Snow White with the Red Hair

Snow White with the Red Hair is an action, adventure, drama, romance, comedy, romantic comedy, fantasy, rural fantasy, Japanese anime series. It started with a manga series which was written by Sorata Akizuki and published by Hakusensha for the magazines Lala DX and Lala. It originally ran from August 10, 2006 to present and has 17 volumes in total so far. After that came the first season of the anime series. It was directed by Masahiro Ando, written by Deko Akao, musically composed by Michiru Oishima, and produced by Studio Bones. It originally aired from July 6, 2015 to September 21, 2015, and it lasted for 12 normal episodes and 1 OVA episode in total. After that came the second season of the anime series. It was directed by Masahiro Ando, written by Deko Akao, musically composed by Michiru Oishima, and produced by Studio Bones. It originally aired from January 11, 2016 to March 28, 2016, and it lasted for 12 normal episodes in total, making 25 episodes in total.

Plot
Shirayuki is a normal herbalist in the kingdom of Tanbarun with one unique feature: her beautiful red hair. Due to her unusual hair color, Shirayuki was raised to always be careful of showing her hair in new surroundings and grew to be an independent young woman. However, her hair gets her noticed by Prince Raj, who orders her to become his concubine. Refusing his orders, she cuts her hair and leaves it behind as part of what he wanted and escapes to the neighboring kingdom of Clarines. On her way there, she meets and befriends Prince Zen and his two aides Mitsuhide and Kiki. When Zen is poisoned by an apple meant for Shirayuki gifted by Raj, Shirayuki successfully obtains the antidote and decides to accompany the trio to Clarines. Shortly thereafter, Shirayuki passes an exam for a position to train in the palace as a herbalist. Shirayuki and her friends find a place in Clarines and carries out her duties as a court herbalist. Over the course of the story, Zen and Shirayuki begin to fall in love with each other and eventually begin a romantic relationship, in spite of opposition due to their difference in social status.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) Great voice acting in both sub and dub.
 * 2) All of the main characters are incredibly likable and interesting, especially the main cast, which includes Shirayuki, Zen, Obi, Mitsuhide, Kiki, and Obi.
 * 3) The romance between Shirayuki and Zen is incredibly heartwarming and endearing.  It's rather slow paced, but that only helps their growing love seem believable; it isn't so slow paced that it gets boring or starts to drag.
 * 4) Amazing soundtrack.
 * 5) Obi deserves special mention for being an amazing friend.  He is also in love with Shirayuki, but instead of pursuing her as well, which would have probably created an obnoxious love triangle, he instead backs off and lets Zen have her.
 * 6) Excellent animation.
 * 7) Raji is also an interesting character.  He's the prince of the Kingdom where Shirayuki originated from, Tanbarun, and is first depicted as an asshole who just wants Shirayuki for her red hair, but later on in the series he gets a surprising amount of charater development and redemption.
 * 8) Amazing action scenes.
 * 9) Aside from the romance, politics is also a heavy theme in the series.  This is due to Zen being the Prince and heir to his Kingdom.  This allows for some unique drama, because his brother, Izana, is against a normal girl like Shirayuki being with Zen at first, and also Zen can't just focus on growing his relationship with Shirayuki as he has duties to fullfill as the current Prince and future King.
 * 10) Outstanding comedy relief which helps to balance out the drama.
 * 11) Shirayuki is a great character because she isn't just interested in becoming the lover of Zen.  While she is in love with him, she has a dream of becoming a court herbalist.  This makes her more interesting than standard romance leads.