Top 10 Most Surprising Anime Couples

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we are counting down our picks for the Top 10 Surprising Anime Couples.

For this list, we’re going to be looking at the pairings that ended up together in spite of preconceptions and general common sense telling them it’s a terrible idea, yet they somehow make it work.

Got a bizarre OTP that you feel should have made the cut? Let us know in the comments below!

“Burn the Witch” (2020)

How the flying funk this happened is beyond us. As a Dragonclad, Balgo was under the protection of witches Noel and Ninny throughout their explosive adventure, with his eccentric temperament and seemingly one-sided infatuation not making things easy for them. At least we assumed it was one sided until the stoic and reserved Noal embraced him after his bounty was cleared, expressing relief he was unharmed. Not quite sure how he landed a ten out of ten like her, but we’ll be damned if he didn’t land it regardless!

“Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku” (2018)

Prone to lashing out against each other with all the snide remarks and workplace arguments you can imagine, on paper it seemed like these two secret nerds were a terrible match. Too high strung, prone to anger, no real sense of romantic chemistry etc. Then we got to see how their relationship navigated itself, and it became remarkably obvious just how organic and well-suited they are for one another. Oh sure, both chide one another every chance they get and have vastly different views on yaoi, but we’d argue they’re a much better suited couple than our leads!

“Darling in the Franxx” (2018)

There was already enough madness going on between the chaotic love triangle that was Hiro, Zero Two and Ichigo, so this one caught us completely off guard. After all, Kokoro was the object of Futoshi’s affections, and as far as Mitsuru goes…well…let’s just say we had him pinned as liking Hiro way more than a friend. So, colour us surprised when Kokoro revealed she had got such intense feelings for the bad boy that she not only cucks Futoshi in front of everyone, but goes on to break Mitsuru and his bed, becoming pregnant as a result. Girl was thirsty. But hey, they got their happy ending.

“Baccano!” (2007)

Two severely broken individuals with no qualms about killing; sounds like it should be a train-wreck that would lead to at least one of them being done in by their spouse. Not so. Unlike Ladd and Lua, Claire’s sudden marriage proposal appears to come from a place of genuine affection, in spite of how spontaneous it is. Despite being a mute with fanatical devotion to her father, the whole experience slowly starts to shift and soften Chané due to the earnestness of the legendary assassin. It’s about the closest thing to happiness the two of them are going to get anyway.

“JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable” (2016)

You’d think with his amazing hair Josuke would be a shoo in to earn the affections of the season’s resident waifus, and yet the title of Morioh’s smoothest Stand user undoubtedly falls to the pint-sized Koichi; lacking in stature yet possessing a heart ten times bigger than anyone else. While Yukako’s infatuation with him started off rather messily, lucky for her Koichi’s big on forgiveness, and following on from a few more heated meetings, the two confessed their feelings in a moment right out of Cinderella. It’s honestly hard to tell who the lucky one here is.

“Boruto: Naruto Next Generations” (2017-)

I guess Choji had to end up with someone in the end. But the tough as nails, muscular shit-talker from the Hidden Cloud? It seems so random that it actually kind of works, to the point where we want to see their romance chronicled on screen! Who cares about Sai and Ino’s parental problems? We want to know how Choji wooed the beautiful shinobi who once spent a whole episode beating Naruto’s face in! Hilarious from the outset, yet if Chocho is anything to go by, is likely also very tender.

“Digimon Adventure 02” (2000-01)

Under the guise of the Digimon Emperor, Ken did a lot of damage to the Digidestined, both physically and with their trust when his identity was revealed as superstar student Ken. Back then Yolei was a naïve fangirl who fell for every boy with a cute face, Ken included. With such shattered confidence following his reveal, it was doubtful the two of them could see eye to eye again. However, following Ken’s redemption and Yolei growing the hell up, the two became one of the only confirmed pairings after the time-skip!

“Durarara!!” (2010-16)

It’s a classic tale of opposites – nerd meets girl, girl turns out to be headless, supernatural reaper searching for her missing cranium, love ensues. Despite having to face difficulties that would doom any other relationship, Celtry and Shinra share a connection that’s so sweet that you often forget she’s missing her whole head. Communicating via texts, lack of physical intimacy, these two really shouldn’t be able to hash out a life for themselves, and yet their relationship is still the healthiest thing in this whole city.

“Paprika” (2006)

Not that the good doctor had much choice when it came to potential soul mates in this flick. A grizzled detective infatuated with her virtual alter ego, a psychotic old man who wants to rule the dream world and a former colleague just a tad on the obsessive side. All horrendous options, but even then, the fact she was secretly in love with the man-child Kosaku still took us for a loop, especially when the film concluded with their engagement announcement. While shocking, their romantic moments together was an undoubtable high point, so good on them!

“Dragon Ball Z” (1989-86)

Bulma always did have a thing for bad boys, but who would have guessed that she would fall for an alien warrior who nearly destroyed the Earth and almost slaughtered her friends. Guess every relationship has its weak points. Despite proudly wearing the badge of villain for the longest time, Vegeta’s Saiyan pride eventually gave way due to spending a number of years with the lovely engineer. Still not sure if she made a wish to Shenron about him giving up the goods, since they eventually go on to have a kid, get married and forge a better relationship than Goku and Chi Chi ever did!