Harem anime aren’t all sunshine and roses. Some series, particularly the older ones, can have problematic elements that were played up for laughs, only to be about as funny as the flu. There’s only so many pervy leads and peeping tom gags one can tell before even the biggest edge lord gets bored and moves on.
Nonetheless, most of the time, they’re lighthearted romps with a sweet center that charm audiences with their romantic tales. But occasionally, the genre will produce a story that either twists tropes in a darker direction, or twists the knife to provide a bitter conclusion. These are some of the darkest harem anime around.
6School Days
MyAnimeList Score: 5.52
School Daysseems pretty small for a harem as, aside from the occasional interloper, there’s only two love interests. Makoto Itō falls in love at first sight with his classmate, Kotonoha. When his other classmate, Saionji, spots him using Kotonoha’s picture as his phone’s lock screen, she offers to help set him up with her. She goes as far as befriending her just to try and pair her with Makoto, creating a friendship that’s ultimately doomed.
Much like the visual novel game it was based on, things gradually get more complicated between the three. Saionji falls for Makoto, Makoto uses her and Kotonoha as he wavers from one to the other, and other people get pulled into their messy situation. The trio commit and suffer assault, abuse, and more untilits infamous finale, which was replaced with stock footage on Japanese TV for its gruesome details.
5Redo of Healer
MyAnimeList Score: 6.34
Harem anime can leave a bad taste in some people’s mouths. A lot of them can be the same, with a bland protagonist for viewers to project themselves onto as they get into ‘situations’ with their wish-fulfillment tropes. That isn’t to say there aren’t any that buck that trend (Saekano,Urusei Yatsura, etc.). There’s just a lot more that stick to the formula, even when they get as grim asRedo of Healer.
The healer, Keyaru, was abused and tortured by his own party just because he was a humble magician instead of a sword-swinging warrior. So, when he gets ahold of the Philosopher’s Stone, he uses it to travel back in time instead of saving the Jioral kingdom. Then he relives his life asthe evil Keyargaand, uses his powers to turn his abusers into his willing minions. There’s some kind of wish fulfillment going on, albeit very worrying ones.
4Love Flops
MyAnimeList Score: 6.72
For more familiar ground,Love Flopsstarts off with a standard harem premise. Ordinary guy Asahi Kashiwagi has his life turned upside down when an AI fortune-teller predicts his day with 100% accuracy. Not only does he bump into five different women who confess their love for him, but they’re all candidates to be his arranged bride, and his father invites them all to live in their family home.
It’s not unusual for harem anime, though it sounds too good to be true. Because it is. Asahi is actually in a VR simulation run by a scientist called Yoshino Feynman. His new world, his suitors, and their memories are based on those from his late childhood friend Ai. Asahi gradually catches on as he pieces his old memories back together, and has to decide whether to stay in this fantasy or face reality.
3Brynhildr in the Darkness
MyAnimeList Score: 6.86
On first reading,Brynhildr in the Darkness’ title suggests it might be a fantasy story, possibly even a retelling of the Volsunga saga or Nibelungenlied. But then it wouldn’t be a harem anime, at least without a big rewrite. Instead, this anime sees Ryōta Murakami join his friend Kuroneko on a trip to the wilderness in a bid to prove aliens are real, only for the two to suffer a serious accident. Ryōta survives. Kuroneko doesn’t.
To honor her memory, Ryōta vows to fulfill Kuroneko’s wishes and prove the existence of aliens. Ten years later, he is a high school student and head of the astronomy club. Things take a turn when Neko Kuroha joins the club, as she looks suspiciously like Ryōta’s late friend. The end result becomesa mix of harem hijinksandElfen Lied-like brutality, as they fall afoul of secretive organizations and Norse-themed extra-terrestrial threats.
2Shuffle!
MyAnimeList Score: 7.03
Shuffle!depicts a world where Gods and Demons co-exist peacefully with humanity, but that doesn’t mean things don’t get complicated. Rin’s day-to-day life with his childhood friend Kaede gets turned on its head when the King of the Gods and the King of the Demons become his new next-door neighbors. Then both their daughters, Lisianthus (‘Sia’ for short) and Nerine, fall for him.
Throw in his classmates Asa and Primula, and Rin’s life becomes a tricky balancing act of keeping them all happy without upsetting anyone. But being unable to be honest with his feelings ultimately means he’s going to let a bunch of them down. The ecchi scenes and harem tropes die down a touch as the drama rises and Rin has to learn tobe honest with his feelings.
LikeSchool Days,The Fruit of Grisaiaisbased on a visual novel, though it alters things a bit. The show follows Yūji Kazami, a transfer student at Mihama Academy. He hoped to live an ordinary high school life, only to find out the academy is anything but normal. It only has one principal, five other students, and has features that make it look more like a prison than a school.
It turns out that each girl is there because of their trauma, ranging from depression to survivor’s guilt. They’re the titular ‘fruit,’ and until they can overcome their issues, they’ll figuratively decay within the academy. As Yūji gets to know them, he’s able to help them process their problems, while also coming to terms with his own. His need for an ordinary school life is because he has his own secrets to come to terms with.
