Best first love anime
Toradora! (2008) leads the first love list, with a community score of 8.2, ahead of Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun. The 40 shows span 1992 to 2023, and 3 of them came out in the last five years. Most are also romance, comedy, and school life. 35 are series and 3 are movies; the typical series runs 13 episodes. Ranked by how plainly each story is built on first love, then community score and popularity. Each entry says what it was matched on.
Toradora!
Why it fits: synopsis mentions “crush”
Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun
Why it fits: synopsis mentions “crush”, “confession”
Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dreaming Girl
Why it fits: synopsis mentions “crush”
Nisekoi: False Love
Why it fits: synopsis mentions “crush”
Bakuman.
Why it fits: synopsis mentions “crush”
The Last: Naruto the Movie
Why it fits: synopsis mentions “first love”
Kaguya-sama: Love is War - Ultra Romantic -
Why it fits: synopsis mentions “crush”
School Rumble
Why it fits: synopsis mentions “confess”
One Week Friends
Why it fits: synopsis mentions “crush”
Oreshura
Why it fits: synopsis mentions “confession”
Place to Place
Why it fits: synopsis mentions “crush”
Skip Beat!
Why it fits: synopsis mentions “crush”
Bloom Into You
Why it fits: synopsis mentions “confession”
Domestic Girlfriend
Why it fits: synopsis mentions “crush”
Citrus
Why it fits: synopsis mentions “first love”
Kiss x Sis
Why it fits: synopsis mentions “confess”
ItaKiss
Why it fits: synopsis mentions “crush”
Nyan Koi!
Why it fits: synopsis mentions “crush”
ORESUKI: Are you the only one who loves me?
Why it fits: synopsis mentions “confession”, “confess”
To LOVE Ru Darkness 2
Why it fits: synopsis mentions “crush”, “confess”
True Tears
Why it fits: synopsis mentions “crush”
Plastic Neesan
Why it fits: synopsis mentions “crush”, “confess”
Higehiro: After Being Rejected, I Shaved and Took in a High School Runaway
Why it fits: synopsis mentions “confession”
Love Tyrant
Why it fits: synopsis mentions “crush”
Actually, I am . . .
Why it fits: synopsis mentions “crush”
Kämpfer
Why it fits: synopsis mentions “crush”
Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead
Why it fits: synopsis mentions “crush”, “confess”
I've Always Liked You
Why it fits: synopsis mentions “confess”
Midori Days
Why it fits: synopsis mentions “crush”
Ladies versus Butlers!
Why it fits: synopsis mentions “crush”
Questions about first love anime
What is the best first love anime?
By AniVids' ranking, Toradora! comes first, followed by Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun and Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dreaming Girl.
What are the newest and oldest first love anime on this list?
The newest is Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead (2023) and the oldest is Sailor Moon (1992).
How many first love anime are there?
AniVids has 222 first love titles that match (counting each season, movie and special), and 133 separate franchises where it is plainly central. This page lists the best 40.