7 Ultimate Anime Couples, Including InuYasha and Kagome

While anime is often recognized for its action and fantasy-driven worlds, it’s just as popular for having the best love stories and featuring dynamic couples fans just can’t get enough of.

Valentine’s Day is looming, so while you might have been expecting a list of popular romantic films like “The Notebook” or “Love Jones,” there’s always options within the Japanese animation genre that can stir up all those warm and fuzzy feelings you get for your boo thang.

Here’s a list of seven anime couples who are the definition of love and romance, just in time for Valentine’s Day.

Vegeta and Bulma (“Dragon Ball” franchise)

Vegeta and Bulma are arguably the most popular anime couple of all time. Let’s be honest, who doesn’t love this aggressive and hot-tempered pair? While they tend to get snappy with everyone around them, including one another, there’s no other couple that rides harder for their partner than these two. As Vegeta said, “Saiyans only like strong women.”

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More about “Dragon Ball”:

The “Dragon Ball” franchise is centered on Goku, a powerful young Saiyan warrior whose real name is Kakarot. Before his home Planet Vegeta was destroyed by enemy Frieza, Goku was sent to Earth where he was adopted by a human family. As he gets older, he trains to be a fighter and eventually takes on the responsibility of being Earth’s protector and collecting all the scattered magical Dragon Balls. Over time he builds a talented group of friends that help him on his quest. The series was created by Akira Toriyama, and was adapted from his 1984 manga. The TV series made its debut on Feb. 26, 1986. The entire “Dragon Ball” universe includes (in order): “Dragon Ball” (1986), “Dragon Ball Z” (1989), and “Dragon Ball Super” (2015). There are two sagas that features stories from “Dragon Ball” alternate universes, and they are “Dragon Ball GT” (1996) and “Super Dragon Heroes” (2018).

Where to watch: Hulu, Funimation and Crunchyroll

Jimmy and Rachel (“Case Closed”)

When it comes to suave, clear-headed sharpshooter detective Jimmy Kudo, there are several ladies waiting in line for a chance to get his attention, but there’s only one girl who catches his eye and that’s his classmate Rachel Moore. While the two start off just as friends, Rachel can never seem to get Jimmy off her mind as she stands by waiting for his return. Eventually, the two officially ship up and become an item.

Best romantic moment:

More about “Case Closed”:

“Case Closed” is centered on 17-year-old highly-skilled detective Shinichi (in the anime, Jimmy) Kudo who gets transformed into an elementary school-age version of himself while investigating a strange organization. Until he can find a way to change himself back, he lives with his childhood best friend Rachel and her father Richard, continuing to solve mysteries, which he does by tranquilizing Richard so he can impersonate him. “Case Closed” was written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama, and it debuted on June 18, 1994. Its anime adaptation came out on Jan. 8, 1996. Some of the plots in “Case Closed” Aoyama reference the stories of Arsène Lupin, Sherlock Holmes, and the samurai films from Akira Kurosawa.

Where to watch: Freevee, Fubo, The Roku Channel, Crackle and Crunchyroll

InuYasha and Kagome (“InuYasha”)

“InuYasha” features one of the greatest romance stories in all of anime, and it’s wrapped in a red cloak of demon fights, ghostly reincarnations and a wild love triangle that has characters InuYasha and Kagome at its center. The two’s relationship began as a collaborative partnership to track down the valuable shards of the Shikon Jewel and it later blossomed into marriage and children.

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More about “InuYasha”:

In the feudal era of Japan, half-demon and half-human InuYasha awakens from a 50-year-long slumber after a shrine priestess named Kikyo — who also happens to be the love of his life — shot him with an arrow that placed him under a spell, after she was tricked into believing InuYasha attacked her.

Five decades later, modern-day school girl Kagome (Kikyo’s reincarnation) frees InuYasha from his prison and the two embark on a journey with friends to find the culprit behind the scheme, while also tracking down each shard of the Shikon jewel — a powerful gem that if possessed by demon or man, can grant unstoppable powers. “InuYasha” was adapted from the manga series that shares the same name. It was written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi in Nov. 13, 1996, and the anime made its debut October 16, 2000.

Where to watch: Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu and The Roku Channel

Touka Kirishima and Ken Kaneki (“Tokyo Ghoul”)

You know it’s a popular anime pair when fans have given them their own couple name, which is “TouKen.” The two are another married couple on the list, but they too started off beefing with each other. They met after Kaneki was hired at a ghoul-friendly cafe that Touka was working at. Over time, they went from close friends to baes and eventually husband and wife.

Best romantic moment:

More about “Tokyo Ghoul”:

“Tokyo Ghoul” blends sci-fi, fantasy, action and horror all in one creepy series that’s centered on a schoolboy named Kaneki who lives in technology-based world where human-eating “ghouls” inhabit the land. After a life-changing event, Kaneki embarks on a mission to protect his friends from the monsters, and maybe himself, while straddling two societies. The series was adapted from its manga of the same name, which was created by Sui Ishida.

Where to watch: Crunchyroll, Hulu, Funimation, Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video

Keiko Yukimura and Yusuke Urameshi (“Yu Yu Hakusho”)

Who would wait more than four years for their boyfriend to come back from their job as a Spirit Detective just so they could be with them? Keiko, of course. The two were childhood friends, who have always let their feelings for one another surface. It’s no surprise, Yusuke eventually popped the question to Keiko.

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More about “Yu Yu Hakusho”: “Yu Yu Hakusho” was created, written and illustrated by Yoshihiro Togashi. The series tells the story of a delinquent teenage boy named Yusuke who was hit and killed by a car while trying to save a child. He is brought back to live by the afterlife ruler, Koenma, and is given the task of being “Underworld Detective.”

Where to watch: Hulu and Apple TV+

Nagisa Minase, Mukai Naoya and Saki Saki (“Girlfriend, Girlfriend”)

It’s exactly what you might be thinking from the looks of the photo. Yes, “Girlfriend, Girlfriend” has made this list because it includes a relationship that is unlike the rest on this list. The main characters, Mukai Naoya, Nagisa Minase and Saki Saki are in a three-person polyamorous relationship. What started as a monogamous courtship between Mukai and Saki turned into a throuple dynamic when Nagisa asked Mukai to go out with her.

Best romantic moment:

More about “Girlfriend, Girlfriend”:

The Japanese romantic comedy “Girlfriend, Girlfriend” was adapted from the manga of the same name, which was created by Hiroyuki. The series follows a high school student who gets into a polyamorous relationship with his childhood best friend and a girl who has a crush on him.

Where to watch: Crunchyroll, Amazon Prime Video

Yor and Loid Forger (“Spy x Family”)

When it comes to Yor and Loid Forger guns aren’t the only thing causing sparks to fly. Even though they’re in a fake marriage to cover up their real jobs as assassins, there’s no denying the affection they have for one another, and fans could spot it from the very beginning.

Best romantic moment:

More about “Spy x Family”:

Created by Tatsuya Endo, “Spy x Family” was adapted from its manga series, and its anime premiered on April 9, 2022. The show is about an amazing spy named Agent Twilight who assembles a fake family in order to perform an elaborate mission. But he soon finds out that the group he’s enlisted includes a telepathic child and a legendary assassin who also needed a family as a cover-up. Season 2 premiered on Oct. 7.

Where to watch: Crunchyroll, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, Google Play Movie.

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