The best thing about anime is that there are no limitations when it comes to variety and diversity. In fact, you’ll find anime to suit your specific mood at every corner. If you are in the mood to watch something chill and slice-of-life-based, you can find the same.
If your mood craves horror, you can watch horror anime, if you want something to laugh or love with, you can go for a rom-com anime. The thing is, there are so many genres in anime, that picking and choosing something to suit your preferences isn’t really that difficult.
That being said, anime also has a number of really niche genres, that you probably won’t find in any other forms of entertainment. Rather, other forms of entertainment like movies or TV series haven’t been classified like that. Harem anime is one such genre. Let us take a look at what it is all about.
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What is Harem anime?
Harem anime are those anime where the main story revolves around a male protagonist being surrounded by two or more female characters who are desperately trying to win his affections and acknowledgment.
The term finds its roots in the Arabic language where the word “hareem” literally translates to “woman” and is used to denote polyamorous or polygamous relationships between one man and many women.
There are multiple anime that follow this theme. Today, we will take a look at some of these harem anime that is engrossing, entertaining, and will surely tickle your funny bones.
So, buckle up and get ready to know about the 9 best harem anime of all time!
Best Harem Anime of All Time
Hayate the Combat Butler!!
This is one of the best romantic comedy harem anime that I really loved watching. Hayate Ayasaki is a 16-year-old boy who has been working since childhood to support his family and make ends meet.
To make matters worse, one day he finds out that his parents have fled, hanging the burden of a massive debt over his head and the Yakuza are looking for him to settle the debt by murdering him and selling his organs or selling him as a slave.
While on the run from these loan sharks, he comes across Nagi Sanzenin, a 13-year-old girl who is also the sole heir of the affluent Sanzenin Estate.
Hayate plans to kidnap the girl and collect 150 Yen as ransom but a misunderstanding causes Nagi to believe that Hayate is confessing his feelings to her. After rescuing Nagi from real kidnappers, she falls in love with him and hires him as his new butler.
As Hayate Ayasaki is appointed as a new butler and protector of Nagi Sanzenin, we are taken on a journey through their day-to-day lives as he juggles the feelings of several other girls in the story along with protecting Nagi and dealing with her rather extravagant requests.
Hayate the Combat Butler!! Is the perfect harem anime for a light-hearted watch and I loved every bit of it? Will Hayate come to terms with Nagi’s true feelings for him? To find out you need to watch the anime ASAP!
Nisekoi
Nisekoi is a romance harem anime that narrates the story of Raku Ichijo who is the son of the Yakuza leader of the Shueigumi faction, and Chitoge Kirisaki, the daughter of the leader of a different Yakuza gang and Shueigumi’s rival, named Beehive. The two meet out of the blue one day when Chitoge accidentally knees Raku in the face while hopping against a wall.
After the girl runs away, Raku realizes that he has lost a locket given to him by his childhood love with whom he also made a secret promise.
As fate would’ve had it, Chitoge ends up being the new transfer student and Raku takes this opportunity to make her search for the locket. This develops a relationship based on mutual dislike between the two.
Raku soon learns that Shueigumi and Beehive have entered a peaceful tryst and in order to keep the peace, Raku has been paired with Beehive’s leader’s daughter, which is none other than Chitoge.
As Raku struggles with his newly formed situation with Chitoge while crushing on another schoolmate named Kosaki Onodera at the same time, we are taken on an adventure of the boy trying to figure out the mysterious girl from his childhood who gave him the locket.
He also has to deal with several other female characters throughout the story who claim to have the key to the locket. Will Raku be able to find his true love?
Nisekoi is an exciting slice-of-life harem anime that will surely make you fall in love with it. I loved watching this anime and, in my opinion, it is one of the best of its kind. You can watch this harem anime in subbed and dubbed versions on all major anime streaming sites like Crunchyroll, Funimation, Hidive, VRV, AnimeLab, etc.
Rent-a-Girlfriend
This is one of the best slice-of-life harem anime series in my opinion. Packed with humor, this anime tells the story of Kazuya Kinoshita who has been recently dumped by his ex-girlfriend Mami Nanami after dating for only a month.
In order to get over his loneliness, Kazuya takes the help of an online dating app to hire a girlfriend for rent (rent-a-girlfriend/boyfriend is a common phenomenon in Japan where young boys and girls join a renting agency to go on paid dates and accompany other youths who are either too shy to get a real-life partner or just looking for casual dating. This is not to be confused with prostitution as no sexual acts of any kind are involved.)
This new girl, Chizuru Mizuhara is very beautiful and Kazuya is immediately smitten with her. However, after going on a date he didn’t like her attitude and found her to be somewhat of a fake which prompted him to give her a low rating. Chizuru, who has never received a bad rating in her life berates Kazuya over this.
However, soon he finds out that his grandmother has been hospitalized following a collapse and he hires Chizuru’s services again. This ends up with him continuing to hire her to keep up appearances in front of friends and family. However, he soon realizes that they are apartment neighbors and go to the same college.
As Kazuya comes to terms with Chizuru’s real identity, he ends up in a complicated yet hilarious mess with other girls who work as rented girlfriends who want to date him too. Rent-a-girlfriend is one of the best romantic comedy harem anime hands down, and I’m pretty sure you will enjoy it as much as I did.
Rosario + Vampire
Rosario + Vampire is probably the best in the harem anime world and narrates the story of Tsukune Ayano, who unable to score a position in any of his local high schools due to poor grades, is admitted to a school called Yokai Academy by his parents.
He soon discovers that Yokai Academy is actually a school for monsters, fairies, vampires, witches, and other supernatural creatures. These creatures are taught to co-exist peacefully with humans and even disguising as them, as a part of their curriculum.
However, if they spot a real human among them, that person is immediately killed. However, Tsuke befriends a gorgeous vampire girl named Moka Akashiya who enjoys the company and blood.
However, one day during a fight with a school bully, Tsukune accidentally removes the rosario from Moka’s neck and comes face to face with her true vampire self.
However, this doesn’t bother him much and he decides to stay at Yokai Academy. Soon he meets other characters in the story, mostly women, and thus begins his adventures as the only human in a school of monsters.
Rosario + Vampire is an extremely enjoyable action romance harem anime that gives you a taste of other genres like comedy, supernatural, and slice-of-life.
I’m sure the humorous nature of this anime will surely grab your attention as you go on an adventure with Tsukune to his monster high school.
Yamada-Kun and the Seven Witches
This is another supernatural harem anime about a delinquent boy named Ryu Yamada who accidentally falls on fellow classmate Urara Shiraishi from a flight of stairs, who is the straight As a student in the school.
However, Yamada soon realizes that he has swapped bodies with this girl and when they try to reverse this, they realize that kissing induces the body swap.
Soon, on the advice of student council vice president Toranosuke Miyamura, the Supernatural Studies club is revived and other “witches”, students with different supernatural powers start joining the club.
As Yamada starts to deal with these witches, he also begins to come to terms with his feelings for Urara. The two fall in love and become a couple. But what happens when all his memories are erased?
Yamada-Kun and the Seven Witches is a funny and light-hearted harem anime that will surely make you giggle. I personally loved this and will definitely suggest this show to everybody reading this article. You can watch this show in subbed and dubbed versions on all kinds of anime streaming platforms.
To Love-Ru
This is a science fiction harem anime that is set in the fictional city of Sainan and centers around Rito Yuki, who is a shy and rather clumsy high school teenager who is in love with fellow classmate Haruna Sairenji but cannot get his feelings across.
One day when Rito is sulking in the bathtub because of his misery, he is visited by a mysterious, naked girl named Lala Satalin Deviluke who also possesses a devil-like tail. Lala reveals that she is the princess of the planet Deviluke and is currently on the run. She also reveals the reason for her escapade, since her father wants her to marry one of her marriage candidates.
When Deviluke’s commander Zastin comes to take her away, she announces that she will marry Rito so that she can stay on Earth. When Zastin attacks Rito, he angrily declares that two people should only marry if they love each other. The two dimwitted aliens misunderstand his words and end up thinking that he really accepts Lala’s feelings. What will happen to Rito now?
The story continues on to the sequel, To Love Ru Darkness but I’m not going too much into that. If you are interested to know more, you should definitely check out this hilarious anime and join Rito as he struggles to cope with his love problems.
Will Rito be able to get together with his dream girl or will he be forever stuck in a harem along with Lala, her sister, and other alien girls? To Love Ru was a great watch although in some parts I really cringed. But overall, it is quite entertaining and that is the sole reason why I included it in my harem anime recommendations list.
High School DxD
This is an action harem anime that revolves around Kuoh Academy which is a former all-girls school that has recently started taking in male students.
However, Kuo Academy although seemingly normal on the surface has a big secret. The student body is comprised of fallen angels and devils with special powers. Issei Hyodo is a hedonistic student who leads a normal life.
However, his world turns topsy-turvy when he is asked out on a date by a girl named Yuma Amano. After their date, Yuma reveals herself as a fallen angel named Raynare and asks Issei to die for her. When Issei does not comply, she tries to kill him.
As Issei is revived by Rias Gremory who is a third-year student at Kuoh Academy, the boy’s life becomes more complicated than before. What will happen to Issei Hyodo?
High School DxD is an enthralling harem anime that has definitely grabbed my undivided attention. Not only is it superbly entertaining, but will also keep you on your toes till the last episode.
I would definitely recommend you give it a try if you are looking to watch a truly engaging harem anime.
Tsugu Tsugumomo
Tsugu Tsugumomo starts out like the older harem animes that were once released in the 2000s, where you will see an ordinary boy who suddenly starts to attract powerful maidens and is then asked to fight evil.
However, the overall art quality, break-neck action, and a fairly decent story set this story a tier higher compared to what you are usually offered in harem animes.
The story starts off with your typical ordinary boy who goes by the name of Kagami Kazuya and ends up meeting the household object spirit named Kiriha.
As events fold, it turns out that Kagami wasn’t so ordinary as he thought was, and he eventually gets orders from the gods to put end to evil forces.
Along the way, Kagami also ends up meeting other household object spirits, otherwise known as tsukumogami.
Saber Marionette J
Saber Marionette J is a childhood classic for a lot of millennials when it comes to looking for Harem Animes of all time. This harem anime is quite a handful as it tends to combine several genres into one anime.
The tone of this harem anime ranges from mecha to comedy quite fluidly. The story takes place on a colonised planet that is far from our planet Earth.
Over here, the women are androids who are called Marionettes, all because of a failed expedition that killed off all the females of the colony.
Marionettes were all emotionless; however, everything changes one day when a special boy finds three Marionettes who are different from the others because they are a lot more empathetic than others.
So it’s up to this special boy to teach the three Marionettes what it means to be human while also trying to prevent a war.
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Final words
Harem anime, although being somewhat of a niche genre has seen some growth in its popularity in recent times.
Especially the domain of romantic and slice-of-life genres are filled up now with a variety of these sort of anime that is pretty fun to watch if you are looking for something light-hearted to occupy your leisure time.
There are so many other massively popular harem anime apart from the ones I’ve already mentioned in this article that you can find pretty easily on any anime streaming service under the harem category. I hope you have a great time browsing through them!
