Wholesome anime are most likely my favorite entertainment medium. The stories are familiar, yet always feel fresh. The animation is breathtakingly beautiful. And since I am a Japanese major, being immersed into the language helps, even if it’s not necessarily the kind of language that the Japanese use on a day-to-day basis.
Because I love anime, I compiled a list of 5 wholesome anime that I am sure most people would love.
March Comes in Like a Lion
I have seen hundreds of anime in my life, but even after years of constantly watching them, March Comes in Like a Lion remains in my top ten best anime ever. It is a heartwarming story about Kiriyama Rei, a young professional shogi player that learns how to love himself and open up to the other people in his life. Even if it’s a tearjerker, this anime still makes you feel happy and hopeful.
Horimiya
At the time of me writing this article, this anime is still ongoing. It beautifully depicts the cute romance that blooms between high school students. Even though it seems like yet another slice of life romance with teenagers, what really sets Horimiya apart from the rest is how the intimacy is built up with small, day-to-day gestures of love. None of the relationship from this wholesome anime seem forced and it is relieving to see a grounded show about love.
Doukyuusei
Doukyuusei is one of the most wholesome anime movies I’ve seen. The movie depicts the very beginnings of the love story between two young boys with seemingly different personalities, Kusakabe Hikaru and Sajou Rihito. It is a bit angsty, and full of the passion of a serious love, but at the end of the day, it is one of the cutest romances that I have had the chance to watch. There are some manga spin offs that continue the story and develop other characters that are introduced in this movie, but even this movie alone is enough to satisfy anyone’s desire for a quick dose of wholesomeness.
Kakushigoto
This anime is centered around a father, Gotou Kakushi, that works as a mangaka and who tries to hide his work from his daughter, Gotou Hime, due to the inappropriate nature of his manga. This anime is both incredibly funny, as much as it is heartwarming. Even if the main gag is that he tries to hide an essential part of himself from his young daughter, there are a lot of moments of wholesome interactions between the two of them.
Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!
This wholesome anime is simply about the passion of creating. Every episode we get a glimpse into the process of creating an animation, the hurdles that animators go through, along with a very interesting cast full of lively characters. It is both heartwarming and encouraging for anyone who hopes to create something themselves.
I hope that you will give any of these anime a chance. Check out other articles we have about anime!
