Anirban Bhattacharya
‘Nisekoi’ is an entertaining harem, romance comedy anime. The story follows Raku Ichijou, who hails from the Yakuza family and currently is the sole heir to the ‘throne’. Raku has a pendant with a lock whose key is with the girl who has to part ways. That girl was a childhood best friend of Raku’s. Now that Raku is a teen, he does not have any interest in his family business and wants to do nothing with his Yakuza heritage. But well, his luck isn’t that great as the American Bee Hive gang starts a war with the Yakuza and our protagonist here has to be in a false relationship with a girl, Chitoge Kirisaki, who is from the other gang. This would help reduce the conflict between the gangs. As if this isn’t enough, turns out that Raku and Chitoge are two ends of a pole and they hate each other pretty much from the first sight.
If you enjoyed watching ‘Nisekoi’ and are looking for more series that explore similar themes and ideas, then we’ve got you covered. Here’s the list of best anime similar to ‘Nisekoi’ that are our recommendations. You can watch several of these anime like ‘Nisekoi’ on Netflix, Crunchyroll or Hulu.
5. Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuraba Sugiru (2013)
‘Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuraba Sugiru’ is a harem, romance, comedy anime. So yes, it is in the same league as ‘Nisekoi’. But the similarity between these two anime does not stop there. The predicament of the main character is kind of same since both of them need to get into a false relationship, though for completely different reasons. Also, as soon as the main character gets into a (false) relationship, it seems that other girls are starting to pay more attention to him (it wouldn’t be a harem otherwise).
The series is extremely entertaining and if you like ‘Nisekoi’, you should give this a try. Eita Kidou does not believe in love anymore. But this attitude towards love is not due to a bad break up or any fault of his. His parents could not keep themselves in control and end up getting involved in affairs. This is what makes Eita the way he is. He does not delve into anything other than studies and works hard so that he can become a doctor. But his apathy attracts the attention of Masuzu Natsukawa, the class’s sweetheart. She is tired of all the attention and affection she gets. To prevent all this, she asks Eita to pretend to be her boyfriend. EIta does not agree at first but when she gets hold of his diary and threatens him with posting the content online, he agrees. This fake romance starts bringing unwanted attention and trouble in Eita’s life as he becomes the object of envy among his classmates while many girls confess to him.
4. Masamune-kun no Revenge (2017)
What ‘Nisekoi’ brought to the plate is an entertaining comedy based on a popular trope in romantic comedies. You first get introduced to the male and the female leads and learn about the disagreement between them. It seems that they hate each other more than anything else. But of course, we get to see their attitude change as the show progresses. ‘Masamune-kun no Revenge’ brings something similar to the table.
We are introduced to the discord between the main characters, which sort of becomes the driving point of the story and then it slowly starts to take a turn. Masamune Makabe used to be a chubby child but now he is all grown-up, in good shape, and handsome. But what brought about this change? Well, you see during his childhood, he had a crush on a beautiful rich girl, Aki Adagaki. He confesses to her but she not only rejects him but also gives him the nickname piggy. This hurts him deeply and he puts lots of effort into working out. Now, he just wants to make Aki fall in love with him madly so that he can later reject her; so when he gets transferred to Aki’s school, it seems that his plan is beginning to set in motion.
However, things aren’t easy since all his effort to get Aki to like him is failing. As if it wasn’t enough, he receives a letter from someone addressing him by piggy. This creates a complication as unless he is able to find out who the sender is, he cannot proceed with his revenge plan. This anime has a total of 12 episodes with each episode being 24 minutes in length.
3. Toradora! (2008)
If you want to talk about romance, comedy anime which follow the trope mentioned in the above entry, then ‘Toradora!’ is one anime you cannot miss. This is one of those anime that makes an overused trope fun and entertaining. The characters in this anime are pretty nice too and so are their designs. ‘Toradora!’ is again similar to ‘Nisekoi’ because of the main characters. The male and the female lead in this anime do not like each other but there is a difference: while in ‘Nisekoi’ they had to maintain a false relationship, in ‘Toradora!’, they do have to work together and help each other out for a reason.
Ryuuji Taksu is a nice guy who loves doing housework. But sometimes (actually, always), people judge a book by its cover and since he has a scary face, people label him as a delinquent. Then there’s Taiga Aisaka, who again proves that appearances can be deceptive. She is a small, doll-like girl who looks really cute. But her personality is that of a feisty girl who irritates easily. Her nickname is palmtop tiger (I mean, she has a wooden katana) for pretty solid reasons. However, there is a sweet and soft side to her that Ryuuji ends up discovering. He finds out that Taiga has a crush on Ryuuji’s best friend, Yuusaku Kitamura. But it isn’t just Taiga whose secret is out as Ryuuji tells her that he has a crush on her best friend. So yes, the field is pretty much set as these two characters try to help each other out in their romantic pursuits. Will they succeed?
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2. To LOVE-Ru (2008)
‘To LOVE-Ru’ is one of the popular harem, romance anime out there. If you enjoyed ‘Nisekoi’ because of the harem stuff but want to spice it up with some ecchi moments, then go for ‘To LOVE-Ru’. Though there isn’t any hate or discord between the male or the female lead, the predicament is kind of similar to that of Raku Ichijou from ‘Nisekoi’. Here too the protagonist is sort of forced into a relationship without any warning. ‘To LOVE-Ru’ is entertaining and if you are looking to watch something as a means of taking a break from regular stuff, you should check it out.
Rito Yuuki, the protagonist of the anime, is a timid boy. He still cannot muster the courage to confess to Haruna Sairenji, a girl he has had a crush on since his childhood days. But things are only getting complicated. One day, while bathing, a girl, who is completely naked, crash lands on him. Her name is Lala Satalin Deviluke and she is a princess from another planet. To avoid a political marriage, she flees her home planet. But it seems that the troubles are not going to be over so soon. So, she decides to marry Rito as a solution to stop this arranged marriage. This starts the weird adventures in the day to day life of Rito as it becomes harder for him to confess to his crush. Also, there are other girls who are giving him some attention. The show has a total of 26 episodes with each episode being 24 minutes in length.
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1. Bakemonogatari (2009)
‘Bakemonogatari’ is another popular, harem comedy if you want some supernatural stuff mixed in the plot. Again, there’s a male character who is sort of aloof and helps lots of girls and thus, wins their affection. The director of both ‘Nisekoi’ and ‘Bakemonogatari’ are the same and they both come from the same production house. So, you can expect similar animation, art style.
Koyomi Araragi is the male protagonist of ‘Bakemonogatari’. He is in third-year in his high school. What makes him special is that he has supernatural abilities which are the aftermath of a vampire attack. Yes, our protagonist gets attacked by a vampire and thanks to Meme Oshino, a mysterious man, he survives. Luckily, he ends up gaining some good stuff from the vampire repertoire like superhuman healing and enhanced vision.
One day, a fellow classmate by the name of Hitagi Senjougahara falls down the stairs. Nothing serious happens as Koyomi is able to catch her before she gets hurt. Koyomi is surprised that Hitagi seems to be unnaturally weightless. He suspects some supernatural mishap and offers his help to Hitagi, who refuses. But after constant persuasion, she agrees and Koyomi decides to ask Oshino for help. As the series progresses, we see more people getting affected supernaturally and Koyomi tries to help them out. That is what makes the backbone of the story.
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