ReLife
Anime Like Toradora
Toradora’s mix of romance, drama, and slice of life is what fans really love about it, and those are all categories that ReLife falls into, but with a twist. Arata Kaizaki is a 27-year-old man who’s lost his job and fallen on hard times. A strange offer from something known as the ReLife lab gives him a second chance, a pill that’ll make him look 17 again and a research project that puts him back in high school.
Arata’s induction back into high school is played to great comedic effect, and he has a heck of a time fitting in. On top of that, the student body he meets are certainly an eclectic cast of characters who each have their own quirks. ReLife may not be as much of a romance as Toradora, but it still has similar comedic and dramatic elements, as Arata grows unlikely friendships with his classmates, all while struggling with the secret he’s hiding.
Kaichou wa Maid-sama!
Anime Like Toradora
Kaichou wa Maid-sama’s biggest similarity to Toradora lies in its main characters unlikely relationship that develops during the show. The anime takes place at Seika High, a once all boys school that still has a majority male student body despite changing years ago. Misaki Ayuzawa seeks to change the female student body’s position at the school, and the outspoken girl becomes the first female student council president. Misaki also has a secret, however, as she’s been working at a maid cafe to help support her ill mother.
This secret is discovered by one of Seika High’s most popular boys, Takumi Usui, but instead of revealing Misake, he ends up becoming a regular at the cafe. The two agree to spend time together and a romantic relationship is formed. Maid-sama definitely sound more like a comedy, but it’s heavy on drama as the familial troubles and past of both characters start to make their relationship difficult. It is a story of opposites attracting.
Clannad
Anime Like Toradora
Clannad is one of the more popular romantic anime out there, and for good reason, as the show is quite moving and emotional. Just like Toradora the main focus is on the fascinating relationship between its main characters, but there’s also an interesting supporting cast as well. The anime follows Tomoya Okazaki, a high school delinquent with a complex past and alcoholic father. One day a chance encounter introduces him to Nagisa Furukawa, a girl repeating her senior year because of an illness.
Clannad’s two protagonists couldn’t be more different, but as the show goes on they both begin to rub off on each other. Outside of the romance and drama, the show seriously tackles themes like the value of having a family and the difficulty of growing up. Clannad actually started as a romance visual novel, but the anime adaption helped take the story and characters to new heights.
Nisekoi – False Love
Anime Like Toradora
Nisekoi has characters with distinctly different personalities that play in constant conflict with each other. The anime follows Raku Ichijo, the son of a leader in the Shuei-Gum yakuza faction. He ends up meeting Chitoge Kirasaki, the daughter of a rival faction known as Beehive, when one day she jumps a wall and knees him in the face. Raku holds a pendant from his childhood love and dreams of meeting her again one day, but his dreams are crushed when he has to pretend to be in a relationship in Chitoge to keep peace between the yakuza factions.
This hilarious start to their relationship is indicative of how the rest of it goes, with the two starting out hating each other before slowly realizing their true feelings. The contrast between Raku and Chitoge is played to great effect, and drama sets in as the two just try to live life as normal high schoolers. Nisekoi has a devoted fan following for its charming characters, sense of humor, and unlikely romance.
Your Lie in April
Anime Like Toradora
Your Lie in April is quite similar to Toradora as it’s equal parts comedy and drama, however, the former is quite a bit more tragic than the latter. Both shows have some startling revelations that really put perspective on the characters and their lives, and can lead to some particularly tear-jerking moments.
Your Lie in April follows Kosei Arima, a genius piano prodigy, who had a mental breakdown and has been unable to play after the death of his abusive mother. One day he meets a free-spirited young girl named Kaori Miyazono, who’s also a talented violinist. Kaori begins to break Kosei out of his shell once again, and his life is thrown into disarray by the energetic girl. Their relationship is complex, but as the show moves on each one needs to step in to help the other.
It cannot be overstated that Your Lie in April can seriously tug at the heartstrings, although it starts out cheerfully enough. It has gorgeous animation, a touching story, and charming characters, but make sure you go in emotionally prepared.
Lovely Complex
Anime Like Toradora
Lovely Complex really doubles down on the idea of two completely different protagonists, in much more than just personality. Just like Ryuji and Minori in Toradora, Risa and Atsushi in Lovely Complex are two completely at odds students. Risa is a taller-than-average girl, while Atsushi is a shorter-than-average boy, and the two are constantly arguing and fighting. The height difference is greatly exaggerated in the show, creating a visual conflict to help highlight the difference between Risa and Atsushi.
Strangely, the two become best friends trying to help win their respective love interests. Of course, it wouldn’t be a good romance anime if those efforts didn’t backfire into love for each other. Lovely Complex is spot on with its comedy, and does a good job at highlighting the differences between its two protagonists, and how they bring them together in the end.
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