The Best Harem Anime Of All Time (June 2025)

Protagonists with various romance routes and vague romantic labels have always been a popular trope in fiction. Anime, however, ups the ante with its harem genre. This sitcom formula has withstood the test of time, and viewers can now consume a plethora of harem anime in case they want to see some hyperbolic gender dynamics and exaggerated attraction.

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Some of the titles in this theme or genre can be rather “daring” or, worse, a crass representation of harem. As such, if someone is looking to start their genre journey, they should check out these upcoming shows since they are the best harem anime on the market.

Updated June 7, 2025 by Mark Sammut: As Spring 2025 is nearly done, it is now time to shine a spotlight on the upcoming Summer 2025’s harem anime. A section dedicated to the genre’s new shows has been added.

32

Girlfriend, Girlfriend

MyAnimeList: 6.54 (Season 1)

Naoya is living with his two girlfriends, Saki and Nagisa, a situation his partners are not equally thrilled about. He is also stalked by another girl, Rika, who refuses to take a hint and is not afraid to break a few laws to get her way. To make matters even more complicated, Saki’s friend, Shino, moves in with Naoya to try and make sure he does not hurt her bestie; naturally, she also develops feelings for the lead.

Girlfriend, Girlfriend is at its best when highlighting its characters’ charming stupidity, an element heightened by Naoya’s blunt and earnest nature. Saki and Rika are both capable of producing hilarious moments and tend to overshadow the more subdued Nagisa. Shino’s increased involvement in season 2 was a mixed bag, but she helped keep the story moving.

31

Love Flops

MyAnimeList: 6.70

Love Flops does not leave a great initial impression, with the first half telling almost exclusively cliché stories as a bog-standard male lead finds himself saddled with a harem of archetypes. However, this predictability is purposeful and eventually goes somewhere unique for the genre, resulting in an interesting final stretch of episodes that recontextualize the whole season.

Just to be clear, Love Flops is not some overlooked masterpiece that dissects the harem concept, nor does it gradually reveal a hidden darkness akin to something like Madoka Magica. Honestly, describing it as “good” might even be an over-exaggeration that sets way too high expectations. However, in a genre that tends to play things very safe, Love Flops deserves credit for taking a risk and seeing it through. It is also an original anime that tells a complete story.

30

Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs

MyAnimeList: 7.32

Plenty of isekai anime lean into harem territory, but they do not always bring out the best in each other. These stories have a habit of emphasizing the most generic traits of both themes, resulting in forgettable slogs like In Another World With My Smartphone or The Fruit of Evolution. That said, exceptions exist that not only do justice to both isekai and harem conventions but also heighten their strengths. A few comedy series even manage to parody both genres quite well.

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While The Eminence in Shadow is arguably the most popular example and has a huge roster of female characters, Cid (the male protagonist) is so far removed from a traditional harem lead that he disqualifies the show from a recommendation. Fortunately, Trapped in a Dating Sim qualifies as a harem anime that confidently pokes fun at the theme’s tropes along with isekai and otome games.

At the behest of his sister, a guy is forced to complete a dating sim he hates. Once done, he quickly dies and reincarnates as a bit-part player in the same universe he detests. Armed with the required knowledge to live a cozy life, Leon sets out to play the game while also keeping out of trouble. That does not happen, and he soon finds himself attracting unwanted attention, including landing in the middle of a harem featuring the game’s heroine and villainess (who develop a surprisingly cute relationship).

29

Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest

MyAnimeList: 6.72 (Season 1)

Shows only get one chance to make a first impression, and Arifureta struggled to hit the mark. While the light novel and manga are well-regarded, the anime notoriously stumbled out of the block during its first season, rushing through the story while delivering fairly substandard animation. The sequel seasons somewhat succeeded in steadying the ship, but the adaptation has yet to come close to matching the source material’s quality. Still, when viewed in a vacuum, Arifureta is a passable isekai power fantasy.

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Arifureta is also kind of a weird harem, mostly because the story takes a while to go in that direction. The early episodes revolve primarily around Hajime and Yue, who build a fun dynamic that makes them seem like soul-mates. Consequently, when the other girls are introduced, they arguably get in the way of the core romance, despite being decent characters in their own right.

28

Amagami SS

MyAnimeList: 7.28 (Season 1)

Amagami SS offers a more relatable and grounded main character for a harem story. It’s about Junichi Tachibana who has been suffering from social anxiety ever since getting stood up on a date a couple of years back. However, his luck at romance begins to turn around when suddenly, several girls start showing interest in him once again.

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To add to Junichiro’s dilemma, all of them are interesting stereotypes of high school girls in anime. Amagami SS is a fairly wholesome take on the often mature harem genre, and the anime generally opts against fan service.

27

Trinity Seven

MyAnimeList: 7.04

Although not as common as rom-coms, the harem genre occasionally crosses over with action, delivering shows that try to blend fanservice with battle-shonen goodness. While High School DxD and Date a Live represent this marriage’s ideal, they are exceptions to the rule, with most battle harems falling flat. Anime like Blade Dance of the Elementalers, Demon King Daimao, The Testament of Sister New Devil, and Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero are difficult to recommend to anyone but die-hard harem fans, and their action setpieces are arguably their weakest points. Still, they are not terrible, just very niche.

Trinity Seven serves as a better example of this type of show, one that can be enjoyed for both its harem and fights. Now, just to be clear, the action is nowhere near the level of some of that genre’s greatest offerings. However, when reviewed within the context of battle harems, Trinity Seven fares better than most of its competitors. The power system is relatively interesting, if a touch convoluted, and the idea of basing the girls on the seven deadly sins is an intriguing one. Arata is a pretty great harem lead who is not afraid to be direct, and the girls are the same to an extent.

26

Saber Marionette J

MyAnimeList: 7.38 (Season 1)

An oldie but a goodie, Saber Marionette J is a childhood classic for a lot of millennials today. This harem anime is quite a handful as it combines several other genres, ranging from mecha to comedy. It takes place on a colonized planet far from Earth where the women are merely androids called Marionettes due to a failed expedition that killed off the female part of the colony.

Marionettes were inherently emotionless, but one day, a special boy found three unique examples who showed the ability to be empathetic. Therefore, it’s up to the boy to teach the three Marionettes what it means to be human while preventing war.

25

TenPuru: No One Can Live On Loneliness

MyAnimeList: 6.70

TenPuru is a harem anime featuring a monk and nuns. Well, they are at least aiming to go down that route. Wanting not to turn out like his lecherous father, Akemitsu joins a temple in order to become a monk; unfortunately, his new home happens to be a nunnery featuring nothing but girls around the protagonist’s age. Also, as this is an ecchi show, Akemitsu’s commitment to celibacy is regularly challenged.

TenPuru is a quintessential harem comedy, in the sense that the show really sticks to the genre’s tropes. The characters are all fairly stereotypical, but they are bad either. Akemitsu is quite pleasant since he generally has good intentions, even if he tends to regularly make dumb mistakes. The girls are a bit more of a mixed bag since, so far, only a few of them have been properly spotlighted, but they produce their share of laughs as well.

Like quite a few harem anime, TenPuru leans heavily into ecchi territory, which is not going to be for everyone. The show loves its fanservice, and these sequences can be repetitive and uninspired. However, the anime’s humor frequently hits the mark, provided a viewer does not mind banter that comes with a healthy dose of stupidity.

24

How Not To Summon a Demon Lord

MyAnimeList: 6.83 (Season 1)

How Not To Summon a Demon Lord is about a shut-in gamer who gets isekai’d into his own game. Instead of being a normal guy though, he assumes the role of Demon King Diablo, his in-game avatar. Sure enough, as soon as he arrives in his newfound world, he accidentally enslaves the two girls who summoned him.

However, despite being very powerful, Diablo agrees to help these girls unbind their contract, although the journey to get there might be more troublesome than expected. Leaning heavily into comedy and ecchi, this isekai anime is arguably slightly underrated, especially its entertaining first season that produces plenty of great laughs along with quite a few intense moments between Diablo and his summoners. Unfortunately, season 2 struggled to replicate its predecessor’s charm.

23

Lord Marksman And Vanadis

MyAnimeList: 7.11

Lord Marksman And Vanadis is one of the few harem fantasy anime that has a somewhat serious tone. The plot revolves around an ongoing territorial war in a fictional version of Europe; consequently, the series has plenty of political undertones and subplots.

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At the heart of this conflict is the unfortunate Tigrevurmud. He is one of the archers of a faction whose army was decimated by Elen or Eleonora of the opposing faction. In a strange twist of fate, Tigre is spared by Elen, and thus begins the former’s turbulent struggle as a defector/prisoner of war for a female general.