After a long and grueling rivalry between a large yakuza family and an opposing gang known as Beehive, it seemed that there was no end to the ongoing war. However, the leaders of each faction decide that to attain peace, they will pair up each of their children. And so, in a reverse Romeo and Juliet scenario, Raku and Chitoge must pretend to be in a fake relationship for three years lest their gang members find out and return to a life of bloodshed. Along the way, Raku finds himself the object of affection for several other love interests including his classmate, Chitoge's bodyguard, and even a rich lady of luxury. However, Raku is unable to forget the girl he made a promise with during his childhood. Agreeing to meet again and marry when they grow up he searched endlessly for the girl holding the key to unlock his neck pendant.

Nisekoi, much like Osamake, is a harem, romance, slice of life, comedy romp with enjoyable characters and awkward teenage love. We also see the inclusion of a fake relationship as Shida and... pretend to date to make ... jealous. Where Nisekoi is probably the most like Osamake is the inclusion of arguably one of the most popular childhood friends of all time; Kosaki Onodera. Harem fans are too tired from licking their wounds to speculate whether the childhood friend might win this time around. However, when Onodera stepped onto the scene she showed real potential for besting the main love interest and Nisekoi’s writing seemed to reaffirm this. The childhood friend activists marched into battle one last time to defend the honor of Onodera and explain just why, this time for sure, the childhood friend would emerge victoriously. Did she win? Be sure to read the manga and find out!

Rent-a-Girlfriend follows the life of Kazuya Kinoshita. After discovering one day that his long-term girlfriend has cheated on him, he decided to fill the void in his heart with a professional actress found through an application. Chizuru is a member of the rent a girlfriend organization and agrees to be Kazuya’s fake girlfriend for a while. However, after Kazuya’s grandmother takes ill and expresses the joy she feels seeing Kazuya with a nice girl, the pair are forced to prolong their charade for an unknown period.

Much like both Nisekoi and Osamake, Chizuru and Kazuya’s fake relationship with hints of real feelings below the surface are the main focus of the plot. Mami—Kazuya’s ex-girlfriend—dated with him during their freshman year and fulfills the role of the childhood friend in rent-a-Girlfriend. Unlike the other anime on this list, However, Mami is a very unique childhood friend who does not stick by the main protagonist through thick and thin. After cheating on Kazuya, Mami displays several sociopathic tendencies fuelled by her jealousy of losing what she once had. Behind a rather fake smile, Mami often scares those around her with her manipulation and petty aggression. Osamake claims to be one of the first anime to allow the childhood friend to win whereas rent-a-Girlfriend was one of the first anime to take a unique spin on the childhood friend trope.

Fuutarou Uesugi is a reclusive guy with an antisocial personality. However, the threat of his impending poverty at the hands of his father's debt forces him to take action. After agreeing to tutor myths daughter of a wealthy family, he is horrified to discover that he had mistakenly quarreled with the same girl earlier at school. If that wasn't bad enough, he also learns that the girl—Itsuki Nakano—is one of five quintuplets in need of tutoring who all want nothing to do with him. Reluctantly pushing forward Uesugi does his best to make amends with these sisters and help them successfully graduate.

One of the first things viewers of Hanayome and Osamake will notice is the overlap of voice actors. Minase Inori (Itsuki Nakano/Shida Kuroha), Sakura Ayane (Yostuba Nakano/Shirokusa Kachi), and Matsuoka Yoshitsugu (Fuutarou Uesugi/Sueharu Maru) all voice leading roles in both anime. Both Hanayome and Osamake are harem anime with several comedic elements as well. Should you have fallen in love with the main voice actors of Osamake and are looking for a similar story of where these professionals can shine, Be sure to check out Hanayome.

Sakura dorm lays home to the eccentric misfit students at Kanda Soratas schools. After deciding to horde abandoned kittens he is forced out into the satellite dorm where he meets several other classmates. Struggling to fit in at first Kanda tries his best to find a home for each stray to return to his original dorm. However, when the world-class artist but infantile Shiina Mashiro moves in and latches on to him, Kanda discovers the perhaps, Sakura dorm is not so bad after all.

While not as harem-like as Osamake, Sakurasou includes lots of romantic elements. We also see fan-favorite childhood friend Nanami forced to play second fiddle to Shiina's lead guitar throughout the series (similar to Shida’s battle against Kachi for Marus affections). What Sakurasou lacks in a traditional harem comedy premise, it makes up for with its gut-punching relatability and tearfully moving moments. Sakurasou is an anime about failure (Be this romantic or dream career-wise). However, it is not an anime about giving up it's an anime about pushing forward. An anime about never letting rejection get you down. An anime about, dare we say, not losing! Now, where have we heard that idea before?

Banri Tada suffers from amnesia after a catastrophic fall from atop a bridge. He retains no memories before the accident. Due to this, he finds himself completely lost after the big opening ceremony to his new school and scrambles to find his way to freshman orientation. Along the way, he bumps into another confused freshman from the same school; Mitsuo Yanagisawa. The two chat and hit it off almost instantly. Unfortunately, at the same time, a beautiful girl holding a bouquet of flowers promptly smacks Banri across the face before congratulating him for getting into his desired school. The girl is later revealed to be Koko Kaga and we learn that, as children, Koko and Banri had agreed to marry each other upon reaching adulthood. Banri’s secretive completion of the entrance exam to escape seemed fruitful until Koko used her connections to track him down. Koko has also decided to enroll in the same college to win his heart.

Golden Time features another childhood friend placed front and center. Oftentimes, the childhood friend is placed into the background with very little screentime; acting as a sort of deuteragonist to the main love interest. Anime such as Oreshura do very little with the childhood friend character, and they appear as merely another hurdle on the main love interest’s path to happiness. What makes Osamake and Golden Time so endearing, is the care given to flesh out the childhood friend character. They are not merely a supporting member of an ensemble cast, but a real contender for the crown.

Both Kaguya and Shirogane are the top representatives of their school. Ranked best in grades, wealth, and respect from their peers, people often mistake the president and vice-president for being a couple. The two have developed romantic feelings for each other, however, neither one wants to be the first to admit this. As such, the two do all they can to emerge victoriously in this battle of pride.

Kaguya-sama’s entire plot revolves entirely around neither of the main protagonists wanting to lose. Both Kaguya and Shirogane refuse to admit defeat by confessing their love for the other, in a twisted parallel to the problem Kachi and Shida face in Osamake. Nevertheless, they each steady their resolve and complete all sorts of tricks to emerge victoriously. Much like Osamake, Kaguya-sama is littered with hilarity as the cast enacts various stunts to push things in their favor. For another light-hearted romantic comedy anime riddled with hilarity and stubborn characters, be sure to check out Kaguya-sama.