You know what they say, one is never enough. When it comes to romance anime, there has never been more true of a statement. If done well enough, one couple can be enough, but romance anime junkies always want more, which can make multi-couples romance series infinitely more satisfying. However, we’re not talking about ten tons of love triangles with little to no pay off or inexplicable harems. Truly good multi-couple anime series have their main couple, but also has side couples that are developed and fleshed out as well to provide double the diabetes-inducing sweet moments. So if you think more is better when it comes to romance anime, give these romance anime recommendations a try.
While it can occasionally be hard for people to get past Honey and Clover’s lackluster first episodes, you get the pay off later into the series when it throws at you a series of complexly developed relationships. While there is some light love triangle drama, it is resolved fairly quickly leaving ample time to explore both romantic and platonic relationships between the wonderful cast of characters.
Kimikiss Pure RougeWhen you present a series that revolves around a childhood friend (a girl) coming home to her two male childhood friends, you can kind of predict what sort of relationship drama is going to ensue as all three of them are now not so much children anymore. However, when you throw their female classmates into the mix, things get even more complicated, but open up the pathways for different friendships as well as romantic couples to form up without relying too heavily on the predicted love triangle.
The Pet Girl of Sakura HallThe Pet Girl of Sakura Hall, while a drama, comedy coming-of-age story as well as having romantic flourishes, does multi-couple romances masterfully. The main character is engaged in a small love triangle, but refreshingly enough, not every female in the series is obsessed with him. Aside from his love interest and the the other woman pining after him, you have two other couples that get explored in the series. As it combines romance, drama, and comedy with all three pairings, it never truly feels like one is getting neglected.
Tsurezure ChildrenTsurezure Children is a short episode format anime series that manages to surprisingly focus on over a half dozen different couples. However, it doesn’t have time for much character development, so it just barrages you with all those squee moments that romance junkies live for. However, despite the number of couples in the show and a small amount of time to focus on them, every couple is memorable, and all feel like they get just enough focus. Despite this, you always are left craving more.
Amagami SSAmagami SS takes the harem genre and does it in a way that adds a little more respectability to it. In Amagami SS, the main man meets a series of girls, but the show gives about four episodes to show off the romantic relationship he has with each. He’s not two timing, but it is merely showing off the different timelines he could take. This provides more time to flesh out each girl and doesn’t show a harem series with one main girl and several unrequited loves.
Ef: A Tale of Memories / Ef: A Tale of Melodies
Both Memories and its sequel Melodies tell the tale of two couples, and at times it can be hard to explain this series without major spoilers, which is probably why it is so underrated. In both stories, while they tell the trials and tribulations in romance and life of two couples, the stories end up intertwined in one way or another.
NanaNana is a story about two women that are coincidentally both named Nana who meet on the train to Tokyo and end up actually living in the same apartment. The show is about their very different lives and that does include their love lives. Both women find love, sometimes many different loves, and it explores their relationships with these men and with each other.
Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-KunLike some of the best shoujo romance series, at a glance, you think this series is going to be about one main couple. However, as it goes on, other relationships come into play that, while not part of the main plot, are given a reasonable amount of focus for audiences to enjoy. Considering that Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun also has some superb comedy, it is well worth a watch.
Hatsukoi LimitedThis is one of the finer multi-couple romance series out there. Hatsukoi Limited follows the love lives of multiple teenage girls. In general, each girl is given an episode and its explores their romantic relationship. However, as the series goes on, you also begin to see throwbacks to previous relationships and the smaller roles they play in the episode’s current focus.
Convenience Store BoyfriendsThis is a bit of an odd duct. While it has about six different couples, you have your main couple and from there the rest of the couples seem to be less and less important in terms of focus. Yet, in a way it works because the less important couples are, in truth, less interesting than the more main couples. Despite that, the many different couples provide a lot of tender romantic moments in the series, but this is one more for the women since the men in the show look less like high school boys and more like college-aged male models.
Boys BeThis is the story of three boys, and like any young men, they only have girls on their minds. Boys Be changes things up by instead of having the romance series focused on the woman’s point of view as is typical with romance stories, it focuses on the men’s point of view. It is an interesting new take and with three very distinct relationships, it provides a refreshing romance series.
ReLifeAs a drama series, there is more going on in ReLife than just romance, but you know, romance is a key element of drama. What makes this series different is that it doesn’t put a lot of emphasis on the main character’s romance for… reasons. He does have one and it does develop, but the romantic star of the show is actually between the side characters, and they are both just adorable.
WorkingSlice of life series like Working can often be unexpected places to find good romance. Since this show goes on for several seasons, you get to see a lot of people and a lot of different relationships that develop at their place of work. Since the plot of the show generally has no particular direction, it allows them to explore the characters as well as develop the romantic aspect of it all.
Kokoro ConnectKokoro Connect is about the club members of a student club for those who don’t want to join other clubs. While the characters seem somewhat fundamentally different, when you throw in the plot that they start randomly switching bodies, the feelings come pouring out. It is these outbursts that leads to the development of a couple different couples as well as advancing friendships.
School RumbleAlthough School Rumble is very much a comedy series, part of that comedy comes from the perhaps legendary array of love triangles. Unfortunately for romance fans, there isn’t much in the way of payoff, but if you like romance and love to laugh, watching the many different characters try and fail in their love life is a pretty great thing.
There are a lot of other multi-couple romance series out there, we are sure. If you have any more that you think should be on this list, let us know in the comments section below.