The harem romance trope, and its reverse incarnation, is one that has long been associated with the anime medium. It’s a trope that has managed to make its way out animes that specifically revolve around romance and finding hosts in different genres, which is also where it gets the most criticism.
More and more anime fans have started pushing back against the harem trope, finding it not only aimless and cliché, but detrimental to the development of an anime’s plot and characters. To prove their point, here are: some incredibly enjoyable animes weighed down by their harems.
10 Sword art online
This shonen anime about a highly immersive, virtual reality MMORG that gets way too real was incredibly popular at its peak and still making video games and movies. Despite its undeniable mainstream appeal, one of the major criticisms of the franchise is its harem romance elements.
Although the main character, Kirito, only has eyes for one woman, just about every girl in the series develops feelings for him at some point in the story. Only one of these unrequited loves has any plot meaning, so the rest of these one-sided romances just watered down the story and added to Kirito’s already-present Gary Stu complex.
9 Code Geass
Considered not only one of the best titles in the mecha genre, but in anime as a whole, Code Geass has been praised for its intriguing premise, complex moral issues and political themes. Unfortunately, the show couldn’t resist diving into the harem trope and thereby cursing the fandom with a perpetual ship warfare in an exhausting attempt to conclude who Lelouch’s true love really was.
Rather than convey his mature story in amorous ambiguity, it would have been much better for Code Geass to focus on developing a single romantic relationship while forging Lelouch’s bonds with the other female characters as clearly special to him yet platonic in nature.
8 High School of the Dead
Although ridden with more than a little free fan service, High School of the Dead is a great guilty pleasure anime for fans of gore and zombies. It even has some really heartbreaking moments. Those moments would probably be bigger if the show didn’t spend so much time throwing all the female characters at the main character, Takashi.
Takashi’s harem not only takes time away from exploring the premise of the apocalypse, but also undermines the development of the primary bond in his life, his relationship with his childhood sweetheart, Rei.
7 Rosario + Vampire
This supernatural rom-com anime might as well be called “Monster Girl Fan Service.” Among the copious amount of pantyhose shots that litter the screen is an incredibly fun story about a humble high school boy who accidentally enrolls in a monster boarding school and wins the hearts of several peers with his seemingly irresistible humanity.
While the manga series has been praised by fans for balancing the harem foundation with plot and character development, the second season of the anime adaptation, in particular, allows the harem (and adjacent fan service) to consume the show, allowing the narrative and lovely quirky characters on the sidelines.
6 Kamisama Kiss
Kamisama Kiss is a charming shojo anime about Nanami, a homeless teenager who, in a curious turn of events, becomes the temporal deity of a local shrine and seals a contract (by means of a kiss) with kitsune yokai, Tomoe, to help her as trusted her. It’s very clear from the first episode that Nanami’s one and only love interest is Tomoe, so the inverted harem being built as soon as new characters come into the picture feels a bit pointless.
It may be that the reason most male characters display some form of attraction (romantic or purely sexual) towards Nanami is to show how desirable and amazing she is. If so, perhaps a different method would have been a better asset to the story.
5 My bride is a mermaid
As eccentric as its title, the plot of this summery romcom revolves around Nagasumi, a teenager who is engaged to a mermaid (who also happens to be the daughter of a literal undersea yakuza boss) after saving him from drowning. . My bride is a mermaid fully embraces its absurdity and is a hilarious ride from start to finish as Nagasumi and his new wife, Sun, adjust to their sudden newlywed status.
Along the way, Nagasumi inadvertently attracts a few admirers by just existing, ostensibly for the sake of having some shounen cliches that don’t add much plot or comedy-wise. Except for Masa, of course. Masa is perfection.
4 ranma
An anime comedy action classic, this story about a teenage martial artist who turns into a girl when hit with cold water and his forced fiancée includes not only a harem but an upside-down harem as well. Ranma’s double harems are actually fun at first, with the romantic advances of other characters revealing the hidden feelings the main characters, Ranma and Akane, have for each other.
However, as the plot starts to drag and the couple continues to walk on tiptoe with their feelings, the side characters’ constant antics and inability to accept defeat become annoying. The anime ends without much of a climax, but readers of the original manga were subjected to an ending where the love rivals crush Ranma and Akane’s wedding, delaying it and fixing absolutely nothing.
3 The devil is a part-timer!
This comedy anime about Satan being transported to modern Japan and working at an unbranded McDonald’s managed to get a second season almost ten years after the first season aired. With an engaging cast and no shortage of funny moments, the first season amassed a sizable fan base. However, many of those same fans are on edge about the future of the anime.
While the first season had multiple love interests for Sadao, formerly known as Satan, it seemed that the female lead, Emi Yusa, was quite literally in charge. However, the anime’s already concluded light novel series went in a romantic direction that not only shocked the readers but also angered many who thought they had been misled by the author. This disappointment, which has now turned into fear about the anime, could have been avoided if the story hadn’t built up hopes in more than one pairing.
2 No game, no life
Many viewers have a love-hate relationship with this isekai anime about two hikikomori, gamer step-siblings, Shiro and Sora, who are given the chance to enter a world where all things are decided based on the outcomes of games. , and start fighting their way to the top. There has been much praise for the anime’s vibrant art style and the depth of the game strategies used by the characters.
However, even fans of the series have expressed their distaste for the harem aspects that seem to be mainly there for fan service only. In particular, the implication that Shiro, who is not biologically related to Sora but is 11 years old, is a member of Sora’s harem, was too much for viewers to bear.
1 The Rise of the Shield Hero
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A reminder that anime isn’t done with the harem trope, The Rise of the Shield Hero is a popular isekai fantasy about a university student, Naofumi, who finds himself in a surprisingly cruel, magical world with only a legendary shield to his name. Though his journey as a hero begins rocky, Naofumi begins to find allies in an effort to fight against monsters, but he begins to open his heart again to this new land.
However, several characters have already opened their hearts to him, and fans are hoping that despite the already established harem elements, the anime doesn’t follow in the footsteps of the web novel that ended in a real-life harem in which Naofumi marries all his love interests.
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