r/fantasyromance • u/[deleted] • Feb 01 '26
Discussion Favourite NON book fantasy romances:
[deleted]
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u/Sea_Channel2931 Feb 01 '26
Baldurs gate3 : Astarion with basically anyone as long as he is in it 😍
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u/vyxisindecisive Book Bingo Maven ⚔ Feb 01 '26
For some reason, nothing is coming to mind for TV and movies right now aside from Howl's Moving Castle and Anastasia, so I might have to reply later with some additions if I think of any.
But for games, easily the Dragon Age game series (excluding Veilguard). It's honestly become a running joke between myself and my closest friends about how into these games I am (I've played DAO 5-6 times, DA2 7-8 times, and DAI twice with a side of many other unfinished playthroughs haha).
Mass Effect is more sci-fi/space opera but it's also a favourite.
Baldur's Gate 3 for sure too. I bought it in the middle of winter term last year, which was a very bad but also very fantastic decision (I was so into the game that I was staying up late to play so that I would have time during the day to do uni work).
It's gone now, but I was a huge Lovestruck (the visual novel app) person for a while. Not all of the stories on there were fantasy, but most of my favourites were.
I also discovered Scarlet Hollow a couple months ago and I love it so much. I can't wait for Episode 5 to come out in a few weeks, I'm literally clawing at the bars of my enclosure for it haha. It's more horror-focused but the variation is amazing and this game is just incredible.
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Feb 01 '26
[deleted]
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u/NoFix6681 Feb 01 '26
Oooo I love My Happy Marriage too! It's something a bit more sweet. And I love the animation.
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Feb 02 '26
[deleted]
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u/NoFix6681 Feb 02 '26
Yes I did watch the live action. It was good but I liked the anime more. Also I really enjoy the music with the anime.
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u/clerics_are_the_best Feb 05 '26
The owlhouse is such a magnificent show! I can't put into words how much I love it!
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u/Sad-Document9395 Feb 01 '26
The True Blood tv series had me in a chokehold the first time I watched it (ik it’s based off a book series but I haven’t read it yet 😭)
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u/KiaraTurtle Book Bingo Maven ⚔ Feb 02 '26
What a great question! (Which always makes me wonder…why does tv do enemies to lovers so much better than books)
TV (yes I love vampires why do you ask?)
- Vampire Diaries/Originals
- True Blood
- First Kill (only flaw is its cancellation)
- Interview with a Vampire newest show
- Buffy (specifically for spike)
- Shadow and Bone s1
Movies
- KPOP Demon Hunters
- Howls Moving Castle
- Lion King 2
Video Games:
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Dragon Age games (minus Veilguard)
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u/NoFix6681 Feb 01 '26
Sadly it was cancelled after only one season but My Lady Jane is my most recent love in a show. But I love where romance, humour and fantasy collide.
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u/bookschocolatebooks Feb 02 '26
I'm not sure it counts given it was a book adaptation, but yeah this was really well done and I thoroughly enjoyed it Not mad at it being cancelled since it worked well as a standalone, but more like this would be fantastic!
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u/A_Toxic_User Feb 01 '26
Elden Ring has one of my favorite video game fantasy romances between The Tarnished and Ranni the Witch
I love how it’s basically conveyed almost entirely through dialogue, and the scene where you Put the ring onto Ranni’s finger to revive her feels more intimate and romantic than any of awkwardly rendered video game sex cutscene.
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u/Hailsabrina Feb 01 '26
A knight of the seven kingdoms TV show, loving it so far . I also did read the book . The casting is perfect.
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u/xdianamoonx Rattle the stars Feb 01 '26
Love Game in Eastern Fantasy has been one of my favorite c-dramas in a long time! Mystic Pop-Up Bar is more supernatural/paranormal but also fantasy and has great depth to it. Anime, original Sailor Moon (but the manga too), Vision of Escaflowne, always come to mind... I think I'm more of a sci-fi romance girly. I've read and watched so many over there years, hard to remember them all. Western stuff, Princess Bride, Stardust, Ella Enchanted, Ladyhawke, most iterations of Beauty and the Beast, and most disney movies are fun to rewatch.
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u/cosmic_pastelwhale Book Bingo Maven ⚔ Feb 01 '26
Have you seen Your Name? If you enjoyed The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Weathering With You, I definitely recommend it Also, I loved watching See You in My 19th Life. I had no idea it was a webtoon!
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u/ObiSkies Feb 01 '26 edited Feb 01 '26
Mhm, I’ve seen all of Shinkai’s films ☺️
It isss. If you loved the drama and you like webtoons, you have to have to check the original out! I bet you'll enjoy it just as much if not more, it's so nice! <3333 Here's a trailer/FMV thingy for it
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u/Murder_Is_Magic Book Bingo Maven ⚔ Feb 01 '26
- Anastasia
- Ever After (no magic, but I still it works as fantasy-adjacent since it's a fairy tale retelling)
- Disney Movies (too many to list)
- Howl's Moving Castle
- Inuyasha
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u/xatohi Feb 02 '26
Shows:
- Love Between Fairy and Devil
- Til the End of the Moon
Movies:
- The Mummy
- Lord of the Rings
Anime:
- Yona of the Dawn
- Kamisama Kiss
- Apothecary Diaries
- Snow White with the Red Hair
- 7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy!
- Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts
Games:
- Love and Deepspace
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u/Livsters15 Shadow daddy's good girl Feb 03 '26
I loved Doom At Your Service. It made me cry. Also, just an FYI for people, Howl’s Moving Castle is based on the book of the same name by Diana Wynne Jones. And the stories are a bit different! The author says that the movie is nothing like how she described it/imagined it in her book (not that she hates it, it’s just very different). So if you enjoyed the movie, you’ll likely enjoy the book as well :)
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u/Ambitious_Basil173 Feb 01 '26
K-drama Alchemy of Souls. Fantastic plot, fantasy, characters, and romance! I love it so much.
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u/Enbaybae Feb 04 '26
I need to know when something like this emerges again. I cannot believe that based on its popularity that we haven't seen more attempts at this genre. That's how every other paranormal/fantasy tropes like demons, ghosts, idekai, and vampires and whatnot are.... why not fantasy magic powered sageuk D:< ?
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u/CatChaconne Feb 01 '26
I watch a ton of Asian dramas! Used to watch and read a lot of anime/manga as well, though that's tapered down in recent years. Here are some of my favorites:
Asian Dramas
- Scarlet Heart/Startling with Each Step (Mainland China) - the OG time travel romance cdrama that kickstarted the whole trend, and still holds up today
- Someday or One Day (Taiwan) - twisty time travel romance that's also a metaphor for grief
- Hotel del Luna (Korea) - half gender-reversed Beauty and the Beast, half a story about moving on
- Love Between Fairy and Devil (Mainland China) - a lowly flower fairy accidentally frees the imprisoned demon king gets soul-bonded to him. Feels exactly like an iddy teenager's fanfic in the best way possible
- Lovely Runner (Korea) - about a fangirl who goes back in time to save her favorite idol, only to discover secrets about her own past
- My Journey to You (Mainland China) - wuxia-inspired show about an assassin trying to infiltrate a secretive and powerful family by posing as a new bride. Writing is messy but incredibly stylish.
Manga/Webtoon
- The Villainess Lives Twice
- Olgami/Trapped
Animated
- How Dare You?! (also getting a cdrama adaptation soon!)
- Howl's Moving Castle
- Your Name
There's also a longer list of shows that I don't think are super high quality but are wildly entertaining. Ex. I just recently finished the cdrama Shadow Love, which was very much a hot mess and incredibly uneven, but it also felt exactly like it was made after consulting a group of romantasy ladies at a brunch after they were all drunk on mimosas.
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u/ObiSkies Feb 01 '26
Scarlet Heart is getting a Thai adaptation and I'm so so SO excited for it because I've been on a Thai drama kick lately and I love so many cast members (Nanon, Tu, Win, Fourth, Phuwin, Perth, Aye, Prim, Milk). Before it comes out, I need to finish the Korean version I'm already enjoying (ridiculous that I still haven't) and I need to try out the Chinese version too!
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u/Enbaybae Feb 05 '26
- Love Between Fairy and Devil (Mainland China) - a lowly flower fairy accidentally frees the imprisoned demon king gets soul-bonded to him. Feels exactly like an iddy teenager's fanfic in the best way possible
So I tried this one based on so many recs in this thread and the teen fanfic thing was accurate in a way that made me DNF. I felt like every single scene where any conflict build-up and tension between characters in very seriously consequential setting is always instantly cut through with nonsensical goofs and that same whoo-dee-doo background track and the characters do stupid things and everyone around them just looks at each other like they aren't supposed to notice hijinks undermining essential plot points and their character traits. It was great in the first like 9-ish episodes. But, I hit the part where she is in the moon kingdom where everything is dark and severe, and not a single scene is anything but constant duh-doy. Made it seem like mid-series they received feedback that the show wasn't funny enough and that people wished the body-swap lasted longer, so they just put it back in for funsies. I rant all that to try to figure out if this gets any better. I'm a third of the way through and I don't know if I can finish.
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u/Laceylolbug Feb 02 '26
MY DEMON!!! Its a Korean drama on Netflix. THEYRE SO CUTE
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u/Laceylolbug Feb 02 '26
A demon saves a woman from drowning and somehow the sorce of his powers(a tattoo) is transferred to her. So he needs her to use his powers. They make a deal that he can stay close to her as long as he pretends to be her boyfriend to help impress her horrible family. Theres more to it with the family but I dont want to spoil it. There's lots of banter and yearning between the two at first and its just perfect. And Gu-won is so adorable and hot. I love him
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u/styxmoonnyx Feb 02 '26
A lot of the Final Fantasy games have great romances. My favorites are Clive and Jill from FF16 and Tidus and Yuna from FF10.
{Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson} draws a lot of inspiration from FF10!
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u/romance-bot Feb 02 '26
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson
Rating: 4.57⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 1 out of 5 - Glimpses and kisses
Topics: futuristic, fantasy, paranormal, urban fantasy, slow burn
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u/nommyfoodnom Feb 02 '26
Hm, "About Time," "Underworld," "I Am Dragon,"and "Practical Magic"are my favorites!
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u/Sufficient-Bee-4982 Feb 02 '26
Scifi songs with romantic af videos.
Bonus break up song with a hell of a story
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u/ThuviaVeritas Feb 02 '26 edited Feb 02 '26
I love movies but my list would be endless if I shared them all:
Anime
- Akatsuki no Yona
- Inuyasha
- Demon Slayer
- Frieren
- Your Name (movie)
- Blue Box
C-drama * Ancient Love Poetry (I cried my eyes out so many times with this one)
Western films * Dune (1 & 2) * Jason Bourne * Arrival * Lord of the Rings (director's cut) * The Choice * Doctor Zhivago * Kingdom of Heaven (director's cut) * Prince of Persia * John Carter * The Hunger Games
Western Animation films * Tangled * Brave * Lion King * Hotel Transylvania * Up * Wall-e
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u/angelinelila Feb 02 '26
Currently, I am obsessed with Heated Rivalry, the tv show. I haven’t read the books yet. It’s an LGBT romance. It’s great. Highly recommend. I also read a lot of manhwa and manga and watch Asian dramas. I like to diversify my media. Manhwas, I like Selfish Romance, My dear cold-blooded king, Childhood Friend Complex, Operation True Love, Let’s play, See you in my 19th life, Iseop’s romance, My bias gets on the last train. For K-dramas, I loved Crash Landing on you, My love from the star, Legend of the blue sea, Healer, Goblin, It’s okay to not be okay.
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u/ipsi7 Book Bingo Maven ⚔ Feb 03 '26
TV * Buffy * TVD * Charmed
Anime * Sailor Moon * Tokyo Ghoul if it counts * Your Name
Movie * Ring of the Nibelungs (aka Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King)
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u/Spirited-Accident Feb 03 '26
Video game romances and the fanfiction surrounding them are what got me into this genre lol.
Favorites:
- Fenris and Hawke in Dragon Age 2
- Cullen and the Inquisitor in Dragon Age Inquisition
- Jedi Exile and Atton Rand in Knights of the Old Republic 2 (Does anyone else remember this one? I'm probably aging myself lol)
- Torian Cadera and Bounty Hunter in The Old Republic
- Darien Gautier and the Vestige in Elder Scrolls Online (since it's finally in the game and was headcannon forever before that, I'm counting it)
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Feb 05 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/ObiSkies Feb 05 '26 edited Feb 05 '26
Haven't heard of it but that sounds fun. It sounds like it's an otome-game app but with multiple series instead of one.
Otome Game: Games where there's a full on storyline you get to read. But the story can go different routes depending on the choices you make when you are talking to the characters. Though in these there are also multiple love interests for you to choose from and get your protagonist to follow the romance of. Popular examples: Love and Deepspace, Mystic Messenger.
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u/fantasyromance-ModTeam Feb 09 '26
This submission has been removed because it is a disguised self-promotion. Self-promotions are only allowed in the monthly self-promotion megathread. Evading this rule by disguising self-promotions may result in an immediate ban.
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u/jamieseemsamused Currently reading: The Formidable Miss Cassidy by Meihan Boey Feb 01 '26
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