3 perfect romance anime that are aimed at adults

My love for romance is also my love of anime. But romantic anime made in the USA tends not to be about high school students finding love. It focuses instead on some of the problems and obstacles that anime enthusiasts have experienced.

Don’t get me wrong: I enjoy a good high school romance as much as the next person who grew up on She’s the ManAnd 10 Things That I Hate About Yourself. Kaguyasama – Love Is War And Basket with fruitsThese are some of my favorite anime. But sometimes watching first-love jitters juxtaposed with the anxiety of exams and planning for post-graduation life doesn’t resonate with someone who’s past that stage of life. Those themes can be satisfying when done well, but I’m older now, I’ve watched a ton of anime dealing with that one specific flavor of romance, and I’m really ready to see on-screen couples dealing with different romantic problems.

Finding romantic anime centered around slightly older or more mature characters hasn’t been easy, but the few I’ve found sparked so strongly to me. Their characters have an innate sense of humanity that hits you in a completely new way. While I can reminisce about my high school days and how every single interaction with my crush felt like the most intensely important thing in the world, movies and TV series like the favorites I’ve listed below resonate with me because they focus on problems I’m dealing with right now.

Wotakoi: Otaku love is hard

Image from A-1 Pictures/Prime video

This is how it works One-season television series, 2018. The four main characters in the show are work buddies and secret geeks. Narumi is a 24-year-old office worker who loves yaoi and has trouble dating since she has to keep her fandoms secret from possible boyfriends. But when she starts a new job and reconnects with her childhood friend (and huge gamer) Hirotaka, they agree to try a relationship, since they get each other’s obsessions.

Instead of centering around first-relationship jitters and school problems, Narumi’s relationship anxiety comes from the fact that this is the first time she’s been fully open about her interests. A lot of her arc focuses on learning how to comfortably be herself, and learning that she can enjoy geeky things and be a responsible adult — and that plenty of people do that already.

Wotakoi – Otakus Love is HardStreaming is available Prime Video.

Recovering an MMO Junkie

Image: Signal.MD/Crunchyroll

Similarly, 2017’s Recovering an MMO Junkie Also, it deals with geeky interests. However, most relationships are online. Moriko is a social recluse who has recently lost her job and decides that she would like to play online gaming. She creates a handsome male avatar in an internet game. She finds a guild and connects with multiple people — but especially cute healer Lily.

It turns out that Lily, the avatar of Sakurai is actually Moriko, an awkward, solitary man, who Moriko runs into IRL. It’s like You’ve Got MailHowever, This is a geeky transformation. Sakurai and Moriko are both nervous about actual-life interaction, particularly when they heavily rely on their online identities. Their romantic relationship may be central, but it is not the only thing that matters. Recovering an MMO JunkieThis anime is about adult friendship, and especially unconventional online relationships. This anime shows the fuzzy line between people’s online personas and their real-life personalities, and ends up being a lovely and patient look at overcoming social anxiety to forge connections, no matter the method.

Recovering an MMO JunkieStreaming is available CrunchyrollYou can rent or buy digital copies of this book. Amazon.

Only Yesterday

Studio Ghibli/GKIDS

Studio Ghibli’s underseen anime classic Yesterday is All You NeedThis movie is full of nostalgia. Taeko is a 27 year-old worker in an office. She takes a long vacation to rural areas to assist on a farm. Taeko takes a break from her daily life to reflect on her childhood and recall many of the happy moments. She questions whether she’s happy with her life as it is, all while getting closer with her brother-in-law’s second cousin Toshio, who lives in the area and works on a farm of his own.

A lot of Taeko’s journey is internal, as she looks back on her younger self and wonders whether she’s being true to herself after all these years. Toshio, her blossoming friendship, helps Taeko realize the things she wants from life. This is in contrast to similar Ghibli slice-of life Ghibli films like “Coming of Age”.Whispers from the Heart OderPoppy Hill from the topTaeko has largely become who she is. Her journey involves trying to figure out whether that’s even what she wants — a quarter-life crisis moment that particularly resonated with me when I watched it for the first time.

Only YesterdayStreaming is available HBO Max You can rent or buy digital copies of this book. Amazon, Apple TV, Google PlayAnd Vudu.

An entirely different love story

Image: Signal.MD/Crunchyroll

All three stories feature female characters who struggle with their identity and what society wants them to do. They can also use the love stories to help them understand themselves. It is exciting and scary to realize that they have finally found someone to understand them. Although these romances are less dramatic than the teen-romantic dramas, they provide an introspective look into love as well as highlighting different priorities for potential partners.

Good romance stories will focus on people who connect and change each other, regardless of their age. When those connections are made through drinking after work, support each other in career transitions, and advice each other to not spend, they can also be a form of friendship. TooGacha games are extremely satisfying for me, as they cost a lot. The whirlwind high school love story isn’t the only one worth telling. You can find many inspiring stories about connecting at any age.