10 best anime about unrequited love

Love is a complicated emotion, especially in the world of anime. While mutual love stories are heartwarming, tales of unrequited love reveal the deeper struggles many face in romance. Anime has depicted unrequited love poignantly across various series.

Some of the most impactful and thought-provoking explorations of romance in the medium deal with unrequited feelings and one-sided relationships. Beyond just creating drama, the anime about unrequited love often serves as a vehicle to explore the characters' inner lives more deeply.

Their responses to rejection or indifference expose emotional truths that feel authentic and relatable. The sorrow of a doomed crush or longing for someone out of reach resonates deeply, even with non-anime fans. Here are 10 anime that capture different sides of loving someone who doesn’t feel the same way.

10 heartfelt anime about unrequited love

1) Your Lie in April

Your Lie in April (Image via A-1 Pictures)

Your Lie in April follows former piano prodigy Kousei Arima, who lost the ability to hear his music after his strict mother's death. Then he meets the passionate violinist Kaori Miyazono, who helps Kousei rediscover music and start living life again through her free-spirited nature.

While Kousei develops feelings for Kaori, she pretends to like his best friend Watari instead. This heart-wrenching love triangle exemplifies anime about unrequited love, showing how loving someone can inspire personal growth, even if that love goes unreciprocated in the end.

Kaori’s struggle with a life-threatening illness also adds poignancy to her complex relationship with Kousei in this emotional series.

2) Nagi no Asukara

Also known as A Lull in the Sea, this fantasy romance anime takes place in an underwater village that faces prejudice from people living on the surface world. Protagonists Hikari, Manaka, Chisaki, Kaname, Tsumugu, Miuna, and Sayu represent these two worlds, as relationships develop among the friends—while only some feelings get returned.

The messy unrequited love web that emerges shows how affection between childhood friends can evolve in complicated ways as they come of age. Adding the threat of discrimination makes for an impactful message on learning empathy for those facing systemic issues beyond their control.

3) 5 Centimeters Per Second

5 Centimeters Per Second (Image via CoMix Wave Films)

This anime film centers on Takaki Tono and his close childhood friend Akari Shinohara growing apart as she moves away to another city. They keep in touch at first, but busy life interferes with their attempts to meet later on even as Takaki continues longing for Akari from afar.

Known for its gorgeous animation reflecting natural lighting, 5 Centimeters Per Second excels at portraying longing that fades with time and distance. The ending shows how people inevitably change, with past relationships often shaping who we become as adults.

4) Scum's Wish

The epitome of complex unrequited feelings, Scum’s Wish revolves around Hanabi Yasuraoka and her friend Mugi Awaya uniting in mutual pining for other people.

As they try becoming replacement partners for their unattainable loves, the series examines morality around physical intimacy and using others as consolation. With lush visuals contrasting dark themes, Scum’s Wish depicts self-destructive behaviors that unrequited affection can spur when left unmanaged.

Portraying relatable human weaknesses in its messy web of misguided teens, this anime about unrequited love underscores the importance of communication in relationships.

5) Orange

Orange (Image via Telecom Animation Film)

When Naho Takamiya receives a letter from her future self warning her of regrets, she decides to follow its instructions to avoid heartbreak. It urges her to watch over transfer student and future love Kakeru Naruse more closely, as he becomes distant later on after his mother’s suicide.

Full of quintessential adolescent struggles with identity and belonging, Orange uses time travel and romance to cleverly emphasize believing in one's worth when going through difficult times. Naho’s efforts to support Kakeru ultimately show how small acts of kindness and forgiveness can uplift broken spirits.

6) Looking Up At The Half-Moon

Looking Up At The Half-Moon (Image via Group TAC)

Set in modern Japan, this anime about unrequited love centers on hospitalized teenagers Yuuichi Ezaki and Rika Akiba.

After a rocky start, Yuuichi grows close to Rika, who harbors fears about her future due to a serious illness. Her emotional struggles make her hesitant to reciprocate Yuuichi’s feelings.

A heartfelt exploration of love and mortality, Looking Up At The Half-Moon portrays bittersweet longing through relatable experiences of vulnerability and insecurity, paired with beautifully emotive storytelling.

7) Just Because!

As high school student Eita Izumi moves back to his hometown, it stirs up admirers left behind, including his stoic classmate Haruto and the shy photographer Mio. But Eita finds himself reconnecting with Natsume Mio, whom he knew from middle school, while navigating complex feelings and relationships among his peers.

Realistically portraying bonds that form early in life, Just Because! excels at showing how even slight gestures can inspire deep affection in youth. While dramatic confessions and clear-cut relationships are few in this slow-burn slice-of-life series, its nuanced web of admirers holds relatable appeal.

8) Honey and Clover

This comedy-drama follows art school friends Takemoto, Morita, and Mayama as they navigate college life and adulthood. Takemoto falls for the kind Hagumi Hanamoto, who obliviously loves Mayama instead.

Her uncle and legal guardian, Shūji Hanamoto, in turn, nurtures a hidden affection for Hagumi's best friend Ayumi. With empathy and humor, Honey and Clover spotlights complex relationship dynamics using artistic subplots as metaphor.

Capturing the innocence of first loves morphing as characters mature, this anime about unrequited love takes an inspiring lens on how unrequited feelings often serve as life-learning lessons.

9) Toradora!

Opposites attract in this beloved romantic comedy anime featuring the petite firecracker Taiga Aisaka and gentle giant Ryūji Takasu. After Taiga’s crush on Kitamura and Ryūji’s feelings for Minori create complications, they team up to secretly pursue their romantic interests.

In showcasing flaws behind the not-so-perfect girl and “thug delinquent“ boy actually being perfect for each other, Toradora! hits all the right beats of a classic enemies-to-lovers trope executed with panache.

Its humorous antics and ultimately deep connection between leads drive home how even unreciprocated love can take you to where you belong.

10) White Album 2

When Haruki Kitahara loses his passion for the light music club in his final high school year, gifted singer Setsuna Ogiso and beautiful pianist Kazusa Touma inspire him to rediscover why he enjoys playing the guitar. The three spend meaningful time practicing together, forming a triangle of complex emotions.

Known for exceptional writing and character development, the show realistically builds intimate bonds through small interactions that shift perceptions between admirers navigating unresolved feelings.

Showing how passion projects can unite similar souls, this series about unrequited love portrays how intimacy of the heart is no less profound than physical closeness.

Conclusion

Love takes endless forms across uniquely imagined anime worlds. From sweet tales of friends-to-lovers to painful sacrifice in silence, Japanese storytellers craft resonant narratives highlighting multifaceted sides of affection that feel painfully one-sided.

Beyond dramatic fiction, these relatable stories reveal genuine empathy for universal experiences, uniting viewers through the sorrows and comforts of the human condition.

By turns comedic, tragic, or hopeful, anime continues doing what it does best—touching hearts by spotlighting enduring characters courageous enough to love freely without expectation.