Not all romance anime have relationships between people of the same age. Older women or cougars are often featured in Japanese animation and some shows feature them falling in love with younger men.
Most of the shows listed here are certainly not boring, and to spice things up you will also notice some love triangles here and there. So, Ara Ara, and let’s see what are the best anime where the girl is older.
This listicle is based on our experience and opinions and we will update it to offer relevant and timely advice.
Table of Contents
15. Natsuyuki Rendezvous
We begin with Natsuyuki Rendezvous, a slice-of-life, sentimental anime with a light touch of the supernatural. But as we will now see from the plot, the story’s real focus is the psychological area related to trauma and overcoming it.
Hazuki falls in love at first sight with an older flower girl named Rokka, and to get closer to her, he decides to get hired as a part-time employee.
However, the woman is by no means ready to enter into a relationship, as she is still suffering from the recent loss of her husband, whose ghost she can additionally see, preventing her from moving on.
A sentimental anime that hides an important and heavy psychological side, such as overcoming the loss of a loved one and feeling ready to move on with life.
14. Domestic Girlfriend
Natsuo, the main character, ends up consummating his first sexual intercourse with Rui, a girl he met that same day after school.
The girl, however, decides to reject him completely after the act, saying she is only interested in the carnal act, not wanting a relationship.
Afterward, the boy feels guilty for losing his virginity to a girl he does not particularly like, plus he feels as if he has betrayed his crush on his high school teacher, Hina, much older than him.
A strange triangle then arises that will lead to Natsuo, Rui, and Hina becoming part of the same family.
An intricate plot, with many twists and turns, and a more mature and explicit outlook than the usual romance. The anime isn’t that good but it’s funny and good for some laughs.
We still recommend the manga as it’s more complete and concluded.
13. Accel World
An action show within the classic virtual world, with the addition of sentimental elements.
It’s 2046, and Haruyuki is a middle school boy who is constantly bullied because he is overweight. One day he meets Kuroyukihime, the most beautiful girl in school and senpai of him, who changes his life by introducing him to a virtual world called Accel World.
An excellent vision that combines isekai, magic, fantasy, and sentimental elements.
12. Ah! My Goddess
Another love comedy with a college setting, but with a touch of the supernatural. Add these ingredients, and we get Ah! My Goddess, a 24-episode anime from 2005.
The main character is Keichi Morisato, a shy boy who lives in a dormitory and whose approaches to the female world have always been disastrous.
In reality, Keichi is a good boy, and because of this, he is approached by Belldandy, a Goddess older than him who offers to grant him a wish.
His request will be abnormal, as he will ask the Goddess to stay by his side, making his life even more peculiar but sweeter.
An anime that graphically inevitably harks back to the typical animation style of the 2000s, capable of making one feel nostalgic.
11. Please Teacher!
Series from the early 2000s, with very distinctive vintage atmospheres. The themes are scholastic, science fiction, and romance.
The main character Kei Kusanagi suffers from a disease, which he calls Teitai, that forces him to come to a complete standstill in instances when it occurs.
Upon awakening from one of his Teitai moments, Kei sees a spaceship arriving from the sky with a beautiful alien on board. Much to his surprise the day after school we learn that one of the teachers has retired and his place is taken by the alien herself.
A very light and enjoyable anime, funny and with ecchi moments to accompany everything. A good, noncommittal viewing.
10. We Never Learn
Nariyuki Yuiga is determined to work hard to obtain a scholarship.
No matter what he does, he never seems to be able to surpass his two classmates: Rizu Ogata, a genius in science subjects, and Fumino Furuhashi, incredibly gifted in literary subjects.
Nariyuki then turns to the college principal, who proposes a deal: the boy is to tutor both girls for the college entrance exams.
Surprisingly, Rizu plans to enroll in the Faculty of Literature, while Fumino plans to enroll in the Faculty of Science, the opposite of what they are brought into.
The harem, which started with these two newly named girls, will increase as the story continues, and school teacher Mafuyu Kirisu and Asumi Kominami a senpai, both older than Nariyuki, will also be added.
9. High School DxD
What could be called by many the king of fanservice anime. In fact, it doesn’t go around it by adding it as an added component but makes it practically its workhorse without hiding it.
The story follows the events of Issei Hyoudou, a perverted student attending high school like any other who sees his highly anticipated first date goes decidedly wrong.
In fact, the boy is killed by the beautiful girl he is dating, only to come back to life thanks to the intervention of the beautiful demon Rias Gremory, who makes him her assistant slave.
Thus begins his adventure filled with fights between Angels and Demons, but also with beautiful girls who increase his Harem of which he dreams of becoming the King.
And, in addition to Rias, his harem will be filled with girl-demons, angels, and you name it, who consequently despite appearances will be much older than Issei.
8. Garden of Words
A 2013 movie that can be described as one of the best romance anime movies, both for its stupendous animation and its themes and plot. Truly a little gem.
Takao is a young student preparing to become an artisan shoemaker. One day, while skipping school to seek inspiration in a garden, he meets Yukino, an older woman.
Subsequently, the two will meet several times, never predetermining the next date, but always only on rainy days. With each meeting, the two become more open to each other, but the end of the rainy season approaches, and the two must make a choice about their relationship.
7. RahXephon
Born directly as an anime, RahXephon, consisting of 26 episodes, was born in 2002.
Ayato Kamina is a teenager who lives inside Tokyo Jupiter, a city enclosed in a large energy sphere that causes the inhabitants to live in a separate time and dimension.
Through an encounter with Major Haruka Shitow Ayato will discover many truths about which he had always been kept in the dark, such as the ongoing war with the multi-dimensional creatures called MU.
Romance in this anime is a more present component than the plot might suggest, and as guessed it will arise between Ayato and Haruka, even though the latter is older than he is.
6. Dusk Maiden of Amnesia
A primary horror and detective anime with ghosts and with a touch of romance and ecchi elements.
In a private academy haunted by ghosts, the spirit of a girl, Yuuko, can only be seen by Teichi Niya.
Yuuko and Teichi decide to establish an investigative club to find out who and how caused the death of the girl. She has no memory of the incident and reveals other mysteries concealed by the institution.
But even though she is a ghost in her own right, a special romance will be born between the two. A very poignant, sentimental, and melancholy vision and also one of the best dark romance anime if you like the genre.
5. Maison Ikkoku
Based on a seinen manga by Rumiko Takahashi, Maison Ikkoku is a great classic of the 1980s.
Yusaku Godai, the protagonist of the events, is a young high school student who aspires to enter a prestigious college. To prepare himself best and quietly for the difficult entrance exam, he rents an apartment at the extravagant Maison Ikkoku boarding house.
The boarding house is run by Kyoko Otonashi, an extremely charming woman older than him with whom Yusuke has an immediate love affair.
A groundbreaking work in the romance genre. A must-see if you are a fan of stories in the genre and general of the works of Takahashi.
4. Super Dimensional Fortress Macross
A cult mecha anime from 1982 with a love triangle and strong romance elements.
The plot starts with the human race finishing a space airship based on an alien wreck called Macross.
When they try to launch the ship, they get attacked by the alien race Zentradi and the remnants of humanity embark on it to escape planet Earth.
This marks the beginning of a war against this unknown race of aliens.
The main character Hikaru was disliked by his superior older than him Misa Hayase in the beginning. But the two of them will develop a strong relationship as the show goes on and the situation will be totally different.
3. Clannad
Clannad follows the events of Tomoya Okazaki, a high school senior who is considered by many to be a bad element.
One day, on his way to school, he meets Nagisa Furukawa, a sweet girl who has difficulty relating to others a year older but is forced to repeat the year because of her health problems.
A deep relationship of friendship and more will soon develop between the two.
An anime that is a real shot to the heart, capable of making anyone feel tremendous emotions and even bring a teardown.
2. Spice and Wolf
Spice and Wolf is one of the best fantasy romance anime and a truly unique work, almost difficult to pigeonhole into a single category.
This is because the anime, based on Isuna Hasekura’s novels, despite the atmosphere of the genre, shows us a world without magic, based on trade and economics.
The story revolves around the events of merchant Lawrence Kraft who agrees under request to help return to his native place a wolf-god called Holo, receiving in return his divine help and several privileges.
Holo is over 600 years old or so, but he looks young because of his race and powers. However, this will not stop the love between the two.
1. Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai
Based on Hajime Kamoshida’s light novel of the same name, Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai is a 2018 anime by CloverWorks.
The plot revolves around Sakuta Azusagawa, a high school boy who keeps to himself and has only two friends.
This is caused by the fact that rumors are circulating about him allegedly assaulting some boys. One day, while walking around the library, he runs into a girl dressed as a bunny.
The girl’s name is Mai Sakurajima, his senpai older than him as well as a professional actress. The two will begin to discover each other, opening doors to their various past experiences, and end up falling in love at the end of Episode 3.
This series is undoubtedly one of the best romance anime out there that you cannot miss if you love the genre. It will feature many romantic scenes but will also deal with important and serious themes of the human psyche.
