While there’s no shortage ofenchanting romance anime series, not all of them come up smelling like roses. Many of the most popular anime series on record revolve around toxic relationships that range from the wildly inappropriate to the downright abusive. Although nobody wants to spend time watching a toxic couple deal with their issues, the best examples allow viewers to live vicariously through the characters, identify glaring red flags, and overcome their real-life romantic problems.
For those looking for therapeuticanimeseries that revolve around toxic relationships, the most memorable examples include a wide range of genres and subcategories. From slice-of-life stories and high school settingsto supernatural thrillersand psychological mysteries, here are 10 anime series that can help viewers combat their own real-life toxic relationships.
10Love and Lies (2017)
Healthy relationships are often founded on honesty and open communication. As a show whose title indicates the contrary,Love and Liesis an anime miniseries that takes place in Japan in the future. The story involves a government matchmaking program that pairs citizens with a romantic partner based on an algorithm that calculates their data when they turn 16.
However, 16-year-old Yukari has been in love with a girl named Misaka his entire life. After she reciprocates his feelings, both are betrothed to different people and forced to spend time in toxic relationships with partners they dislike. Yukari is assigned to marry a girl named Ririna despite his undying love for Misaka. Ririna is also displeased with the arrangement and is willing to let Yukari cheat on her to pursue his one true love.
Love and Lies Exposes Toxic Dating Apps
Apart from the harsh penalties levied on citizens who refuse to marry their assigned partner,the underrated Sci-Fi animated seriesunderscores the toxic nature of dating apps and algorithms and proves that when it comes to matters of the heart, there is no digital formula for happiness.
Stream Love and Lies on Prime Video
9Diabolik Lovers (2013)
Based on the horror video game of the same name,Diabolik Loversis a deeply disturbing tale of vampirism gone awry. The story follows Yui, a teenage girl sent to live in an old decrepit mansion. Upon her arrival, Yui is rudely met by a sextet ofbloodsucking vampire siblingswho begin to prey upon, torture, and abuse Yui to no end. If that wasn’t nightmarish enough, Yui soon learns she has been summoned to the mansion to serve as the six brothers' bridal slave.
Diabolik Lovers Is Incredibly Toxic
With very little redemption or teaching moments compared to the others,Diabolik Loversis terribly toxic from the start and only gets worse as the story advances. Apart from the physical and psychological abuse Yui suffers at the hands of her so-called spouses, her sense of agency decreases every step of the way and the young girl is left in a state of bondage that’s hard to watch, much less reconcile as a show about toxic relationships that fans can learn from and avoid.Diabolik Loversis currently unavailable to stream or rent
8Scum’s Wish (2017)
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Classroom romances have long been the source of inappropriate behavior and toxic relationships. InScum’s Wish, Hanabi is a young girl infatuated with her adult homeroom teacher Narumi, who also happens to be a family friend that Hanabi knew before he became her high-school teacher. Meanwhile, Hanabi’s classmate Mugi has a crush on another teacher named Akane who Narumi is attracted to. As a result, Hanabi and Mugi feign a romance with each other to combat their loneliness.
Scum’s Wish Examines Inappropriate Romance
However, just when it seems like they’re genuinely falling for each other, their phony romance fizzles, and Hanabi and Mugi begin sleeping around with other classmates. Meanwhile, a highly inappropriate classroom romance between Akane and Mugi develops, crystallizing the toxic nature of teacher-student romances that continue to make shocking headlines around the world.
Stream Scum’s Wish on Prime Video
7School Days (2007)
Based on the erotic Japanese video game of the same name,School Daystakes toxic relationships to the extreme.The genre-blending anime seriesconcerns first-year high-school student Makoto Itou, who sees a girl named Kotonoha on the train and falls in love with her. However, after becoming the object of several girls' affection during the term, Makoto’s brazen infidelity leads to violent tragedy.
After finally confessing his undying love for Kotonoha and going on a date with her, Makoto foolishly cheats on the lovely girl with several of her classmates, sneaking around behind her back in the process. The more Makoto gets away with his toxic behavior, the more empowered he feels and the more chances he takes.
School Days Has a Graphic Ending
Following his chronic cheating for the entire school year, Makoto’s original girlfriend Sekai discovers his infidelity and brutally decapitates the boy for his transgressions. It’s likeFatal Attractionon steroids, with very little redeeming value to be had.
Stream School Days on Crunchyroll
6Death Note (2006 - 2007)
WhileDeath Noteis one of the most famous supernatural shōnen anime on record, it’s hard to overlook the toxic relationship featured in Part 2. Light Yagami courts Misa Amane for selfish reasons rather than true love, wishing to gain her supernatural powers to foretell people’s real names and death dates. Despite Light’s toxic behavior, Misa agrees to enter a doomed relationship with him anyway, much to fans' chagrin.
Light and Misa’s Relationship Is Cringe-Worthy
Beyond the odious motivations for pairing in the first place, the way Light and Misa interact with one another onscreen is a cringe-worthy affair. Light badly mistreats his so-called girlfriend and constantly rejects her seductive advances. As the season progresses, Light continues to treat Misa like a dog and is only interested in spending time with her to usurp her powers for his own self-absorbed gain. A loveless relationship based on mutual gain is what defines their toxic romance.
Buy Death Note on Prime Video
5Gamers! (2017)
Another indecorous, toxic high schoolromance anime takes placeinGamers!, a 2017 miniseries based on the series of light novels of the same name. The plot centers on Keita Amano, a high school student and avid gamer. When Keita is asked to join the school’s gaming club by his idol and the club’s president, Karen, Keita refuses due to his disdain for competitive gaming. As a result, Karen begins stalking Keita and continually harasses him to change his mind.
Gamers! Features Unhealthy Obsession
The more obsessed and infatuated Karen becomes with Keita, the more her personal life begins to unravel. Constantly preoccupied with thoughts of her newfound crush, Karen flies into a jealous rage at the half-baked theory that Keita has formed a romance with their classmate, Chiaki. The cut-throat competition Karen shows in her gaming life spills over into her romantic life, which, while not as disturbing as some of the others, leads to an unhealthy romantic vibe for all involved.
Stream Gamers! on Crunchyroll
4Happy Sugar Life (2018)
Regarding the most toxic non-romantic anime relationship,Happy Sugar Lifeis hard to beat. The story concerns a teenage girl named Sato who develops an unhealthy attachment to a little girl named Shio. When Shio is abandoned by her mother, Sato abducts her, detains her in her apartment, and forces the little girl to commit crimes and act as an accomplice to murder.
Happy Sugar Life Has a Terrifyingly Toxic Relationship
In cinematic terms, it’s hard not to think of an unsettling cross betweenRoom,Leon: The Professional,andWhat Happened to Baby Janebecause of the kind of toxic captivity depicted onscreen. What resonates most aboutHappy Sugar Lifeishow the sociopathic Satopsychologically tricks Shio into believing she will always be there and care for her, when in reality, she is grooming the little girl to be just like her when she grows up.Happy Sugar Lifeis currently unavailable to stream or rent
3Nana (2006 - 2007)
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Nana is a hyperrealistic slice-of-life anime series that follows two women who share the same name and age. Nana K. and Nana O. become longtime friends who live together and help each other deal with romantic dalliances in Tokyo through adulthood. The toxic relationship involves Nana K. and her boyfriend Shoji, a gallivanting rocker who often cheats on her after they become pregnant. Interestingly enough, Nana K. and Shoji’s romance is born from a previous toxic relationship Nana K. had with a married man. Two years before meeting Shoji, Nana K. had a secret affair with a married man, which directly leads to her meeting Shoji.
Nana Showcases Relatable Relationship Problems
As the series advances, every relatable problem known to separate couples — money, career, rent, infidelity, jealousy, etc. — forces Nana K. and Shoji to sidestep every landmine and keep their love for each other intact. While some series are taken to horrifying extremes, Nana is the most relatable anime about toxic relationships.
Stream Nana on Hulu
2Future Diary (2011 - 2012)
Future Diaryis anenchanting fantasy anime seriesthat concerns Yukiteru Amano, a 14-year-old loner with delusions of grandeur. When Yukiteru’s cell phone is transformed into a diary by Deus Ex Machina, he enters a battle royale-like “Diary Game” to defeat 11 other participants in a fight to the death. Along the way, Yukiteru is relentlessly stalked by Yuno, a psychopathic woman who vows to protect the boy. Forced to win the deadly game by any means necessary, Yukiteru begins betraying his friends and allies, one by one, and resorts to murdering the competition in ultra-gory ways, including decapitation.
Future Diary Tackles Relationships in a Battle Royale Setting
The series is meant to underscore how far one is willing to go to play god and achieve unchecked omnipotence, with Yukiteru’s greedy rise to power and toxic downfall serving as a cautionary tale for the overly ambitious.
Stream The Future Diary on Crunchyroll
1Lovely Complex (2007)
Lovely Complexis an endearing romantic anime series that follows Risa and Otani. Risa is a tall girl and Otani is a short boy and, after they become a couple, they overcome the toxic stereotypes of their ignorant classmates. At school, the couple is ridiculed with comparisons to All Hanshin Kyojin, a popular comedy duo in Japan.
Apart from the toxic perception of Risa and Otani at school and the bullying they experience, their own bond is compromised when Risa becomes attracted to a tall new boy in class. When Otani becomes attracted to another girl as well, he and Risa agree to put their feelings for each other aside to pursue their new romantic interests.
Alas, the decision backfires gloriously when their two crushes, Ryouji and Atsushi, begin dating each other, leaving Risa and Otani to reexamine their own relationship. While there may be more disturbing toxic relationships in anime,Lovely Complexproveshow unpredictably complicated matters of the heart will always be.
