You know what? I’m just going to say it: Anime with overprotective boyfriends is superior to any other anime out there, and you can quote me on that. Look, I’ve been a Shojou girlie for more than a decade now. So, of course, my standards for the perfect male lead in anime are super specific. But can you blame me? While we might’ve found the boys in real lacking, we were spoiled when it came to guys in manga and anime.

Like, there have always been some amazing anime boyfriends for us to latch on to. Like, if you grew up in the 2000s, you more than likely fantasized about your first boyfriend being like Usui or Tamaki. Or even Inuyasha. But I think the ‘anime husbando’ has only gotten better as the years have gone by, thanks to women becoming a bigger part of the anime landscape. Anime studios saw what the fans were going rabid for, and they decided to deliver.

And what do we fanboys and fangirls want in the perfect anime boyfriend? Loyalty, first and foremost. Respect, duh. But also a little possessiveness. Like, who doesn’t dream of the cool overprotective guy that saves them from harm, just like in that comfort romance anime we’re watching for the 10th time? So today, let’s list down some of the anime with the best overprotective boyfriends we’d gladly give up everything for, in another round of Get Ranked! 

8. Snow White With The Red Hair – Zen Wistaria

Dare I say, this is for The Apothecary Diaries enthusiasts? Jokes aside, Snow White With The Red Hair has similar plot beats, with a smart heroine who is well-versed in herbs and poisons, and a second prince who falls in love with her. But Zen Wistaria is a little more casual. Zen is easygoing, sharing smiles and laughter with those around him.

But at the same time, he’s extremely aware of Shirayuki, constantly saving her from trouble and falling in love during the process. And to Shirayuki, Zen is the perfect example of a responsible ruler, who takes care of his people. It’s just so nice to see an anime pace out the romance here, letting Shirayuki and Zen’s relationship grow slowly, but surely.

7. Why Raeliana Ended Up At The Duke’s Mansion – Noah Wynknight

Listen, if Raeliana McMillian could get out of her own head for a second here, she’d realize Noah Wynknight is actually sincere towards her. But then, how would we get the mystery and angst that is Why Raeliana Ended Up At The Duke’s Mansion? Adapted from the manhwa of the same name, the anime features a headstrong heroine who gets transported to the plot of a book she read, becoming Raeliana, a character doomed to die.

To save herself, she gets fake engaged to the calculating Duke Noah, thinking he would have no interest in her later on. Except, Duke Noah is growing very protective of his new intelligent fiance, even when she thinks it’s all a farce. Hey, the best romances stem from miscommunication, so I’m not complaining!

6. Kaichou Wa Maid-Sama! – Takumi Usui

Ah, Takumi Usui. The OG problematic love interest. I kid, but growing up Kaichou Wa Maid-Sama! was the Shojou anime everyone loved. And it isn’t hard to see why, considering it has everything that makes a good rom-com anime work.

There’s a rivals-to-lover plot line between Usui and Misaki Ayuzawa. You have Usui falling for Misaki first, giving us all the pining and swooning we deserve. Like, seeing the heartless heartthrob Usui slowly become possessive in his love for this girl who he constantly butts heads with?

It’s so satisfying. And then there’s the whole maid cafe setting, which is just so quintessentially 2000s weeb core, I just can’t. Yes, Kaichou Wa Maid-Sama! still holds up!

5. My Love Story!! – Takeo 

Ore Monogatari, or My Love Story!!, had so many people in a chokehold with its introduction of a ‘Gentle Giant’ boyfriend in the form of Takeo. And can you blame the fans? As much as I love the pretty Bishounen love interests, there was something so affirming about Takeo and how he met Rinko Yamato.

After saving her from a pervert on the train, Takeo finds himself falling in love with Rinko, but resigning himself to a fate where he knows his feelings would go unrequited because of his looks. But what he doesn’t know is that Rinko also fell in love at first sight with Takeo! Cue Takeo and Rinko have the softest, most relatable love story ever.

4. Vampire Hunter D – Meier Link

Star-crossed lovers in an anime about vampires? Hell yes, sign me up! Vampire Hunter D is a dark fantasy anime that came out 20+ years ago, but the chemistry between the main characters is what keeps pulling fans to this day.

I mean, it’s about a forbidden romance between Charlotte, a human, and Meier Link, a Vampire noble who has made keeping Charlotte safe and happy his entire goal in his endless life. Like, regardless of what people say about them, the mark it places on them, he only cares about Charlotte.

And while Charlotte would happily be turned into a vampire by him, he refuses to damn her the same way he is. Like, they don’t make men like Meier anymore.

3. My Happy Marriage – Kiyoka Kudou

My Happy Marriage is a fantastical take on the typical Cinderella story, which we’ve seen before in anime. But what we haven’t seen in those anime is a male lead who is so involved in his love interest from the very start. And yet, Kiyoka Kudou is exactly that.

We start out thinking that Miyo Saimori, the protagonist, is being sent to marry this horrendous man, a ploy by her family to get rid of her. Turns out, she’s engaged to the gorgeous Kiyoka, a Commander in the Special Anti-Grotesque Unit.

Not only is he not some evil old man, but turns out? He’s actually respectful, kind, and fiercely protective of his new fiance. Kiyoka not only raised Miyo’s low standards in how she should be treated but ours too!

2. Yona Of The Dawn – Son Hak

I couldn’t go through this list without mentioning Yona Of The Dawn, which is an already brilliant anime about royal conspiracies and a girl finding her way afterward. But it also has the added benefit of having someone like Son Hak as the male interest.

When Yona’s entire world turns upside down and she is smuggled away from the only home she’s ever known as the exiled princess of Kouka, it is Hak who stands up for her. Hak is her childhood friend, her bodyguard, and the unwavering foundation on which she stands to pick up the pieces of her life once again.

And like, who doesn’t want an overprotective boyfriend who also vows to crush your enemies alongside you? Goals, honestly.

1. Mo Dao Zu Shi – Lan WangJi

Like, for all the funny moments in Mo Dao Zu Shi, it’s a really intense anime about Cultivation politics, necromancy, and what really counts as the ‘righteous path’. But at the heart of the series are Lan WangJi and Wei Wuxian. 

Yes, this counts. Get over it. There will never be a more overprotective boyfriend than the Second Jade Of Lan himself. Though, I guess he had to become possessive over Wei Wuxian, considering how much trouble our favorite necromancer finds himself in.

I mean, the man stood against the elders of his own clan to protect his Wei Ying, even after he was accused of treason. And when Wei Ying comes back into his life, 13 years later, Lan WangJi decides he won’t be letting him go through it all alone. Never again.  

As a fine purveyor of everything romance anime-related, I’m pretty satisfied with this list. I love a good overprotective boyfriend in anime, after all. But did I miss out on your husband? Sound off below!