10 Best Anime Romances Of All Time

The most fascinating and wholly original anime this author has ever seen is easily the nuanced whirlwind romance between Chise and Elias from The Ancient Magus Bride.

Due to her ability to see spirits that humans simply cannot, Chise Hatori has basically been an outcast from everyone around her pretty much since minute one of her life.

Passed around from home to home, she eventually fell into such a pit of despair that there was really nowhere to go but further down, so she resorted to allowing herself to be sold on the black market, thinking that if she's bought like a product, at least it means someone cares enough to pay for her.

The one who buys her is the eponymous ancient magus, Elias Ainsworth. A strange, enigmatic sorcerer with a wolf skull for a head and the horns of a goat.

Turns out Chise's ability to see spirits makes her a person of interest to Elias, not as chattel (he just bought her to make sure he didn't have to fight his way out with her) but rather as an apprentice. And also his bride.

So he's pretty eccentric - at first bordering on creepy for Chise to be sure.

But as their relationship develops over the course of the anime and definitely the manga, we learn that - without giving anything away - a lot of Elias comes from having basically zero understanding of humans. Chise not only helps him learn about human customs such as, you know, proper boundary setting, but learns a lot about herself THROUGH Elias in doing so.

Their romance shows the importance of mutual understanding and respect as a foundation for any lasting relationship. Which is why it is, as far as this author is concerned, the best anime romance of any genre thus far.