
Drama
Romance
Supernatural
Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget Display card main info widget end Display card media widget start Display card media widget end
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info

Release Date
October 3, 2008
Creator
Key
Studio
Kyoto Animation
Number of Episodes
24

Clannad: After Story picks up where the first Clannad anime left off, with Tomoya Okazaki and Nagisa Furukawa after they start dating. And despite being based on a romance visual novel with multiple love interests, elements such as harems or romantic rivalries are significantly downplayed, with Tomoya and Nagisa being extremely committed to each other.

The anime isn't just about the main couple's relationship. In addition to the romance, Clannad: After Story explores themes of family, parenthood, loss, and grief, making it one of the most touching anime series of all time.

14-Anime-Featuring-Unconventional-Mecha-Designs
14 Anime Featuring Unconventional Mecha Designs

These anime present some interesting twists on the typical mecha design seen in series like Gundam.