One day, Ayumu quits the kendo club and decides to join the Shogi Club which only has one member. Urushi is happy to have a playing partner and as the older student, she seeks to mentor Ayumu. However, his straightforward and honest demeanor often has her blushing with embarrassment. While she waits for a confession from him, Ayumu has vowed that he won’t confess until he beats her at a game of Shogi.
You can come at me with these same-y cute rom-com slice of life anime for the rest of my days. I will watch and enjoy them until my heart dies. If you are looking for more anime recommendations like When Will Ayumu Make His Move, then head on down below.
Anime Like When Will Ayumu Make His Move?
For Fans of Just Confess Already
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!
Both series are essentially about two people that like each other trying to get the other person to confess. However, it is more one-sided and less competitive in When Will Ayumu-san Make His Move compared to Kaguya-sama. Furthermore, Kaguya-sama does have its more dramatic arcs even though it is mostly a romantic comedy.
Science Fell in Love, So I Tried to Prove It
One day, beautiful female scientist Ayame told her co-worker Shinya that she loved him. Both being rational people, they expressed their lack of experience with romance and decided to use science as a way to concretely conclude if they did indeed love each other.
While featuring characters of different ages, both shows are about two people that like each other, but won’t confess until a specific criteria is met. While trying to meet that criteria, the pair get more and more flirty with each other.
High Score Girl
Haruo is not popular, handsome, or even friendly. His sole redeeming quality is his skill at video games. However, his world is thrown upside down by a popular rich girl in his class, Oono, who absolutely trounces him in every game. Now he follows her from arcade to arcade trying to win.
As High Score Girl follows a boy and his arcade gaming rival from when they are kids until the end of high school, it isn’t immediately similar, but by the time High Score Girl reaches high school, it becomes a similar relationship. Once it reaches that period, the series becomes about the male main character’s desire to beat that girl at an arcade game before he confesses.
For Fans of Male and Female BFFs
Skilled Teasing Master Takagi-san
For Nishikata, no one knows him better than Takagi-san. Unfortunately for him, she uses this knowledge to unrelentingly tease him on a daily basis. Nishikata vows to get revenge for all that blushing he has done, but is he good enough to overcome her skill?
As Skilled Teasing Master Takagi-san and When Will Ayumu Make His Move share a creator, you can fully expect to see more crossover than just the passion for large foreheads. Both series are about male characters being prodded by a girl that they hang out with a lot. Honestly, Ayumu and Urushi feel like characters you would happen across in the world of Takagi-san.
Komi-san Can’t Communicate
It is the first day for incoming freshmen at the prestigious Itan Private High School. For Hitohito Tadano, he considers himself lucky to get in and angles to not make waves during his high school career. However, he finds himself sitting next to the beautiful, beloved, yet cold and silent Shouko Komi, immediately earning the ire of his classmates. After a series of events leads to him being left alone with her, he discovers that she is not cold, but suffers from extreme social anxiety that prevents her from speaking. After a long conversation through writing, he wants to help her reach her goal of making 100 friends.
Both series follow a friendship in high school between characters that clearly like each other a lot, but are still just friends. Much of any progression is prevented by a distinct lack of communication.
My Senpai is Annoying
At a trading company, junior salesperson Futaba Igarashi has flourished under the guidance of her senpai, Harumi Takeda. However, while he teases her about her short stature, Igarashi has come to admire Takeda for his reliability in the workplace as their relationship continues to develop.
While the ages are different, the set up is fairly similar between these two series. You have your large, straightforward male main, and his adorable tsundere friend. After awhile, you realize that they both are clearly more than friends, but no one is really confessing. Yet, even without a confession, they continue to grow their relationship.
For Fans of Deadman Man and His Small Girl Companion
Aharen-san is Indecipherable
Excited to have a different and more social high school life, Raidou introduces himself to his seat neighbor on the first day. At first, he thinks this small girl is just ignoring him. However, he discovers that she has a quiet voice and is bad at determining personal space. From this meeting, an odd friendship blooms.
These series are most similar in their male main characters who say what they mean and always have a deadpan attitude. While Aharen-san is quieter than Urushi, she can also be a bit over-the-top, but she is also not a tsundere.
Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out
Sakurai Shinichi just wants a little peace and quiet, but after he meets a kouhai, Uzaki Hana, from his old high school swim club at university, she wants to hang out. This peppy, loud, and well endowed woman just wants to spend time together and tease him. Will Shinichi get the peace and quiet he desires? No.
Both series follow a cool and normal main character and the small, perky girl who is chasing after them and trying to get them to confess. Uzaki-shan is more innocent about it in that she might not realize she wants to spend time with him because she is in love, but the audience knows through her obvious actions.
Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun
Chiyo Sakura has fallen head over heels for the handsome and oblivious Umetarou Nozaki. However, when she confesses her love, he gives her an autograph. It turns out this stoic boy is actually a respected shoujo manga artist. After a series of misunderstandings, Chiyo winds up not as his girlfriend, but as his manga assistant.
Both shows are about cool male main characters and the slightly spastic small girls that are absolutely in love with them. While it is made clear Ayumu has feelings, they play it more coy with Nozaki. Still, while the romance moves slow, the comedy is still great.
Do you have more anime recommendations like When Will Ayumu Make His Move? Let fans know in the comments section below.
