Seinen anime is often miscategorized as a genre that focuses on mature themes. However, since seinen is a demographic, it actually has a lot of different types of anime genres, including action, adventure, and comedy. Seinen anime also has numerous romances that can range from teenage puppy love to mature adult relationships.
Romance adds a lot of great elements to any series, including backstory and character development. Love can be the key to solving a character’s problems or the motivation a character needs to achieve their goals. Romance isn’t always the most important part of a seinen anime series, but when a character needs love to win, romance is always there.
10 Love Stops Bullying (Kaguya-Sama: Love is War)
Kaguya-sama: Love Is War is the ultimate series about love. Shirogane and Shinomiya are in a battle to see who will confess their feelings to the other first. Even though they are in constant competition with each other, that doesn’t mean they can’t lend a hand when their classmates have love troubles. During the second episode, a classmate approaches Shirogane for dating advice.
The classmate wants to confess to a girl in his class, but he doesn’t realize the girl is barely interested and even bullying him. Even though Shirogane gives pretty poor advice, which consists of pinning the girl to a wall, it actually works in the end. Not only does the bullying stop, but the love confession gets Shirogane’s classmate a girlfriend.
9 Mumen Rider Loves Being A Hero (One-Punch Man)
There isn’t any romance in One-Punch Man, but there is a love of a different kind. Most of the heroes in this series are pretty apathetic to the people around them. Being a hero is just a means to get more power or popularity, but that isn’t the case for all heroes.
Mumen Rider may not have superstrength like other heroes, but he will risk his life to protect people. While other C-Class heroes just run away in the face of danger, Mumen Rider’s love for protecting people gives him the courage to fight on. He didn’t stand a chance against the Fishman villain, but Mumen Rider’s dedication to heroism bought the citizens he was protecting a few precious moments so Saitama could save them.
8 Kouta’s Love Stops Lucy’s Killing (Elfen Lied)
Lucy is an unpredictable killer when she first appears in Elfen Lied, which makes sense considering she is tortured and mistreated for most of her life. Her escape from the government facility she’s trapped in leads to a crippling injury and a split personality, but luckily for her, she is found on a beach by Kouta and Yuka.
From that moment on, Kouta takes care of Lucy and shows her what it means to be a good human. Lucy could have easily gone back to her murderous ways, but Kouta and Yuka remind her of her humanity. Kouta is even willing to forgive Lucy for killing his family, which stops her from hurting more people.
7 Kyouka’s Love For Atsushi Saves The Day (Bungou Stray Dogs)
When Atsushi first meets Kyouka in Bungou Stray Dogs she is an assassin for the Port Mafia, who only does what she’s ordered to do. Her personality is similar to a doll’s because she lacks a strong personality and doesn’t show emotions very often. However, even Atsushi is able to see the pain she’s in, which is why he saves her from the Port Mafia instead of killing her.
It’s the kindness Atsushi has shown Kyouka that leads her to sacrifice herself at the end of the second season. When a giant whale-shaped plane threatens to crash into the city, Kyouka sacrifices herself by crashing into the plane. Luckily, she is able to survive this last-ditch effort.
6 Julia Refused To Kill Spike (Cowboy Bebop)
Spike from Cowboy Bebop may act like he doesn’t care about anybody, including his rag-tag group of bounty hunters, but when push comes to shove, he’ll put himself on the line to protect the people closest to him. A majority of the characters in Cowboy Bebop act very similarly to him when it comes to their friends, including Julia, who is an old flame of Spike’s.
When Spike and Julia first start their love affair, they intend on running away together. However, when Julia’s boyfriend, Vicious, who is also the head of the syndicate, finds out about her relationship with Spike he orders her to kill him. Since Julia loves Spike, she refuses to kill him and goes into hiding instead.
5 Saber & Lancer Find Honor In Battle (Fate/Zero)
There isn’t much love in Fate/Zero, which is a series all about characters killing each other to obtain victory. There is no love lost between the wizard masters, who use every trick in the book to obtain the Holy Grail, but it’s a different story for their servants, who value honor above all other things.
This is especially true for Saber and Lancer, who find common ground through their need to fight on an equal playing field. Their honorable methods of fighting may not get them closer to winning the grail, but it certainly helps them respect each other enough to fight side by side to defeat Castor. There’s no way Saber would have been able to fight Caster on her own, so it’s a good thing she finds a comrade in Lancer, even if it’s temporary.
4 Yuzuru & Angel Find Peace Together (Angel Beats)
Angel Beats somehow manages to be both heart-wrenching and comedic, which makes sense considering it’s an action adventure that follows a group of teenagers facing the reality of death. Yuzuru’s death is especially tragic since he dies moments before being saved.
It’s likely Yuzuru would’ve been trapped in purgatory forever, unable to come to terms with his death if he hadn’t met Kana or Angel. He’s the only one who sees Angel, a lost person just like himself, and because of that, he pulls her into their group and befriends her. Their friendship helps both of them regain their memories accept their deaths.
3 Langa Finds Purpose In Skating (Sk8 The Infinity)
Langa is a snowboarding prodigy in Sk8 The Infinity, who falls out of love with his favorite sport after the death of his father. To make things worse, he moves to Japan with his mother, where everything feels out of place and different from what he’s used to.
Langa probably would’ve remained lost if he hadn’t stumbled across a skating competition. He struggles with the sport at first, but he grows to love it. Competing against others and skating with his friend Reki reinvigorates him.
2 Yatora Succeeds Because Of His Love For Art (Blue Period)
When Yatora from Blue Period is struggling to figure out what to do for the future, he stumbles across a classmate’s portrait that inspires him to paint. At first, he struggles with learning how to draw, especially when it comes to techniques like dimension and shading.
However, even with Yatora’s lack of skill, he falls in love with the arts and is determined to get into the best art school in Japan. It’s a tough journey with a lot of all-nighters and stress, but eventually, he’s able to make art that inspires others. He even passes the university entrance exam and becomes one of the few accepted into the art program.
1 Inuzuka Overcomes Loss With Food (Sweetness & Lightning)
Sweetness and Lightning may be a cute series about a father learning to cook with his daughter, but it’s also about overcoming grief. After the death of his wife, Inuzuka is forced to raise his daughter, Tsumugi, on his own, and he gets himself in a lot of trouble because of that.
Inuzuka struggles to feed her proper meals and be there for her in her day-to-day life until he discovers a small restaurant owned by his student’s family. After their first visit to the restaurant, his student, Kotori, offers to teach Inuzuka how to cook and he discovers a love for cooking through those lessons. Thanks to his newfound love of cooking, Inuzuka is able to spend more time with his daughter, make better meals, and even make a new friend in the process.