Antisocial and lonely are not words that normally come to mind when we think of the romance genre. But there are a number of anime that feature characters who are reserved and don’t particularly like being around others. The following anime feature characters who have issues making and keeping friends, which means that when they do find love, it tends to be more meaningful and special.
From quiet, reserved characters who struggle to find friends to more outgoing characters who are sometimes too affectionate, these are the top 18 romance anime where MC is antisocial and lonely.
Here are the 18 best romance anime where antisocial and lonely MC finds love
The following anime feature quiet and reserved main characters who have issues making and keeping friends. From the quiet beauty who struggles to make friends to the outgoing boy who is sometimes too affectionate, these are the top 18 romance anime where the main character is antisocial and lonely.
18. Welcome to N.H.K
First off, there are guys who act antisocial and then there are guys who think they are forced to be tagged antisocial because some evil organization is pulling strings in the background. Welcome to NHK belongs to the second category.
Here we have one guy with both social and psychological issues trapped in his apartment bedroom, thinking everyone is forced to be antisocial by an evil organization called the NHK. But along comes a popular girl who pretty much slaps him and says welcome to the real world bro. There’s no evil organization in here.
Welcome to NHK goes the usual route with the popular girl dragging the unpopular boy out of his social dilemma, but we have a psychological element mixing in this time. Even though I called our main character a psycho, don’t worry about it too much because you’re definitely going to fall in love with him.
Dubbed – Yes
Season – 1(24 Ep.)
17. The Great Passage
We’re all tired of teenagers and their romances, so how about something different. I know this doesn’t follow the usual high school antisocial student but it showcases its themes way better than the other anime on this list. Here we have one guy in a dictionary editorial division who finally decides to quit.
Still, he needs to assign his project to a new guy and the closest one to match the role is the antisocial Mitsuya Majime. Now, our antisocial guy has to work in a workplace full of extroverts and learn how to blend in slowly. As I said, he doesn’t have all those high school shenanigans and the story is more slow-paced and relaxing, so if you’re not into that, then this isn’t for you.
But if you want to take a break from high school romance anime, then this is the perfect show for you.
Dubbed – No
Season – 1(11 Ep.)
16. Watamote
Let’s make another change. Usually, it’s the boy who gets antisocial and acts awkward around girls, so what if the genders were reversed and the girl does it.
Here we have Tomoko Kuroki, who lives in the virtual world and thinks she’s ready to conquer her first year in high school but you know what they say, life is way tougher for introverts. Soon she finds the way she should react to social situations is way different from the way she usually reacts to social situations and one misunderstanding leads to another, and soon she becomes the weird girl in school.
Watamote doesn’t have a romance like many other anime on this list, but if you follow the manga, you might find some interesting romance. But rather than for romance, just go for the slice of life and Tomoko’s cute and strange reactions.
Dubbed – Yes
Season – 1(12 Ep.)
15. The Troubled Life of Miss Kotoura
Once again, let’s get to the girl because we need to prove that boys aren’t the only ones who are antisocial. Here we have a girl who can read everyone’s minds. Now, this might look like a cool ability from the outside, but they think you are some creep once you start reading everyone’s minds.
That’s what happens to our poor Kotoura san, but one guy thinks her ability is pretty cool. Does this guy like getting his thoughts explored? What kind of thoughts does this guy have? Well, those are not the questions you should be asking.
All that matters is that Yoshihisa Manabe thinks our girl’s ability is pretty cool and promises he won’t leave her no matter what happens. Apart from the romance, this has some heavy drama and get ready to shed some tears when our main character’s sad backstory comes in.
Dubbed – No
Season – 1(12 Ep.)
14. Aoi Hana
First off this is a Yuri story, so if that’s not your type, skip to the next. Are you still here? Then let me tell you that you’re about to watch one of the best romance anime of all time. Seriously this handles all those first love and self-identity themes really well and all the characters are portrayed in a realistic fashion.
Here we have two girls, Fumi Manjoume and Akira Okudaira. The two of them are childhood friends who drifted apart, but once they’re reunited, they find their bond is broken. Apart from what we’ve got, another popular senior has his eyes on Fumi. How would this love triangle move on? It’s definitely not like other anime because this show needs some credit for its writing.
If you love Yuri plus a well-written romance show, then here you go.
Dubbed – No
Season – 1(11 Ep.)
13. Dusk Maiden of Amnesia
Do you love ghosts? Okay, now do you wish your girlfriend was a ghost. Well, do not fret because anime has a little something in it for everyone, and Dusk Maiden of Amnesia is definitely for those guys who have the ghost fetish. Here we have a ghost heading to the paranormal club of the school to find answers about her death.
The premise clearly isn’t paving way to the romance route, but as the series moves on, it adds a bit of romance here and there to make this story interesting. Dusk Maiden of Amnesia is like the X-files but with a cute anime girl that’s a ghost taken the lead.
Despite the romance, you’ll also be attracted to this anime’s almost dark atmosphere but don’t worry; it isn’t like Higurashi. You don’t get the jump scares and crazy psycho Waifus laughing at you.
Dubbed – Yes
Season – 1(12 Ep.)
12. Hi Score Girl
These days we’ve got Esport players, professional gaming tournaments, multiplayer games, and if you say you’re a gamer, people look at you with respect, except for your parents. High School Girl happens in an era where this wasn’t a thing.
Back in the day, if you say you’re a gamer, people most likely point at the nearest garbage can and tell you collecting the garbage is a better job. Still, our guy Haruo Yaguchi is someone who wants to be a professional gamer.
The thing is, he’s pretty great at playing video games and that’s until a girl named Akira Oono defeats him easily in a game. Akira is the perfect girl. You know that really pretty girl who takes perfect grades and still kicks your butt in a game.
Now Haruo found a new contender and he loathes his new rival, but can love blossom between these two? Watch the anime and find out.
Dubbed – Yes
Season – 2(21 Ep.)
11. And You Thought There is Never a Girl Online?
Next up, we have another anime relating to gaming, and this time the incident is a bit embarrassing. The main character in this story Hideki “Rusian” Nishimura proposes to a girl during an online game, but guess what? The girl was actually an old man in real life. See kids, you shouldn’t trust the girls you made online because you’ll be pushing a wheelchair the next thing you know.
After that, our boy is now super depressed. He says that he’ll never trust girls again but things change when he meets another girl online named Ako. Ako has a crush on Hideki but he is afraid to be betrayed again, so what will happen when Hideki realizes the girl behind Ako is his classmate.
Will he finally trust girls again? This may feel like your average rom-com light novel adaptation but once you check it out, you’ll see how it puts a fresh new spin on all of the usual tropes of this genre.
Dubbed – Yes
Season – 1(12 Ep.)
10. Gamers!
I promise I’m not including gaming anime to show all gamers as anti-social. I don’t want you guys to get the wrong impression but this is another anime that perfectly matches the topic. Here a guy hates gaming with other people.
Instead, he likes to game on his own, enjoy his little victories and spend time alone in his room, but the hottest and most popular girl in school eventually lands on his doorstep and asks him to join the gaming club. But as you guessed, this guy only likes to play alone so he says no and this spawns one misunderstanding after the other which ends up with the girl confessing to him.
I know the guy’s very lucky but not all of the misunderstandings in this anime are lucky ones. The writing of this show also feels a bit weak compared to other shows since the writers sometimes don’t know where the show’s heading, but if you love some popular girl anti-social boy love drama, then this will be the perfect show for you.
Dubbed – Yes
Season – 1(12 Ep.)
09. Tomozaki Kun
This one got released last year and if you missed this, it’s no surprise considering how much anime got released that year and this is another anime about gaming but I promise this is the last one. This time our socially withdrawn boy is a gamer and our popular girl is a gamer as well, so all good, right?
Well, It turns out our girl hates anti-social weebs, so she decides to give our boy a bit of a glow up, and you know what happens when our two starts working together. I haven’t followed the light novel but the series also tries to focus on other characters around our main character as well.
It is also pretty similar to Gamers but this time, the characters feel more fleshed out and instead of gaming, this focuses on how our main character overcomes his social dilemma. The anime finished airing its first season last year, so instead of waiting for season two, it’s time to go read the light novel.
Dubbed – Yes
Season – 1(12 Ep.)
08. Fruits of Grisaia
This guy is a Chad. He is anti-social but he doesn’t give a damn about what’s happening around him. If a girl decides to enter Kazami’s room, he ignores her. If a girl tries to stab him with a razor blade, he grips her arm and tells her to mind her own business, and this guy is also a child soldier and a spy.
His backstory is pretty dark, but the first season of the anime focuses on his relationship with each girl in the dorms he lives in. As I said, if you want to get the true Fruits of Grisaia experience, make sure to play the visual novel.
The anime is pretty good when it comes to characters and visuals but the pacing is pretty horrible. So, if you play the visual novel, you could choose the girl you want and follow her out. It’s pretty easy and there are other two novels, so make sure to check them out too.
Dubbed – No
Season – 1(13 Ep.)
07. Just Because!
Just Because is another anime with a cynical main character with a troubled past and there are a lot of characters in this one, so even if you don’t like the main character, you can easily stick with another one.
It follows a boy who arrives at his old high school to complete his third year but brings back some bad memories to all his friends. A good thing about this show is how it isn’t filled with the regular romance gimmicks. After seeing those overused romance tropes, watching this one will be very refreshing.
It also has a lot of character-focused drama and involves rejections, love triangles, breakups, and all that good stuff. I mean, sad stuff you see in drama anime.
Dubbed – Yes
Season – 1(12 Ep.)
06. Kimi Ni Todoke: From Me To You
What happens when the cute girl in the class looks like she is about to kill a person? This is the case with Sawako, who is dubbed as Sadako because her face looks like one of those scary titans on Attack on Titan. But in truth, Sawako is innocent and has a desperate urge to make friends as well as get close to Kazehaya, a cheerful popular boy in the school.
She plans to do this during the test of courage and during that test, she not only plans to befriend Kazehaya but also to make some new friends as well.
Once again, it’s the girl who is antisocial here and compared to other anime, the art style and the production here are very simple. But that doesn’t harm the anime in any way and it still knows how to present some great characters plus an interesting story.
Dubbed – No
Season – 2(37 Ep.)
05. Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki
Here we have gaming involved and once again, this is Japan using every gamer as a lonely antisocial bastard trope again. This time our socially withdrawn boy is a gamer and our popular girl is a gamer as well.
Birds of a feather flock together, right? Even if that pack of birds has a socially withdrawn one, this statement can’t come true. So, a romance blossoms between our main couple, and together we get all that slice of life melodrama. If you’ve watched the anime Gamers, this show is very similar.
But this time, the characters feel more fleshed out instead of gaming. This focuses on how our main character overcomes this social dilemma. The anime finished airing its first season last year, so instead of waiting for season 2, it’s time to go and read the manga.
Dubbed – Yes
Season – 1(12 Ep.)
04. 3D Kanojo
Now don’t ask how a 3D girl can appear in a 2D anime because that clearly isn’t possible. So why is our main girl called the 3D girl? Well, she acts like a real girl instead of a 2D girl that lives in the mind of our main character.
I don’t think I have to repeat the premise because it’s all about a popular girl falling in love with the glass-wearing otaku, so let me tell you about what’s good. Most romance anime fail in delivering us the perfect couple. I don’t mean another Mary Sue or Gary Stu but a girl and a boy who actually connect because they have something in common.
3D Kanojo may not add anything new to the romance genre, but its romance is enough to keep you hooked through the entire show because it feels realistic, compared to many other relationships in romance anime.
Dubbed – Yes
Season – 2(24 Ep.)
03. Horimiya
Horimiya is one of the best romance anime released last year. Heck, it’s one of the best romance anime released ever, not the best but one of the best. Instead of season long love confessions, we have the main couple getting together in the third episode.
Instead of focusing on how to confess, we have actual relationship issues like long-distance relationships, jealousy, family troubles, and other stuff. If you’ve watched a ton of romance anime, this will be refreshing, and according to the light novel readers, this season isn’t even the best season yet.
There’s no news about a second season yet. It’s rare to see some unique romance anime these days with all these light novel adaptations with really long names. So, if you’re tired of that, give this a watch.
Dubbed – Yes
Season – 1(13 Ep.)
02. Oregairu
Horimiya is good, but you know what else is good? A girl named Yui Yuigahama or Yukino Yukinoshita or our depressed MC Hachiman. Yep, our MC Hachiman is the most cynical anti-social guy you’ll see in your life, but somehow he manages to get two girls to create a love triangle and throw the fandom into a war.
Nope, this isn’t a harem anime, and in the end, the main character will choose only one girl, and the only way you’ll see this guy get both girls is if you know the code, right? Oregairu is an anime that starts off with a usual premise but slowly gives you doses of character drama one after the other.
Little by little, you’ll start to sympathize with our main character, understand the backstory of a black-haired girl, realize this orange-haired girl is the best girl, and really feel like punching the black-haired girl’s sister in the face.
Overall, Oregairu is one of the best romance anime when it comes to this topic and if you don’t watch this, you’re missing one of the best anti-social romance anime ever made.
Dubbed – No
Season – 2(26 Ep.)
01. My Dress-Up Darling
Here we have the best anime of 2022 and I don’t care how many titles pop up in the future or how many record popular anime breaks because My Dress-Up Darling has the best waifu of all time. Except for Makima, who’s going to kill all of us in Chainsaw Man. Here we have one boy who loves dressing up dolls and sits at the back of class having an existential crisis.
Until Kitagawa Marin, the most cheerful girl in the school and the complete opposite of our antisocial introvert. She wants to cosplay so she’s going to force our boy to make some sweet dresses one way or the other.
Yes, this is one of those shy boys who fall in love with popular girl stories, but I think it conveys its themes and character arcs way better than any other show of the same niche.
Dubbed – Yes
Season – 1(12 Ep.)
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