Summary
Winter 2024 is filled with various exciting anime titlesboth new and returning. While much of the attention is going to the various shonen, isekai and fantasy titles; once again, the Winter anime season is romance central as many interesting titles make their debut while others return for season 2.
The new romance anime this season are particularly promising, and among them, a number of new titles and one returnee are definitely the ones to look out for for fans of the genre. FromA Sign of AffectiontoCherry Magic, lets break down which romance anime anime fans should definitely look out for this Winter anime season.
Highly Recommended:A Sign of Affection
A Sign of Affectionfollows hearing-imparied university student Yuki Itose as she embarks on a journey to open up her world. Since she was a child, Yuki has lived in the same place, and she rarely interacts with anyone except for her mother and her best friend, Rin Fujishiro. One day on her way to class, Yuki has a chance encounter with Itsuomi Nagi, a tall, silver-haired mutual friend of Rin. Surprised at his quick uptake at her condition, as well as the colourful experiences that gave rise to his multilingualism, Yuki develops a crush on Itsuomi as she wonders how vast his world must be compared to her own.A Sign of Affection is available onCrunchyroll.
Produced by Aija-do (Ascendance of a Bookworm),A Sign of Affectionis the number one pick when it comes to new romance anime this season. While the depiction of a hearing-impaired main character is not unheard of in anime. Most will be reminded ofKyoto Animation’sA Silent Voicefilm, due to the fact that both titles depict the life of a hearing-impaired main character; however,A Sign of Affectionis much lighter more focused on Yuki’s development and journey to expand further into the world. The art and animation are beautiful, and communicate the lightness of the narrative; however, what carriesA Sign of Affectioninto a different stratosphere compared to other romances and even the aforementioned film lies in its centering of Yuki’s personal experience and her specific set of circumstances, and also pays special attention to the depiction of Sign Language and the kinds of day-to-day experiences and challenges that are faced by the hearing impaired in a way that doesn’t garner sympathy but creates a connection to Yuki’s character. At the time of writing, the series is only three episodes in; however, it is steadily shaping up to be this season’s best new romance anime.
Highly Recommended Returnee: The Dangers in My Heart
The Dangers in My Heartfollows Kyо̄taro Ichikawa, a high schooler who believes that deep within him lies a bloodthirsty killer who wants to see his fellow classmate Anna Yamada writhing in pain. As he interacts with Yamada and gets to see different sides to her, this strange, awkward and twisted main character begins to realize that he has romantic feelings for her, and his perspective on everything begins to change.The Dangers in My Heart is available onHIDIVE.
Of the various anime coming back for sequel seasons this Winter, the second season ofThe Dangers in My Heartisone of the best of its kindthis season, building off the strong foundation set by the first season, which aired in Spring 2023. The profound and strong connection being formed ever so slowly between Yamada and Ichikawa is more than just the kind of story where young boys can insert themselves into the shoes of the protagonist. While it starts off with Ichikawa being a complete weirdo, his perspective is an interesting depiction of the kinds of complexes people can develop during adolescence (like the belief that they’re a total outcast and recluse to the same tune of the average serial killer), but what truly shines aboutThe Dangers in My Heartis how well it depicts the angst and awkwardness of adolescence, as well as its confident and bold heroine whose own emotional journey is just as interesting.
Recommended: Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable!
Leaning further into the territory ofSlice of Life and the “gyaru” tropein particular,Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorablefollows 16-year-old Tokyoite Tsubasa, who moves to Hokkaido to live with his father and runs into a beautiful girl his age on his first day there. The site of her against the snowy backdrop quickly captured Tsubasa, and he developed a crush on Minami Fuyuki, who, as it turns out, goes to the very school Tsubasa is enrolled at and is even his neighbour in class.Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable is available onCrunchyroll.
What’s great aboutHokkaido Gals Are Super Adorableis that it gives the impression of a slow-moving romantic comedy; however, Minami is much bolder than other romance heroines, and her actions move things along much faster than the average romance anime. By the end of the first episode, the two are already on a first-name basis, and by episode two, the series presents its iteration of the mandatory festival episode seen incountless Slice of Life animebefore it. While it can seem overly concerned with Minami’s appearance, what makesHokkaido Gals Are Super Adorableone of the more exciting new romance anime this season is the moments in which it moves as slow as one initially expected – tiny moments of sweetness that are very significant for the ways in which they emphasize the chilly, quiet setting of Hokkaido through contrasting it with the apparent ease with which warm moments of connection occur between the two.
Recommended: Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!
As the title summarizes,Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!follows 30-year-old virgin Kiyoshi Adachi, whose three decades of virginity have granted him magical powers, specifically, the ability to read the thoughts of those he touches. Kiyoshi hates the ability and because of it, he avoids crowded places. One day on his way to work, he runs into his colleague Yūichi Kurosawa, a well-liked and attractive man with a good personality. Kiyoshi ends up touching Kurosawa, learning that he has a crush on someone at the office; however, nothing could have prepared Kiyoshi for the realization that Kurosawa’s secret crush is none other than Kiyoshi himself. With this new knowledge,the romantically inexperienced protagoniststruggles to figure out how to act whenever he’s around Kurosawa.Cherry Magic is available onCrunchyroll.
What’s interesting about howCherry Magicstarts out is that the protagonist, Kiyoshi, talks about his lack of romantic experience with women in particular. He even thinks that Kurosawa is the kind of person that would definitely have heaps of romantic experience and not be fully comfortable with interactions of that nature, so the curveball is not just that Kurosawa likes Kiyoshi and struggles to stifle some of his raunchier thoughts about him, but that Kiyoshi is trying to figure out how he feels about his colleague’s attraction to him and is confused by it because of his low self-esteem. With great comedy, beautiful visuals and an interesting premise,Cherry Magicis definitely another romance anime to look out for this Winter.
