10 Modern Romantic Anime That Have Already Aged Badly

Romance anime is a popular genre, but not all series are diamonds. Many romance anime, old and new, tend to indulge in fairly awkward storylines to keep up with current romance tropes. This can age the anime soon after its premiere, when audiences realize that those storylines weren’t wholesome.

While this is more common with older anime, since times have changed since their release, new romance anime may fall into the same category over time. While these anime are fairly recent, it’s hard to imagine a time when some of these tropes were considered acceptable, let alone romantic.

Updated by Alexandra Locke on February 9, 2023: Romance anime is a beloved anime group that features a wide variety of themes, settings, and pairings. Many romance anime can be enjoyed regardless of when they are watched. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case, as an increasing number of modern anime perpetuate damaging or problematic plot elements. While inauspicious tropes are more common in older anime, this article has been updated to include more modern anime that were problematic from the start.

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10 My Teen Romantic Comedy Snafu Starred In The “Jerk” Love Interest Angle

My Teen Romantic Comedy Snafu was actually a fan-favorite anime that had a pretty harsh ending that left many fans very unsatisfied. The whole series was always based on the relationship between the two main characters and the growth of their feelings and maturity. However, the series did not feature the kind of character growth that fans expected.

Instead, the male lead was always a jerk and the female lead was always troublesome. My Teen Romantic Comedy Snafu it had amazing reviews leading up to the final season, but by the time it aired, its ratings had dropped significantly. Clearly, modern audiences had had enough of the “love interest is a jerk” trope.

9 Rent-A-Girlfriend implies that one needs a romantic partner to feel complete

Even if Rent a girlfriend it’s still a relatively new anime, it’s already a mess. Kazuya Kinoshita is a college student who seems unable to do anything on his own. His girlfriend breaks up with him and, to feel better, he hires a new girlfriend. The main problem with the series is not its plot, but its main character.

Kazuya was unlovable and didn’t grow at all throughout the series. He mourned his ex as his feelings for his rental girlfriend grew. Kazuya made the series difficult to watch, and even while it was running, his viewership plummeted episode after episode. The idea that someone needs a romantic partner to be whole doesn’t sit well with modern audiences.

8 Eromanga Sensei Romanticizes Sibling Relationships

Eromanga Sensei is known for his absurd plots and themes. This is an ecchi romance series that takes step-sibling crushes to a new level, as the couple unknowingly work together on a light novel. Following the death of his parents, Masamune tries to provide for the needs of what remains of his little family, including his half-sister Sagiriby, by writing and selling a light novel.

Masamune works with the mysterious and lewd illustrator, Eromanga Sensei, only to find out that it’s been Sagiri all along. The entire plot is incredibly messy and obscene. Even fans of this genre were greatly disappointed by the mess he created.

7 In another world with my smartphone presents problematic representations of women

In Another World With My Smartphone is known to be one of the more generic isekai anime and this is one of the main reasons why the genre is often frowned upon. Many anime fans think isekai has been overdone, and this anime is just another addition to an already well-worn genre.

Besides being a normal isekai, In another world with my smartphone is a harem series in which the protagonist attracts a plethora of girls who constantly seek his attention. The characters are incredibly weak, leading many anime fans to despise the series. The harem genre has become particularly controversial among modern fans, who believe it paints a negative picture of women and “their role” in society.

6 Kiss him, not me! Supports unhealthy body image and other issues

Kiss him, not me! Easta series about a girl obsessed with yaoi manga. This show is fun and relatable, but it does some pretty questionable things like promoting unhealthy body image and ways to achieve it. Kae Serinuma fantasizes about her classmates being together like they’re on a BL series, but none of them pay attention to her because she’s overweight.

After seeing one of her favorite characters die on a show, Kae is deeply saddened and hasn’t eaten for an entire week. Somehow, around this time, she miraculously transforms into a skinny shojo protagonist. Just as suddenly, all the boys Kae fantasized about kissing now want to kiss her.

5 The Domestic Girlfriend Doesn’t Let The Protagonist Choose A Love Interest

Domestic Girlfriend is another anime that promotes romantic relationships between siblings and inappropriate age differences between couples. The series also shines a light on infidelity and pits sisters against each other over a man’s affections.

Natsuo Fuji finds himself stuck between his two half-sisters, Hina and Rui Tachibana, and keeps making more and more bad decisions about them. The entire series, while full of drama, romanticizes making bad decisions and even worse matches as Natsuo struggles to choose a partner.

4 Happy-Go-Lucky Days Failures to Express Realistic Relationships

Happy-Go-Lucky Days it’s an animated film that didn’t do very well. On MyAnimeList, it only received a user rating of 5.51 and has mostly negative reviews which reveal that many were unhappy with its plot. The film follows various couples and while it attempts to portray realistic relationships, it does so in fatal ways.

Happy-Go-Lucky Days it also features several weird romances that horribly made yuri, teacher-student relationships, and implied inappropriate relationships between family members. These ideas are very problematic, and due to the slow pace of the narrative, it feels like each of the characters’ stories are unresolved.

3 ReLIFE Idealizes Significant And Inappropriate Age Differences

ReLIFE is an amazing anime, very well done, to watch like a sci-fi series. As a romance, however, it may raise a few eyebrows. Many anime overlook the age difference between couples, meaning older characters are paired with high school kids. This trend exists even in such popular series as Fruit basket.

This romantic trend makes many viewers feel strange, and the romance of ReLIFE is no exception. Arata Kaizaki, 27, is lucky enough to take a pill that physically makes his body 17 years old again. As he is unlucky, he takes it eagerly. So when Arata begins to fall for his high school classmate, things get weird.

2 Brothers Conflict Highlights Sibling Relationships, Inappropriate Age Differences, And Other Questionable Content

Sibling conflict is a reverse harem anime romanticizing a teenage girl who is attracted to her thirteen new step-siblings. Family relationship aside, only three of the Asahina are of an acceptable age for teenage Ema Hinata. Most of the siblings are adults, and one is even a small child, but fans are still expected to want Ema to establish a relationship with one of her siblings.

Aunci Brothers Conflict it has a lot of charismatic characters, there are too many issues for modern fans to really enjoy. This series shines a light on just about everything that’s wrong with anime romances, making Brothers Conflictusually hard to see.

1 Citrus Idealizes Abuse And Half-Sibling Relationships

Citrus is a yuri anime that many fans were incredibly excited about, as it was a mainstream GL anime that got a lot of attention. However, the first episode made it clear that it would be just as problematic as other messy romance anime.

Citrus features two girls who end up becoming half-sisters. The series turns arguments between sisters into bizarre sexual assaults. This anime not only falls under the “stepsister” trope, but also features the two main girls in a horribly toxic relationship with each other and boasts of a poorly executed romance.