The love triangle is a timeless and popular theme in romance. The excitement of discovering which love interest the protagonist will choose is a thrilling experience that is beloved by many fans, including us.
Many iconic anime titles have utilized this trope, such as Fruits Basket, Kimagure Orange Road, or the more modern OreGairu.
And without any doubts, these works showcase the exceptional quality that can be achieved through a love triangle storyline.
So, without further delay, here’s our list of the best romance animewith a love triangle based on our personal opinion and experience.
Table of Contents
20. Domestic Girlfriend – Natsuo X Rui X Hina
The main character Natsuo finds himself in a complex romantic situation after he has a sexual encounter with a girl named Rui.
Despite only being interested in physical pleasure, Rui’s rejection of Natsuo leaves him feeling guilty and torn between his feelings for her and his crush on his high school teacher, Hina.
But after some events the unlikely trio soon finds themselves becoming a part of the same family, leading to a complex love triangle full of twists and turns.
Although the anime may not be the highest quality, it does offer some good comedic and romancemoments.
The character of Rui, with her cold and detached demeanor, may be frustrating for viewers, but that’s exactly what makes her one of the best kuudere in romance anime.
19.Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions! Heart Throb – Yuuta X Rikka X Satone
Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions! Heart Throb is one of the most popular sentimental comedies in recent years, released in 2014.
The anime is inspired by a series of light novels and stars Yuuta and Rikka, who are forced to live together due to a series of events.
This cohabitation will contribute to the slow development of their love, or at least until the arrival of Satone, an old acquaintance of Yuuta’s who will interfere in the young couple’s relationship by initiating a love triangle.
Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions! Heart Throb is an anime that balances romance, comedy, and a dash of contextualized drama.
But what makes this anime interesting is its enjoyable characters. Although they fall into classic romance character stereotypes, they still manage to be interesting with unexpected twists.
18. School Days – Makoto X Kotonoha X Sekai
School Days is a 2007 anime that blends elements of drama, romance, and psychology. It has 12 episodes in total.
The main character Makoto is smitten with Kotonoha, a stunning girl he sees on his daily train ride to school. Sekai, Kotonoha’s friend, intervenes in their relationship to help Makoto, but she is secretly in love with him.
This sets off a love triangle that quickly spirals out of control as Kotonoha reveals her frightening yandere tendencies.
School Days is a divisive anime that has mixed reviews. While it tries to be innovative by taking a different approach to the typical harem story, some aspects of the plot are questionable and not entirely appropriate.
Ultimately, it’s up to individual opinion whether it can be considered a good anime, but honestly, we don’t feel like calling it a good anime.
17. Nagi-Asu: A Lull in the Sea – Manaka X Hikari X Chisaki
Nagi-Asu: A Lull in the Sea is a great anime that deserves more recognition. In its 26 episodes, it seamlessly blends post-apocalyptic elements with slice-of-life and romance.
The story takes place in a world where humanity has also inhabited the underwater world for survival. We follow the journey of four 14-year-old boys from the submarine village Shioshishio, who attend Mihama Middle School on the surface after their underwater school closes due to the declining population of the seas.
As they navigate this new world, they also learn about customs and manners while they discover love. And indeed a love triangle soon develops between Manaka, Hikari, and Chisaki.
With fantastic animation and a unique story, Nagi-Asu: A Lull in the Sea stands out despite its familiar premise. The underwater setting adds an innovative twist to the classic love triangle trope. A highly recommended watch.
16. Re:Zero – Subaru X Emilia X Rem
Re: Zero is a classic example of an Isekai anime, where the main character, Subaru, gets transported after an accident to the magical world of Lugunica.
Subaru quickly meets a half-elf named Emilia, who he falls in love with right away.
But after a tragic event that results in both of their deaths, Subaru realizes that he has the ability to come back to life, much like a videogame respawn.
This sets the stage for a thrilling mystery to unravel and a lot of plot twists.
Although the premise may seem repetitive, Re:Zero boasts a rich and emotionally charged story filled with mysteries and one of the best romance subplots in a fantasy setting you can find.
It’s a complex story, full of twists and turns and with room for many subplots. And one of the most important is definitely the one involving Subaru, Emilia, and Rem in one of the most famous love triangles ever.
The story follows the lives of 3 college students, Banri Tada, Mitsuo Yanagisawa, and Koko Kaga, who are involved in a love triangle.
Banri Tada loses his memory after falling off a bridge before graduation, making him an interesting protagonist.
Mitsuo Yanagisawa is a friend of Banri, and Koko Kaga is Mitsuo’s childhood friend and an over-the top girl who shows up by slapping Mitsuo with a bouquet of roses.
The relationships between the 3 characters are complex, and the story revolves around how they evolve over time.
Golden Time relies mainly on its love triangle to propel the story forward, and we are sure that is one of the best you can find at the moment.
This anime manages to balance romance and comedy well, with absurd, over-the-top gags that will crack you up.
14. Vampire Knight – Yuuki X Zero X Kaname
Vampire Knight is an anime based on a shojo manga, as evidenced by its character design.
The story takes place in a unique school that is divided into two sections: the Day Class and the Night Class.
The Day Class is attended by ordinary human students, while the Night Class is attended by vampires. However, this secret must be kept hidden at all costs to preserve the balance between the two species.
To do so, there are two student guardians, Yuuki and Zero, who are tasked with this duty.
While it doesn’t have a traditional horror atmosphere, it still has plenty of action and an evocative character design. Additionally, there is a solid love triangle that forms when Kaname joins the main cast.
13. Kokoro Connect – Himeko X Taichi X Iori
Kokoro Connect is a unique anime that starts with common themes but adds a supernatural twist.
The story takes place at Yamahoshi Academy’s cultural club, where the 5 members of the club experience an unusual phenomenon: they begin to randomly switch bodies with each other.
This leads to unexpected reactions and emotions among the characters, particularly in the love triangle between Himeko, Taichi, and Iori.
Despite its familiar premise, Kokoro Connect still manages to stand out by presenting its story in a fresh and different way.
It’s surely worth a watch for its unique take on the classic love triangle trope.
12. EF – a Tale of Memories – Hiro X Miyako X Kei
EF – A Tale of Memories is a unique anime that showcases two distinct love stories, narrated in parallel.
The first story revolves around Renji and Chihiro, whose love story is affected by Chihiro’s condition of losing her memories every 13 hours. This leads to a poignant and continuous cycle of Renji having to win back Chihiro’s love and the girl starting from scratch every time she loses her memories.
The second story features a complex love triangle between Hiro, Miyako, and Kei, with numerous twists and turns.
EF is not a masterpiece, but can be enjoyable if you’re a romance fan.
Moreover, if you’re searching at the same time for an anime where MC loses memory and a good love triangle, you may have hit the jackpot.
11. Bloom Into You – Yuu X Touko X Saeki
Bloom Into You is a romantic anime series that was first aired in October 2018, inspired by a shojo manga by Nio Nakatani.
It is known for being the best Yuri anime, a sub-genre of shojo that showcases the love between two girls.
The show centers around Yuu, a high school student who has never experienced love and turns down many confessions from boys.
But her world changes when she meets Touko, the gorgeous vice president of the school board, and finally feels the emotions she has been looking for.
But when Saeki joins the love triangle, things get more complicated.
Bloom Into You is a great pick for those who love romantic tales that can tug at the heartstrings, and offer a new perspective.
10. Inuyasha – Kagome X Inuyasha X Kikyo
Inuyashais a cult anime that has one of the best romance subplot ever. It’s based on a shonen manga that was published in Weekly Shonen Sunday.
The protagonist of the story is Kagome, a young girl who falls into a well and is transported back in time to Sengoku-era Japan.
In this era, she is reincarnated as the priestess Kikyo and must protect the sphere of the four winds with the help of Inuyasha, a demon with canine-like features.
Inuyasha is an incredibly great choice if you want to merge action scenes and an excellent historical romance anime in the same story.
But trust us, this is one of the most complex love triangles you can find in anime, if not the most. We don’t even want to spoil it for you, so we recommend watching this masterpiece if you want to learn more.
Naho Takamiya receives a letter from her 10-year-old self in the future. At first, Naho thinks it’s a joke, but changes her mind when the events in the letter happen, including the transfer of a new student Kakeru Naruse.
That person is the main theme of the letter where he is asked to treat him with as much love as possible because 10 years from now the boy will lose his life.
As you may have already well understood, this is a real punch in the gut, both physical and psychological.
Orange is a story with a poignant and captivating plot that will leave you with bated breath until the very end as you wait to discover Kakeru’s fate.
But as you may already guess, romance is not that predominant in the story compared to drama, even if there’ll be a good romance triangle between Kakeru, Naho, and Hiroto, one of their classmates.
8. Pet Girl of Sakurasou – Sorata X Mashiro X Nanami
Pet Girl of Sakurasou is a charming and entertaining romantic comedy that follows the story of Sorata Kanda, a popular student who finds himself living in the infamous Sakurasou dorm.
The dorm is home to the most notorious delinquents of Sumei High, but Sorata’s goal of escaping changes when the new transfer student, Mashiro Shiina, arrives.
Sorata becomes determined to protect Mashiro, a beautiful and clumsy girl, from the rough environment of the dormitory.
But as he gets to know her better, he realizes that his feelings for her might be more than just protective. But as the story progresses, a love triangle between Sorata, Mashiro and Nanami will complicate the matter.
Pet Girl of Sakurasou is a heartwarming blend of comedy and romance, with relatable and quirky characters.
7. Chihayafuru – Chihaya X Arata X Taichi
Chihayafuru is a criminally underrated show that blends romance with sports, comedy, and slice of life. Released in 2011 with 25 episodes, the show is a must-watch and the manga is highly recommended too.
The story follows Chihaya, an average girl with a dream of seeing her younger sister live a happy life.
However, the arrival of Arata changes everything when he tells her she’s making a mistake by dedicating her life to others. Arata is a renowned player of the Japanese card game Karuta, and he soon gets Chihaya hooked on it too.
This starts her journey to become the number one player in the sport.
Chihayafuru is an overlooked gem that, trust us, you don’t want to miss.
The love triangle between Chihaya, Arata, and Taichi is expertly balanced with excellent sports and psychological elements, making it a well-rounded and enjoyable watch.
6. Your Lie in April – Kosei X Kaori X Tsubaki
Kousei Arima, the boy protagonist of the story, from an early age has always been an ace piano player, famous and recognized by many musicians even older than himself.
That was until he suffered the tragic loss of his mother, leading him to abandon music and start feeling depressed.
That is until he meets Kaori, a beautiful blond-haired violinist who plays by putting her whole soul into it. She will indeed bring back Kosei’s passion for music, but in a more carefree and lighter way than he was used to from his mother.
Your Lie in April focuses mainly on music, but it also has excellent romantic moments that will warm your heart that will even involve a love triangle at some point between Kousei, Kaori and Tsubaki, Kousei’s childhood friend.
However, it’s known for one reason in particular: it’s one of the best romance anime with a sad ending . So it’s recommended to have a good amount of tissues nearby if you decide to watch it.
5. Nana – Nana Komatsu X Takumi X Nobuo
Nanais an acclaimed anime that follows the lives of two young women named Nana.
The first, Nana Komatsu, is a 20-year-old girl who is easily swayed by toxic relationships. The second, Nana Osaki, is a confident and proud punk rock singer who dreams of becoming famous. The two meet on a train and end up sharing an apartment.
The anime delves into various aspects of rock/punk music stars’ lives, including both the positive aspects like success, travel, and touring, as well as negative ones such as alcohol and drug use.
But what makes this anime unique is its unique and appealing character design, which is reminiscent of rock/punk music stars of the 1990s
The story is complete, rich, engaging, and full of twists and turns and serious moments.
There’ll be even room for a love triangle between Nana Komatsu, Takumi Ichinose and Nobuo Terashima that will also play a key role in the plot.
OreGairu is a 13-episode anime based on the light novel series by Wataru Watari.
The main character, Hachiman Hikigaya, is a socially awkward high school student with a pessimistic view of life, which leads him to be a loner.
However, his life changes when his teacher forces him to join the school’s volunteer club, which is attended and run by the most popular and beautiful girl in the school Yukino.
As he becomes a part of the club, Hachiman soon discovers that he has much in common with Yukino, but the arrival of Yui, another attractive girl, complicates matters by starting a love triangle.
OreGairu is an unconventional romance that focuses heavily on comedy but also invites its audience to reflect on what is truly important in life, making it one of the best psychological romance anime.
This is an excellent romance and probably one of the best ever, and also a perfect choice if you’re looking for a romance anime with a cool MC.
3. Super Dimensional Fortress Macross – Hikaru X Misa X Linn
Macross is a legendary mecha anime from 1982 known for its strong romance elements and one of the best love triangles you can find in anime.
The story begins with humanity completing a space airship based on an alien wreck called Macross.
However, upon launch, they are attacked by the alien race Zentradi, and the survivors are forced to escape on the ship. This starts a war against the unknown threat.
What makes Macross unique is how it blends together mecha and music with a credible love triangle that doesn’t involve harem at all.
In the beginning, the protagonist, Hikaru, is disliked by his superior Misa Hayase, but as the show progresses, their relationship evolves into a strong bond. But the central character of the love triangle is for sure Linn Minmay, an idol who will make her debut during the series and even help fight against the Zentradi.
The love triangle and war both evolve as the series progresses, making Macross a must-watch for fans of mecha and romance anime.
2. Fruits Basket – Tohru X Kyo X Yuki
Fruits Basket is a classic romantic anime with supernatural elements that has become a cult favorite in the romance genre. It received a reboot in 2019 by Studio TMS Entertainment, making it even more enjoyable.
The story follows Tohru Honda, a girl who is forced to live in a tent after a family tragedy. She pitches her tent on the grounds of the Souma family, who take her in and offer her a place to stay.
But the Soumas have a peculiar secret: when hugged by someone of the opposite sex, they transform into animals of the Chinese Zodiac.
Fruits Basket is a must-watch for romantic anime fans and is renowned for its touching love triangle between Tohru, Kyo, and Yuki Souma.
The fantasy element of the anime gives an extra touch to the events and makes it a truly unique show that you can’t miss.
1. Kimagure Orange Road – Kyosuke X Madoka X Hikaru
This is a cult anime from the ’80s and is one of those romcoms that inspired many other future works. This is the best vintage anime with the love triangle trope in its story in our opinion. It’s based on a shonen manga written by Izumi Matsumoto.
Set in the 1980s, it tells the story of Kyosuke Kasuga, a boy who possesses psychic powers and becomes embroiled in a love triangle between his best friends Madoka Ayukawa and Hikaru Hiyama.
This anime is renowned for its fleshed-out characters, innovative plot, and the way it blends supernatural elements with the main romance storyline, making it appealing to audiences of all types.
Despite being released many years ago, Kimagure Orange Road still remains one of the best romance anime ever made and is considered a cult in the genre that you can’t miss.
Anime lover and a big fan of the 90s. He has previous experience working with foreign websites and now he is willing to move things even further.
When he is not writing for Nihonime.com, Zeruan spends most of his time reading, coding and developing marketing strategies.
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