Most of the romance anime I’ve seen are based on a high school setting or something similar.
They were good and all but all have this typical format with the usual shenanigans like Love triangle, beach and fireworks festival episodes, useless love interests that have a shelf life of a hamburger… Etc.
And the memorable ones have me feeling nostalgia for memories I’ve never even had. And in some cases its almost like waking up after a fever dream but with chest pain.
P.S - From the top of my head- the only grown up romance setting I can think of is Wotakoi. Maybe it’s time I venture more into K-dramas for the romance, I remember seeing one named “Twentyfive twentyone” which was absolutely amazing.
The Garden of Words. It a a short movie but, as far as anime goes it is what best fits your description.
Its a Makoto Shinkai movie right? I’ve seen it a few years ago, I liked it.