Harem anime series is about one male protagonist with three or more females vying for his attention. Who wouldn’t want that?
In the anime and manga world, you can get a lot of doses of the harem genre and other genres such as sci-fi, romance, and comedy.
Whether it’s the main theme or just several episodes, this series is certainly a watchlist most often by males who dream of having their own harem and who enjoy fan service.
Here’s a list of harem anime series, categorized into two: high school and ecchi as the sub-genres.
Best Harem Anime: Top 10 High School Themes
The high school harem anime series usually takes place in high school with the protagonists attending that same school. The harem is either female classmates or other female characters relevant to the storyline.
1. Yamada-Kun and the Seven Witches
This harem anime series is about Ryuu Yamada who was a delinquent during his mid-school years.
The young high schooler chooses Suzaku High to start anew. However, he returns to being a delinquent in his second year because he got bored.
One day, Ryuu encounters Urara Shiraishi when the two tumble down a flight of stairs and kiss by accident. Unknowingly, they switch bodies.
The lone member of the Supernatural Studies Club learns about their ability and recruits them to join the club. Another member joins them.
Together, the four students discover a legend about the Seven Witches of Suzaku and start a journey to find them all. This creates a more interesting high school for the club members.
This best harem anime series is both hilarious and quite weird. Imagine if kissing could make you switch with someone else? Awesome and yet weird. Still, Yamada-Kun and the Seven Witches feature an artistic style unique to the theme.
2. Tenchi Muyo!
Aliens? Check! Harem? Check! If you’re an anime/manga fan who loves a flair of alien species in the mix, here’s another best harem anime series that you'll enjoy: Tenchi Muyo!
Tenchi Muyo is about a young man who meets six other beautiful ladies. Not just ladies! They are aliens (and are space pirates, too).
One day, a spaceship crash-landed on Tenchi Masaki’s family temple. A certain Ryouko Hakubi owns the spaceship. What seems to be an ordinary encounter turns into the mayhem of girls!
From this day forward, Masaki finds himself as the love interest of the pirate leader, Ryouko. Not only that! The twisted fate of luck brings other space ladies into his house.
Later, Masaki discovers that his role of being the center of a harem is more than what he thinks it is.
3. Nisekoi: False Love
This harem anime series starts with a hate-at-first-sight relationship between the two protagonists. Raku Ichijou and Chitoge Kirisaki are the children of two prominent groups: the Yakuza and the American Bee Hive.
The Yakuza son, Raku, wants a peaceful middle school life and spends his idyllic days with her girl crush, Kosaki Onodera. Then, one day, the American Bee Hive invades the turf of the Yakuza.
As much as Raku wants to overlook this matter, his family thinks otherwise. He, as the son of the leader, must make sure this conflict between the gang is under control.
So, the False Love between the two mismatched persons begins. Raku and Chitoge have to pretend they’re in a romantic relationship.
This forced union between the two youngsters creates unending antics that will make you laugh and wonder. Do these actions the precursor to a deeper true love?
Where does the harem come in? Well, Raku is a magnet to girls because of his one promise to a girl who really holds his heart.
4. The World God Only Knows
Keima Katsuragi is a young man obsessed with beautiful girls and dating games. Virtually, he’s a gigolo who captures the heart of every girl he meets. Interestingly, this addict in gagle games is a top student.
Then, this intelligent boy meets a rather impish girl online who challenges his supremacy with girls (at least virtually).
Arrogantly, he accepts the challenge but later finds out that this girl named Elsie is a demon.
Elsie tricks Keima into a contract of being the God of Conquest, where the poor boy has to help her capture runaway evil spirits. The virtual gigolo can’t free himself from the deadly collar unless everything is settled.
What irks him is he has to deal with real girls. Because of their three-dimensional personalities, the God of Conquest is having trouble understanding these girls.
5. High School DxD
For Issei Hyouduo, high school is nothing but perversity and dreams of having a harem. But, his life turns upside down when a beautiful angel asks him out and murders him on their date.
Issei thinks it was his last breath, never again to see the light of the day and the fulfillment of his harem dream. He is ready to accept his fate until Rias Gremory saves him.
Unknown to this pervert protagonist, Rias is a devil and top of her class. She is the leader of the Occult Research Club.
His second chance is not the usual life he used to live. With his new identity as a slave to Rias, Issei must know how to fight.
Moreover, the once-human young man has to keep his secret, or else his family and friends would be in danger. The High School DxD harem anime is also filled with comedy as Issei struggles to keep up with his new world.
6. The Hentai Prince and the Stony Cat
Nope, this is not the anime porno that you think it is. Hentai in Japanese means pervert and it could mean different levels of perversity.
The ironic thing is the objective of the main character. Youto Yokodera wants to create an image of being a pervert! Cool or gross?
But, people misunderstand his lewd actions as good intentions, which pisses off Youto. Anyways, the young man learns about a cat statue that could grant what he wants.
Tired of being misunderstood, Youto asked the statue to grant him ways to tell other people about his feelings. His wish has a catch. HE CAN’T LIE, which makes it convenient and more inconvenient most of the time.
The worst thing is that the hentai prince is hurting the people he cares about the most. With this newfound way of expressing his real feelings, Youto must find a way to make amends and fix his life and other people’s lives.
7. Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai
The title literally translates to I don’t have many friends. With the title alone, this story follows the life of Kodaka Hasegawa who has trouble making friends and fitting in.
Unfortunately, this young high schooler has a notorious reputation. His classmates see him as a delinquent because of his intimidating face and blond hair.
But, Kodaka’s life changes when he meets the lonely Yozora Mikasuki while talking to an invisible friend. The two hit it off immediately and begin a long-lasting friendship.
Together, they build the Neighbor’s club. The school club’s purpose is to help socially awkward people gain friends. It teaches students and others about social behaviors.
Later on, other students, especially girls with weird personalities like them, join the club.
This story is poignant at the same time hilarious. You get a healthy dose of laughter, harem, comedy, and a slice of life genre. To top it all, you get to enjoy beautiful young ladies who are hidden gems.
8. Mayo Chiki!
The Mayo Chiki series is downright funny and absolutely quirky. It follows the life of Kinjiro Sakamachi. He is 17 years old and attends a high school.
His greatest fear? Girls! Ironic, indeed. Everytime, Kinjiro gets close to the opposite gender, his nose bleeds. At least, he doesn’t lose blood that much.
The main male character is still relatable despite his weird disposition with girls. Kinjiro is nothing but a kind soul who just wants to help others no matter the situation.
This harem anime show is full of heartfelt messages. It tells you about equal rights and transphobia.
9. Shuffle!
This anime show was an adult video game back in 2004. It’s a typical story of a high school who needs to balance his life.
Trapped in two worlds of good and evil, the male protagonist must battle evildoers. At the same time, he must make sure his relationships don’t end up in conflict.
Shuffle is about romance, friendship, and battles. It is the fight between good and bad.
Despite its cliche story, the creators manage to inject fresh ideas and make the story memorable.
10. Seiren (Honesty)
Seiren is not your ordinary harem anime. It adopts an anthological approach where the main characters deal with new situations every four episodes.
Unlike other harem shows, this one introduces different love interests every few episodes. Quite interesting because you’ll never know what to expect.
This story might not have the standard consistency or familiarity you are used to watching animes. Still, it’s worth your time (and critical evaluation).
Best Harem Anime: Top 10 Ecchi Themes
Ecchi is a sub-category that deals with explicit emotional expressions of desire (most often). Combined with the harem genre, this series could be explosive to your imagination (and resolve).
Here is a list of 10 harem anime series that could make you laugh, cry, or smile.
1. Infinite Stratos
Infinite Stratos (IS) is a weapon specially made for females and is a sci-fi anime series. It is powerful and could destroy the world if used the wrong way. Because of this power, the government bans the use of IS as a military weapon.
Interestingly, only women have the ability to pilot an IS in this harem anime. However, one male (out of the many people in Japan) CAN PILOT this powerful weapon. His name is Ichika Orimura.
With his ability, the young boy enrolls in Infinite Stratos Academy, an all-female school, despite his refusal. The great news? Ichika reunites with his childhood friends.
Ichika’s dream of a harem comes true because females practically surround him. However, his peaceful school life becomes rife with trials as dangers lurk to threaten the academy he began to love.
Together with the other girls, the 15-year-old man must defend himself against enemies.
2. To Love Ru: Darkness
This harem anime focuses on Momo and Nana, the twin sisters of Lala Develuke. To give you a brief description, the first harem anime (To Love Ru) focuses on Lala.
The Develuke sisters are aliens and they transition to life on Earth.
When Momo came to live with Lala on Earth, she fell in love with Rito, her sister’s love interest. The beautiful girl doesn’t want to hurt her sister.
Instead, the pink-haired lady creates a harem for Rito. Her ulterior motive is to become a wife to Rito.
How can she do that? Well, if Rito marries her sister, Lala, the young high school boy can become the next king. On the planet Develuke, the king can legally marry other girls.
This starts a hellish life for Rito because these females fall in love with his kind nature. Included in the mayhem is Yami, the Golden Darkness, who has trouble making peace with her past.
This ecchi harem anime is true to its genre. To Love Ru is just girls everywhere for the male protagonists.
Sprinkled with comedy, ecchi, and high school life elements, the story could make you laugh out loud like a lunatic who doesn’t care.
3. Monster Musume no Iru Nichijou
This harem anime takes place in an alternate universe and is more of a sci-fi series. Monster Musume features a more advanced Japan that creates non-human creatures.
These creatures are forbidden to have sexual encounters with humans.
The conflict starts to build up in the house of Kimihito Kurusu who had lived a quiet life until he became the caretaker of Mia, a Lamia species.
This young man is a magnet of erotically inclined females of other species.
Every move he makes, the opposite gender seems to clamor for his attention. Kimihito seems to enjoy the attention to some extent. But the constant deluge of eroticism could be troublesome at times.
Females often appear suddenly putting the main male protagonist in the most disadvantaged spot. This irks Mia the most because she wanted the young man’s attention all to herself.
Could this be your best harem anime? It depends. If you like half-humans and half monsters as your harems, then, this could be your anime.
4. Outbreak Company
Do you want a series that talks about anime, manga, or video games in one place? Here’s Outbreak Company.
This anime series is about Shinichi Kanou, an otaku who became a recluse in the real world of Japan. One day, mysterious people kidnap this otaku addict. The next thing he knew, he was in the Eldant Empire, a fantasy world.
The Eldant Empire is filled with elves, dwarves, dragons, and pessimistic citizens. In order to leave this world, the young man needs to fulfill his mission.
He must become an Otaku Missionary who spreads the culture of otaku all over the land. Oddly enough, the Japanese government supports him.
Myucel and Princess Petralka join the newly appointed missionary in his journey and adventures. With their convincing power, the three main characters must educate the citizens about anime and manga.
Hilarious, is it? It’s the right mix of comedy, ecchi, fan service, and magic. If you’re an otaku through and through, you’d appreciate this ecchi harem anime.
5. Trinity Seven
Set in a fantasy world, Arata Kasuga reconstructs his town after the sun stopped shining and caused people to disappear. The young magician uses a grimoire to reconstruct everything.
Alone, Arata must investigate what happened. Or so he thinks. Lilith Asami suddenly appears asking him to hand over the book.
Instead, this gentleman chooses to enroll in a magic school. In this school, he encounters other magical wielders and they form the Trinity Seven.
This ecchi harem story is about survival and growth. It’s about friendship and of course, ecchi. Anime fans will love this anime series.
6. Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata
Otaku within an otaku? Check! This ecchi harem anime focuses on Tomoya Aki whose goal is to create a game based on his knowledge of manga and anime culture.
In his quest to author a game, he recruits amazing talents, including Eriri and Utaha. Eriri will illustrate and Utaha will write. Tomoya will direct the whole project.
The problem? He doesn’t have any inspiration until he meets Megumi. Megumi is beautiful and meek.
From here, the main character creates a new game. But, his game requires experience and factual emotions. This leads the whole team to explore the real world and emotions they’ve never felt before.
7. Heaven's Lost Property
Tomoki Sakurai always wakes up with tears in his eyes. As far as he could remember, his dreams always consisted of an angel.
This worries Sohara Mitsuki, his childhood friend. She asks the help of an eccentric person named Eishirou Sugata. This person says that Tomoki’s dreams are connected to a world that scientists couldn’t truly understand.
To solve the problem, Eishorou, Sohara, and Tomoki form a club called the New World Discovery Club.
They schedule an observation day where they investigate the mysterious sky. This day marks the change in Tomoki’s life.
A strange girl suddenly falls and calls him her master thereafter. As the days pass, the three discover that the girl is not alone. Other Angeloids are now on Earth.
This ecchi harem anime show is a combination of supernatural, romance, and comedy genres. The eccentricity of the main characters puts a refreshing take on fallen angels.
Heaven's lost property will surely become your next favorite and is one of the best harem anime shows.
8. Nagasarete Airantou
This anime show is a dream come true for anime fans (especially guys). Who wouldn’t want an island filled with anything but girls? I know right?
But, Ikuto Touhouin thinks it’s a nightmarish experience. He needs to wake up soon or maybe escape from this hellish island.
The girls have never seen a man before. When they do, they are curious and want to study their subject. I guess you know how this series would proceed.
With so many girls running after Ikuto every minute of every day, he would be lucky enough to find a peaceful place where girls aren’t around.
9. B Gata H Kei
Yamada, a first-year, wants to have sex with 100 men before she finishes high school. Wait, what! Peculiar as it seems, this harem anime series is not your typical fan service anime.
Actually, you won’t even see underwear flashing during the series. Despite the premise of the story, this show is about how a person battles with insecurities.
It is about dealing with adolescence and managing with raging hormones. These situations are typical to high schoolers.
You might be surprised how deep this anime show is. Aside from the plot, the art and music are quite likable and outstanding.
10. Ikki Tousen
This anime show is most likely based on the Chinese novel: Romance of the Three Kingdoms. It follows the story of seven high schools that are at war.
Each school has a chosen warrior who possesses the great power of a sacred bead.
The tension between these schools escalates when Hakufu Sonsaku, a newcomer and rather dimwitted, could be the strongest of them all. This beautiful girl could be the reincarnation of the greatest warlord, Sun Ce.
In the midst of war, the characters find a way to reconcile and discover how pointless war is. That, in war, no one is really a winner.
Which of these harem anime series are your favorites?
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