Whether you enjoy a good action-packed anime with vampires, bounty hunters, pirates, or super heroes everyone needs a break from all that heroism and just indulge in a bit of fluff-anime as a palate cleanser. 

What is “fluff,” you ask? Fluff refers to lovey-dovey animes. Relationships, romance, and the anticipation of, “when will they realize they like each other?!” and all the other things that make your heart go “doki-doki.” 

Here are 10 anime series to make your heart flutter:

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun (English title: Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun)

Originally a manga written by Izumi Tsubaki, this love-tale follows the lives of the love-struck Chiyo Sakura, her oblivious classmate crush Umetarou Nozaki, and the endeavors of their friends. The first episode starts with Sakura confessing to Nozaki. However, the confession goes into disarray when Nozaki completely misinterpreted it and he instead gives Sakura his autograph. When she tries to make him understand that she just wants to be with him, he then invites her over to his place… only to have her become his assistant! He is secretly a shoujo manga artist who, with the help of Sakura and their friends, needs to make sure he gets his chapters in on time.

Reasons to love this anime

This anime is the perfect amount of doki-dokis to hilarity. There are constant misinterpretations and innuendos throughout the 12 episode series. What I really enjoy about this series is how it crushes stereotypical character tropes. We still get our “kuudere” (silent/stoic personality)  types and “Prince of the School” types, etc., but not in the way you’d usually expect. 

Kimi ni Todoke (English title: From Me to You)

This manga adaptation, originally written by Karuho Shiina, has 38 episodes across 2 seasons produced by Production I.G. Not only that, it also has 2 light novel series as well as a live action movie. The story follows the journey of poor, misunderstood Sawako Kuronuma who’s been given the nickname “Sadako,” the scary ghost woman who crawls from the well, in The Ring. Everyone is scared of Kuronuma. She is just lonely (and slightly awkward), yet always trying her best to make her classmates happy and make friends. It isn’t until Shōta Kazehaya, a popular and friendly boy in the same class, starts talking to her that she starts to try even harder to clear up any misunderstandings about herself. 

Reasons to love this anime

The misinterpretation in this anime is like the shoe is on the other foot. This time it’s the BOY who misreads the context and tries to get a girl to like him. While this anime does have some heavy clichés in characterization, they do switch it up slightly. You also just can’t help but cheer Sawako on as she tries her best. And honestly, watching Kazehaya blush makes the doki-doki meter go through the roof! 

Ore Monogatari!! (English title: My Love Story!!)

This unusual love story was originally written by Kazune Kawahara. Picture this: Takeo Gouda, a mountain of a high schooler, (I won’t lie, he kind of looks like a gorilla minus the body hair)  saves the petite, timid, and easily flustered Rinko Yamato. He falls in love at first sight, but due to his past experiences with his pretty boy best friend, Makoto Sunakawa, and every girl Gouda’s ever liked, liking Sunakawa instead, Gouda believes that Yamato has fallen for Suna. This 24 episode series is great for the doki-dokis and seeing how this quirky love-triangle pans out.

Reasons to love this anime

It’s really hard to NOT like Gouda. He may look like a gorilla, but really his like a labrador. The comedy that ensues, without giving anything away, is fantastic. You just want to yell at Gouda, who’s determined to be the greatest wingman for Sunakawa, to realize the truth. 

Tonari No Kaibutsu-kun (English title: My Little Monster)

This anime originally is a 12 volume manga with 1 special manga thereafter, all written by Robico. The 13 episode anime follows the awkward budding friendship between Haru Yoshida, a semi-delinquent student who was suspended on the first day of school, and Shizuku Mizutani, a girl who likes to keep out of everyone’s business and just wants to study and get through school with good grades in order to achieve her dream. Things get turned upside down for Shizuku after she does one errand for her teacher by bringing homework to the absent Haru. 

Reasons to love this anime

Haru is just a complete idiot who you can’t help but love. Haru and Shizuku teach each other how to build friendships. They are both dense in their own ways and watching as they open up to each other in different ways just makes you cheer them on as their relationship blossoms. 

Toradora! (English Title: Toradora!)

What started out as a light novel series first and then became a manga, all written by Yuyuko Takemiya is now the most shenanigan-filled animes. There’s 25 episodes of semantics between the two main characters Ryuji Takasu and Taiga Aisaka. One is a hard-edged and doesn’t want to ask for help from anyone. The other likes to clean and cook and take care of their friends. Can you find out which is which? Ryuji has inherited his father’s scary glare scaring away any potential friends he could make in his second year of high school. Taiga, while petit and doll-like, is nothing like how she appears. She’s a real kamidere to say the least. 

Reasons to love this anime

This frenzied love geometry that is this anime makes you laugh, cry, cheer, and yell as the connections unravel. You end up cheering for so many characters. The supporting characters are just as important as the main two and it’s not everyday that you see that in fluff animes. 

Ao Haru Ride (English title: Blue Spring Ride)

This 13 volume manga written by Io Sakisaka may be one episode short for the anime adaptation, but that doesn’t mean it lacks in doki-dokis. This love story follows the lives of Futaba Yoshioka and Mabuchi Kou. In middle school Kou’s surname was Tanaka and he admitted his feelings for Futaba who reciproted, but by happenstance they never got to see their relationship blossom as Tanaka suddenly moved away. Now in high school they have been reunited, but both of them are different people from who they were back in middle school. 

Reasons to love this anime

Watching the two main characters rediscover each other really makes my heart go doki-doki, but it’s not just that. They are rediscovering themselves as well. I love his this anime unravels the story bit by bit of what happened to each character during their time apart. 

Watashi ga Motete Dōsunda (English title: Kiss Him, Not Me)

Hilarity ensues in this 12 episode anime. Originally a 14-volume manga written by Junko, this anime has a reverse-harem trope. Normally harem type animes aren’t my go to, but this one isn’t like the others. The main character Kae Serinuma starts out as a plus size character. She’s friendly with her classmates and is liked by most. She then undergoes a transformation brought on by a week long fasting due to the death of a character in her favorite show. When she returns to school no one recognizes her, but suddenly has the attention of several male classmates and she is overwhelmed to say the least!

Reasons to love this anime

It’s considerably new, airing in 2016, so there are a lot of references to other animes which are great easter eggs. Kae’s major struggle with have 4 suitors isn’t that she doesn’t know who she could possibly have feelings for, but that she doesn’t know who to ship with you! She only looks at her male counterparts are BL pairings! Her fujoshi mindset really makes me scream with delight, but that isn’t to say the boys don’t fail to actually get her attention and give us the doki-dokis.  

Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii (English title: Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku)

Finally an anime that involves actual adults! Originally a short 7-manga story, written by Fujita, this 11 episode anime follows the life of two office workers, Narumi Momose and Hirotaka Nifuji. On Narumi’s first day at her new job she runs into an old schoolmate, Hirotaka. She does her best to play it cool in front of her other colleagues, about how they know each other. Truth is, they’re both otaku! Traversing the working world while not letting your coworkers find out your an otaku is a difficult task especially while also trying to find a partner who accepts that you’re an otaku. Narumi and Hirotaka make a pack to be together since they both accept the fact that they are otaku.

Reasons to love this anime

As the story unfolds there is more than meets the eye with everything and everyone. Not only did Narumi and Hirotaka’s relationship give me the doki-dokis as they try to make it work, but learning about what types of otaku they are is also fun. Along the way some of their coworkers also open up about being otaku as well. It’s also kind of refreshing to see an “adult” relationship blossom rather than a high school one. The flow moves a little differently.

Let us know which fluff animes you like to watch!

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Featured image credit: Doga Kobo