The Troubled Life of Miss Kotoura

 

Haruka Kotoura was born with the ability to read minds. At first, she used it for simple things, like figuring out what kids would choose in rock-paper-scissors so she could win every time. As time went on, she began saying what people were thinking out loud. This caused her friends to call her a liar, and eventually, her parents divorced. Haruka was left alone with her wealthy grandfather. Despite all the hardships she faced, she still wanted to live a normal life and continued going to school.

Once she reached high school, Haruka believed that nobody would ever be on her side—until she met Yoshihisa Manabe. When he first tries to get close to her, she completely ignores him. However, Manabe consistently does everything he can to stay by her side, and she slowly begins to let her guard down. When people start calling her creepy because of her mind-reading ability, Manabe stands up for her and promises that he will never leave her side, no matter what happens.

The Troubled Life of Miss Kotoura was very funny, and I laughed a lot while watching this anime. I honestly hadn't looked up any information about it beforehand, so everything came as a complete surprise. It's a fun romantic comedy.

However, Manabe frequently fantasizes about Haruka in different ecchi scenarios, such as her making food while wearing an apron, a bath scene, and others. There is also a beach episode where the characters wear swimsuits. The anime handled the fan service fairly well through censorship, but it might be better to skip it altogether if you don't like lewd scenes. However, if fan service doesn't bother you and you enjoy romance anime, I would suggest giving The Troubled Life of Miss Kotoura a try.

Ojisan and Marshmallow

Habahiro Hige works at a company with Iori Wakabayashi. There’s nothing Hige loves more than eating marshmallows. Wakabayashi is aware of this and approaches Hige, offering to share some of the bag she has. Because Hige won’t directly admit that he wants one, she eats them in front of him, waiting for him to be honest. Once she reaches the last one, she offers it to him again, and Hige finally says yes. However, there’s a catch: he has to take it from her mouth. Since they would have to kiss for him to eat it, he reluctantly lets it go.

In order to get into a relationship with Hige, Wakabayashi is willing to use marshmallows in a number of ways. However, will it be enough to get Hige to notice her, or will all of his attention remain focused on the marshmallows?

I really enjoyed Ojisan and Marshmallow. After watching the first episode, I felt like my love for romantic comedy anime had been reignited. I don’t typically enjoy office romances, so this one completely surprised me. It was absolutely hilarious, and Wakabayashi’s attempts to get Hige’s attention, along with Hige’s reactions to them, made me want to see them become a couple.

It is a wholesome romance for the most part, but there is a hot spring scene, a girl named Mioko Nijimori who shows cleavage, and a dream scene where Wakabayashi dreams that she is taking care of a baby. While I enjoyed it, I definitely wouldn’t suggest it to anyone unless I knew it was exactly what they were looking for. The fact that the characters are all adults, along with the humor, makes me feel like this is geared more toward adults than teens. 

Killed again, Mr. Detective.

Sakuya Outsuki is the son of the world famous detective Tatsuya Outsuki. However, while Sakuya is a detective, he isn't acknowledged as a good one by criminals, police officers, and detectives alike. The only person who is willing to stay by his side is his assistant Lilithea. One day he gets put on a case trying to uncover if a famous producer is cheating. He gets a ticket to a cruise liner where the producer is staying. It is there that he meets an actress named Yuriu Haigamine who is preparing for a role as a detective in movie. She asks to be Sakuya's apprentice after finding out that he is a detective himself. She then asks for his help looking for a lost cat that belongs to the producer that Sakuya is investigating. As he searches, he finds his way into a storage room where he is killed after finding a dead body. He then wakes up in the lap of his assistant Lilithea, ready to put his all into finding the murderer.

I originally started this because I heard that it had the same vibe as Ron Kamonohashi's Forbidden Deductions. It is similar, in the sense that it's the complete opposite of Ron Kamonohashi's Forbidden Deductions. Instead of having a power to make the murderer kill themselves, Sakuya is the one always getting killed. There is an arc that takes place at a hotel, which kind of reminded me of the hot spring inn case in Ron Kamonohashi's Forbidden Deductions as well. Overall I was a bit disappointed because I had my expectations set to high. It also felt a bit slower to me, meaning it lacked the sense of anticipation of finding out what happens next. While people typically dress modestly throughout the anime, there is a scene at the beginning of episode four where you see Lilithea in her underwear. If you decide to watch it and you don't like fan service, I would suggest skipping the first few minutes of episode four. While it wasn't for me, it might be just the thing for you if you enjoy mystery anime.

Squid Girl Season 2

Squid girl is back at the Lemon. Squid Girl is working like usual when Eiko brings up that she hasn't accomplished anything in her quest to conquer humanity. This fires her up even more to do everything she can to conquer the surface world. Meanwhile Sanae sees Squid Girl hanging out with Kiyomi and believes that they are both rivals fighting for squid girls attention. One day Squid Girl is helping clean up the beach when she sees Goro taking jellyfish out of the ocean. She challenges him to see who can gather the most jellyfish. Chizuru overhears and turns it into a competition involving everyone at the beach with real prizes for the winners of the competition.

Squid Girl Season 2 was just as good as season 1. Since the entire anime takes place on the beach, there are characters in swimsuits in every episode. This might be considered as a lewd scene to some, but it seems unavoidable given the setting. If you enjoyed Season 1, I would definitely suggest giving Season 2 a try as well.

Encouragement of Climb: Next Summit (Season 4)

Aoi, Hinata, Kaede, Kokona, and Honaka are back for another season. This time Aoi is determined to reach the summit of Mount Fuji. But Before she can start her climb, she needs to deal with her end of semester exams. One day while she is minding her own business at school, Aoi is approached by the head of the mountaineering club. She takes Aoi to the clubroom where they have tons of mountain climbing equipment. However, While Aoi isn't interested in joining the club, she is interested in the training they do to get stronger.  Will Aoi be able to reach the top of mount Fuji, or will she be stopped by Altitude sickness again?

Encouragement of Climb Season 4 was really good. Though I am a bit disappointed that the first four episodes were a comprehensive review of the first three seasons. The reason I was disappointed was because I had already watched the first three seasons before starting the fourth. However, seeing as Season 4 is the only season available on Hidive, I would say it's a good thing for those who are watching it for the first time. Encouragement of Climb Season 4 had the same relaxing feel as the other seasons. While there is a beach episode you don't see the characters in swimsuits, so everyone stays modest. For those who do watch the first three seasons before watching the fourth, I would still suggest watching the first four episodes, because the scenes at the beginning are new clips that weren't in the previous seasons. Encouragement of Climb is a great anime, I would definitely recommend it. 

Romantic Killer

 

After buying a game called Romantic Thriller, a wizard named Riri appears in front of Anzu Hoshino. The wizard Riri makes a contract with Anzu in the form of pre-game details. Since Anzu didn't read it and went straight into playing the game she is forced into a real world dating sim experience. To make sure that she prioritizes romance instead of her hobbies, Riri confiscates all her video games, chocolate and her cat momohiki. Riri also makes it impossible to purchase any of these things. Along with that, Riri sends Anzu's parents off to the United States so that she will be living alone. While Riri is coordinating all these situations to make Anzu fall in love, Anzu becomes determined to never get into a relationship, no matter who comes along. However, will she be able to continue to refuse once she actually gets to know the love interests?

Romantic Killer was interesting because it felt different from most High School Romantic Comedy's. It kind of had a similar feel to Love Tyrant. While it wasn't something I could binge all in one go, I did enjoy watching it. The boys fit into usual tropes, but unlike the love interests, Anzu feels like someone you would actually meet in real life. There aren't any lewd scenes or any swearing. I would definitely suggest giving it a try if you want to see a unique Romcom.  

Actually, I Am

Asahi Kuromine is a boy who is known for never keeping secrets. Everyone calls him a "Leaky Basket" because the truth flows right out of him.  For a long time he has had a crush on his classmate Youko Shiragami. When he finally gets the courage to confess his feelings to her, he learns that she's actually a vampire. Youko tells Asahi that if her secret gets out she would have to leave school. So Asahi promises to keep her secret and asks her to be friends.

I really enjoyed watching Actually, I Am. While they don't become a couple due to Asahi's slip of the tongue, it's a great school life anime. It has a similar feel to Rosario + Vampire with all the different monsters going to school together. The design of the devil though, reminded me of To Love Ru. I was half expecting her to claim to be from deviluke. While I said it reminded me of To Love Ru and Rosario + Vampire, it has almost no fan service at all. There is a bath scene and a pool scene though. Overall, I would definitely suggest giving it a watch.  

The Seven Heavenly Virtues

The Seven Heavenly Virtues have come down to earth to search for a messiah. Sandalphon, Uriel, Gabriel, Raphael, Sariel, Metatron, and Michael each find someone to train. While their goal is to prepare for the upcoming war, both the angels and the messiah canditates tend to get distracted. Some messiah canditates, deal with exams, some with sicknesses, and others with work. Will the Seven Heavenly Virtures find the human they need to conquer the Seven Mortal Sins?

The Seven Heavenly Virtues takes place in the same universe that The Seven Mortal Sins does. The Sin of Sloth Belphegor even makes an appearance. Though I wouldn't say you need to watch The Seven Mortal Sins to be able to watch this. The Seven Heavenly Virtues isn't a continuation of The Seven Mortal Sins. I will say that the majority of the anime is Ecchi content. So if you don't like fan service you can skip this series. However, if you don't mind watching Ecchi anime, I found myself laughing pretty hard during the show.

Takamiya Nasuno Desu!

Over Summer Vacation Nasuno Takamiya asks Yuri's brother Yota to work as her butler. After accepting she shows him around her mansion and has him complete various tasks for her. He helps clean the library, find restaurants, and attends to her needs wherever she spontaneously decides to travel to.

Takamiya Nasuno Desu! was fun to watch. As you might have guessed it's another Teekyu Spinoff like Usakame. However, this has Nasuno as  the main character. I was happy about this because I feel like when I watched Teekyu nothing was revealed about Nasuno's Private life, whereas there were plenty of scenes in Teekyu that focused on what Yuri, Marimo, and Kanae did away from school. The anime is mostly clean, though there are a few scenes where characters wear swimsuits. If you enjoyed Teekyu and Usakame, I would definitely suggest giving Takamiya Nasuno Desu! a try as well. 

Mechanical Marie

Arthur Zetes is the heir to the Zetes Corporation. He's an extreme misanthrope who hates both people and lies. Plenty of assassins have been after him his whole life. Marie Evans is a young girl who became the strongest Female wrestler before coming to serve as Arthurs Robot Maid. While she is doing this to pay off her parents debt, the Zetes family pays for her to attend school while acting as Arthurs body guard. If Arthur discovers that Marie is human, both her and her employer Roy will disappear. Will they be able to keep the charade up without Arthur catching on?

Mechanical Marie was better than I expected. I dropped it originally while it was airing because I thought that Noah was a little annoying. However, after binging the whole thing I really liked the story. The ending was satisfying as well, which can't be said of a lot of anime. The anime is mostly clean, but there is a shower and bath scene at the beginning of episode 11. While part of it does take place at a high school, if feels completely different from romantic comedies like Alya sometimes hides her feelings in Russian and the Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten. Even though it is slightly ecchi I would definitely recommend it for anyone who enjoys romance anime. 

Nukitashi THE ANIMATION

Junnosuke Tachibana grew up on Seiran Isand, and after years away is finally returning with his little sister. However, the Island has been overrun with Lewdism, so much so that everywhere you look is revolved around immorality. Places like the amusement park "Lewd Land" and nudist beaches are whats advertised for people incoming to the island. A law has been passed that requires you to participate in immoral behavior and those who don't are forced into it by the FS who are the future leaders of Seiran Island. After running away from his classmates with a girl named Nanase Katagiri, Junnosuke Tachibana comes across an underground bunker where he discovers a way to fight back against Lewdism. Will he be able to save those like him who want a relationship based on love and not just sex?

Nukitashi THE ANIMATION is an anime I would suggest avoiding if you don't like Ecchi anime. Even if you do like Ecchi anime this anime goes a bit too far seeing as its uncensored. In some ways this is worse than anime like Testament of Sister New Devil and Redo of Healer because the inappropriate scenes are a lot more frequent. In the end the decision is ultimately up to you. 

Science Fell in Love, So I Tried to Prove It

When Masters Degree student Ayame Himuro confesses her love to her colleague Shinya Yukimura, he asks her to scientifically prove that she loves him. The both of them then begin a journey to discover what love is, and if there is a common link in every relationship. Realizing they can't do this on their own, they involve the other members of their lab in their study. Together each one of them tries to help Ayame and Shinya using things like shojo manga, dating simulators, and common practices to discover new ways that love can be expressed.

Science Fell in Love, So I Tried to Prove It was way better than I was expecting. I don't typically watch anime with adult characters, so I had my expectations set pretty low. However, I found the mix of love and science super fun to watch. While there is a beach episode, I would suggest this to any romance anime fan. It was definitely worth the watch. 

The Shiunji Family Children

The Shiunji family Children consist of Banri, Seiha, Arata, Ouka, Minami, Shion, and Kotono. All of them had grown up together believing they were family. However, on Kotono's 15th Birthday their father tells them that all seven of them are actually adopted. This doesn't change much, except that they have the ability to date each other now. While each sibling deals with the news in their own way, Kotono couldn't be happier. Previously she had confessed her feelings to her brother Arata, but it was brushed off as being the confusion of a child. But will this news actually change the relationships that these siblings have built up their entire lives?

I'm not going to lie, I was a little disappointed with The Shiunji Family Children. I was hoping for a sibling romance. While I won't say that the anime is devoid of romance, it was more like each sibling trying to figure out how they felt about the news. It did get better near the end. Episode 11 and 12 make it look like romance between the siblings might actually happen. The disappointing thing is that the anime ends without any clues as to how it will turn out. If you enjoy sibling romance anime, I would suggest giving The Shiunji Family Children a try.

Aharen-san wa Hakarenai Season 2

Raido and Aharen are in their second year of high school now. Thankfully, they are not alone. Ishikawa, Sato, and Oshiro have all been placed in their class as well. What they didn't expect was a new student to transfer into their class. Riku Tamanaha was a friend of Aharen in the past, but left her without a word. This made Aharen self conscious about getting too close to others. However, Riku wants to become friends again and make up for what happened in the past.

Aharen-san wa Hakarenai Season 2 was just as good as season 1. It had the same type of humor as season 1 which made it awesome. I didn't like the opening song as much as season 1 at first, but I grew to love it the more I listened to it. I think the addition of Tamanaha also gave Season 2 something special that was missing from Season 1. While there was a beach episode, the majority of the season remained wholesome. If you liked Aharen-san Season 1 or want to see a fun romance anime, I would definitely suggest watching it.

To Love Ru

After a day at school Rito Yuuki decides to take a bath. What he did not expect was an alien to warp into his bathtub with him. He finds out that her name is Lala Satalin Deviluke and she is currently being chased by people from outer space. Rito decides to help her, only to find out that the people who are after her are her guards. They want to bring her back after she ran away from home. Unwittingly Rito ends up getting engaged to Lala which gives her a reason to stay on earth rather than return home.

To Love Ru was not what I was expecting. I was kind of expecting there to be a character named Ru and it would be a cute love story. What really happens is you meet a all kind of aliens from outer space who are after either Rito or Lala. It does resemble a high school romance in some ways as it has the cultural festival, a hot springs episode, an amusement park episode, etc. However, it doesn't feel the same as anime's like Horimiya and Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian. It has a little bit of fan service in each episode. So if you don't like the ecchi genre, you should stay away from this. However, it was kind of fun to watch. My favorite character is an assassin from outer space known as Golden Darkness. I would suggest giving it a try if you are looking for something a bit different from your usual romcom.

Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines!

Kazuhiko Nukumizu claims to have never had any friends, and typically spends his time alone. However, when he sees a girl named Anna Yanami get rejected after confessing her feelings he approaches her and listens while she vents about how upset she is all while eating tons of food at a restaurant. While he typically would have left and forgotten about the whole thing, Anna forgets her wallet and has Kazuhiko buy everything. He expects her to pay him back, but Anna proposes rather than just handing him money, she makes him lunches everyday until she's paid back all the money she owes him.

Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroine! was not at all what I expected. I was expecting a good romance anime. However, rather than love and acceptance being at the core of the anime, its more about rejection which should have been obvious to me from the title. However, I expected a cute romance and was slapped in the face with reality in anime form. I was hoping that a new romance would start with Kazuhiko and one of the girls. But all of the girls are still stuck on their old crushes even after getting rejected. So Kazuhiko's presence in the anime is essentially meaningless. I don't like how the girls mistreat him, but at the same time I don't like him as a character either. There were good moments throughout the anime, but most of it was just disappointing. Its like going to eat an apple but once you bite into it the inside is completely dry and flavorless. There is a beach episode and a bath scene, but most of it remains visually clean. You can try it if you like, but don't expect too much.

Deaimon: Recipe for Happiness

After hearing that his dad has injured his back, Nagomu Irino moves back home with the intention of taking over the family business. However, after being gone for ten years, he isn't given the warmest welcome. Nagomu's dad tells him that he already has a successor to the Sweets Shop he runs. Nagomu finds out that it's a little girl named Itsuka Yukihira. Itsuka was dropped off at the sweets shop while Nagomu was gone by her father after her mother left the two of them. Itsuka has been working to become the next owner of Rokyuusho which all that hard work makes her see Nagomu as irresponsible despite being the owner's son. Will Itsuka and Nagomu ever get to be on good terms?

Deaimon: Recipe for Happiness was pretty slow. I watched it because I was hoping it would be a fun food anime like Sweetness & Lightning. However, it didn't meet my expectations. What was weird was that Nagomu's mom asks him to be like a father to her. This premise can be pulled off well like in Buddy Daddies and The Yakuza's Guid to Babysitting, but it didn't manage to do that either. The problem is Nagomu tries too hard to fit that roll, that he ends up messing it up. They feel more like a brother and Sister, rather than a father and daughter. The anime is mostly clean. There is a pool scene where you see the characters in swimsuits, but besides that everyone dresses modestly. If you like Slice of Life anime's about food, I would give this one a try. 

Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms

Mona Kawai has had the ability to draw people to her since she was born. Thanks to this she believed that she could charm anyone who comes her way. So when a transfer student comes to her school, she tries the same thing she always does with those around her. But instead of being met with a smile, Medaka Kuroiwa glares at her and asks her to stop talking to him. This is a challenge she never thought she would have to face. Mona is determined to do whatever it takes to get Medaka Kuroiwa to fall for her. But will she be able to resist falling for him in the process?

Medaka Kuroiwa is impervious to my charms is my new favorite anime. Thats right! Out of all the anime i've seen, I believe this one is the best. I absolutely love the characters and the story. But the best part of the whole show is the relationship between Mona and Medaka. While it does have some fan service like a bath scene, and a panty shot, there isn't all that much compared to most ecchi anime. The majority of it is in the first episode so if you can get past that, the show is super enjoyable. The language remains clean throughout the show, which is a perk. If you enjoy romance anime I would definitely suggest you give this one a try.

SAKAMOTO DAYS

Taro Sakamoto was both loved and feared as the greatest hit man of all time. However, one day he fell in love, and decided to get married. After meeting his wife he retired from being a hit man and now runs a small store where he spends his time helping the community. One day an old associate of Taro Sakamoto named Shin shows up with plans of assassinating him after a bounty gets put on his head. Rather than leave Shin to die after he fails to kill Mr. Sakamoto, Mr. Sakamoto hires Shin to work at his store.

Sakamoto Days was fun to watch. It was one of those anime's where every episode feels like it finishes super fast even though its the length of every other anime. I'm really grateful I waited to watch it until after it finished airing, because I could binge it without having to wait for new episodes airing. There is a bath scene, but besides that the anime stays clean. If you like anime's with lots of fighting in it, you might enjoy Sakamoto Days as well.