Himari Inuzuka and Yuu Natsume became best friends after Himari agreed to help Yuu market and get his flower-based fashion accessories in stores. Now in their second year of high school, they are both starting to look to the future.
While their friendship has been peaceful and pleasant for years, when Yuu reconnects with his childhood crush, Rion Enomoto, both Himari and Yuu have to come to terms with feelings that they didn’t know lurked under the surface of their relationship.
Himari’s trolling undercuts a lot of the interesting depth this could have had, but I’m here for it. If you are looking for more anime recommendations like Can A Boy-Girl Friendship Survive, head on down below.
Anime Like Can A Boy-Girl Friendship Survive
For Fans of Love Triangles
I’m Getting Married to a Girl I Hate in My Class
Saito Houjou gets along easily with just about everyone in his class—except for Akane Sakuramori. With her temperamental attitude and their contrasting personalities, the two have been locked in endless animosity for as long as they have known each other.
They are surprised when they learn that their grandparents not only know each other, but have arranged a meeting between them. They are further shocked when their grandparents announce that they two of them should get married.
Not wanting to go against their grandparents wishes, Saito and Akane move in together. Now under the same roof with the prospect of marriage looming over their heads, can they turn contention into love?
Similarities Between Can A Boy-Girl Friendship Survive and I’m Getting Married to a Girl I Hate in My Class
- Love triangle romance
- The male main character is teased and annoyed by a girl that he actually has/develops feelings for.
- A girl hides her romantic feelings for him as a friend until she simply can’t anymore because her friend is making moves.
- Comedic, but when it gets serious, it gets very serious.
Differences Between Can A Boy-Girl Friendship Survive and I’m Getting Married to a Girl I Hate in My Class
- Boy-Girl Friendship is a boy/old crush/long-term friend triangle while I’m Getting Married to a Girl in My Class That I Hate is more of an “arranged marriage and the girl helping him hide it that also has feelings for him” sort of setup.
- Boy-Girl Friendship swings wildly towards comedy while I’m Getting Married to a Girl in My Class That I Hate is more grounded and does lean more serious, more often.
- I’m Getting Married to a Girl in My Class That I Hate is more clear about which girl is going to win.
Love Is Indivisible by Twins
Ever since the Jinguuji family moved in next door and their fathers bonded over shared nerdy interest, Jun Shirasaki has been childhood friends with the fraternal twin Jinguuji daughters, Rumi and Naori.
However, as they grew older, feelings began to change between them. Both Jinguuji sisters fell hard for Jun, with Rumi even being so bold as to start dating him in high school.
However, after she begins to start feeling guilty for stealing Jun from Naori who loved him first, Rumi breaks up with Jun and tells him to ask out her sister.
Similarities Between Can A Boy-Girl Friendship Survive and Love is Indivisible By Twins
- Love triangle romance
- Male character had pretty clear feelings for one girl, but pivots for various plot reasons
- Girls playing tug of war over one guy, which sours the once pretty good relationship they had between them as friends/sisters
- Serious girl versus vulnerable girl who hides her feelings by being flippant and eccentric
Differences Between Can A Boy-Girl Friendship Survive and Love is Indivisible By Twins
- Love is Indivisible By Twins is about twins fighting over their shared male childhood friend that they both like.
- One of the twins in Love is Indivisible By Twins was actually dating the boy prior to the series, but breaks up with him due to her twin’s feelings. Obviously, that doesn’t go as planned or very well for anyone involved.
- Love is Indivisible By Twins leans heavier on the drama and melancholy, but can be just as silly as Boy-Girl Friendship.
- Love is Indivisible By Twins follows the female perspective of the sisters more so than the male perspective like Boy-Girl Friendship
Osamake – Romcom Where the Childhood Friend Won’t Lose
Sueharu Maru, once a child actor and now just a normal high school boy, is considered lucky to have the constant company of his beautiful and popular childhood friend, Kuroha Shida. However, when Kuroha confesses to him, he immediately rejects her.
He still has his sights set on his first love – school idol and author, Shirokusa Kachi. Despite thinking he still has a chance, he finds out one day that she has a boyfriend which starts him on a complicated path of feelings.
Similarities Between Can A Boy-Girl Friendship Survive and Osamake
- Love triangle romance
- A guy had a crush on a girl as a child, and finally gets his chance to act on these feelings in high school
- BUT he also has another childhood friend he made later who is also very in love with him.
- While the male main character is navigating his love triangle, he is also chasing his own career dream.
- Wildly silly moments that kind of undercut the seriousness of the situation
Differences Between Can A Boy-Girl Friendship Survive and Osamake
- Osamake is a bit different in that his first crush turns out to have a boyfriend and he uses his other childhood friend that is in love with him to try to make her jealous.
- There are technically three girls in love with him in Osamake, but it really only focuses on the main love triangle.
For Fans of Girl Friends That Could Turn Into Girlfriends
Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki-kun
Fumiya Tomozaki is the top player in Japan at a fighting game called TackFam. Despite holding such a title, he is a failure at everything else, blaming it on the unfair rules and mechanics of life.
One day, the second best TackFam player asks to meet up.
Tomozaki discovers that they are actually Aoi, one of the most popular girls at school. She, however, is disappointed that someone she respected is a failure at life.
Now, she aims to teach him how to succeed at the glorious game of life.
Similarities Between Can A Boy-Girl Friendship Survive and Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki-kun
- Boy becomes friends with girl, girl helps him with his crush on a different girl, boy and first girl realize they also might have feelings for each other.
- A plucky eccentric girl helps the main character with his life
Differences Between Can A Boy-Girl Friendship Survive and Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki-kun
- Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki isn’t technically a love triangle romance, but the story definitely starts hinting as it goes on.
- Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki features the main character dating his crush fairly early with the love triangle element building very slowly on the side.
- Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki is about a girl teaching a loser how to level up his life. Initially, she kind of hates/is disappointed by him.
Makeine – Too Many Losing Heroines!
Nukumizu Kazuhiko is a high school boy that is content with just blending in with the crowd. One day, he watched a popular classmate, Yanami Anna, get dumped by her childhood friend that she had confessed to.
Feeling like he should comfort her, Nukumizu ends up increasingly entangled with Yanami as well as several other girls who he witnesses get turned down by their unrequited loves.
Similarities Between Can A Boy-Girl Friendship Survive and Makeine
- A male main character gets involved with many girls who appear to see him as a friend, but definitely act like they want to be something more.
- Male main character trying to follow his passions gets wrapped up in interpersonal issues
Differences Between Can A Boy-Girl Friendship Survive and Makeine
- Makeine is very much a harem romance rather than a love triangle.
- Makeine is about girls who all struck out with their crushes befriending the male main character who observes their struggles
- The male main character in Makeine is really more of an observer than an active participant in his own story.
Okitsura – Fell in Love with an Okinawan Girl, but I Just Wish I Know What She’s Saying
Teruaki Nakamura has recently moved to Okinawa. On his first day of school, he runs into the energetic Kyan. However, he quickly realizes that she can only speak the Okinawan dialect, and he can’t understand a word of what she is saying.
Thankfully, Higa steps into to translate what Kyan is saying, helping Teruaki grow closer to her. However, what he doesn’t know is that Higa has her eyes on winning his heart.
Similarities Between Can A Boy-Girl Friendship Survive and Okitsura
- Love triangle romance
- Main character befriends one girl who helps him with his crush, but she also absolutely loves him too.
- Occasionally wildly silly
- Keeps who will win the love triangle pretty vague, but seemingly also kind of obvious?
Differences Between Can A Boy-Girl Friendship Survive and Okitsura
- Okitsura may be a love triangle romance, but it is first and foremost a tourism anime that hypes up Okinawa and Okinawan culture. It’s pretty educational about it too.
- Okitsura features a boy who can’t understand the Okinawa dialect using his new female friend to translate what his crush says to him.
- Boy-Girl Friendship has more serious moments and drama. Okitsura keeps things pretty light.
For Fans of Teasing Male Main Characters
The Dreaming Boy is a Realist
Wataru Sajo has been deeply in love with his classmate Aika Natsukawa for years. He persistently pursued her with the hopes of mutual love until one day he realized that they just weren’t a good fit. Finally, her rejections stuck.
After suddenly calling it quits on her after so long, Aika begins to wonder if he started to hate her. So begins the difficult romance between two people that think their love is unrequited.
Similarities Between Can A Boy-Girl Friendship Survive and The Dreaming Boy is a Realist
- A boy is friends with an eccentric girl that teases him
- When he develops a romantic interest in other girls, suddenly his female friend realizes her romantic feelings for him.
Differences Between Can A Boy-Girl Friendship Survive and The Dreaming Boy is a Realist
- The Dreaming Boy is a Realist is about giving up on a tsundere, which of course means she realizes she love shim and goes crazy trying to communicate it.
- The main character in The Dreaming Boy is a Realist is more of a serious type
- The Dreaming Boy is a Realist is a bit more melancholy in tone and enjoys being verbose with long periods of meandering dialogue.
Pseudo Harem
It is Eiji Kitahara dream when he joins the drama club that he can form a harem in high school like in his favorite manga. It is a dream that has yet to happen.
The next year when Rin Nanakura joins the drama club, she falls hard for Eiji and, unable to confess her feelings openly quite yet, tries to win him over by putting on all the persona that would make up a proper harem story.
However, whether she is acting mature and collected like Cool-chan or devious and flirty like Imp-chan, her real feelings for him continue to grow. Will she ever be able to tell him how she feels as her real persona?
Similarities Between Can A Boy-Girl Friendship Survive and Pseudo Harem
- Boy befriends an eccentric, lightly spastic girl
- They develop a strong boy-girl friendship built on them teasing each other
- Wholesome friendship soon starts to feel like it is something more
Differences Between Can A Boy-Girl Friendship Survive and Pseudo Harem
- There is no love triangle or harem in Pseudo Harem, it’s one girl that just pretends to be other types of female stereotypes for fun as an actress.
- Pseudo Harem is a straightforward and super wholesome romance with minimal actual drama.
- The characters in Pseudo Harem have a senpai/kouhai relationship rather than a childhood friend thing like Boy-Girl Friendship.
Kaguya-sama – Love is War
Considered a genius, Miyuki Shirogane leads the student council in his prestigious school. Alongside his beautiful and wealthy vice president, Kaguya Shinomiya, the two are regarded as the perfect couple despite no romantic relationship.
The truth is, however, they both have feelings for each other, but neither can confess.
This is the battle of two people trying to get the other to confess first!
Similarities Between Can A Boy-Girl Friendship Survive and Kaguya-sama: Love is War
- Two people who clearly like each other tease each other mercilessly.
- The boy and girl who tease each other spend pretty much every moment together
- Wildly silly, but with strong serious moments as well.
Differences Between Can A Boy-Girl Friendship Survive and Kaguya-sama: Love is War
- Kaguya-sama isn’t a love triangle romance, just a singular one
- Kaguya-sama is, at times, more of a comedy than any sort of romance, but it never forgets to progress the main couple over time.
- Kaguya-sama uses side characters for various stories. It isn’t just all about the main couple like Boy-Girl Friendship.
Do you have more anime recommendations like Can A Boy-Girl Friendship Survive? Let fans know in the comments section below.
