You can do a harem anime a lot of different ways. You can get a tidy harem that is more love triangle than harem proper. You can have a guy overwhelmed by choice in the all-girls living establishment he somehow came to live at. You can even watch one or two be caught in the crossfire between many sisters.
However, for the harem anime enthusiast that wants an actually fun to watch action anime and not just shiny flesh and suggestive moans, the sub-genre of battle harems is the place to find it. The battle harem is staffed by women who all have impressive combat abilities.
While this usually does mean the male main character is powerless himself and not an overpowered paragon, he does still have a role to play – often being the key element that empowers his battle harem with support, affection, kisses, or even more lewd things.
If you are looking to enjoy the action and waifus brought to bear by battle harem anime, then give these anime recommendations a try.
Battle Harem Anime
Date a Live
Date a Live, as lengthy and long-running as it has been, is likely what gave many anime fans their first dose of the sweet, addictive joy powder that is the concept of battle harems.
It follows a perfectly average-seeming boy who lives in a world where mass destruction is often caused by a phenomenon called a “spatial quake.” However, he discovers that these spatial quakes are really caused by Spirits, otherworldly entities whose power flows out of control, thus they need to be exterminated by a secret government task force.
Instead of joining this task force to battle against these beauties, he discovers that they won’t cause destruction if their powers are sealed away. True to harem form, their powers are sealed by making them fall in love with him and kissing them.
Afterwards, while their powers are sealed, they still retain some of their abilities, allowing them to fight by his side as he kisses other Spirits who then, in turn, also join his growing harem.
Sekirei
While Sekirei rubs some the wrong way due to its rather lackluster and often quite pitifully useless male protagonist, it does provide the big-boobied battle harem experience that more than a few are looking for.
In Sekirei, a race of female warriors are conducting a battle royale tournament on Earth in secret. However, in order to unlock their powers, they need to kiss a human with a specific gene. The main character just happens to be caught in the crossfire of one of these battles and discovers he possesses the gene. While he starts off with just one partner, that soon changes.
Rosario + Vampire
While Rosario + Vampire is quickly fading from memory, it was an enjoyable harem experience for those who do like a little action, but don’t mind much of the series to be more light-hearted fun.
This series follows normal human boy whose only high school option was a school for the supernatural where everyone is some form of creature that hates humans.
He is mostly able to hide is status as a human due to a vampire that finds him irresistibly delicious and helps him cover his trail. During his time at school, he manages to help a whole harem’s worth of supernatural women who come to admire him while also using their powers to keep him safe.
Is This a Zombie?
There are probably many looking for serious action battle harem anime that gave Is This a Zombie a pass because it is very moe and often more comical than it is action-focused. However, Is This a Zombie does provide easily the most insane battle harem experience and it is so bonkers that, even as a more comedic experience, it merits a second glance.
The series follows a boy that was murdered who is resurrected as a zombie by a necromancer. While hunting down his killer, he accidentally steals the powers of a magical girl, and now must take up her sacred task of fighting creatures called Megalo the hunt humans. He later gains a vampire ninja as a servant and a vampire ninja from a different clan as a accidental fiancee.
So Is This a Zombie is about a zombie magical girl and his harem of various weirdos fighting monsters and doing harem things.
Eminence in Shadow
There are tons of harems in isekai anime, with many seeming like battle harems, but The Eminence in Shadow is really the one that best encapsulates the spirit of the battle harem.
A fundamental aspect of a serious action harem isekai is a overpowered main character as power fantasy for the viewers. So when combined with harem, no one wants their power fantasy main character being shown up by the stronger combat capability by their harem. As such, even if the harem in most isekai anime is made up of skilled warriors, much of the time their role is to support the main character and be gob-smacked by his OPness.
Alternatively, The Eminence in Shadow offers a happy medium. The main character is wildly overpowered, his harem is still awe-struck by his abilities, but the harem also capably serves him in the shadow war that his chuunibyou tendencies thinks is something he made up – but is really happening around him.
So, while you get to see those stunning moment of main character power, his harem is staffed by beautiful strategists, stunning powerhouses, and one or two cute, clumsy tokens that try their best.
Infinite Stratos
Infinite Stratos is a sci-fi battle harem, but not quite the wholesome harem experience you may be looking for. The main character, as is common, is forced to go to an all-girls school because he possess the ability to pilot exoskeletons that have only ever been compatible with women.
While this goes the usual way, every woman in his harem is particularly aggressive with him, and not in the lewd way that some may like. So he is forced to go to a school and forced to be around a battle harem of women who essentially love/hate him, which can be off-putting to some.
However, it does offer some comical moments at times and does have some decent plot to it with a good dollop of fan service as well.
Masou Gakuen HxH
If you like your battle harems more sci-fi – and extra ecchi – then Masou Gakuen HxH is the series to hit up.
This series takes place, as is traditional, in an all-girls school where women are trained to use their special Heart Hybrid Gear to defend Earth. While Heart Hybrid Gear is not gender-specific and the main character also has one, his is somewhat useless for combat. However, he still plays an important role – he powers up these women through erotic experiences.
By engaging in intimate situations, the girls replenish their energy or gain new strength so…
Chained Soldier
It is actually pretty shocking that there hasn’t been more slavery-themed harems in anime yet, but maybe Chained Soldier will make it a fun new trend.
Chained Soldier takes place in a world where humanity is threatened by monsters that come over from another dimension and kill humans. However, in this other dimension, they discovered a fruit that allows only women who eat it to manifest different abilities. As such, society became more matriarchal and men took on roles as homemakers.
One teenage boy dreams of becoming a hero but is stuck as powerless as any man in that world. However, he gets to fulfill that dream when a commander of one of the squads uses her ability to enslave him and turn him into a monster that can be used in combat.
As a powerful combat asset, he is invited join their squad, but outside of combat is really more like a dorm caretaker who increasingly endears himself to the various girls of the squad.
Trinity Seven
Trinity Seven is likely one of the best battle harems that can be offered to those who want a harem full of powerful women, yes, but also don’t want the main character to be a complete weakling either.
Trinity Seven splits that difference by having each woman at a school training powerful mages have magnificent power. However, the main character, whose magical power is more mysterious, can gain powers from the various members of his harem to use as his own by copying them.
This allows him to often shine in the action, although Trinity Seven does enjoy its fan service more than its action scenes.
Val X Love
With a lovely Norse theme, Val X Love follows the nine Valkyries of Odin sent to Earth of defend humanity against the growing threat of demons. However, while legendary female warriors of mythology, they are not infallible. To face the growing threat, all nine need to level up by performing a variety of romantic acts with their official lover, the Einherjar.
One socially anxious boy is chosen by Odin to be the Einherjar and all nine women, posing as a family of sisters, come to live in his conveniently large and empty house with him.
Although, all nine are quite powerful, Val X Love may not put as much emphasis on action as you perhaps want in a battle harem anime, but the large harem of diverse female warriors all clamoring for some alone time for the sake of humanity’s future fits the bill none-the-less.
Ranma ½
While increasingly forgotten in the sphere of modern anime, you can call Ranma ½ the progenitor of battle harems, or at least the most famous member from before the trope was codified. It is also one of the only harems where you can enjoy the main character as both a harem king and a woman too.
Ranma ½ follows the trials, tribulations, and unwanted harem shenanigans of a martial artist who took a dip in the wrong sacred spring and was cursed to become a woman. However, while cold water turns him into a woman, hot water can turn him back into a man.
While trying to find a solution to this water temperature-based inconvenience, he discovers that his father arranged a marriage with a skilled, man-hating martial artist to secure the future of their family’s dojo. From there, it follows him dealing with his new fiancee, new rival marital artists, and – of course – a whole harem full of skillful and chaotic love interests.
The Ambition of Oda Nobuna
The Ambition of Oda Nobuna works with the – more common than you would think – twist of “what if feudal warlords like Oda Nobunaga were women?”
This is told through the lens of a main character from modern times sent back to the feudal era where he discovers all the famous warlords from history were cute, but still capable girls. So in this series what you get is a tsundere Oda clan leader and her female retainers who all come to appreciate the main character on their conquest of the country.
Campione
If you are sick and tired of battle harem protagonists being absolutely useless, then you need to make time in your life for the God Slayer.
Campione follows a high schooler who, after traveling to Italy to obtain something for his grandfather as normal high school boys often do, ends up in the middle of a battle between gods. He ends up killing the God of War and becomes a Campione, or God Slayer, whose sacred duty is to slay gods that rage out of control.
The “battle harem” part comes into play through the collection of mostly female followers that come to join in and support him on his sacred task.
Unlimited Fafnir
In yet another “all-girls school accepting their first boy” affair, Unlimited Fafnir follows a boy at a school for girls who can manipulate dark matter into various weapons to fight monsters known as Dragons.
As these things go, the male main character is the only man to develop this power and now finds himself awash in a sea of schoolgirl moe.
The interesting twist in this series is that some girls – and the main character – are able to use the power of powerful Dragons in exchange for something. For the main character, he gets power in exchange for memories. Unfortunately, they don’t use that potential as well as they perhaps could have.
High School DxD
If it wasn’t Date a Live that got you hooked on battle harems, it was probably High School DxD when it offered you a more, shall we say, jiggly and glistening experience?
High School DxD follows your standard teenage pervert who is thrilled to be asked out on a date by a beautiful girl right up until she kills him. It turns out she was a fallen angel trying to destroy a special item within his body. He is revived by a devil girl, forced to be her servant, and helps them on their fight against these angels.
All of that sounds pretty standard, but as a pretty legendary ecchi anime, of course that serious plot comes with a side of beautiful bare flesh early and often.
High School DxD may be remembered for the booba, but it actually does have a pretty solid and interesting action plot behind it too. Furthermore, while the main character starts off as useful as wet paper, he actually does grow into his own power to fight alongside his battle harem later.
Do you have more anime recommendations that follow a battle harem staffed by powerful women of action? Let fans know in the comments section below.
