Our favorite unexpected romantic gestures in anime

Love is in the air, and on our screens.

It’s Valentine’s Day. Aside from being a “card manufacturer’s holiday,” Valentine’s is about more than just love; it’s about yearning. That deep ache for love and compassion that stirs inside us not just from flowers and candy and gifts, but from genuine thoughtfulness born of devotion, those little moments that speak volumes and make our stomachs into noodles. You can turn to many places in fiction to indulge this fantasy — particularly anime, where the limit on these sorts of gestures truly knows no bounds. They go big and bold (we’re talking saving the world from total destruction) or small and grounded (hands touch, time slows, the light starts to glow, and cheeks get all blushy).

Still, for as much as a classically swoony moment can drive us all wild (and even propel a whole show’s worth of will-they-won’t-they hair pulling), we all have some off-the-beaten-path options that just delight each of us, personally. In light of that, we’ve gathered some of our favorite unexpected romantic gestures in anime. They could be grand or grounded, canon or no. The only condition? It makes your heart melt a little.

Have your own unexpected favorite romantic moment? Tell us in the comments.

Riza and Roy’s lethal promise (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood)

Throughout the course of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, we slowly learn more about Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye and just how deep their relationship runs. In Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood’s 30th episode, we get some flashbacks to their time in the Ishvalan War of Extermination and their subsequent quest to reform the government from the inside out. Roy asks Riza to watch his back — and kill him if he ever strays from his path. She promises that she will.

“Will you follow me?” Roy asks her.

“Into hell, if you so desire,” Riza responds.

I am going to claw my eyes out.

One of my ultimate favorite romance dynamics is someone with a dedicated mission in a position of power, and their infallibly loyal right-hand person, who will do anything they ask… including turning on them if they begin to compromise their morals. It’s about the devotion — not just to one another, but to the cause. It’s about the idea that they’re both united by a drive for something bigger than themselves, and that’s exactly what made them fall for each other, but it’s also the thing that means a truly happy ending will forever be out of their grasp till that goal is achieved (and even then, will it be enough?).

Roy and Riza have all that and the bonus of being childhood friends, since Roy trained under Riza’s father! Ah! —Petrana Radulovic

Tohru chasing Kyo’s monster form (Fruits Basket)

There are a lot of iconic romantic gestures in Fruits Basket, but the scene where Tohru pursues Kyo in his monster form really takes the cake. After being an outcast for most of his life, Kyo finally finds a sense of comfort in somebody. His adoptive father comes to visit, and activates Kyo’s curse, turning him into a lizardlike beast. In shame, Kyo flees into the forest, thinking that Tohru will recoil in disgust and abandon him the same way everyone else does… but she chases after him.

Tohru pushes through the literal storm to find Kyo — despite the fact that the stench makes her want to vomit, despite how he claws at her to push her away, and despite him shouting obscenities at her to hurt her. In the end, she says that she’s not going anywhere, and they return to the Sohma household with Kyo snuggled in Tohru’s arms in his cat form. Mind you, this happens nearly 100 chapters before the manga ends, but it cemented Kyo and Tohru as the couple. —Julia Lee

Love on a roll (Adolescence of Utena)

Utena fans are used to their show (or more accurately, its movie adaptation) being known as “the one where she turns into a car.” But the car is a metaphor.

In order to survive high school, the teens of Revolutionary Girl Utena have self-imprisoned within the expectations of others — none more so than Anthy, who is the object of Utena’s affection and is her vehicle (aha!) for actualizing her own identity as a protective “prince.” So when a car wash appears and transforms Utena into a dope-ass drag racer with which Anthy can escape their high school, it’s merely a visualization of Utena finally setting her own self-actualization aside to help Anthy achieve hers. The car. Is. A metaphor! —Susana Polo

Finding your voice (From Me to You)

What is the most romantic gesture that someone in love could possibly do for another person? Kimi ni Todoke (From Me to You) has the answer: It’s overcoming severe social anxiety and shyness. In this series, a teenage girl named Sawako Kuronuma likes a boy so much that she works through years of personal turmoil in order to speak to him and other classmates. Sometimes the most romantic thing you can do is just tell someone exactly what you feel! —Ana Diaz

Marcille resurrecting Falin’s digested body with dark magic (Delicious in Dungeon)

Haha, what if I trekked into the deepest, darkest dungeon to rescue you from a dragon’s stomach and concocted a dangerous plan to kill said dragon, only to learn that you’ve been digested by said dragon, so I painstakingly combed through the dragon’s blood, guts, and half-digested intestines to reassemble your bones and resurrect you via a dark magic ritual that’s basically banned everywhere? And when you were resurrected, we took a long bath together, where I gently washed your body to make sure your skin was resurrected properly, because I know your skin so well? And whilst in the bath, you leaned forward and intertwined your fingers with mine because you sensed I was weak and you wanted to share your magic with me? And we were both girls? Ha ha… just kidding… unless?