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#18 Dark Romance Anime Series That Shatter The Fairy Tale

There is nothing wrong with a good gushy romance, but few relationships ever go like that. Sometimes you just want something that hits a little harder. Perhaps you want a romance that teeters the balance of working out or being shattered by drama. Perhaps you want that heady blend of violent horror and pheromones. If you are looking for a dark romance anime, these are some solid anime recommendations.

Flowers of Evil

flower of evil anime

The animation in this show make it difficult to watch. The subject matter makes it difficult. The characters – Well, you get the point. Flowers of Evil is just a hard romance to watch, and that is completely by design. So many romance series highlight the good parts of humanity. This is one the few that highlights the bad bits when it comes to relationships and human nature.

Scum’s Wish

anime series like scums wish

Scum’s Wish is an exploration of romantic relationships when every one is just the worst kind of person they could be. It is a kind of show that makes you hate the characters, and does so in the best possible way. If you don’t actually want to feel good watching a romance, this is it.

Future Diary

murdery yuno from future diary

A glorious blend of horror and romance, the relationship in Future Diary is a major plot point in the show. The main character wants to live, but is appalled by the psychotic yandere that loves him obsessively even to the point of harming him. She protects him, but terrifies him. Does he ultimately love her though? It is hard to just brush off the devotion of a girl that will kill anyone for you.

Koi Kaze

koi kaze anime

Although an older show, this is well worth the watch. Anime has an uncomfortable relationship with incest sometimes, but Koi Kaze is really the only series that approaches it in a mature way and explores those taboo feelings without making it feel like it is supposed to shock you or turning it into an ecchi joke.

School Days

school days romance

Infamous in the anime world, School Days is perhaps an extremism parody of the dramatic romance genre. It takes the drama to the furthest end of the spectrum by the end and provides a lesson on not being a manslut.

From the New World

from the new world animeme

Romance is presented in From the New World as it is in real life. It is important, but not the focus of the plot. A small group of kids develop complex and shifting feelings for each other as the world changes around them. It is interesting to follow the rope of relationships because it is so intertwined among the characters. Yet, while the world starts off innocent as they are children, there is a distinct darkness that you uncover as they grow older.

Myself;Yourself

myself yourself anime

This is a series that drowns itself in drama. Every dark and dramatic topic is touched upon in this small group of friends. Yet, sometimes that is just what you want. You want to watch these people suffer and chase after any romantic feeling that would make them feel better.

Nana

nana romance anime

If you want a romance series where people are just as unhappy in life as they are in real life, Nana is for you. It does a fantastic job at exploring the relationships that these two girls have with the people in their life and how they are not often choosing the best route for them, but yet you can completely understand why they do what they do.

Mysterious Girlfriend X

mysterious girlfriend x

As dark romances go, this series isn’t quite as dark as it could be. In fact, the darkness comes from its realistic drama. The main character realistically jumps from many different emotions about his odd girlfriend as you watch the girlfriend herself go through a transformation.

Kemonozume

kemonozume love

This is your standard Romeo and Juliet plot. The guy is a monster hunter, the girl is a flesh eating monster. They fall in love and it teeters between heartbreaking and awkwardly sexual.

Blood+

saya-otonashi-from-blood

It’s not impossible, but it is rare to have vampire romance and not have it be dark. Blood+ is actually much more complex than your typical vampire romance perhaps because they prioritize action over feelings. The complexity of plot and relationships in Blood+ is actually what makes it a top tier series.

Sankarea

sankarea-anime

Well, its a romance between a human guy that accidentally brought a girl back to life as she was trying to kill herself. Then they date. You know, a tale as old as time. He gushes over her, she tries not to eat him, he tries to keep her from decomposing. It’s a wild ride.

Welcome to the NHK

tatsuhiro-satou-from-welcome-to-the-nhk

While romance is not the central focus of the show, it is a part of it. The romance that does happen seems innocent and almost helpful at first. However, you soon learn that it is kind of messed up. As the whole of Welcome to the NHK can be described as “kind of messed up,” it is par for the course.

Dusk Maiden of Amnesia

dusk-maiden-of-amnesia-anime

There is much playfulness in this series. The main character is essentially hanging out and being flirted with by a hot female ghost. While there is something innately dark about a romance between a human boy and a ghost, you also get to see deeper into her dark past throughout the show as well.

Devils Line

devils line anime

Vampire series are typically dark romances, innately. Devils Line is the same. As the vampire is aware of his own urges, he tries to deny his feelings, but the romance progresses anyway. Unfortunately, the anime didn’t make it to all the bondage-laden sexy times that the manga has. 🙁

Elfen Lied

As a show that likes its shocking violence and severed body parts, it is also a show that likes mixing that with feelings that develop between the characters in the show. The romance is less of a focus as the intrigue of the plot is unraveled, but plays an important role.

Domestic Girlfriend

While Domestic Girlfriend has some playful comedy moments to it, the show is a romance and a complicated one. A guy sleeps with a girl because his teacher will not recognize his feelings. It turns out that girl and her sister, who is the aforementioned teacher, are now his stepsisters after his father remarries. The romance does not stop once this is revealed. It just gets complicated as two sisters start competing for this guy who must have candy-flavored boy parts or something.

Vampire Knight

kaname-kuran-from-vampire-knight

Again, vampire romance is dark romance in most cases. Vampire Knight is very Anne Rice about it. While the show has some action, much of the romance is drowning in drama and becomes even more so dark as it gets into the uncomfortable incest elements and complicated history between the main characters.

Do you have more dark romance anime series for people to enjoy? Let fans know your dark romance anime recommendations in the comments section below.

by AMEROWOLF

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