While romantic partners are all well and good, it's important this Valentine's Day not to neglect the other significant others in our lives--the best friends, the squad, the team goals. Whatever they go by, these anime are all about the female friendships out there in all the forms they come in, whether they're driving us onwards or simply driving us crazy in only the way friends can.
Michiko & Hatchin
Hannah Morenos was looking for a way to escape her abusive foster family, but she didn't expect it to arrive in the form of Michiko Malandro. Michiko comes out of nowhere one day on the coolest motorcycle imaginable, freshly escaped from prison and determined to rescue Hannah--quickly nicknamed 'Hatchin'--as she is the daughter of Michiko's former lover. Just like that, Hatchin's life becomes about evading the law, attempting to find this so-called father of hers in a crime-torn country, and also trying to figure out just what her feelings on Michiko are.
Michiko and Hatchin are hardly the ideal Bonnie and Clyde pairing at first in this action/adventure anime from 2008, but after enough narrow escapes, they realize that they have actually started to care for each other. That fact allows not only Hatchin the most incredibly coming-of-age story but a journey that will alter both their lives forever. Michiko & Hatchin is a fast-paced, smart, and stylish show that puts women and their tangled relationships in the forefront while delivering unpredictable twists as well as emotional fallout to keep any viewer invested in the two renegades.
Michiko & Hatchin can be streamed on Funimation.
Laid-Back Camp
Laid-Back Camp is the best example on this list of 'cute girls doing cute things', in this case, the cute thing being camping. Shima Rin has the art of solitude down to perfection when it comes to a night outdoors. She cooks for herself, has the perfect gear, knows her location, and makes her solo camping trips a complete success through careful planning and her own quiet nature. One night, another girl stumbles into her campsite, having gotten lost. Rin finds that she gets along with outgoing Kagamihara Nadeshiko better than expected, and soon the idea that her camping trips don't have to be solo expeditions becomes a not-so-abhorrent concept.
Laid-Back Camp is exactly what it promises in the title, a sweet look at female friendship through the lens of a solitary girl and her chosen hobby that always allows one to shuffle over to make more room around the fire. Season 1 premiered in 2018, and since then Laid-Back Camp has produced several sequels and knock0ffs as well as an upcoming movie to keep the camping trip going.
Laid-Back Camp can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!
A breakout hit in Winter 2020, Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! is the simple story of two high school girls who want to make anime and one who knows she's the common sense (and occasional ominous presence) who will be needed to make it happen. The dynamic between the girls sells this show through every episode, each of them with their own strengths, shortcomings, and particular passions they bring to the table. Asakusa Midori has always been able to find the fantastic in the world around her. She sketches amazing alternate universes and designs for flying machines, losing herself in her own imagination because, to be fair, it is much more fun to have a near-death experience up in space than stay confined to Earth.
Mizusaki Tsubame, in contrast, doesn't design worlds but loves to study motion, which is something she often has to employ herself to get away from the bodyguards her parents have surrounding the young model. Finally, Kanamori Sayaka doesn't have any interest in making anime, but she has experience keeping Asakusa from running into walls and can see how the three of them together could pool talents and potentially come up with a fairly lucrative project...if the sheer force of their creative talent doesn't run them immediately into the ground.
Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
Asobi Asobase: Workshop of Fun
Asobi Asobase is definitely a show for people who have seen a few tamer anime comedies, for when it comes to 'cute girls doing cute things', this anime pushes limits as far as they can go. Asobi Asobase, which aired in 2018, is a series of sketches of three girls who create the unofficial 'Pastimers Club' to do whatever they feel like doing at the time, which usually devolves into complete chaos. The personalities of the three girls are what truly give this anime life. Olivia has foreign parents, yet was born and raised in Japan. Despite this, she pretends to be a foreigner so she has an excuse for slipshod grades.
Nomura Kasumi is a classic BL otaku despite being afraid of men. Finally, Honda Hanako is from a wealthy background and often kickstarts events into motion, like the Suoh Tamaki of her own Ouran High School Host Club. Hanako is intelligent and athletic, though would much rather spend her time with the Pastimers Club, thinking of new games and the rewards and punishments to go with. The girls' contrasting personalities combined with the general lack of boundaries the show sets leads to some hilarious situations that are reminiscent of the most embarrassing games once played at sleepovers once the sugar-highs really kicked in.
Asobi Asobase can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
Shirobako
Shirobako takes the struggles of Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! and moves them up into the modern workplace, with four high school friends now split apart with different careers that nevertheless can bring them back together with the help of the company Musashino Animation. Shirobako, which aired in 2014, mainly follows the story of Miyamori Aoi and her team at Musashino Animation as they work to create anime in ways that end up letting Aoi cross paths with old friends once more.
From the studio P.A Works, which proved with The Aquatope on White Sand in 2021 that they're not afraid to crush childhood dreams underfoot, this anime is an illustration of how life may not always go as planned. But with the right people at your side, it's always possible to find a new path. Even as projects such as Musashino Animation struggle or fail, maintaining connections and learning to rely on others is key to moving forward not only in life but while maturing as a person.
A Place Further Than the Universe
This gem from 2018 chronicles the adventures of high schooler Tamaki Mari--better known as Kimari--and her desperate desire to have some sort of grand adventure before her precious youth is over. When she meets Kobuchizawa Shirase and learns of her senior's intense desire to visit Antarctica and the place where her mother died, Kimari gets swept up in that dream as well. Kimari and Shirase are joined by two other girls along the course of their desperate fight to join the Antarctic civilian expedition. The four are off to one of the most dangerous places on Earth, all seeking something new out there in the vast white landscape, whether it be an escape, companions, adventure, or the chance to say goodbye.
A Place Further Than the Universe is a beautiful show of many layers and the way it captures the still-childish side of young girls while simultaneously respecting their feelings of anxiety, loss, loneliness, and isolation creates a cathartic, heart-warming anime.
A Place Further Than the Universe can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
Sure, a romance can be just fine, especially with Valentine's Day coming up, but sometimes the truly heartwarming tales are the ones of the best of friendships, the ones that don't actually have their own official holiday but deserve it. For those looking to celebrate the amazing ladies in their lives, these six anime definitely have something to offer, from sweet schoolgirl bonding to workplace shenanigans to adventures across the globe.
