Harem Anime General - Discussion of harem anime (formerly Magic School Harem Animes)

[BingBong]

EDIT: I changed this thread to cover all harem anime, as the original topic was a bit too niche.

While binge-watching anime during the lockdown, I have come to notice a genre that is just as bad as isekai and shounen.

The plot usually has the same basic concept: A mysterious boy transfers to a magic/sci-fi themed school. He meets girls that all adore him immediately. These girls almost always include a tsundere, a childhood friend/younger sister, a loli, and a blonde w/ huge tits. The MC is always OP as fuck. The conflict usually centers around some kind of tournament.

Obviously, some are much better than others.

These are all of the shows I know of that feature this trope, feel free to mention any more that you know:
I have put the ones I somewhat enjoyed in bold.

Gakusen Toshi Asterisk
Masou Gakuen HxH
Trinity Seven
Hundred
Saijaku Muhai no Bahamut
Seireitsukai no Blade Dance
Absolute Duo
IS: Infinite Stratos
Maken-Ki
Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry

 

[WhoBusTank69]

I remember the Magic School Bus, that shit was badass.

 

[Kari Kamiya]

Wait, this show wasn't a harem, so it doesn't count?

That's the dude's sister btw.

 

[BingBong]

Wait, this show wasn't a harem, so it doesn't count?
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That's the dude's sister btw.

I would say that it falls into this genre if you ignore the harem aspect.

That's The Irregular at Magic Highschool for those wondering.

 

[Shield Breaker]

What if they combine it with isekai for maximum cringe?

 

[Uranus Pink]

Magic school harem animes haven't change much since the early 90ies except certain directors just more pretentious that their harem show isn't a harem show.

El-Hazard already combined magic school harem and isekai back in the mid 90ies.

 

[BingBong]

What if they combine it with isekai for maximum cringe?

I wouldn't be surprised if that already exists, sadly enough.

 

[Uranus Pink]

I wouldn't be surprised if that already exists, sadly enough.

Failed anime pilots ala OVA one offs and miniseries are loaded with cringe and generally are a bitch to find even when sailing the seven seas.

 

[sasazuka]

It's not that new a sub-genre, the original Negima! anime, which is perhaps the most obvious early example of "Hogwarts But It's a Harem Anime", is over 15 years old now, and the first chapter of the manga was published over 17 years ago.

 

[TerminalTryHard]

Wait, this show wasn't a harem, so it doesn't count?
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That's the dude's sister btw.

I'd be surprised if it wasn't.

 

[Marissa Moira]

I thought this was going to be about Ms. Frizzle.

 

[Trump's Chosen]

Who would have thought that entertainment shows could ever be formulaic?

 

[Pickle Inspector]

I remember the Magic School Bus, that shit was badass.

Apparently Netflix sadly did a poor job with their remake of the show.

Also I don’t know any harem magic anime but Little Witch Academia is a fun magic school anime and Plus Sized Elf is an enjoyable harem-like manga that is better than it has any right to be, also it‘s apparently problematic to fatties.

 

[inception_state]

It's not that new a sub-genre, the original Negima! anime, which is perhaps the most obvious early example of "Hogwarts But It's a Harem Anime", is over 15 years old now, and the first chapter of the manga was published over 17 years ago.

Rosario + Vampire and Highschool DxD were only a couple years later from what I recall, and both of those were pretty successful as well. And of course, once you've got a successful formula, there's going to be about a couple dozen generic clones of that concept, as we've seen with isekai.

Wait, this show wasn't a harem, so it doesn't count?
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That's the dude's sister btw.

At least they made an attempt to justify that through some sort of sci-fi gene editing explanation, which demonstrated that they had some sense of shame. Oreimo just went "fuck it, we're going full retard".

 

[UnKillFill]

I remember the Magic School Bus, that shit was badass.

Arnold was getting all the pussy on that show, I would say it counts as a harem.

Spoiler

 

[Niggernerd]

Little witch Academia was a cute magic school anime
Zero no Tsukaima was actually enjoyable
Magic school harem isekai

 

[Recoil]

Tenchi Muyo if you're old enough to remember toonami

 

[Niggernerd]

Tenchi Muyo if you're old enough to remember toonami

I was more of a GXP man myself.

 

[inception_state]

Zero no Tsukaima was actually enjoyable

Dang, I forgot about that one. It's too bad the author passed away so suddenly, he was only in his 40s or something.

And also how could we not include Kampfer? It might just be the only magical school battle harem with a gender-bending protagonist out there.

 

[sasazuka]

Tenchi Muyo if you're old enough to remember toonami

Tenchi just went to a regular Japanese high school, although I really only think they show him at school very early in the series, at least as far as the main OVA continuity is concerned. Especially considering Ryoko accidentally blew up the school in the first episode.

The only alternate universe series made in the 20th century that had all that many school episodes were Shin Tenchi Muyo/Tenchi in Tokyo and Pretty Sammy TV/Magical Project S