Harem
Harem is an entertainment-related trope which is characterized by three or more characters, normally female, who for some reason are in the presence and under the influence of one character, generally male, according to a few genre-defining guidelines; here it will be assumed, for simplicity of language, that the harem lead is a male character and the members are female characters. Though that is the rule, there are exceptions; a story in which there is one female character and several male characters is normally called a “reverse harem”, or sometimes also “male harem”. Aside from the swapping of the characters’ genders, the trope’s details are mostly the same, with the majority of the changes relating to the differences in behavior between men and women of the characters’ age range. It is also possible to create harems with homosexual relationships, again with very few changes to the main antics themselves. The harem may not have more than only one lead, as that would be a love polygon, or less than three members, as one would form a couple and two would make a love triangle. As a defining rule of harem, the interactions between the lead and each of the individual members are filled with romantically or sexually loaded content, either implicitly, through innuendo or subtext, or explicitly, through text or actions, and those actions are a key plot element. Generally, the female characters’ looks and personalities will vary a lot among the ones present in one single series, but quite rarely will they actually differ from the common stock archetypes, which are known, well-defined, and easy to copy; for this reason, the genre as a whole is often considered repetitive. Usually, the characters involved directly in this trope are in the late teenager to young adult age range, but that is not mandatory. Sexually charged behavior on the lead’s part pretty much can’t be avoided, and it’s typical to see him stamped as a pervert by some or all of the members, regardless of whether he is one; the sexual tones also applies to the depiction of the harem members, often leading the genre to labeled sexist. The lead will often suffer very violent retribution for his behavior, which has attracted criticism of gratuitous violence as well. Most of the harem members will be romantically or sometimes sexually interested in the one male character, and in him alone; that, however, is not an absolute rule, and indeed sometimes none of the female characters are really interested at first, so the protagonist has to build relationships with them from scratch. That idea comes in large part from visual novels; it is quite common for visual novels to revolve around controlling the male lead and have him build relationships with either as many female characters as possible or with one of them, the latter being more common for visual novels with branched story paths; a large portion of those visual novels also feature erotic content, which may be hard to adapt to TV series. It may be also possible that the harem is only a support to the existing or predictable relationship between the lead and the most important member; additionally, the lead may end up in relationships with most or all of the harem members, with the agreement of all, in a setting normally called “harem ending”
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Movie
Sora no Otoshimono: Tokeijikake no Angeloid
Movie adaptation of the Sora no Otoshimono manga, based on Kazane Hiyori’s arc.
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Completed
Sora no Otoshimono: Forte
Sakurai Tomoki has settled into his life with the two angeloids, Ikaros and Nymph, and is enjoying himself immensely. However, he keeps having weird dreams and asks all of his…
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Completed
Sora no Otoshimono
Ever since he was a child, Tomoki Sakurai has always woke up with tears after a dream of an angel. His childhood friend Sohara Mitsuki worries about this and decides…
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Manga
5-toubun no Hanayome (Digital)
Considered a genius, high schooler Fuutarou Uesugi excels at studying and obtains a perfect score on every test. Due to his intense focus on that regard, he is a reclusive…
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Manga
Rosario to Vampire: Season II (Digital)
The story continues where the first season left off only months into the future. Yuokai Gakuen has been repaired and the new semester is underway. Tsukune and gang are back,…
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Manga
Rosario to Vampire (Digital)
Aono Tsukune is so hard up on luck, that he can’t even get admitted into high school. His parents finally find him a school with no tests required for admittance,…
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Manga
Magika no Kenshi to Basileus (Digital) Vol.15
Parallel to our dimension is a world filled with magic, home to a host of mystical beings and fantastical powers. Humanity has learned to harness these forces and bring forth…
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Manga
Boku ga Yuusha de Maou mo Boku de (Digital)
Yuuma Tsugari is an ordinary high school student whose family runs a bathhouse. He leads a peaceful, uneventful life—but that all changes when two beautiful women approach him, each certain…
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Completed
Asu no Yoichi!
Yoichi Karasuma has spent all of his life in the mountains, training in the Soaring Wind, Divine Wind swordsmanship style. Under his father’s guidance, he is able to master the…
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OVA
Fortune Arterial: Akai Yakusoku – Tadoritsuita Basho
After the school festival, Kohei and friends head to a small cottage out of town and enjoy themselves after working hard.
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OVA
IS: Infinite Stratos 2 – Infinite Wedding
Picture drama included on the IS: Infinite Stratos 2 Blu-ray BOX.
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OVA
IS: Infinite Stratos 2 – World Purge-hen
While Ichika Orimura departs to visit Kuramochi Engineering’s laboratories, an unidentified enemy hacks into IS Academy’s core and cripples its systems. To fend off the attack and repair the damage,…
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Manga
Genjitsu Shugi Yuusha no Oukoku Saikenki (Digital) Vol.08
“O, Hero!” With that cliched line, Kazuya Souma found himself summoned to another world and his adventure—did not begin. After he presents his plan to strengthen the country economically and…
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Manga
Kore ga Watashi no Goshujinsama (Digital)
Yoshitaka Nakabayashi, a 14-year-old millionaire who got this huge inheritance after his parents died in an accident, found himself needed to be taken care of and tried to hire live-in…
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Completed
Genjitsu Shugi Yuusha no Oukoku Saikenki Part 2
Together with his talented aides, the “Realist Hero” Kazuya Souma continues his quest of reinvigorating the Elfrieden Kingdom through administrative reform. Having successfully conquered Van—the capital city of the Principality…
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Completed
Genjitsu Shugi Yuusha no Oukoku Saikenki
After the death of his grandfather, 19-year-old Kazuya Souma—an aspiring civil servant—is left all alone with no one to call family. Out of the blue, he is transported to the…
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OVA
IS: Infinite Stratos Encore – Koi ni Kogareru Rokujuusou
On a hot day of summer vacation, Charlotte’s plan to spend time alone with Ichika at his house is somewhat ruined when Cecilia gets the same idea, later followed by…
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Completed
IS: Infinite Stratos
An exoskeleton weapon engineered by Japan, Infinite Stratos (IS) can be piloted only by women. Its power and combat prowess are so immense that an international treaty has been signed…
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Manga
Bokutachi wa Benkyou ga Dekinai (Digital) Vol.21
His late father always said that a useless man should strive to be useful, so to that end, third-year high school student Nariyuki Yuiga dedicated himself to becoming a high-achieving…
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Completed
Love Hina
Keitaro Urashima promised a girl when he was young that they would meet up again at Tokyo University in the future. Sadly, in the National Practice Exam, Keitaro ranked 27th…
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OVA
Strike the Blood III
It was announced at a Dengeki Game Festival stage event that the Strike the Blood light novel series will get a third OVA release. It will cover until the end…
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Completed
Akaneiro ni Somaru Saka
Yuuhi Katagiri is not your average girl – she’s the treasured daughter of the Katagiri family. She’s generally kept under strict supervision, but one day ends up walking home from…
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Completed
Renai Boukun
When a strange girl named Guri comes knocking at Seiji Aino’s door, he quickly finds himself thrust into a world of romantic troubles. Claiming that she will die if he…
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OVA
Nisekoi: OVA (Season 02)
Bundled with the 21st volume of the Nisekoi manga.
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OVA
Nisekoi OVA
Episodes released on DVDs bundled with the 14th, 16th, and 17th volumes of the Nisekoi manga.