Harem protagonists are known for being cutter characters of each other. On occasion we do get a protagonist in a series that breaks the mold. This list looks at five of the best and five of the worst harem protagonists in anime.

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The best harem protagonists each have a quality that sets them apart. This can be having a unique personality, being able to create a harem that exceeds other series, or having everyone in their harem get along with each other. In addition to harem protagonists, be sure to check out the best and worst harems in anime as well.

10 Best: Arata Kasuga - Trinity Seven!

Trinity Seven

Kicking off the list is Arata Kasuga from Trinity Seven. Arata becomes a magician and meets with the Trinity Sevens to become a Magus. This is becasuse he wants to save his cousin Hijiri after she's gone missing. Arata manages to get along smoothly with his harem, especially since each girl in his harem represents a different anime trope. Arata may have a harem, but he never loses sight of his goal. Enrolling in the mage academy, Arata continues the search for Kijiri.

9 Worst: Tsukune Aono - Rosario + Vampire

Tsukune Aono from Rosario + Vampire makes this list, not because he has a bad harem, but because he is clearly in love with Moka Akashiya. Tsukune is a human that attends Youkai Academy, a school for the supernatural. He ended up there after failing all of his entrance exams.

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Tsukune’s harem consists of a vampire, a witch, a succubus, and a yuki-onna (snow women). All these different girls are in love with Tsukune, but he chooses to limit himself.

8 Best: Shidou Itsuka - Date A Live

Shidou Itsuka from Date A Live is a student at Raizen High School. Shidou has the power to seal spirits by kissing them. A very good power if you're a harem protagonist. He works for Ratatoski save spirits that help prevent spacequakes, the resault of a spirit’s unharnessed power.

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As you can expect, Shidou has a harem of spirits. Shidou’s job is to seal spirits meaning his job is to create a harem. Date A Live has aired for three seasons and Shidou has a harem of nine girls including his tsundere sister Kotori. As the series continues, so does Shidou’s harem with more spirits having to be sealed.

7 Worst: Fuutarou Uesugi - The Quintessential Quintuplets

Fuutarou Uesugi from The Quintessential Quintuplets is a high school student, who excels in his studies. Due to his good grades, Fuutarou gets the opportunity to clear his family debt by tutoring his classmate Miku Nakano. This turns out to be the start of his harem. Miku happens to be a quintuplet and Fuutarou must tutor her four other sisters. Fuutarou ends up with a harem of sisters which cannot end up well in any situation. Since they’re all sisters they’re all cut and paste characters of each other with different hair styles and mild facial difference.

6 Worst: Kurusu Kimihito - Monster Musume: Everyday Life With Monster Girls

Kurusu Kimihito from Monster Musume: Everyday Life with Monster Girls volunteers as a Cultural Exchange Between Species Host. At his house he takes in different types of monster girls to live. Each monster girl refers to him as a different pet-name whether it be Darling, Boss, Master, etc. Kurusu fits the generic harem protagonist personality. He means well but gets into different antics with each girl and often says the wrong thing at the wrong time. However, he’s willing to stand up for them against anyone who says anything bad about monster girls.

5 Best: Tohru Honda - Fruits Basket

Tohru Honda from Fruits Basket stands out from the rest on this list by being the only female protagonist. Often referred to in anime as a reverse harem, Tohru has a harem of Sohmas in love with her. Kyo the fiery hot head that is always getting into fights with Yuki, the charming cool guy. The two rival each other for Tohru’s love, but she makes sure to show them both attention. In fact, Tohru is kind to everyone in the anime and makes sure to give attention to everyone she can.

4 Worst: Kazuma Satou - Konosuba! God’s Blessing On This Wonderful World

konosuba main characters

Konosuba! God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World has some great characters in the series. Even Kazuma Satou, the lead character, is great in every aspect. Except for being a harem protagonist. Kazuma’s harem consists of a useless but cute goddess, a mage who can fire off explosive attacks and nothing else, and a masochistic crusader.

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However, Kazuma has no interest in any of them. He’s a perverted schemer who’s only redeeming harem quality is that he has an ability called Steal. This lets him steal an object from a person of his choosing which he uses to steal panties from other girls in the series.

3 Best: Issei Hyoudou - High School DxD

You probably expected this entry on the list, Issei Hyoudou, the self proclaimed Harem King, is a harem protagonist in the High School DxD series. Issei is a reincarnated devil of the Gremory family after he was revived by Rias when he was killed by his girlfriend on a bad date. Now as a devil, Issei has a harem with the other Gremory servants. Other than a few minor arguments, all of the harem gets along with each other and accept Issei for the perverted peeping-tom he is. While it’s clear that Issei shows favoritism towards Rias, he is often found in precarious positions with the other devils, angels, and pretty much every female character in the series.

2 Worst: Makoto Itou - School Days

Makoto, Kotonoha, and Sekai have an awkward lunch in School Days

Mokoto Itou from School Days truly is the worse and even that is taking it lightly. He truly does not have a reeding quality about him. Mokoto has a crush on Kotonoha Katsura and turns to his childhood best friend Sekai Saionji for help. She agrees to help him get with Kotonoha but develops feelings for him in the process. Mokoto constantly goes behind each girls back flirting with the other before finally settling on his choice. When an inconvenience pops up, he switches to the other girl. This happens multiple times in the series playing with both girls emotions and being an all around terrible person.

1 Best: Koyomi Araragi - Monogatari Series

Monogatari cast

Rounding out the list as the best harem protagonist in anime is Koyomi Araragi from the Monogatari Series. Like most harem protagonists, Koyomi, or Ararararagi by Mayoi Hachikuji, is a bit perverted. What sets him apart is just how much the members of his harem love him. Accepted by everyone, Koyomi’s interactions with each character feel genuine as if he caters to their personality types. He makes sure that everyone he interacts with knows that he will be there for them whether it’s helping with their apparitions to helping brush their teeth…

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