10 best anime to watch if you like A Condition Called Love

A Condition Called Love has captured the hearts of anime fans with its endearing and emotionally complex love story between the reserved Hotaru and passionate Hananoi. If you enjoy this series' mix of comedy, drama, and character growth, here are 10 more anime that you might like.

The anime on this list explores similar themes of first love, social anxiety, and understanding each other in relationships. The stories range from uplifting romantic comedies to thoughtful coming-of-age dramas. Like A Condition Called Love, many feature sweet but troubled male leads and caring female protagonists.

10 best anime for fans of A Condition Called Love

1) My Love Story!!

With its kindhearted giant of a leading man and positive outlook on relationships, My Love Story!! is an uplifting watch for A Condition Called Love fans. The story follows Takeo, a high schooler who's huge and intimidating in appearance but extremely kindhearted.

He has never had a girlfriend because girls are too afraid to approach him until he saves the petite and bubbly Rinko from harassment. Overjoyed to find someone who sees past Takeo's frightening exterior to the gentleman within, Rinko falls for him. And so begins Takeo's quest to better understand romance and relationships.

Like Hananoi, his passion and dedication can go over the top once he finds a girlfriend. However, like A Condition Called Love, the episodes insightfully explore Takeo's background and motivations.

2. Lovely Complex

Lovely Complex (Image via Toei Animation)

Featuring an oddball couple with a major height difference, Lovely Complex has an awkward teenage romance reminiscent of A Condition Called Love. Male lead Atsushi Otani is very short, while female lead Risa Koizumi is tall by Japanese girl standards, causing them both grief.

At first, just friends comfort each other about their "complexes," and attraction gradually develops between them. What seems like a gag comedy on the surface gives way to heart and character development, much like Hotaru slowly understanding Hananoi. Otani has abandonment issues because of his past.

Watching him open his guarded heart to Risa makes for emotional viewing. Fans of A Condition Called Love's mix of humor and drama will find enjoyment.

3. Say "I Love You"

This down-to-earth romantic drama centers on introverted protagonist Mei Tachibana learning to open herself to friendship and relationships, much like Hotaru's arc in A Condition Called Love.

Having been continually betrayed and hurt in middle school, Mei enters high school closed off and unwilling to trust easily. When popular Yamato Kurosawa confesses he likes her, she initially thinks it's a weird joke.

But his persistence gradually convinces her he's serious, and they start dating. Both leads are given layered backstories about their worldviews and reluctance toward romance. Like Hotaru, Mei must battle anxiety and self-doubt. It's an emotional coming-of-age tale.

4. Fruits Basket

Fruits Basket (Image via TMS Entertainment)

While more fantasy-based due to a family curse that turns members into animals from the Chinese zodiac when hugged by the opposite sex, Fruits Basket features a similarly nuanced character drama about learning to open your heart as A Condition Called Love.

Kind protagonist Tohru Honda falls into the mysterious Soma family curse, living in secrecy with members battling dark psychological issues tied to their animal spirits.

Stoic Yuki and temperamental Kyo both fall for Tohru but struggle to believe they deserve happiness due to their unstable family history. It's a poignant series about trauma and healing bonds over time.

5. His and Her Circumstances

His and Her Circumstances (Image via Gainax and J.C.Staff)

This older, beloved shoujo anime from the Neon Genesis Evangelion studio Gainax has surprisingly modern relationship struggles its leads must work through, akin to A Condition Called Love. Protagonists Yukino Miyazawa and Soichiro Arima seem perfect on the outside but privately harbor large insecurities.

They start dating out of pride and pettiness, each trying to one-up the other. But over time, glimpsing each other's massive inferiority complexes underneath makes them value one another emotionally and recast how they view romance.

Pride gives way to vulnerability as they better understand each other's damage. It has intricate characterization and a slice-of-life tone.

6. My Little Monster

My Little Monster (Image via Brain's Base)

Male lead Shizuku prioritizes her studies above all else…until meeting spontaneous troublemaker Haru, who barges into her regimented life like a tempest, not unlike Hananoi giving closed-off Hotaru whiplash. Haru's capriciousness conceals inner emotional scars from childhood trauma.

Opening herself to friendship and romance with him is an anxious struggle for stability-loving Shizuku. My Little Monster handles Haru's mental health issues with realism and empathy, as A Condition Called Love does regarding Hananoi's obsessiveness.

Watching emotionally repressed leads lower their barriers for each other creates poignant moments.

7. Kimi ni Todoke

Kimi ni Todoke (Image via Production I.G)

Misunderstood as gloomy or standoffish because she resembles Sadako from The Ring, Sawako Kuronuma unexpectedly finds herself the center of attention when popular boy Shota Kazehaya begins talking to her.

Shota's outgoing friendliness helps Sawako progressively open up and gain acceptance. Sawako resembles A Condition Called Love's withdrawn Hotaru as she combats anxiety over friendships and properly conveys her feelings.

Kimi ni Todoke also features a similarly patient, persistent male romantic interest who sees past her surface shyness and appreciates Sawako for her kind heart. It captures teens' emotional struggle with care.

8. Maid Sama

Misaki Ayuzawa works hard to be the first female student council president at her recently turned co-ed high school. She keeps how much her single-parent family is struggling financially a secret from classmates to avoid judgment for enrollment at what used to be an elite boys' prep school.

So she's horrified when popular boy Takumi Usui discovers she works an afterschool job at a maid café to support her family. But in between the screwball comedy, Takumi proves surprisingly dependable when it counts.

Like A Condition Called Love, beneath initial personality clashes, seeing why the leads behave as they do fosters empathy. The humor balances the drama well.

9. Blue Spring Ride

Blue Spring Ride (Image via Production I.G)

When Futaba's first crush, Kou Mabuchi, unexpectedly returns after disappearing for years, high school emotions she thought she'd buried resurface. The summer they first bonded, timid Futaba began opening herself to Kou, but he vanished before she could confess her feelings. His mysterious withdrawal left damage.

Now Kou seems like a callous playboy. Reconnecting, they both realize the other has inner scars that change how they must approach relationships. Like Hotaru, Futaba must reconcile her memories and feelings with reality.

Like her, Kou's past reveals reasons that influence why he pulls away from Futaba despite his caring. Relatable youth drama unfolds.

10. Wolf Girl and Black Prince

Wolf Girl and Black Prince (Image via TYO Animations)

Erika Shinohara lies about having a boyfriend to her friends to seem less pathetic, so they demand she take a photo with this alleged prince charming. Desperate, Erika asks aloof, attractive stranger Kyoya Sata to pretend to be her boyfriend.

But he agrees only if she will act as his "dog." What seems at first like a demeaning, humiliating arrangement to avoid being outed actually becomes meaningful. Like Hotaru and Hananoi, Erika discovers hidden emotional layers under Kyoya's initial cruel, uncaring façade.

They both have vulnerabilities tied to past rejection. Watching their unexpected bond against the odds form can be quite touching.

Conclusion

If you enjoy emotionally complex teen romance anime like A Condition Called Love that explores social anxiety and wounded hearts gradually learning to trust, the titles above provide engrossing comparable stories. They feature endearing yet troubled male protagonists who grow on female leads once they understand their motivations for off-putting behavior.