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Valentine’s Day is here, and one should make the most of it. And what better way to celebrate love than romance anime, right? From meet-cutes to friendly banters, love is celebrated in every form and way. The subtle yet slow-burn romance is what we all live for.

Kazehaya and Kuronuma in Kimi ni Todoke | Credit: Production I.G

And these four anime are an ode to love itself. Other than action, adventure, and fantasy, these series blended romance, relationships, and intimacy brilliantly within their premise. These are sure to make your heart flutter in the best way possible. Do stay tuned for our honorable mentions as well.

1. Fruits Basket – A wholesome Valentine’s Day anime

Based on Natsuki Takaya’s manga of the same name, Fruits Basket is anything but a bog-standard romance anime. It is a perfect blend of love, friendships, and betrayal. It is gripping in its portrayal of dysfunctional families.

While action may be a spectacle and drama can be intriguing, sometimes the best anime are laid-back slice-of-life series. Slice-of-life is an absolutely pivotal genre in anime, as it can show the small intricacies of day-to-day life that be affirming. Sometimes, after a difficult day, nothing beats unwinding with a great slice-of-life anime.

While slice-of-life is its own genre, it is certainly a diverse one. Slice-of-life anime can be about school life, city life, rural life, and can even have a slightly mystical twist. More than just simple though, all these series can almost be healing as their more peaceful nature shines through. The best laid-back slice-of-life anime are peaceful enough to make fans forget the world and their problems for a little while, and sometimes, that's exactly what's needed.

Gakuen Babysitters Anime series by Brain's Base, Based on the Manga By Hari Tokeino

Gakuen Babysitters is as heartwarming as it gets,...

10 Hit Anime Surprisingly Not Based On a Manga - Main Image

Manga is an influential form of art that combines intricate illustrations with captivating, often incredibly unique stories. When a manga becomes a hit, readers naturally wonder how the scenes will play out in animation, and that's how the idea of a TV series usually takes shape.

But here’s an interesting twist, some of the most successful anime aren’t based on manga at all! Instead, they are original creations first seen in anime format. If you're curious to find out which anime made a huge impact without being based on manga, keep reading to discover these amazing titles.

Code Geass

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, an original anime created by Sunrise, is set in a futuristic Japan controlled by the Holy Britannian Empire. Lelouch Lamperouge, a prince of the empire, is exiled to Japan—a big mistake for his enemies,...

The Fureru anime film – from the Super Peace Busters creative team which includes director Tatsuyuki Nagai, writer Mari Okada and animator Masayoshi Tanaka – opened in Japan last Friday to 69,000 tickets sold. To celebrate its premiere, the film’s final trailer was released last night. The trailer includes some detailed plot points, so be warned of spoilers! Fureru Anime Film - Final Trailer Related: Fureru Anime Film Shares New Key Visual on Opening Day CloverWorks produced the Fureru anime movie from the Super Peace Busters creative team, who previously made Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day , The Anthem of the Heart and Her Blue Sky together. It opened in Japan on October 4 with no Western release confirmed as of writing. Fureru is described as a coming-of-age film set in present-day Tokyo surrounding the Shinjuku area. The movie centers on childhood friends who find a creature with mysterious powers that push...

The R15+ version of The Birth of Kitaro: The Mystery of GeGeGe (known as Kitaro Tanjou: GeGeGe no Nazo in Japan), subtitled Shinsei-ban ("genuine edition"), opened in 331 theaters across Japan on October 4, and earned 156 million yen (1.05 million Usd) on 97,700 admissions in its first three-day weekend, making its third place debut in the weekend box office ranking according to Kogyo Tsushinsha . The opening weekend performance was almost close to that of the original version, which made 160 million yen (1.09 million Usd) on 111,500 admission in the weekend of November 17-19, 2023 . To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the original GeGeGe no Kitaro manga author Shigeru Mizuki's birth, the original version of The Birth of Kitaro released in Japan on November 17, 2023, under the rating of "PG12" (Viewing by children under 12 years of age requires the advice and guidance of a parent or guardian). The 104-minute movie earned 2.79 billion yen (18.83 million Usd) on 1.95 million admissions from its initial domestic run.

Original anime film Fureru finally opens in Japan today on October 4. On its opening day, the film's official website posted a new key visual featuring the three main characters—Aki, Ryo and Yuta—and a mysterious creature known as “Fureru." The tagline reads: "We want to be together forever. So--" Additionally, a short video message from the three main voice cast members— Ren Nagase (Aki Onoda), Ryota Bando (Ryo Sobue) and Kentaro Maeda (Yuta inohara)—is now streamed on the film's official X (formerly Twitter) . They say, "'Fureru' opens today! The latest work from the creator team of 'Anohana,' 'Kokosake,' and 'Soraao.' This is a story that touches the hearts of three young men who live with a mysterious creature called Fureru. What is the ability hidden in Fureru? What will happen to the friendship between the three young men? Please see it at the theater!

The official YouTube channel for the two-member unit Yoasobi has started streaming a music video for their latest digital single song, "Monotone." The lyrical pop tune is featured as the theme song for the upcoming original anime feature film Fureru to release in Japan on October 4. " Monotone " is Yoasobi's first theme song work for an anime feature film. It is based on the novel Fureu. no, Zenya , ("The night before Fureru.") written by Mari Okada, who also wrote the screenplay for the movie. The music video is a completely original creation by the film's production team. It depicts new animation footage featuring the three childhood friends who are the main characters and the mysterious creature 'Fureru,' which was not depicted in the film. Yoasobi " Monotone" Music Video "Our newly-written song 'Monotone' was created while confronting the 'relationships between people' that we have felt through this film, as well as...

Just one month ahead of its theatrical release in Japan, the official website for the upcoming original anime feature film Fureru released a second main trailer today. As with the first trailer , the clip features the movie's theme song provided by the two-member unit Yoasobi, titled "Monotone" . Fureru Second Main Trailer Yoasobi has provided theme songs for other anime series, including as Beastars , Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury and Oshi no Ko . " Monotone " is their first theme song work for an anime feature film. The song is based on the novel Fureu. no, Zenya , ("The night before Fureru.") written by Mari Okada, who also wrote the screenplay for the movie. The CD single for "Monotone" is set to release in Japan on October 2, two days before the film's opening. Yoasobi artist photo Related: Fureru Anime Film Trailer Arrives Along with Cast, Yoasobi Song and Premiere Plans Key visual...

Your browser does not support the video tag. Sonny Boy is an underrated anime with stunning animation and an engaging story that deserves more attention. Kaiba is a profound series that explores identity and class disparity, and is a masterpiece that more anime fans should watch. Wolf's Rain is an underrated anime with beautiful animation, a compelling cast, and dark storytelling, making it one of Adult Swim's hidden gems.

Not every anime show can achieve the mainstream success of some of the most popular anime like One Piece, My Hero Academia, or Attack on Titan, even if they truly deserve it. As a result, there are a lot of underrated anime gems waiting for fans to discover and enjoy them.

There seems to be an almost constant stream of highly acclaimed anime series these days, more than anyone interested in the art form will have enough time to consume,...

More info has been revealed for the Fureru anime film, the latest project from CloverWorks and the Super Peace Busters creative team. In addition to a new trailer—which announces and samples the Yoasobi theme song "Monotone"—cast members have been revealed along with an October 4, 2024 premiere date. Fureru Trailer Fureru key visual Main cast members include: Aki Onoda voiced by Ren Nagase Ryo Sobue voiced by Ryota Bando Yuta Inohara voiced by Kentaro Maeda Juri Kamozawa voiced by Haruka Shiraishi Nana Asakawa voiced by Manaka Iwami Wakita voiced by Sarutoki Minagawa Kohei Shimada voiced by Kenjiro Tsuda Director Tatsuyuki Nagai and actors Ryota Bando, Ren Nagase and Kentaro Maeda pose with a stuffed version of Fureru: Related: Mari Okada, Tatsuyuki Nagai, Masayoshi Tanaka's Fureru Anime Film Release Spiky New Visual CloverWorks will produce the Fureru. anime movie. The Super Peace Busters creative team—Tatsuyuki Nagai, Mari Okada and...

The Rose of Versailles is returning with a movie in 2025, celebrating its 50th anniversary. Produced by Mappa, the series has returned a new promotional video, key visual, and release date. Directed by Ai Yoshimura with music by Hiroyuki Sawano, the movie promises a visual treat for fans.

One of the most iconic shoujo manga series of all time, The Rose of Versailles, is finally returning with a movie in celebration of the franchise's 50th anniversary, produced by none other than Mappa. Two years after announcing the movie, The Rose of Versailles has finally returned with a brand new promotional video, a new key visual, information on the production staff and cast, and a release date to look forward to.

Based on the manga by Riyoko Ikeda, The Rose of Versailles recently announced that a movie adaptation produced by Mappa is set to release in Spring 2025. The announcement was made via...

The upcoming anime film Fureru — from the creative group that includes director Tatsuyuki Nagai, writer/director Mari Okada and artist Masayoshi Tanaka — revealed a new visual today of the cute creature from the film that will introduce to audiences to the film's namesake: the spiky Fureru. Fureru (pictured above) is a creature that has been passed down for generations to people on the island where the three main male characters are from. The creature has the mysterious power of telepathy through the action of “fureru,” which while not specified what the action is, can translate to “touch” or “sway.” Related: Mari Okada, Tatsuyuki Nagai, Masayoshi Tanaka's Fureru Anime Film Teases Heartwarming Story in First Character Look CloverWorks will produce the Fureru. anime movie, scheduled for a fall 2024 release . The Super Peace Busters creative team previously made Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day , The Anthem of the Heart and Her Blue Sky together.

A first look of the characters of the much-anticipated newest work from the Super Peace Busters — the creative group that includes director Tatsuyuki Nagai, writer/director Mari Okada and artist Masayoshi Tanaka — was released today for the original anime film Fureru at AnimeJapan today during a special stage event . The panel gave us the first peek at childhood friends, who are now in their 20’s and are living their lives in downtown Tokyo. Aki Onoda Ryo Sobue Yuta Inohara Related: Mari Okada, Tatsuyuki Nagai, Masayoshi Tanaka Reunite for Original Anime Film Fureru CloverWorks will produce the Fureru anime movie, scheduled for a fall 2024 release . The Super Peace Busters creative team previously made Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day , The Anthem of the Heart and Her Blue Sky together. Fureru is described as a coming-of-age film set in present-day Tokyo surrounding the Shinjuku area. The movie centers on childhood friends...

The anime shorts from the WcDonald's universe continue as the second episode from Studio Pierrot was posted today both subbed and dubbed titled "Love From Across The Booth," featuring aesthetics familiar to any fans of Sailor Moon and the City Pop music genre. Related: WcDonald's Becomes Real with First Anime Short by Studio Pierrot Four anime shorts produced by Studio Pierrot will release over four weeks with a simultaneous manga chapter released on WcDonalds.com . Each episode will focus on a specific genre — Action, Romance, Mecha and Fantasy — with the next Mecha short launching March 11. You can watch the first episode of the Action genre here . The WcDonald's anime campaign also contains a themed restaurant experience launching first in Los Angeles from March 9-10, which takes inspiration from the Isekai genre. Artist Acky Bright also designed custom bags for the promotion, alongside an exclusive Savory Chili WcDonald's Sauce available for a limited time.

The anime in-joke of WcDonald's is no longer just that, as McDonald's began an official anime campaign featuring the notorious upside-down naming with anime, manga and other Japanese pop culture promotions. To start, four anime shorts produced by Studio Pierrot will release over four weeks with a simultaneous manga chapter released on WcDonalds.com . Each episode will focus on a specific genre — Action, Romance, Mecha and Fantasy — with the first Action short available now in sub and dub. The campaign not only consists of anime and manga, as a themed restaurant experience will launch first in Los Angeles from March 9-10 which takes inspiration from the Isekai genre. Artist Acky Bright also designed custom bags for the promotion, alongside an exclusive Savory Chili WcDonald's Sauce available for a limited time. The WcDonald's meme has appeared in anime and manga since the 1980s, including in Cat's Eye , City Hunter , Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt...

Maboroshi has stunning visuals and animation that rival some of the most famous anime films in recent years. Unfortunately, the film's pacing is terrible, with major tonal whiplash in the middle and a meandering second half that becomes unbearably dull. The love triangle in Maboroshi is handled poorly, with a fast-moving love triangle and a final twist that adds an uncomfortable element to the story. The ending is rushed and confusing, leaving many loose ends unresolved.

Warning: The following contains spoilers for Maboroshi!!Maboroshi is the latest film by acclaimed director Mari Okada in collaboration with the internationally renowned animation studio, Mappa. After mysterious cracks appear in the sky above Mifuse, the town is locked in an eternal winter. Masamune Kikuiri is one of the people trapped in the town, and his struggles have bigger ramifications for the world than anyone could have expected.

After its theatrical run in Japan...

The official website of AnimeJapan 2024 revealed the line-ups for its main stages, Red, Blue and Green, on Jan 19, 2024.

AnimeJapan 2024 will take place at Tokyo Big Sight on March 23-24, 2024.

An overview of the stages can be viewed below:

Red & Green Stage: Closed stage with assigned seating. Entry requires both an entrance ticket and a stage viewing ticket. Blue Stage: Open stage with assigned seating for seated viewing near the stage front. Entry requires both an entrance ticket and a stage viewing ticket. Limited free viewing at the rear due to space constraints.

Check out the complete timetable of AnimeJapan 2024 stages below:

Red Stage AnimeJapan 2024 Line-up: Date: March 23, 2024 Timings (Jst)Event NameMembers attending09:15 – 09:50Suicide Squad ISEKAIAnna Nagase, Yuuichirou Umehara, Reigo Yamaguchi, Jun Fukuyama and more10:25 – 11:00Mushoku Tensei: Jobless ReincarnationYumi Uchiyama, Tomokazu Sugita, Ai Kayano, Yuuki Takada, Yuiko Ohara11:35 – 12:10i☆Ris the Movie – Full Energy!

Anime movies not made by Studio Ghibli can provide memorable and impactful experiences for fans. Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms explores themes of identity, motherhood, and loneliness with stunning animation and a memorable soundtrack. Blue Giant tells a moving tale about jazz and friendship, while I Want To Eat Your Pancreas offers a beautiful story about the value of life and friendship.

To many anime fans, the movies created by Studio Ghibli, especially those directed by Hayao Miyazaki, represent the pinnacle of the anime world. From classic titles like Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke to the more recent award-winning The Boy and the Heron, most fans would count at least one of these among their favorites. However, there are quite a few options for the best anime movies not made by Studio Ghibli as well.

The anime movie landscape is a broad one, defined by its rich and complex history.

Streaming services like Crunchyroll offer a plethora of anime series under 20 episodes that are perfect for binge-watching. Shows like Odd Taxi and Erased deliver complex mysteries that keep audiences hooked with each episode. Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches and Horimiya provide fresh takes on romance anime, offering engaging storylines and lovable characters.

Thanks to streaming services dominating how fans consume series – which has led to the binge-watching phenomenon – there's never been a better time to sit back, relax, and binge anime on one of the biggest streaming platforms for the medium, Crunchyroll. The platform's massive library hosts plenty of series under 20 episodes that are easy to get hooked onto, and, despite their shorter runs, tell impressive stories that rival even some of the greatest classics in the industry.

Whether it be a complex mystery throwing hints and foreshadowing at its audience each episode, a simple slice-of-life romance or a bloodsoaked revenge thriller,...

Anime studio Cloverworks announces new original movie titled Fureru, reuniting the creative team behind Anohana. The teaser and website offer minimal details, showcasing three characters and a mysterious hedgehog. Fans are hopeful that Fureru will deliver emotional highs like previous works, with Cloverworks' involvement adding to the anticipation.

Anime studio Cloverworks announced its latest original anime movie, Fureru, with major attention paid to the fact it is reuniting the creative trio behind the modern classic Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day. The new website and teaser are scant in details about the premise of the movie, bar the presence of three characters and a mysterious hedgehog. Fureru is expected to premiere in Fall 2024.

The promotional material focuses on the team up of director Tatsuyuki Nagai, screenwriter Mari Okada, and artist Masayoshi Tanaka, who, together, go by the group name "Super Peace Busters". Their last work was Her Blue Sky...

For a medium as diverse and wide-spanning as Anime, it can be difficult ranking the best anime series of all time. Looking at the wide range of metrics fans use to judge the quality of any individual anime makes the ranking even tougher.

Though no metric is necessarily wrong, ultimately this list used things such as animation quality, industry impact, direction, atmosphere, and consistency to quantify how to rank each anime. Unfortunately, that last point disqualifies some notable fan favorites. While Naruto and Bleach are both incredible series that have reshaped the Shonen genre around themselves, their abundance of poor filler eliminates them from ranking. This list will also not contain any currently ongoing series. So while One Piece, Spy x Family, Ranking of Kings, and Kaguya-Sama are all masterpieces in their own right, it's impossible to rank them without knowing their endings.

Fist of the North Star

Year Released...

Not every anime show can achieve the mainstream success of the most popular anime like My Hero Academia or Attack on Titan, even if some shows deserve it, which means that there are a lot of underrated anime gems waiting for fans to discover and enjoy them. There seems to be an almost constant stream of highly-acclaimed anime series these days—more than anyone interested in the art form will have enough time to consume, in fact. This inevitably causes some underrated series to slip through the cracks.

Naturally, no list of underrated anime could cover every single anime that gets overlooked. But at least this list can highlight 20 obscure anime of particular note and hopefully help them get more recognition.

Hell Girl (2005 - 2017)

Hell Girl is an underrated supernatural/horror anime full of self-contained episodes of characters suffering at the hands of those around them. After reaching their limits,...

Bocchi the Rock! recently held a live concert in Tokyo, and it ended with the announcement of a film, including a release window. Bocchi the Rock! was a breakout hit of 2022 for its creative, and often deranged, animation style wrapped around a genuinely thoughtful exploration of a girl trying to overcome her crippling social anxiety. The show was a hit with fans and critics alike, even going on to win eight different awards in the 2022 Anime Trending Awards, including Anime of the Year, and with there being a lot of material in the manga to work with, people were quick to speculate about when the anime might continue.

People wanting to see more Bocchi the Rock! were finally given something when, at the live concert at Zepp Haneda, a compilation film was announced for spring 2024. While that’s disappointing for anyone who might have wanted a season 2 announcement, the fact...

Netflix has released their list of new titles coming in the month of June, as well as a last call for everything getting ready to leave the streaming service.

Highlights arriving this month include the fifth season of Netflix’s popular psychological thriller series “Black Mirror,” coming June 5, and Hilary Swank’s thriller “I Am Mother, coming June 7. And whether or not you were alive in 1993 when the original TV mini-series “Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City” came out, you can still appreciate the remake starring Ellen Page as Laura Linney’s on-screen daughter when it arrives June 7.

This month is the last chance to watch what is arguably the best moon mission movie, “Apollo 13,” starring the ultimate dream team, Tom Hanks and Gary Sinise. Other classics getting the boot include “Legally Blonde” and its sequel “Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde,” along with “Friday the 13th” and “Pretty in Pink.

“I won’t cry, I promise,” vows the ethereal, long-living Maquia (voiced by Manaka Iwami) to the little mortal boy she is raising as her son. “I’m a mother!” she says, beating her fist lightly against her belly in a gesture of defiance that makes the boy smile. But mother or no, it’s a promise any viewer of this gorgeously rendered, acutely sentimental animated phantasmagoria would be foolhardy to make.

“Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms” is the directorial debut of prolific and successful anime screenwriter Mari Okada (“Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day”), and though set in a medieval-styled, distinctly “Game of Thrones”-esque fantasy world of dying dragons, imprisoned princesses, warring kingdoms, and mystical cloth into which is woven the stories of our lives, the trembling, overflowing heart of the film is a story of motherhood, self-sacrifice, and forgiveness that is informed by Okada’s...

Mari Okada, who has written the screenplays for some 20-odd animated films, including the iconic Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day, debuts as one of Japan’s rare female anime directors in the melancholy and poetic Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms (Sayonara no Asa ni Yakusoku no Hana o Kazarou). Set in a medieval fantasy world that recalls The Hobbit and The Game of Thrones, the story describes how an immortal girl called a lorph is abducted to the world of humans and adopts a baby, only to watch him grow up and age, while she remains the same.

Known for ...

Mari Okada, who has written the screenplays for some 20-odd animated films, including the iconic Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day, debuts as one of Japan’s rare female anime directors in the melancholy and poetic Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms (Sayonara no Asa ni Yakusoku no Hana o Kazarou). Set in a medieval fantasy world that recalls The Hobbit and The Game of Thrones, the story describes how an immortal girl called a lorph is abducted to the world of humans and adopts a baby, only to watch him grow up and age, while she remains the same.

Known for ...