There are many anime that involve the hero and the villain actually falling in love with one another. Though it may seem like it’s not something that can happen in anime, there are plenty of shows that involve two people at each other’s throats, eventually finding more than just rivalry in one another.

Related

10 Strongest Evil Witches In Anime, Ranked

Powerful and evil witches are common villains in anime shows, but who among the many villains are actually the strongest?

Of course, this is not easy to write, and some anime pull off the development of their relationships better than others. As such, viewers who like this particular trope will want to know which anime pulls it off better than most other shows.

Updated on February 23, 2024, by Oluwatokiloba Folami: Good and evil must always clash, with good overcoming evil, but there are a few exceptions. The exception is that evil triumphs over good. In the process of clashing feelings and emotions, usually anger, hurt, betrayal, maybe fear, and in some cases, love. Love is such a deep, complex, and somewhat selfish feeling because it pays no regard to the individual or the individual’s background. It is quite hard to control who an individual can fall in love with, but these protagonists or ‘good guys’ in these anime fall for some extremely questionable people, aka the villains. As much as they are villains, they are also humans with emotions, just like the heroes. Clearly on opposing sides, these characters try to make it work.

13 Fruits Basket

Shigure And Akito Sohma

Akito is the antagonist of Fruits Basket, and as much as she is the bad guy here, she is also a victim because of her upbringing as a child. At first, it was all roses and sunshine, but after her father’s death, things changed, and this sweet, kind girl turned into a cruel girl filled with insecurities.

Shigure, one of the protagonists of this anime, falls for Akito even before she is born. After her birth, he was extremely happy and expressed his love to Akito at a very young age. Their love is far from perfect, and they have so many ups and downs. Akito knowingly betrays Shigure by sleeping with another man, and this act breaks Shigure. However, he does not overlook her actions, as he sleeps with her mother to get back at her. This tumultuous love gets better over time, and in another version of this anime, they end up together and have a child.

12 Code Geass

Ohgi And Villetta

Ohgi Japanese resistance group fighting against Britannia, making him the hero. As much as he is fighting against Britannia, he is still a compassionate person, so much so that he could not leave Villetta after she was left to die. Because of the severity of Villetta’s wound, she loses her memory, having no idea who she is or that Ohgi is an enemy of Britannia.

Related

Code Geass: Lelouch's 10 Best Strategic Decisions

Lelouch from Code Geass is one of the smartest anime characters of all time. Consequently, here are some of his most practical strategies.

As Ohgi cares for and tends Villetta back to health, he falls for her. She feels the same way but is immediately disgusted when she regains her memories and realizes that she has fallen for the enemy, whom viewers might perceive as one of the heroes. Villetta fights against her feelings towards Ohgi, but in the end, she decides to let love prevail as they end up together and even have a child.

11 Rurouni Kenshin

Himura Kenshin And Yukishiro Tomoe

Love is unpredictable, and Tomoe was not expecting to find love with her fiance’s killer, Kenshin. Tomoe joins Yaminobu, a group of assassins, and as they plan to take down Kenshin, Tomoe is already a captive of love, and instead of getting revenge, she tries to save him. On the other hand, Tomoe is Kenshin’s first and true love.

These two are on opposing sides, but unlike most heroes' and villains' love stories, they do not have a happy ending. Tomoe successfully saves Kenshin but at the expense of her life. To make matters worse, she dies by Kenshin’s sword. This act breaks Kenshin, and he vows to stop partaking in unnecessary bloodshed.

10 Love After World Domination

Aikawa Fudo And Desumi Magahara

One is part of a society that wants to protect Japan, and the other is part of an opposing society that wants to take over the world, but these two individuals manage to fall in love with each other. Fudo Aikawa is the hero, Red Gelato, and the leader of Gelato 5, while Desumi Magahara, the villain, is the Reaper Princess of the Gekko Society.

While Gelato 5 seeks peace, Gekko seeks chaos, but their different values and goals do not stop Fudo from falling in love with Desumi at first sight. These two start dating, and it is a roller coaster because they have to hide their relationship from their fellow organizations. Fudo and Desumi just want to be able to date and do things like an average couple, but unfortunately, they cannot, but they keep finding ways to do so.

9 The Devil Is A Part-Timer!

Sadao Maou And Emi Yusa

After failing to start a war in Ente Isla, Sadao Maou has to leave for Earth against his personal wishes, and in the process, he loses his powers and status. His status changes overnight from being a Demon King to a part-time worker at MgRonald's restaurant. What is even worse is that the hero who defeats him, Emilia Justina, follows him to Earth to make sure he does not continue his evil plans.

Emilia becomes Emil Yusa on Earth, and she works beside him at MgRonald's to keep an eye on him. As they spend time working together, they bond and forget the times when they were constantly at each other's throats in Ente Isla. Although they are not dating, Sadou is freer around her, and they both enjoy spending time together as they watch over Alas Ramus, a little girl who has now become a daughter to them.

8 Dragon Ball Z

Vegeta And Bulma

The love story between Vegeta and Bulma was not love at first sight like it was for Aikawa Fudo and Desumi Magahara in Love After World Domination. Their love story takes the enemy-to-lover path as Vegeta comes to Earth with the malicious intent of destroying it. In the process of carrying out his evil deeds, Bulma helplessly watches Vegeta mock and kill her boyfriend. Their few moments were scary for Bulma as she witnesses him kill individuals to get his way, and he even threatens to kill Bulma one time.

Months pass, and Vegeta is not the cruel villain he was when he came to Earth, and Bulma starts seeing him in a different light. As he begins to care for others, Bulma is able to see past his walls and develops feelings for him. They begin to grow closer, forming a deeper bond, and eventually, they marry each other. Their love story is quite an interesting one because it had quite a rocky and complicated start. As Vegeta spends more time on Earth and undergoes a major character change, Bulma starts seeing him differently, and they take their love to the next phase, getting married and having children.

7 Future Diary

Yukiteru Amano And Yuno Gasai

One of the more popular anime, Future Diary is a prime example of an anime featuring a hero who fell in love with a villain. Yukiteru Amano is a loner who writes a diary on his phone before it abruptly turns into a “Future Diary,” which can predict the future up to 90 days in advance.

After that, he’s forced into a battle royale with 11 other people who wield a Future Diary, including his stalker Yuno Gasai. Eventually, the two of them fall in love together, but something about her is just a little bit amiss – there is more to Yuno than Yukiteru knows.

6 Black Cat

Train Heartnet And Saya Minatsuki

A more humorous anime, Black Cat is a story about Train Heartnet, who is an assassin who only cares about himself. He goes under the alias of “Black Cat” and is a killer who works for a secret organization known as Chronos.

7:56

Related

Best Anime Openings Of All Time, Ranked

These anime openings are so iconic any fan of Japanese animation will instantly recognize them.

Eventually, though, he meets up with a strange bounty hunter. This woman is named Saya Minatsuki, and soon enough, they end up developing a strange friendship with one another. Saya is a good influence on Train, and soon enough, he begins to wonder if his way of seeing life is wrong as his feelings for Saya develop into more than just friends.

5 Big Order

Eiji And Rin

In Big Order, after a fairy that was called Daisy appeared, and a child named Eiji Hoshimiya was granted a wish, the world started to fall apart. Though nobody knows what Eiji had wished for, countless people died in what later became known as the Great Destruction.

Ten years later, Eiji has no memory of what he had wished for – and just knows that he had caused the Great Destruction – and all he cares about now is his sick sister. He meets with Rin, who tried to kill Eiji for causing her parents to die in a fire during the Great Destruction. Unfortunately, he fell in love with her, but she doesn’t feel the same way.

4 Darwin’s Game

Kaname Sudou And Karino Shuka

In the anime Darwin’s Game, Kaname Sudou receives a strange invitation to play something called "Darwin’s Game," which his classmate describes as a mobile game (one that Kaname has never heard of). Soon, though, he learns that this game is far deadlier than it looks as it materializes his opponents in front of him.

At first, Karino Shuka is just another one of his opponents. They’re in the heat of battle for a while before Shuka abruptly decides to surrender for them both to live. Soon enough, they start to work together, and their relationship goes from simple partners to a newfound romance.

3 Kaguya Sama: Love Is War

Miyuki and Kaguya

Taking place within the prestigious school of Shuchiin Academy, Kaguya Sama: Love is War has the main characters Miyuki and Kaguya at one another’s throats. They’re both very smart and talented, which seemingly pits them against each other.

Related

8 Best Case Closed Movies, Ranked

The Case Closed series has a few entertaining movies under its belt. Among these films, which of them prove to be the best?

However, there is something that most of the others don’t know – they do have feelings for one another but don’t want to be the first to admit it. As such, their relationship turns toward a rivalry, where they constantly seem to spar with one another in their nonstop attempt to come out victorious. Eventually, their relationship becomes something even more.

2 Beyond the Boundary

Mirai Kuriyama And Akihito Kanbara

Otherwise known as Beyond the Boundary, Kyoukai No Kanata is a somewhat recent anime about two rivals coming together and somehow falling in love with one another. As the sole survivor of a clan known as the Spirit World Warriors, Mirai Kuriyama is tasked with killing strange creatures known as youmu, that manifest for negative human emotions, such as fear or hatred.

Eventually, she finds a half-breed of a human and a youmu, named Akihito Kanbara. As it turns out, he’s immortal. The two of them form a strange friendship together, but their feelings progress to more than just friendship later.

1 Maoyu

Yusha And Mao

In the chaotic world of Maoyuu Maou Yuusha, demons and humans are sworn enemies and live in constant war with one another. Yusha is the greatest demon hunter in the world, and he’s sent to finally end the war by killing off the Demon Queen, Mao. Strangely enough, though, she’s willing to talk to him instead of just fighting.

Mao convinces Yusha that a sudden end to the war would throw the world into chaos and there is a way to resolve the war peacefully. Soon enough, their feelings for one another develop into more than simple rivals or even friends.

More

Anime Theme Songs That Rock Harder Than Their Shows

For those who enjoy the high energy that anime can bring, there's nothing better than when a show opens with a song that gets the blood boiling.