Insomniacs After School is the go-to series for fans of romance anime and manga. The series focuses on the relationship between two high school students who bond over their shared interest in stars and their inability to sleep at night. With its relatable characters and sweet romance, the anime series has captured viewers' hearts of all age groups.
If you are looking for other anime that will tug at your heartstrings, you’re in luck; many other great shows accurately depict the ups and downs of falling in love as a high school student. From classic rom-com to emotional drama shows, these are some of the best romance anime similar to Insomniacs After School.
10 Kimi Ni Todoke
Sawako Kuronuma, a gentle high school student, her classmates misunderstand due to her striking resemblance to a character in a horror movie. One day, she befriends a popular boy named Shota Kazehaya, who helps her escape her shell.
As time passes and they spend more time together, Sawako develops feelings for Kazehaya but struggles to express them since he fears that she might not feel the same way. Kimi Ni Todoke is a story of budding romance as Sawako and Kazehaya navigate the ups and downs of high school life as they learn to overcome their fears and embrace their true feelings.
9 Toradora
This story follows Ryuuji Takayuki and Taiga Aisaka, two high school students who are complete opposites. Ryuuji is a kind-hearted boy who is mistaken for a delinquent due to his appearance. At the same time, Taiga is an aggressive and short-tempered girl known as the Palmtop Tiger due to her small stature and fierce personality.
Ryuuji and Taiga have no choice but to put aside their differences and work together to help each other when they discover that they have crushes on each other’s best friend. As they work together to help each other with their situation, they slowly develop feelings for each other.
8 Clannad
As a wayward student failing to find his purpose and meaning in life, Tomoya Okazaki struggled to make meaningful relationships with the people around him. Eventually, he meets a girl named Nagisa Furukawa, who influences him positively, allowing him to realize the value of good relationships.
As Tomoya and Nagisa's friendship grows, other interesting characters in the anime are introduced, each with their contributions to the story and the development of Tomoya. Tomoya and Nagis learned to overcome their past while dealing with the ups and downs of high school.
7 Ao Haru Ride
A girl named Futaba Yoshioka is desperate to leave behind her middle school reputation as a tomboy and make new friends. When she meets Kou Mabuchi, a boy she knew in middle school, she is drawn to him again despite their rocky past.
As Futaba and Kou reconnect and spend more time together, they must confront their past misunderstandings and insecurities. Kou dealing with the loss of his mother and his emotionally absent father, while Futaba struggles to balance her desire to fit in and her true self. As they confront their past and present selves they must learn to trust each other and overcome their fears.
6 Your Lie In April
This is an emotional anime series that revolves around Kosei Arima, a former pianist child prodigy who lost his passion for music soon after his mother passed away. Later on, Kosei meets Kaori Miyazono, a violinist with great talent that rekindles his love for music and opens him to new experiences.
As Kosei and Kaori’s relationship deepens, they form a bond through their shared love of music. Kosei begins to fall for Kaori and soon discovers she is hiding a heartbreaking secret of her own. Your Lie in April features potent themes of grief, love, and self-discovery.
5 Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day
This is a touching and emotional anime series that tells the story of a group of childhood friends who reunited after the tragic death of one of their own named Menma. When the ghost of Menma appears before her childhood friend Jinta Yadomi, he realizes he’s the only one who can see her.
Menma has a wish that she wants to fulfill but struggles to remember what it is. Jinta must now gather his old friends in a quest to help Menma remember her wish and find peace in order for her to pass to the other side.
4 My Little Monster
This romantic comedy anime series is centered around Shizuku Mizutani, an academic high school student who is more interested in maintaining her grades than having a social life. When tasked with delivering homework to the school delinquent, Haru Yoshida, she discovers that he is not as scary as he seems, and a friendship develops.
As Shizuku and Haru’s relationship grows, they both learn more about themselves and each other. Haru begins to open up to Shizuku despite her troubled past, and Shizuku learns to let go of her single-minded focus on academics and explore the world around her.
3 Nodame Cantabile
Shinichi Chiaki is a talented and arrogant student at Momogaoka College of Music who dreams of becoming a conductor. However, his perfectionism and his fear of flights and the ocean have proven to be an obstacle on his path to achieving his goals. Soon enough, he meets a free-spirited and eccentric pianist named Megumi Noda whom he eventually falls in love with.
Their relationship begins to blossom after some time and enables them to push beyond their limits. Despite their contrasting personalities and musical styles, the two of them formed an unlikely friendship and romantic relationship as the story advances.
2 Honey and Clover
Honey and Clover is a slice-of-life anime series that follows the lives of five art school students as they navigate their relationships. The main protagonist is Takemoto Yuuta, a college freshman who is still trying to find his purpose in life. The story is set in an art school, so Takemoto and his friends combat the difficulty of schooling with their romantic lives.
Mayama Takumi and Ayumi Yamada, two of his friends, develop a complicated romantic relationship that is tested by their insecurities and the interference of other characters. Honey and Clover deal with resonating themes like unrequited love, jealousy, and personal growth fans of the romance genre will like.
1 Kaguya-sama: Love Is War
Kaguya-sama: Love is War is a hilarious and entertaining anime that takes viewers through the daily lives of Kaguya Shinomiya and Miyuki Shirogane, two high school students who are secretly in love with each other as they try to get the other person to confess their love first.
Joined by their fellow student council members and friends, Yu Ishigami and Fuijiwara Chika, they constantly engage in a series of comical battles filled with mind games and schemes to get the other person to lower their guard.