Day 26: Favorite harem anime

[sara_tanaquil]

I really think I chose the wrong version of this meme. Maybe when I'm done, I'll look up the questions in some of the less fanboy-obsessed versions and answer a few of those.

Favorite harem anime

I find the harem anime genre boring/irritating as a whole. The ones with a boy surrounded by girls are mostly male wish-fulfillment, and the rather smaller number that focus on a girl surrounded by boys often annoy me because I get sick of everyone falling for the main character. (This was a flaw in Fushigi Yuugi.) So I had to do a little googling to find out what anime make the harem list.

Here's one, at least, that I remember liking although I saw it umpteen years ago and haven't rewatched it since:



Ai Yori Aoshi. It's definitely male wish fulfillment, because the heroine is a super-traditional yamato nadeshiko, but I remember it being a really sweet romance, with the harem element played for comedy on the side. (I also remember being completely baffled about why one female character was obsessed with feeling up another female character's chest. I wasn't familiar with the concept of fan service at the time, and obviously I was not in the population being served.)

The site I consulted rated anime as either having harem as their central plot element, or harem as a secondary theme (most of the female-centered ones fall into the latter category). Since it fell into the secondary theme camp AND I've already used it once, the natural runner-up would be Ouran Host Club.



(I didn't mean for both of those to come out as seated portrait images...)

The same site also identified Fruits Basket as a secondary harem anime. (?) Based on this picture, maybe they have a point:



Fruits Basket certainly deserves a shout-out somewhere in this meme.

Comments

[collarnojutsu.livejournal.com]

Dude, I so want to call Kyo Kara Maoh a harem anime. XD

[gnine.livejournal.com]

...that's cause it so totally is! A totally cracktastic parody of one, perhaps, but still, I'd say it counts! ^_-

[sara-tanaquil.livejournal.com]

It's about a king and his court, what could be more haremesque than that? ^__^ (I'm surprised it didn't make the list, perhaps because (nearly) all the characters are male.)

[wednesday-10-00.livejournal.com]

It totally counts. And either that or Ouran would be my answer*, because apparently cracktastic parody is the only way I can handle harem anime. XD (I would not count Fruits Basket. That seems like a stretch to me.)


*By which I mean my answer would be KKM, but Ouran would be the only other contender.

[collarnojutsu.livejournal.com]

Ok, since the consensus is that KKM IS a harem anime, that's my choice! HOORAY!

Incidentally, I don't think the reverse-harem shows are really any different in the wish-fulfillment department than the male-orientated ones. I mean all the cuties falling in love with the female lead is totally the same thing; they are equal-opportunity annoying!

Though I think Ouran is nice because it's a little different with the comedy aspect (and so far as I've gotten in the manga, um, not EVERYONE is in love with her yet. But given time.... :P

[sara-tanaquil.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the female version is totally female wish-fulfillment; the only difference is that sometimes I can enjoy joining in the wish-fulfillment instead of rolling my eyes at it. ^__^ But most of the time, yeah, I just find it ridiculous and annoying.

[mvrdrk.livejournal.com]

Ohhh, you are brilliant! KKM it is!

[spacealien-vamp.livejournal.com]

I'm going with Aa! Megami-sama for this one.

Runner up: As totally plotless as it is, I still have a special place in my heart for Angelique. It satisfied my longing for a fantasy show similar to FY but without all the death at the end. Also, it has some really memorable character songs.