Long time anime fans have their favorite couples. I enjoy couples with dynamic dialogue. It doesn’t matter if they get together by the end of the series or not as long as the dynamics are interesting. In many cases, the relationships should happen because of the great character interactions. Ichigo and Rukia from Bleach offers a good example. They have the best interaction of all the characters in Bleach. In any case, that is my criteria for determining my top couples in anime. My list tends to shift a bit as well-written characters appear. I limited this list to canonical couples. The list is in no particular order. I don’t really rank things; I like characters for different reasons.
Wakana and Marin – My Dress-Up Darling
My Dress-Up Darling’s couple turn the usual otaku romance around. The extroverted and emotionally intelligent Marin is the otaku while Wakana keeps the low-confidence male role pinned down. However, Wakana is quite capable as a hina doll maker. Marin’s exaggerated expressions play against Wakana’s more internally focused personality captures well the relationship dynamics between an outgoing person and an inward person.
Mai and Sakuta – Rascal Dreams of Bunny Girl Senpei
Mai and Sakuta have great interaction. Their dialogue and antics feel natural (their dialogue is among the best in recent anime). They also feel secure with each other. While Mai keeps her thoughts mostly to herself, Sakuta doesn’t care what people think of him. He will often do cringe-worthy things just to prove his point. Unlike many couples, there’s really no on-again-off-again interactions. Mai and Sakuta like each other and aren’t afraid to show it.
Renton and Eureka – Eureka Seven
Renton and Eureka both share a coming-of-age character arch that makes them grow together. They aren’t mature in their relationship dynamics: Renton even hurts with his immature affection of Eureka. But the way they grow together into adulthood in their own way remains interesting.
Holo and Lawrence – Spice and Wolf
Holo and Lawrence are still my favorite couple for dialogue. They speak and act as adults, and their banter offers a lasagna to dig into. They have some on-and-off-again moments in their relationship, but they remain secure in their friendship and affection for each other. It’s a pity the anime didn’t see a full run. The English dub was particularly well done. Holo and Lawrence offers some of the best, if understated, chemistry in anime.
Inuyasha and Kagome – Inuyasha
I had to include this classic couple in my list. Inuyasha and Kagome exemplify the on-and-off again arc of romance storytelling. Their interactions lack the directness of Mai and Sakuta and the layered dialogue of Holo and Lawrence, but Inuyasha and Kagome’s relationship is heartwarming and enjoyable. Think of them as a standard couple in shonen anime.
Rokuro and Benio – Twin Star Exorcists
Like Inuyasha and Kagome, Rokuro and Benio fall into the standard teen couple. Their romantic arc shares many of the same beats: beginning in conflict, growing into friendship, and ending in a relationship. Despite their differing personalities, they compliment each other well and cover for each others’ weaknesses. Watching Rokuro and Benio grow into a couple and as adults (the story is a coming-of-age tale) is enjoyable.
Tohru and Kobayashi – Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid
Tohru and Kobayashi accept each other as they are. Both indirectly express their affection for each other and their internal struggles. Kobayashi isn’t good at opening up or showing her feelings: something I identify with. Tohru uses her eagerness to cover the pain of her past and her doubts and the pain surrounding her love for Kobayashi. The anime doesn’t delve deep into these themes, preferring to touch them in isolated moments amid the comedy.
Maka and Soul – Soul Eater
Like Rokuru and Benio and Inuyasha and Kagome, Maka and Soul begin disliking each other but grow to understand each other. Anime likes to pair the hothead with the coolhead. While this is a common trope, if well done, as with Soul and Maka, it can be a fun watch.
Vegeta and Bulma – Dragon Ball series
Prideful Vegeta has such a soft heart for his wife Bulma. It’s great to watch the ultra-macho Vegeta pout and otherwise turn to mush when Bulma is around. Of course, he has to bluster to cover it up! But when anyone messes with her, even if it’s the God of Destruction, Vegeta won’t stand by. Bulma, for her part, has inner strength that Vegeta respects. The mutual respect between these two characters make for some of the best scenes in the Dragon Ball series.
Kaguya and Miyuki – Kaguya-sama: Love is War
Kaguya and Miyuki each refuse to be the first to confess their affection. Their constant scheming creates some of the funniest situations in anime. It’s obvious to everyone they like each other. Their teenage awkwardness and embarrassment endears rather than exhausts. At times, they take a stab at the layered dialogue of Lawrence and Holo, but both are still too immature for it to work. Hilarity ensues. Their schemes and overthinking shows how well-suited they are as a couple. In this case, their similarities make them a good couple.
Ash and Serena – Pokemon XYZ
I had heard Pokemon XY and XYZ had great animation, so I gave it a watch. I was impressed with many episodes, but I was amazed to see Ash and Serena develop a relationship. This is, after all, Pokemon. Kids’ shows don’t usually have romance, but Ash and Serena develop from friends toward a kiss. Throughout the series, Ash and Serena back each other up and otherwise have a natural development to the relationship. Honestly, the writers did an excellent job with this. Ash isn’t as dense as you’d think he would be for a children’s show–he’s far more astute than most shonen characters. Serena takes the lead in their relationship development, but Ash isn’t passive by any means. The dynamics of mutual respect and effort were surprisingly well done.
Conclusion
I could mention many more couples, of course. Anime teems with couples and characters that probably should’ve been a couple. The fandom likes to write fanfiction to “fix” what the manga and anime screw up. The best couples have enjoyable banter, character arcs, and a natural development of their relations within the story. Some anime, especially harem, artificially create couples through contrivances like magical connections, fate, or just stating “they love each other” without showing or establishing why and how. Other stories attempt to show the developing relationship but fail to offer enough time for the relationship to develop naturally. The result feels forced.
Ash and Serena remain the most surprising anime couple for me. Their relationship was surprisingly well-done, especially for a children’s show.
What are your favorite anime couples?
Great post, as always. My favorite thing about Dragonball is the relationships between the different characters, especially the relationship between Bulma and Vegeta. I also really like Goku’s marriage and how faithful he is to Chi-chi.
Quite the coincidence that you wrote a post about anime couples this week, because I just finished watching an anime that features a really strong couple. The anime is called “Banana Fish,” and it is seriously underrated.
To summarize, the story follows Ash Lynx, a 17-year-old street gang leader in New York. He’s very handsome, intelligent, and absolutely lethal. However, he also goes to great lengths to hide the pain accumulated from years and years of sexual abuse and violence.
Until Eiji enters his life.
Eiji Okumura comes to New York to assist his boss on a work assignment. His boss is a photojournalist that’s creating a documentary about American street gangs. Due to Ash’s notoriety, they inevitably cross paths, thrusting Eiji into a world of violence and conspiracies that differ greatly from his sheltered upbringing in Japan.
To reduce it to the simplest description, I would say that Eiji is the yin to Ash’s yang. However, that just doesn’t do their relationship justice. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that one is more extroverted than the other. It’s more a matter of Eiji being open in certain circumstances, whereas Ash tends to be more outspoken in others. By the end of the series, they forge a deep and wonderful bond. They also grow and change in many ways because of each other.
Some people might be turned off by a relationship involving two males. However, what I loved about Banana Fish was how pure their relationship is: Despite the references to sexual assault and violence throughout the series, their relationship never involves explicit sexual or romantic acts. Rather, the writer introduces enough ambiguity in a few scenes so that yaoi/bara fans can read it as a gay romance, and everyone else can read it as just a really close friendship between two guys. For those that don’t care about any of that, the plot offers enough action and twists to engage their interest.
TL;DR The relationship between Eiji and Ash is my favorite. I can’t recommend “Banana Fish” enough.
“Banana Fish” sounds like an interesting story. I will have to add that to my list.