HAREM ANIME

HAREM ANIME

I previously made a rush review regarding Traps and Reverse Traps so this time I willl tackle Harem.

Harem anime where one male character gets to have a flock of female characters loving him all at the same time. In other words, polygamy where a person gets multiple partners for themselves. In anime there are two types of harem genre, the regular harem where the main character is a male character and the reverse harem where the main character is a female character.

The first recognized harem genre anime series is Tenchi Muyo Ryo-Ohki anime series which aired in 1992 up to 2017 that has 4 OVA with a total of 24 episodes and rumors has been going around in the internet that the fifth OVA is in production which will have 6 episodes and still no announcements as to when it will be aired. This harem is about an ordinary male high school student named Tenchi Masaki who suddenly found himself surrounded by a number of alien females who look so much like humans that no one could easily tell that they are aliens unless they show their real powers as well as their ages.

Tenchi Muyo Ryo Ohki

As for the reverse harem version the first anime series to be recognized is the Fuushigi Yuugi aired in 1995 where Miaka an ordinary high school girl was dragged inside a mysterious book and there she met with a prince who mentioned that she can wish her way home once she has recruited the legendary guardians of Suzaku which she is to represent. Some of the male guardians have shown feelings for Miaka which somehow also included some of the opposing team male guardians.

Fushigi Yuugi

There are many other harem and reverse harem in the anime world but among all of them that I have watched it would seem Tenchi series is the only harem series that made a mix of harem and reverse harem in one series as well mixing in a furry and goddesses in the mix as well. Forgot to mention the loli since Sasami is a loli in the current release of the series.

In my own perspective for the harem series has become one of the most popular in demand genre in anime. One of the famous harem series so far is High School DxD where the main character was resurrected and turned into a demon pawn by a high-level demon whose bloodline is in line with the Gremory Clan one of the powerful demon clans in the demon world. Issei Hyoudo the resurrected human also became a powerful pawn that gained an ancient power and now aims to be a Harem King. DXD currently has three seasons with total of 48 tv episodes and four OVA and some specials as well. Fans as of the moment are waiting for the fourth season of the series.

High School DXD

For the best harem it would seem To Love-Ru is on the number one spot where a clumsy low charisma Rito Yuuki who cannot draw out any courage to confess his feelings towards the girl that he likes ends up being surrounded by a number of alien girls and decided to live with him and marry him. (information from reeldown forums)

To Love Ru (Motto)

For the reverse harem it would seem that Ouran High School Host Club took the throne basing from the forums that I have been checking in the internet. A story about a girl who got accepted in a prestigious private co-ed school filled with the rich and spoiled kids of influential people of the society. Being mistaken for as a boy the heroine Haruhi is forced to work as a new host of the Host Club in order to repay her sudden debt of a million yen just because she bumped and broke a highly expensive vase. She was exposed as a female but was still accepted as a host and doesn’t mind crossdressing as a boy while working her way to repay her debt. Surrounded by the boys of the Host Club that seems like they have feelings towards one girl, Haruhi.

Ouran High School Host Club

For a harem series specially when the members of the harem are mostly females, it is normal that male fans are mostly after the fanservices and sudden nude scenes which are often included in the harem genre. Crazy scenes like having sexual innuendos inserted in most parts of every episodes of a harem series. Some harem series that barely has any of these elements were most likely forgotten or never got another series if it ended up short or got 13 episodes or even less. But regardless to this there are some harem series that became popular back then without having too many of these elements and the viewers were happy to see the clumsy guy who has no charm at all gets all the hot girls that other side male characters have been dreaming to have for themselves. There are also harem anime where the girls will do everything and I mean everything up to the last straw of available option of service is rendered towards the male character.

A quick example of this is the anime Hanaukou Maid-tai where a young man suddenly inherits a huge fortune from his grandfather, his only living relative, the huge includes him inheriting a large amount of fortune, a large property with a mansion and huge number of maids that are ready to give him all the services for him and protect him. There are many types of maids in the mansion trained in various services, maids what cook, maids that will escort him, maids that will clean even his body, maids that will protect him since there are military trained maids in the mansion, maids who are also inventors, and many other types of maids. The maids were also trained to give him services which includes all the way services. The catch of this series is that the main character this time has allergy towards all females or what others may call gynophobia.

Hanaukyo Maid-Tai

To sum things up about harem anime, this is just an anime series for those who wants to see a bunch of fanservices and this does not just go with male audiences but also with female audiences and it doesn’t matter if it is harem or reverse harem due to preferences of the viewers.

But due to the content of the said genre it is not for the audiences below any legal ages of whatever country it is available.

If someone will ask me what harem anime is ok to watch I will just give them a list of titles but it is up to them what to watch since they have their own personal preferences and I am just a guy who has seen some anime under the said genre.

disclaime:
pics are from kissanime, information of top harem and reverse harem from reeldown

will be posting more reviews

DORORO 2019

DORORO  2019

The remake of the anime adaptation of the manga Dororo which aired in 1969 is coming in the homestretch of the series.

A series that I have been following since the first episode of the 2019 remake and also watched the 1969 version, a product of the legendary Osamu Tezuka.

Will be making a comparison review of both series once the 2019 version has ended. Both version for now is filled with action, blood, gore, flying limbs, mutilation and many more. Character growth and change as well as emotions filled the series as well. There were changes made in the 2019 version and I am still waiting for the series to end and will be watching it again once or maybe twice before making a comparison from both versions. For the manga I am still thinking if I will be making a review on that.

The basic layout of the series is about the young man named Hyakkimaru who was born with almost nothing and literally almost nothing. His body was almost consumed by 12 demons (42 demons in the original anime adaptation) when his father Daigo Kagemitsu traded his first born to the 12 demons in the Hall of Demons in exchange for the prosperity of his land and territory. Hyakkimaru was still unnamed during that time, he was saved by a goddess statue and he managed to survive up to the day he was adopted by an old man who makes prosthetic limbs for both the dead and the living. He was given artificial eyes and limbs as well as arming him with a pair of swords hidden within his forearms which when detached the swords are revealed. He then traveled in search of demons after learning that he can regain his lost body parts every time he manage to kill a demon linked to his lost body parts.

The next character which the series follows is Dororo, the titular character of series, a young orphan thief who survives by stealing from people and his fellow thieves and scamming them. He later meets Hyakkimaru by chance in some small town and began to follow him. From then on both of them traveled together, this changed Dororo from stealing but uses his skills of tongue to convince people that they can help exterminate demons for a price.

Both characters found out each other's secrets as they traveled, both are practically similar to each other a young orphan and the other was cast away by his father after he was traded off to a bunch of demons. Dororo was later revealed to be a girl who was brought up as a boy her parents, no reason was mentioned but by judging the atmosphere of how Dororo and her family were living back when they were all together, she was surrounded by a bunch of thieves and murderers who her father does not seem to fully trust as well and the only way to save Dororo was to bring her up as a boy to avoid some conflicts. Dororo lived a rough life not to mention having to witness many strange things as she traveled with Hyakkimaru, including witnessing many deaths of people samurais or civilians. Dororo had also witnessed things that she cannot even explain if she tells them to Hyakkimaru just like in the incident when she witnessed their female friend whom Hyakkimaru fell in love with was doing lewd business with samurais in order to earn money and survive so that she can buy rice for other orphaned children she lives with.

Doror became the anchor for Hyakkimaru for him to stay sane after all the killing he has done in order to retrieve his body. Along with the old monk who they constantly meet along their travels, a monk who has similar skills as Hyakkimaru, who guides them and teaches them what to do in certain times.

Along his travels he is reunited with his family, his father Daigo who sold him to the 12 demons, his mother Nui no Kata who tried to protect but in the end almost denying his existence as well and his younger brother Tahomaru who at first almost became friends with each other.

 

As the series is nearing the end Hyakkimaru is almost complete in regaining his body but at what cost. His remaining parts are both his arms and both his eyes. Both his arms were given by the last demon to the loyal subjects of his younger brother whom both arms were decapitated by him and both his eyes were given to his younger brother.

Both his arms have been retrieved now only his eyes remain and his brother is in possession of both his eyes being used as tools so that Tahomaru can keep up with his older brother who has gained incredible speed and strength while fighting off demons in his entire life.

Since the prosperity of the land of his father flourished because Hyakkimaru was sacrificed before he was born, what will be the price that has to be paid once he has retrieved his remaining body parts.

Dororo is scheduled for a 24 episode run and episode 23 just aired a few days ago, now we wait for the final episode coming in a few days.

Disclaimer:

I do not own the videos used in the review credits to their respective uploaders/owners

pics from the anime itself

OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB

OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB

An anime series from 2006 with 26 episodes that featured a Reverse Harem theme the opposite of the Harem theme genre where the main female character is with two or more male characters in the series.

The series is about Haruhi Fujioka who got a scholarship to study at a prestigious school called the high school known as Ouran Academy where normally students are from the rich and famous and the influenced families.

  

Haruhi Fujioka

In that school she stumbles upon a room which she thought was empty so that she can study in peace. But instead the room was turned into a place where a group of her male school mates where they entertain their female schoolmates by accommodating them and servicing them as hosts.

Haruhi got stuck with the club by accidentally bumping onto an overly expensive vase worth a million Yen which she cannot repay due to her being part of the average earning families or as the school calls them “commoners”. Haruhi in order to pay back the vase she was forced to be part of the Host Club and work until she has fully paid the worth of the vase by collecting points which she earns each time she successfully services a customer of the club. She was at first mistaken as a male student due to her appearance fashioning boyish hair style and dressing up like a boy and also flat. Her identity was later revealed as the first episode progressed where her identity was discovered one at a time by the six original members of the Ouran Host Club. Despite her being female she didn’t mind joining the club not because she has to repay the vase but also, she found the group fun to be with.

This series is just one of the reverse harems that I had watched from start to finish considering that it seems the main target audience of the series are female audience but the series appealed to my liking. The amount of comedy and antics of the characters of the series was entertaining enough as well as how the series characterized the mind sets of the rich characters of the Host club as being ignorant of the real world, spoiled and some being airheads much like how American series portrays the rich blondes being airheads.

The members of the Host Club are Tamaki Suoh the club president, Kyoya Ootori the vice-president also the brains of the group, the twins Hikaru – Kaoru Hitachiin the pranksters of the group, Mitsukuni “Honey” Haninozuka the cutest member of the group and seemed the youngest despite being same ages as the other members of the group and Takashi “Mori” Morinozuka the muscles of the group always seen together with Honey. They are the members of the Ouran Host Club with the addition of Haruhi Fujioka due to being forced to join because of her unexpected debt to repay the broken vase worth a million Yen and in order to repay it she has to continue to charade as a boy and entertain her female schoolmates who are also clueless that she is actually a girl, the group are the only ones who knows that Haruhi is actually a girl. The second female to join the group is Renge  Houshakuji who fell in love with Kyoya and pronounced herself as his wife, she ended up being the club manager after she forced herself into the group after transferring from a school abroad.

 Mori

Honey's guardian at school and the muscles of the group. Despite being protective of Honey, Mori is also protective towards Haruhi.

 Honey

The cutest boy of the group, he loves sweets and Mori all the same, he also loves being with Haruhi every time they are together.

 Kyoya

The brains of the group and the one that controls the loose cannon Tamaki every time he comes up with crazy ideas, but this guy is much crazier when it comes to taking drastic measures.

 Hikaru and Kaoru

Can't remember if there were characters in the series that can tell these two apart from one another other than Haruhi who can tell the difference between them that nobody else can see. This became the bridge that made the twins accept Haruhi as well as develop feelings towards her.

Tamaki "King"

The self proclaimed "King" of Hosts, he and Kyoya are the ones who came up of making the Host Club and recruited the others as members of the group. He is a loose cannon and after finding out Haruhi was a girl he proclaimed himself as Haruhi's "father" at school.

The story mainly revolves Haruhi and her school life trying to cope with a bunch of airhead and spoiled rich schoolmates who seemed clueless how average people go with their everyday lives. Although this is just for the series comic relief since I don’t think most well-off people are that ignorant to the real world since this is just to fill the comedy part of the story and this is not the only show that uses that kind of personification of those kinds of people.

Haruhi was introduced to be another character who had lost a parent or both which seemed to have become a norm in some anime series, in this case she lost her mother prior to the start of the story and she has been living with her father who works as a host as well but he is an Okama who had chosen to love Haruhi’s mother but still works as a hostess for their everyday expenses. It was also revealed that Kyoya took in the liberty to report to Haruhi’s father from time to time since they have taken in his daughter and it was the wise move since Haruhi is surrounded by mostly boys in most of her time at school. Feeling safe of the group after her father met them, he had come to the point of accepting the fact that one day Haruhi will someday come to a decision to either live with the one she loves or go on and live with her father.

Haruhi parents Ranka and Kotoko

Despite the showcase of personifying the rich members of the cast of Ouran they still gave them enough marbles to show that they are not all ignorant always and that they just know how the world works on how it was shown to them as they grew up. This was shown as the growth of the characters in every episode of the series as they come to a realization on how they approach Haruhi and how they cope with their feelings towards her. For Haruhi it was her growth on enjoying her student life with her friends and not just staying inside the shell that she had created after her mother died. she had taken care of most of the house duties since her father works multiple jobs so that they can keep up with their expenses and Haruhi for her share worked up to raise her grades to get scholarships for free or discounted school tuition fees.

The anime is one of the enjoyable series that watched from start to finish and this is not the only reverse harem that I had watched, there are others and I might do a review on them later on.

I would recommend the series to all those who want to watch something with comedy and high school life and this one seemed to be safe for all ages since the only fanservice that we will be getting from this one is Haruhi wearing normal girl clothes and not just her male school uniform which she wears every time she goes to school. She did on some occasion wear a girl’s school uniform which clearly shows her feminine self. She can also be considered as a reverse trap as well since she looks way more like a boy with her school uniform.

I can also say that the series is somewhat balanced as well starting off with the plot building of how Haruhi got stuck with a bunch of crazy rich kids, being friends with them regardless of their status of being rich and a commoner, how the group protected Haruhi, how Haruhi changed the way of how the rich kids look at society or of the real world, the development of each of their feelings towards each other, a bit of drama and romance as well which bloomed practically almost pass midway of the entire series run when the supposed fiancée of Tamaki was introduced.

Won’t spoil it too much anymore much better for those who have not seen the anime better check it out and I might as well read the manga for a comparison review or just a manga version review of the story. All in all the series itself did not made me feel being left hanging thinking of how the story will end for the group, it was more or less fulfilling as a stand alone if there are those who prefer watching rather than reading a manga or light novel version from which an anime was adapted from.

Disclaimer:
I do not own the videos presented in this review credits to the respective owners of the videos.
Pictures from the anime itself print screen and cropped by myself, credits to the uploader of the anime.