If you’re not a hardcore romance fan, many romance series can be terribly dull. It’s just one misunderstanding after another for drama, but there are ways to still enjoy love while also getting to enjoy an entertaining show. One of the many ways creators can sneak in a touching romance is to palce it between two mortal enemies in their action show. When two enemies find themselves falling for each other, even with distinct differences, it is particularly enticing. Will they get together? Are they fated to kill each other? You want to find out.
Best Anime Where Enemies Fall in Love
Angel Beats
While Otonashi and Angel weren’t really enemies, more so that Otonashi got pulled into the SSS Brigade, they didn’t get a long at first. When they first met, Angel actually killed him, but only because she is so literal. Over time, you find that Angel isn’t as evil as Yuri makes her out to be, and she actually ends up becoming friends with the group.
Berserk
The major romance in the 1997 version of Berserk is between Casca and Gutts. While they work under the same banner, they aren’t friends. Due to Gutts recklessness and Griffith’s reckless need to preserve his boy toy, he puts Griffith in dangerous situations and angers Casca. However, over the course of the series, you watch their relationship evolve into one of love. While never enemies in the strictest sense, early in the relationship, Casca would have had no problem if Gutts died like the mad dog that he is.
Maoyu – Archenemy and Hero
Archenemy and Hero revolves around the plot of two enemies falling in love. The hero was going to kill the demon queen, but instead he was convinced that both their races can find a way to benefit and prevent ruin. Over the course of the series, you watch these two distinctly different enemies fall in love and help find a mutual peace between their people.
Dragonball Z
Let us never forget how much of a dick Vegeta was when he came to Earth. While he remained the same dick pretty much forever, off-screen after the Saiyan arc, apparently the wily Bulma managed to tame him. Considering how much they hated each other, and still seem to argue, it seems weird, but some relationships are just like that.
Basilisk
You know the old tale of the star-crossed lovers. Basilisk is a retelling of that, but with ninjas. The head of the Kouga and Iga ninja clans, who are mortal enemies, have fallen in love during a ceasefire. However, when that ceasefire ends, their clans are doomed to fight and their love story is doomed to end tragically.
Code Geass
There are quite a few relationships between enemies in Code Geass, some of them are fake and strategic. Some of them are pure delusion. Yet, there is one genuine romance between enemies that comes in the form of Ohgi and Villetta. They start off enemies because of different ideals and Villetta pretty bad racism, but after saving her life and nursing her back to health, they end up falling quite earnestly in love. It’s perhaps one of the rare nice parts of Code Geass.
Nisekoi
The whole plot of Nisekoi is about Raku and Chitoge pretending to be a couple to prevent a war between their two gangs. While they start off actually hating each other, of course that soon changes. It’s kind of proof that if you spend enough time with someone, you’ll start to love them.
The Testament of New Devil Sister
At first glance, this seems like your standard ecchi series, and it is to a point. However, its plot is about a guy having two new step-sisters dropped off who are actually demons. Unfortunately, that guy is also an ex-demon hunter. He should have killed them, but instead he chooses to protect them from his old group instead.
Lord Marksman and Vanadis
While the premise is set up to make the main characters enemies, they didn’t stay enemies for all that long at all. The main character is taken as a prisoner of war, but he soon talks his captors into rescuing the town he rules over. From there on, they end up fighting together and it seems they fall in love. Although, to be fair, there are many other enemy women that fall in love with him too. It’s that type of show where the hero is cool and every woman loves him.
Romeo x Juliet
The title of this anime makes the themes, plot, and even the ending pretty obvious. It is a sci-fi, action-y retelling of the classic Shakespearean tale, thus is it different, but follows the same basic premise. You know, two feuding family, a set of star-crossed lovers, fair Verona, ect. Of course, only the families are enemies, Romeo and Juliet get along pretty well from even their first meeting.
Kemonozume
How do you love a demon that wants to eat you? It is tricky business. It is even trickier business when your job is to kill these demons. However, in Kemonozume, love knows no bounds as a demon hunter falls in love with a beautiful demon woman.
Crest of the Stars
The main characters in Crest of the Stars aren’t really enemies. They don’t like each other very much, but rather the real enemies are their races. Jinto is a human and Lafiel is an Abh, space elves that are taking over worlds. Since Jinto’s father sold their world to the Abh to gain position in their empire, he is friendly with the elves while much of humanity still fights against them. Complicated space politics and blossoming love go together like a fine wine.
The Devil is a Part-Timer
Just as Satan is about to take over the world and defeat the human hero Emilia, he is transported to our world without his immense power. While he does his best to conquer the world by getting a part-time job, Emilia still manages to follow him. Yet, for these two archenemies in a strange land, that strangeness binds them. You soon see Emilia seeing Satan in a new light and even developing feelings for him. Though as a short series, those feelings don’t progress very far.
Do you have more anime series where enemies fall in love? let us know in the comments section below.
