One Piece, Dragon Ball, and Demon Slayer offer action-packed adventure. Berserk, Fullmetal Alchemist, and Neon Genesis Evangelion bring deep philosophical dilemmas into question. Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, The Ancient Magus' Bride, and Dandadan have worlds full of the supernatural and fantastical. But as much as many anime provide tales of daring adventures, romances full of drama, or dark paranormal mysteries, sometimes it's nice just to chill with a more simplistic, wholesome show.
Whether it's young love, family, friends, or just general feel-good vibes, these shows are sure to make you laugh, cry with joy, and just overall feel all warm and fuzzy inside, perhaps even giddy. Sure, sometimes the characters might face some light drama and everyday hardships, but life happens to us all. Besides, dealing with pretty relatable topics and themes in their own wholesome ways makes these anime all the better as to see that life is full of whimsy and plenty of pleasant experiences.
Takeo Gouda, a tall and intimidating but kind and pure high school freshman, may be renowned among his fellow male peers for his courage and chivalry, but he's not exactly popular with the ladies. Unlike his cool and handsome best friend Makoto Sunakawa who's constantly having girls confessing their love to him, Takeo feels he can only dream of having the kind of luck with the ladies Sunakawa does. But one day when he saves a cute girl from being groped by a creep on the train, it's love at first sight for Takeo. Despite his suspicion that the girl would be more likely to catch feelings for Sunakawa, Takeo resolves to protect Rinko Yamato at all costs, totally ignorant to the fact that the infatuation is mutual.
But when the two finally get together, their love for each other makes for the most wholesome romance. While many anime tend to feature handsome, pretty, and moe main characters, My Love Story!! flips the shoujo tropes on their heads by giving a kindhearted character who wouldn't necessarily be considered "traditionally attractive" a chance at love and the limelight.
My Love Story!! can be streamed on Crunchyroll and Hulu where available.
As the neighboring countries Ostania and Westalis quietly plot against each other, spy Twilight takes on the alias of psychiatrist Loid Forger in the Ostanian city of Berlint to conduct intel. His target: the politician Donovan Desmond. The problem is Donovan only rarely appears at his son's school, Eden Academy. In order to get closer to his target, Loid enlists Yor Briar, an unmarried city hall clerk, and Anya, his newly adopted daughter who he enrolls at Eden Academy, to act as a normal happy family. Unbeknownst to the spy, Loid's new family hides their own secrets -- Yor is actually an assassin known as "Thorn Princess" and Anya is a telepath secretly able to read others' minds.
Even though the family starts out as a façade, their love for each other grows to be true. With an assassin mother, spy father, and daughter with supernatural abilities, Spy x Family depicts a super cute and wholesome triad family who grow to truly cherish their forged relationships.
Spy x Family can be streamed on Crunchyroll and Hulu.
After accidentally wandering into the wrong place at the wrong time, Haruhi Fujioka ends up being slapped with a debt to the school's Host Club and must pay it back by becoming a host. The problem? She's a girl. But that doesn't stop her from disguising herself as a boy in order to pay off her debt. With the boys assisting in keeping her secret, she becomes close friends with them and ends up truly enjoying her time at the Host Club.
Although Ouran High School Host Club is basically a reverse harem featuring a host club, throughout all of their comedic misunderstandings and misadventures, Haruhi and her peers show their growing bonds, that they genuinely care for one another, and, through thick and thin, how they wholesomely put their friendships first.
Ouran High School Host Club can be streamed on Hulu and Netflix.
When a curious goldfish sneaks away from home, five-year-old Sousuke finds her trapped in a bottle near the shore and frees her, cutting his finger in the process. The small fish licks his wound and heals it. Realizing she's special, Sousuke puts her in his bucket and names her Ponyo, taking his new friend home to his mom, Lisa. Frantic that she's missing, the sorcerer Fujimoto searches for and recaptures his daughter Brunhilde. The goldfish insists she prefers the name Sousuke gave her, rejects living as a fish, and is determined to return to her friend. Sousuke's blood having given her the power to transform to look like a human girl, she rushes back to him, creating an imbalance in nature in her wake. As the two grow close in their friendship, Sousuke and his mother embrace Ponyo with open arms as not just human, but one of the family.
In typical Studio Ghibli fashion of putting their own flourish on a classic tale, Ponyo makes for just the most adorable Little Mermaid-esque film you'll ever see. With a friendship as wholesome and unbreakable as the one between Sousuke and Ponyo, this film depicts two kids defying nature itself to stay together.
Ponyo can be streamed on Max.
High school student Ganta Nakami can't sleep, making him irritable in class. So, he takes whatever opportunity he can during school to take a nap. But when he finds that the school observatory had been abandoned by the defunct astronomy club, Ganta surmises that it would be a great place to grab some shuteye. Unfortunately, it's not as abandoned as he thought. Accidentally finding Isaki Magari already napping there, she decides to share her secret sleeping space, dubbing their insomniac duo the "Nightly Fun Society", eventually more officially reestablishing the school's Astronomy Club.
Insomniacs After School is a 13-episode wholesome anime that you shouldn't sleep on. A short, sweet series of two students becoming fast friends sheds light on how sharing in their sleeping struggles oddly blossoms into endearing, comfy, and, of course, wholesome antics.
When four-year-old Kotarou Satou moves into an apartment by himself, he begins to attract the attention of his neighbors after gifting them boxes of tissues as an act of neighborly goodwill. With Kotarou's quirks of speaking in an extremely formal manner and refraining from relying on others despite his age and lack of any parents or guardian, one of the neighbors, mangaka Shin Karino, takes it upon himself to try to look after his new, odd little neighbor. Although Kotarou prefers trying to be independent, he and his neighbors at the apartment complex eventually warm up to each other and become a sort of found family.
Kotarou faces the all too relatable conundrum of trying to be independant when living on one's own, albeit at a way earlier age than the vast majority of people. But although he confidently struggles with caring for himself (as many of us do even as adults), with the wholesome support of his fellow apartment residents, the neighbors are able to come together in their times of need.
Kotaro Lives Alone can be streamed on Netflix.
"Immortal Dragon" Tatsu, once the most feared gangster of the yakuza, now strives to live a peaceful life in an apartment with his wife as a homemaker. But since it was as though he had suddenly vanished from his previous lifestyle, whether it's his ex-subordinates, former enemies, or ordinary citizens, passersby tend to be quite surprised when they run into his apron and tattoo-clad self. Unable to completely shake the yakuza lifestyle, Tatsu's homemaking skills like cooking, cleaning, and grocery shopping become mastered in the most eccentric ways.
Although this mean-looking, tattoo-bearing former yakuza member most assuredly committed plenty of horrendous crimes in his past, his current life as a househusband makes for the most wholesomely comedic situations and interactions. Albeit often done in unconventional and odd ways, Tatsu strives to make their home comfortable and his wife happy.
The Way of the Househusband can be streamed on Netflix.
What's your favorite wholesome anime? Let us know in the comments what show you think runs on the best vibes and caring characters!