New Crunchyroll Romance Anime Proves One Tired Trope Can Actually Be Great When Done Right

February 4, 2025

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The romance genre of anime is filled with a myriad of tropes, some better than others. Some of the most common tropes found in romance anime are simple. Recurring themes like the confession, sitting next to a crush in class, or even getting assigned to do a task with them at school are easy, fun tropes that are hard to get wrong.

Other tropes are a little more complicated, and if a series can’t get them right, it can ruin everything. Luckily, I’m Getting Married To a Girl I Hate In My Class shows the “forced relationship” trope at its best. There are a slew of romance animes out there that force their main characters into relationships, with varying levels of success. I’m Getting Married To a Girl I Hate features the peculiar but interesting trope at its best, showing its good sides while telling a solid story at the same time.

I’m Getting Married To a Girl I Hate is Solid

A Great Series in Just a Handful of Episodes

In just a few episodes, I’m Getting Married To a Girl I Hate In My Class has already shown its ability to be one of the most fun and unique anime of the winter 2025 anime lineup. The best romance anime usually have some type of trope they use as a pivot point, and I’m Getting Married To a Girl I Hate In My Class is the best example of the forced relationship trope. The story is set around Saito Hōjō and Akane Sakuramori, enemies in their class and a married couple at home.

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When Saito’s grandma and Akane’s grandma were younger, they had a tumultuous relationship that they never reconciled. Now, in their older years, they regret not sticking with one another. Living vicariously through their grandchildren, the two grandparents force the pair to get married. Saito agrees so that he can inherit his grandpa’s hugely successful company, and Akane gets married so that she may one day become a doctor.

Other Romance Anime Don’t Do the Trope as Well

Forced Relationships Are a Hard Trope to Pull Off Successfully

At its core, the “forced relationship” trope is hard to pull off believably. Even in conservative countries like Japan, forcing two people to get married to one another is a thing of the past. Most people marry for love these days and not status, land, or money like they might have hundreds of years ago. Still, within the romance genre, it can be fun to see two people who don’t like each other find ways to see the best in one another, eventually shifting from enemies to friends, and maybe eventually to partners.

I’m Getting Married to a Girl I Hate in My Class does the oftentimes tired anime trope right. While it seems a little clunky at times, the show doesn’t claim to be as realistic as a show like Skip and Loafer. Plus, plenty of great romance series try their hand at the forced living situation trope. Netflix’s Blue Box is one of the most realistic romance anime series in the past few years, and Chinatsu moved in with Taiki at the start of the series, albeit under very different circumstances.

Set Within a (Relative) Reality

I’m Getting Married to a Girl I Hate in My Class Is Not 100% Realistic, but It Isn’t Claiming To Be

I’m Getting Married to a Girl I Hate in My Class never claims to be realistic. There are plenty of great, realistic romance anime series out there, but I’m Getting Married to a Girl I Hate in My Class isn’t one of them. There are parts that seem relatable, like Saito sacrificing his love life to inherit absurd amounts of wealth, and that Akane will do what it takes to achieve her dreams of becoming a doctor.

While it isn’t set in the most realistic world, the show does well with the plot it was given. The characters act very realistically, whether they’re bickering at home or at school. At home, they fight like a stereotypical married couple. At school, they fight like the rivals they claim to be. It’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility for two older, overbearing grandparents to attempt to live vicariously through their grandchildren either, keeping the premise of the series at least somewhat grounded in reality.

How I’m Getting Married to a Girl I Hate Does it Right

It Nails the Forced Relationship Trope

There are a couple very important aspects of I’m Getting Married to a Girl I Hate in My Class that the series does correctly. There are a couple other romance animes out there that portray forced relationships and living situations. While this series does not explain the living situation in depth, or show any real adversity between the characters, it still captures the essence of the trope perfectly. The two lovers are at each other’s throats constantly, but that’s not even the best part of the series.

The best part of I’m Getting Married to a Girl I Hate in My Class is that both Saito and Akane are doing their best in an odd, uncomfortable situation. Neither of them asked to be married to one another, but with their futures on the line, they’re both willing to do what it takes to get what they’ve always wanted.

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When Akane and Saito sit down and have a heart-to-heart about what’s working in their new relationship and what isn’t, the show is definitely at its best. Nobody would expect the two to become best friends overnight, but to see each of them do their part in the relationship feels like the best situation possible. Akane is learning to tolerate Saito’s dark gaming interests, and Saito is willing to do the dishes more often, so that they can both find some way to meet in the middle. When the pair finally do find common ground, I’m Getting Married to a Girl I Hate in My Class proves itself to be the best example of the forced relationship trope in recent anime history.