It can be easy to dismiss harem anime. Most of them are pretty basic—some boring dude winds up with a bunch of incredible women surrounding him that are interested in him because he showed them a basic amount of kindness. Those not only exist, but they make up most of the genre and should be avoided whenever possible.
However, there are some that manage to rise above what people’s expectations are in the genre. Sometimes the way the relationships develop is too well-written, other times the character writing is just superb. In either case, there are some harem shows that everyone should try out at least once.
10 Just Bad: Infinite Stratos Wasted It's Neat Sci-Fi Premise
Infinite Stratos was a science fiction harem set in a world where humans rely on exoskeletons known as Infinite Stratos for weapons. These exoskeletons can only be piloted by women... with one exception: Ichika Orimura.
Ichika is sent to the all-female Infinite Stratos Academy, where he runs into a bunch of women who all develop crushes on him. This is just boilerplate harem stuff without doing anything new. After watching more than five harem series, every stereotype instantly become instantly recognizable.
9 Better Than It Should Have Been: They Are My Noble Masters Was A Great Parody Series
They Are My Noble Masters came out at the height of butler and maid anime in the late 2000s. It manages to both be a genuine butler series while also being an amazing parody not just of that genre, but of all anime. There are references to plenty of anime series like Dragon Ball Z and even tokusatsu like Kamen Rider, complete with some entertaining fight scenes as well.
The two protagonists are a brother and sister who leave their abusive home and find a place to stay with the Kuonji family. The Kuonji are looking for new servants... but have some pretty exacting standards the siblings will have to learn if they’re planning on staying.
8 Just Bad: The Master of Ragnarok & Blesser of Einherjar Had A Stale Protagonist & A Bad Concept
Yuutou Suou is transported to another world after taking photos of himself in front of a divine mirror. Fortunately, his cell phone is solar powered and so he can use that to help him become the Wolf Clan's leader, aiming to make them the strongest.
The Master of Ragnarok & Blesser of Einherjar is so eager to get into harem ecchi shenanigans it can barely set up its plot in the opening episode. There’s potential for an interesting fantasy world but it’s all tossed into the garbage in episode one.
7 Better Than It Should Have Been: How A Realist Hero Rebuilt The Kingdom Develops An Isekai Unlike Most
How A Realist Hero Rebuilt The Kingdom was definitely a better show before it added its harem elements, but it’s still one of the better isekai series that came out in 2021. The show is about a protagonist who was meant to be sold to another country after being summoned from his world, but he’s just so smart he’s able to re-organize their books and make them enough money so that doesn’t have to happen.
How A Realist Hero Rebuilt The Kingdom series is more about the protagonist being awesome by using his bureaucracy skills and just being a nice and understanding ruler most of his subjects seem to believe in.
6 Just Bad: Rosario + Vampire Wasted Its More Unique Manga Direction To Be A Harem Comedy
Rosario + Vampire follows Aono Tsukune, a regular human that’s somehow found his way into a school of monsters. Fortunately for him, he runs into Moka Akashiya, who happens to have a crush on him, and helps keep people from recognizing he’s actually a human.
He gradually starts to meet other women who also have their own special powers. This show is just so basic compared to what it could have been. The manga is a straightforward battle manga with mystery and intrigue and all of that is tossed out to be a comedy.
5 Better Than It Should Have Been: Cat Planet Cuties Is A Great Sci-Fi Parody Series
Cat Planet Cuties as a harem series doesn't do much to stand out. It’s got a protagonist who's not particularly interesting and yet girls fall in love with him; a recipe for a boring harem show. But what makes it stand out are the elements outside the harem parts.
Things like the different alien societies that find their way to the planet, all looking for more information on Earth, and the political elements that come from that. There are also tons of cute shout-outs to classic science fiction, and it’s a solid comedy for those who don’t get caught up in the harem elements.
4 Just Bad: Maij de Watashi no Koi Is A Confusing Mess Of A Show
MajiKoi has one of the most bonkers opening episodes in anime history. It’s literally just one long fight scene between characters only fans of their light novel universe would recognize. It’s confusing but ambitious. And the series never gets that interesting again.
Instead, it focuses on Yamato and the “Kazama Family” as they get into wacky hijinx at their high school. This show actually wouldn’t be terrible if the first episode wasn’t so much fun, making the rest of the anime such a letdown.
3 Better Than It Should Have Been: Sekirei Has Great Characters & Better Fight Scenes
Sekirei is better than it has any right to be. It should be a very basic harem show, but instead, it adds in a lot of battle elements that elevate the series. The protagonist is a young teenager who happens to have multiple special beings with incredible powers—known as Sekirei—around him.
This leaves him and the ladies trapped in a competition for survival against the other Ashikabi, humans who can awaken the Sekirei’s hidden powers. There are plenty of fights, stories, and lore to dig into, and this series really should have gotten multiple seasons to finish the story.
2 Just Bad: Peter Grill Is One Of The Worst Anime Ever
Peter Grill is supposedly the strongest warrior on the planet, and all he wants to do is get married to his lover, Luvelia. But he also winds up with tons of other women from different races all wanting to be with him for the sake of creating powerful children.
Poor Peter, as all these women keep dragging him places so they can find a way to carry his child. This show is lacking a coherent plot, and also happens to have a lot of creepy elements within to make it work. There’s no reason for anyone to ever watch it.
1 Better Than It Should Have Been: Tenchi Muyo Is A Solid Comedy With Great Character Exploration
Tenchi Muyo is one of the earliest harems, and by comparison, it’s also one of the tamest. The series that would come later lean far more into ecchi, while Tenchi Muyo has comparatively normal women.
The series also doesn’t constantly focus on the girls hitting on Tenchi, and certainly doesn’t have the girls beating up Tenchi because one of the other girls likes him. Instead, it focuses on slice-of-life elements with the occasional sci-fi action and political intrigue to shake things up.