Favorite Harems in Anime/Manga

[Daniel Blackworth]

Harems in manga/anime involve one guy as the main protagonist of the story and a whole bunch of girls who fall in love with him. Most of them try to make the guy fall in love with them, while others choose to hide their feelings for the sake of their friend (who's likely the heroine). Others confess in order to move on/forward, while others never tell their feeling, instead they choose to just tease the guy. Only one girl wins in the end, though, and captures the protagonist's heart.

 

Everyone's had their fair share of manga/anime, right? Mangas with harems are usually ones that are set in a school setting or may involve school as a theme, and often follows the life of the hero as he goes through the weird and funny incidents in life. He gets tangled with the lives of the various girls he meets, and indirectly/directly causes them to fall in love with him, often times causing complications with the one true pairing. I've read a few harem mangas, but here are my top five: [in no particular order since I can't seem to decide]

 

1. Nisekoi

Seems I couldn't find a picture that included Yui Kanakura, but I liked how the harem worked in this manga, wherein they were shown to be friends from 10 years ago, but they lost contact in those years. They reunite again in high school, but most of them don't remember what happened long ago, except for two who decide to keep it a secret. Watch as they go through life and find out the mystery behind the pendant and the keys.

 

2. Mahou Sensei Negima!

The harem in Mahou Sensei Negima was even more complicated what with the main character being both a ten year old and the homeroom teacher of an all girls middle school class. Of course, most, if not all girls in this class bear some level of affection with Negi (MC), and quite a few of them have their affections at a romantic level. This is enjoyable both for the funny and outrageous incidents in the school and their journey to fight evil and all in the later parts.

 3. Boku no Iru Machi

The harem is better executed in the manga in Boku no Iru Machi; it is unique in the sense that it follows through the life of Haruto from his high school years until his middle age years as several girls enter his life, some whom he falls in love with while others simply look on from a distance. I liked the way this portrayed love and how it can change or not last at times, and how some used their love as a means to move forward.

 4. The World God Only Knows

The World God Only Knows involved a different kind of story wherein the main character, Keima, is forced to make girls fall in love with him, so that the demon inside their hearts cannot stay and destroy them anymore. The only way to release the demon though, is to kiss the girl on the lips; this raises some complications later on, as some girls have their memories of their romance with Keima intact and overall, it was fun not only for that, but also for the overaching plot, which involved the demon realm and stuff.

 5. Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches

The style of the harem in Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches had a special twist to it. The girls involved have supernatural powers, born from their hidden desires, which usually are helpful, but are often abused by the girls; their powers can only be utilized by kissing the girl on the lips and this proves to be hard for Yamada-kun, who along with having the Copy Power, his nature pushes him to stop the chaos caused by the witches and have the witches side with the Student Council. Watch as he goes through daily school life with witches left and right; at least, Shiraishi still loves him, despite him going around kissing not only girls, but also guys with powers as well, for their sake and for the school.

Honorable Mentions:
  -     Shokugeki no Soma
  -     UQ Holder
  -     Good Ending
  -     Gamble Fish 

So, what is/are your favorite harem manga/anime?

[Zarc]

 

 

 

Spoiler

On Code Geass , every girls on Lelouch class want to date with him. Or in the story , a lot of main characters are in love with him : CC , Shirley , Kallen etc

 

[Tartar]

Ahh yes, the infamous harem genre. I can't say that I actively choose shows based on whether they have harems, which is why the majority of the things I'll list won't actually be in the harem genre, but rather have a main character who has multiple love interests. 

 

5: Ouran High School Host Club

Ahh yes, the original harem show. We've got lots of intersting characters in our harem. Tamaki the ever lovable fool, Kaoru and Hikaru whose bantering is always a joy to listen to, and Honey who's just adorable ~

 

4: Higurashi: When They Cry

Higurashi, despite not actually being a harem, is pretty fun. The character designs are adorable, and the show is oh so heart-warming, and has many tender moments that will touch your heart (literally...).  

 

3: Bakemonogatari (and the rest of the series)

This is probably the most straightforward example of the harem and an incredibly self-indulgent one in the genre. Despite this, it's very smartly written show, with lots of interesting and thought provoking conversations, and fascinating characters who're more than simply fan-service laden dolls. It completely took me by surprise when I watched it, as I hadn't expected something so mature and genuinely well written as what I got. But it's become among my favourite anime of all time, and one of the rare 9/10's I've given out to anime's I've watched. 

 

2: Akatsuki to Yona (aka, Yona of The Dawn)

Another, reverse harem with an interesting cast, all vying for the attention of our adorable protagonist (I wonder if people who haven't watched the show can guess which one is the girl O_o). The show has lots of interesting characters, great fighting scenes, gorgeous visuals and an interesting plot examining the political, social and economic principles that govern societies. Lots of memorable moments too, and it's quite funny. 

 

Had to post this picture as the characters look great. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1: Umineko: When They Cry

By the author of Higurashi which I posted earlier, and once more not an actual harem show (and the show which spoiled reading Detective Conan and Agatha Christie for me ) 

This one is quite unconventional, as it's a whodunnit mystery spanning 8 wonderful books, through which we get to know a huge cast of +40 characters. it's probably my favourite thing to come out of Japan period, and among my favourite works of all time. I highly recommend the Visual novel to anyone. 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 12, 2017 by Tartar

[FairFamily]

51 minutes ago, Tartar said:

2: Akatsuki to Yona (aka, Yona of The Dawn)

Another, reverse harem with an interesting cast, all vying for the attention of our adorable protagonist (I wonder if people who haven't watched the show can guess which one is the girl O_o). The show has lots of interesting characters, great fighting scenes, gorgeous visuals and an interesting plot examining the political, social and economic principles that govern societies. Lots of memorable moments too, and it's quite funny. 

 

There is a girl in this picture? Well, I' guessing the blonde one.

 

For harems themselves.

 

Gamble Fish

I find the harem in gamble fish quite entertaining. It is not quite in your face and does have its nice moments. The focus on gambling does not mean they are safe though, on the contrary it gets them in all kinds of situations.

 

Rosaria+Vampire

Yeah a harem series by default. I feel this manga from the manga's I read,  which aren't that many, explores the harem situation the best with all kinds of interactions and characters. 

 

Kenichi the strongest disciple

The final harem, is a harem by technically which is kenichi the strongest disciple with a whopping 3 characters maybe 4. The harem's purpose is twofold in the series: first comic relief, whihc is certainly appreciated but it also serves as a way to progress/display the true relationship in the series. It is quite interesting that a harem could be used in this way.

[Tartar]

18 minutes ago, FairFamily said:

There is a girl in this picture? Well, I' guessing the blonde one.

 

Ahh, close, but that's a male, better luck next time. That leaves us with 3 options left: The brown haired, red-haired and white-haired one. Or perhaps this is a trick question, and the girl is actually the masked person in the middle? Choices choices... 

Edited May 12, 2017 by Tartar

[Daniel Blackworth]

12 minutes ago, Tartar said:

Ahh, close, but that's a male, better luck next time. That leaves us with 3 options left: The brown haired, red-haired and white-haired one. Or perhaps this is a trick question, and the girl is actually the masked person in the middle? Choices choices... 

I'm pretty sure the one with white hair is a guy, I'm unsure between the one with brown and red hair, but I'm gonna say it's the one red hair.

[Tartar]

6 minutes ago, Monsieur Divergent said:

I'm pretty sure the one with white hair is a guy, I'm unsure between the one with brown and red hair, but I'm gonna say it's the one red hair.

That's correct. I guess the title kind of gave it away: "Yona of The Dawn". 

 

[Daniel Blackworth]

8 minutes ago, Tartar said:

That's correct. I guess the title kind of gave it away: "Yona of The Dawn". 

 

So, the title was the clue? Lol, I only guessed from appearance, and the red haired person seemed to be the one who looked more like a girl.

[CrossImpact]

am I even allowed to post this ?

10/10 drawing
10/10 cheerfulness
10/10 funny+cringe (7 funny, 3 cringe)
20/10 ecchi

To-Love-Ru -とらぶる- <3



and those aren't even all the girls...

The Devilukean princess Lala Satalin Deviluke runs away from home, teleporting straight into the protagonist Rito Yuuki's bathtub.
By Devilukean law, he is now destined to marry Lala.
Lala is cheerful, incredibly beautiful and has a knack for creating and building broken inventions that often lead to inappropriate situations. Rito's heart is already beating for his classmate Haruna Sairenji though...
Things only get more complicated when other friends and foes from space show up on earth, and when Rito gets - often involuntarily - involved with many different girls from school and elsewhere throughout the story.
The original manga continues with To-Love-Ru Darkness, which has recently been completed.

[seki108]

Wow, quite a few series that I might have to check out............eventually.  Aside from the ones mentioned below, I haven't really explored the genre and there are only so many 'harems' outside of it.  Might write better descriptions later.  Also, not in any particular order.

 

 

1) Rosario+Vampire (manga)

 

A harem series by default, with a much better manga story than the anime adaptation.  Starting out as a more comedic highschool manga, it turned slightly more series over time. Heartfelt at time while exploring the relations between humans and yokai in their world.

Spoiler

 

2) Sekirei

 

Another harem series by default, a battle manga that has some real touching moments.  As some people have described it "Pokemon with boobs"--although every Pokemon is an event mon.  'Last one standing' style competition with superpowered alien girls.

Spoiler

 

3) Martian Successor Nadesico

 

I'm not sure if it would count as a harem series, but Akito's (Main character's) 'harem' does count for much of the romantic aspects of the series, although not ever really the main focus. A real robot series where all the MC wants to do is be a chef, but he keeps having to get in the cockpit to fight the 'alien' threat.

 

Funny bonus is that when the series was adapted into Super Robot Wars BX, that a girl from another series even seemed to fall for the main character (with Akito even playing a role in recruiting/unlocking her later)

Spoiler

Note: Green haired and the two beside him are the only ones in the 'harem'.  Also, in the movie sequel some hints that top right deveoped feeling for him, though never confirmed

 

4)  Shitsuriken

 

A little known short manga series that isn't technically a harem, but does feature strong hints of multiple females being interested in our heroine.  Twisted school where a game controls several aspects of student life----also a tiny bit like Pokemon.

Spoiler

Note: Black haired on left is not in harem:

 

5) 123Change

 

Another little known series that might technically count as a harem, if a girl with multiple personalities counts as a harem (though one or two other girls might become interested, so it counts either way).  Mostly a fighting manga that manages to include a good degree of realism.  3 personalities with 3 different fighting styles.

Spoiler

 

 

@CrossImpact  TLR Darkness actually ended?  I thought the author would find some way to continue it.

 

@Another Retired Shipper You might have (temporarily) retired from shipping, but even you must have a favorite harem or two.

Edited May 12, 2017 by seki108

[CrossImpact]

@seki108 it ended without an ending tbh. things are still wide open.
iirc, things are vague, but there will be some form of continuation at some point in the future. the artist will probably change though - that's what I read at least.

Edited May 12, 2017 by CrossImpact

[Anime]

@seki108 tbh the only harem i know of is Love Hina : 

 

The one and only. Love Hina is one of the true progenitors of the harem manga, and while it’s dated in many ways, it’s required reading for any lover of the genre.

The manga follows Keitaro Urashima, who has tried and failed to get into Tokyo University, and is now taking a year off to study. His grandmother offers to let him stay in her old family inn – and by “stay in,” she means “take over maintaining. And also, it’s not an inn anymore, it’s a girl’s dormitory.

[Animefan666]

Did someone say Anime? It wouldn't be right if I didn't throw in my two cents

Excluding any that have already been mentioned:

 

5.) MM!

 

This one is centered around Taro, who's secretly a masochist. He goes to The Second Voluntary Club to change him. The club was created to help other people with their problems. He proves to be the clubs most difficult job.

 

4.) Shomin Sample

 

A high school student is abducted and forced to attend an elite all girls academy so they can learn about the commoner life cuz they're oblivious to how the world works. He has to maintain a lie that he's gay or they'll kill him. Needless to say, he finds ways to mess with his captor like teaching them things that just aren't true.

 

3.) Cat Planet Cuties

 

Cat people from another planet come to earth to open diplomatic relations with mankind. What could go wrong? To make things better, their's a race of dog people who are considered evil. Now, I didn't place this one at number three because I happen to like cats and fear dogs like the damn plague. Honest!

 

2.) Infinite Stratos

 

Over the years Giant Robot fights have been used just too much. It just doesn't do it for me anymore. On the other hand, Mechanized Exoskeletons I can get behind. Infinite Stratos is one such example. The suits (called Infinite Stratos) were designed in a such a way that only women can use them, except for one. So, our protagonist is shipped off to an academy that's centered on these suits. An international treaty bans these suits from Military use, so you won't be seeing any war in this one.

 

1.) Shuffle!

 

Nothing combat oriented about this one, but that doesn't mean I don't like it. In a world where Gods, Demons and Humans peacefully coexist, one high school student simultaneously becomes the luckiest and unluckiest bastard on the planet when the King of the Gods and the Kind of the Demons each move next door to him and their daughters are borderline obsessed with him. Silliness and romance ensues.