A traditional Harem Anime typically involves a male protagonist, surrounded by a number of female characters. The females happen to be in love with him or are trying their best to get his affection. The concept of Reverse Harem Anime is clearly captured in the name. The concept is the opposite of the traditional Harem Anime. Here, the storyline revolves around a female protagonist who is surrounded by male characters, head-over-heels in love with her.
Though in comparison to a typical Harem Anime, the concept of a Reverse Harem Anime is neither very popular nor common. Yet it has a great narrative and the plot is much more intriguing than its male-centric counterpart. If you are interested in watching an anime with a female lead, Reverse Harem Anime is probably the most interesting option available.
In order to give you an idea of which anime to check out first, here is a list of top 22 Reverse Harem Animes. Run your errands and arrange your schedule to make time for these masterpieces.
22. Arcana Famiglia
This is a fine example of a Reverse Harem series. The storyline is based on an organization known as the Arcana Famiglia. The plot revolves around Felicita the daughter of Mondo, the boss of the organization. Mondo wants to retire from his position and wants to choose the heir of his Famiglia. A competition will be held to see the winner who will succeed Mondo as the heir of the family. When Felicita comes to know that she will be betrothed to the winner of the competition, she decides to take part as well. If she wins the competition with the support of Liberta and Nova, she will be allowed to make her own path
21. Hiiro no Kakera
The genres included in this series are fantasy, romance, shoujo and supernatural. High school girl Tamaki Kasuga believes ghosts and gods to be a part of fairytales. But all her beliefs are broken when she goes to live with her grandmother in the remote village of Kifumura. She is attacked by strange creatures on her way to the village. Later on, she finds out that the women of her family contain the blood of the Tamayori Princess. These princesses have the responsibility of keeping the gods and ghosts sealed away from human beings. The anime shows the trouble of Tamaki who starts to believe in everything and then her journey of fulfilling her duty which is filled with hurdles.
20. Diabolik Lovers
This anime series is a mixture of drama, mystery, horror and romance. This story involves Yui Komori, a normal teenage girl in high school and the Sakamakis, a group of six vampire brothers. When Yui goes to live in a big mansion in a different town with the six brothers they are very confused. Later on, they realize that Yui is supposed to be their ‘sacrificial bride’. Yui tries to understand the reason behind her father’s decision to send her to the mansion to live with the six sadistic vampire brothers. The plot shows Yui’s struggle as a captive in the mansion.
19. Hanasakeru Seishounen
This series deals with romance and drama. Kajika Louisa Kugami Burnsworth is a normal girl with a deep secret. The plot revolves around her life and other’s who are involved with her. In the story you can see how Kajika’s mother dies while trying to save her daughter. There is also her father Harry Burnsworth, an influential man, who in order to protect her daughter sends her to an isolated island. After Kajika turns 14 she comes back to her father and is immediately ordered to choose a husband with the help of a game. Now Kajika has to be really careful in finding the right man who will be able to protect her as she is always in danger because of the secret.
18. Shin Shirayuki-hime Densetsu Pretear
This series is a combination of comedy, drama, fantasy, magic, romance, shoujo and super power. It deals with the journey of a robust 16-year- oldgirl named Himeno Awayuki, who after her father gets remarried starts staying with her step family. She deduces the fact that her step family doesn’t really like her but she cannot pay much attention to that. She is more intrigued by 7 magical boys who requested her to be their magical princess. The plot tells the story about how Himeno tries to be happy with her new family as well as tries to save the world from the enemy.
17. Magic-kyun! Renaissance
Just like the name suggests the series deals with music, magic, romance and school. The anime is set in a world where art becomes magic. A strange girl named Kohana Aigasaki joins the Hoshinomori Private Magical Arts High School. Kohana gets the responsibility to plan the school’s yearly Hoshinomori Summer Festa. She is surrounded by six other boys who want to be entertainers in the future. They also want to win the festa alongside Kohana as the school’s Artista Prince and Princess. The plot revolves around these high school students trying to reach their goals.
16. The Story of Saiunkoku
This series revolves around Shuurei Kou who faces financial hardships and somehow manages to live a good life. But one day she gets the offer of becoming the lazy emperor’s concubine and teach him how to become a good ruler. She is offered 500 pieces of gold for her work. Shuurei accepts the offer thinking the emperor only likes men. Her stay in the palace reignites her old dream of becoming an official, which is not a good idea for a woman. The story tells whether Shuurei will be able to make the emperor a good ruler and at what cost.
15. Watashi ga Motete Dousunda (Kiss Him, Not Me!)
The plot revolves around a second-year girl named Kae Serinuma who is an invested otaku and loves reading BL. She is also known to be very overweight. One day while watching her favorite show she witnesses the death of her favorite character. she gets very depressed and stops eating and going out for a week. When she comes out, she has miraculouslyturned into abeautiful maiden. She also catches the eyes of four boys in her school. But Serinuma wants these four boys to fall in love with each other. The story tells the dilemma that Serinuma faces because of her obsession with BL.
14. Kiniro no Corda: Primo Passo (La Corda d’Oro: Primo Passo)
This series revolves around the genres of comedy, drama, magic, music, romance, school and shoujo. The plot is based on the school-life of a girl named Hino Kahoko. Her school is divided in two sections: one section is for the normal students who wear gray uniforms. The other section is for music students and these students wear white uniforms. Her school holds a musical competition every year and only students from the musical section can take part in it. But when Hino sees a fairy named Lili and is gifted with a magic violin to help her take part in the competition, she must face all her problems and succeed in the competition.
13. Dance with Devils
This series includes demons, vampires, supernatural themes, and romance. The plot revolves around a girl named Ritsuka Tachibana, who happens to be a good student. She is shocked when she gets summoned by the student council for being a troublemaker. Ritsuka later on understands that the student council members have ulterior motives. Her life is turned upside down when her mother gets kidnapped. She finds herself getting involved in a world of demons and vampires. Here both the groups are fighting over a ‘Grimoire’ which will help its owner to rule the world. Even after her brother’s return Ritsuka doesn’t know whom to trust in this world of mystery. While on the other hand all the handsome student council members are trying to get her attention.
12. Brothers Conflict
This series has a very deep romantic plot as the story revolves around a girl named Ema, whose father gets remarried. After her father’s remarriage she has to move into the Asahina Family House. She finds out that now she has 13 brothers. Ema planned on living a happy and peaceful life with them, but the sudden entry of a girl in an all-boys household causes a huge chaos. They start living together through this chaos. While on this journey of life, the feelings of these brothers change towards Ema, which may lead to the beginning of a romance or a friendship.
11. Code: Realize – Guardian of Rebirth
The various genres that make up this anime are military, historical, romance, fantasy and josei. The plot is surrounding the life of Cardia Beckford, a girl who has a hazy memory of her life. She can only recall her father Isaac. In the town where she lives, she is considered a monster because of an eternally beating heart known as the Horologium. In the storyline, you will meet Twilight, a terrorist group and many other groups trying to get hold of the Horologium. This series shows the journey of Cardia to discover her missing memories, the connection between Isaac and Twilight and the Horologium.
10. Fushigi Yuugi
This series involving adventure, fantasy, magic, martial arts, comedy, romance and a historical drama theme. The story revolves around two junior-high students Miaka Yuuki and Yui Hongo. These two best friends get transported into a different world through a set of mysterious books called “The Universe of the Four Gods”. In the other world Miaka becomes the priestess of Suzaku and Yui becomes the priestess of Seiryuu, Suzaku’s enemy nation. The plot tells us the journey of the former best friends who got turned into enemies and who are busy summoning their respective gods to fulfill their wishes.
9. Amnesia
This series is a curious mixture of mystery, romance, fantasy and josei. The story revolves around a young lady who loses her memory after fainting at work. Her two friends help her reach home. Then she meets a spectral boy named Orion. Interestingly, she is the only person who can see him. He informs her that because of his chance visit to her world she lost her memory. He promises her that he will help to get her memory back. In this attempt, her life gets entangled with different men. Fragmented pieces of her memory come back to her and all the mysteries of her life is brought to light.
8. Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge (The Wallflower)
This series is mainly a comedic series and the plot is quite amusing to watch. Like every other Reverse harem series, the plot revolves around a female protagonist. In this series we see Sunako Nakahara, a girl who got rejected by her crush because of her less than impressive appearance. Sunako starts hating beauty and gets involved in things occult-related. When she is sent to her aunt’s mansion, she faces four handsome boys her age. Her flighty aunt also made a deal with the said boys that to live in her mansion rent free they will have to turn Sunako into a proper lady by the time she comes back from a trip around the world. Thus, Sunako’s journey of a hectic life begins with the four boys.
7. Uta no Prince – Sama : Maji Love 1000%
The plot revolves around Haruka Nanami, who happens to be an aspiring composer. She is from the countryside and wants to create music for her favourite idol Hayato Ichinose. To achieve her goal, she enters a prestigious vocational school known as the Saotome Academy. Much to her surprise, she later finds out that everyone in her school is either an idol, a composer, or a poet. The competition among her peers to get selected in “Shining Agency’s New Talent Scouting Audition” is very high. However,there are six dazzling princes in front of Haruka, trying to become successful idols.
6. Hakuoki
This anime series has a thick plot with a mixture of action, supernatural, mystery and also some historic themes. The story is about Chizuru Yukimura, whose father is a doctor. Chizuru is always haunted by the thought of losing her father as he is involved in some mysterious business regarding drugs. Chizuru then begins her journey to find her father who went to Kyoto. On her way she encounters an attack from an oni (a demon). Fortunately, the members of the Shinsengumi save her and take her in an inquiry. Later, it is found that both Chizuru and the Shinsengumi are searching for the same person, that is her father who made the oni drug.
5. Kamigami no Asobi
The storyline is quite amusing and interesting. Here we see a high school girl Yui Kusanagi and how her life changes after meeting the Greek God Zeus. Zeus invites Yui to attend a school in a different world which was created by him. He is the headmaster of the Forbidden Academy and Yui is given the responsibility of teaching the young Gods the value of humans and love. She has to help these young Gods graduate the academy and only then will she be able to leave the place.
4. Fruits Basket
The story revolves around a girl named Tohru Honda whose mother died in a car crash. Her grandfather takes her in after the accident but the other family members drive her out of the house. This leaves her homeless and vulnerable. She then decides to start living in a tent and taking care of herself. Fatefully, she meets the Sohma family who takes her in, and she agrees to do common chores for them. The Sohma family has a deep and dark secret. Whenever a member of the opposite sex hugs them they transform into their Chinese zodiac. Tohru comes to their rescue when she embarks on a journey to find a way to lift this curse.
3. Kamisama Hajimemashita (Kamisama Kiss)
In case you want to see a pleasant romantic plot,then this one is for you. Nanami Momozono is a girl who wants to live a normal life. But it gets difficult when her father throws upon her a huge gambling debt. Unable to pay the rent she is kicked out of her house. She then meets a mysterious man and rescues him from a dog. The man offers her a house to stay. Later she finds out that the house is a shrine and the man is a god. The man gives his position as a god to her and thus she starts living the life of a deity as well as a normal school girl.
2. Akatsuki no Yona (Yona of the Dawn)
The theme of this anime is a blend of Korean, Japanese and Chinese culture, a bit out of the box. Here we follow the life of Yona, who is the only princess of the Kingdom of Kouka. She is looked after by her father King II and her bodyguard Hak. When her father forbids her from marrying her childhood friend and crush Su-Won she gets sad. She wants to persuade her father to change his decision but when she goes to meet him, she sees Su-Won murdering him. She then runs away from the kingdom with the help of Hak. The plot revolves around Yona’s and Hak’s journey after they escape, to find the four Dragon Warriors to save themselves and the Kingdom of Kouka from Su-Won.
1. Ouran High School Host Club (Ouran Koukou Host Club)
This anime series tops the list for the genre with good reason. The plot revolves around the female character Haruhi Fujioka, a scholar who gets the chance to study at a prestigious school. Ouran Academy is a high school in Bunkyo, Tokyo, which is only attended by rich kids. One day while she was trying to find a peaceful place to study, she comes across the Ouran High School Host Club. During her search for a quiet place she stumbles upon a very expensive vase and breaks it. The vase belonged to the host club and in order to pay her debt she agrees to work for them. The host club realizes that she is good looking enough to become the host of the club as a boy and by keeping her real gender a secret.
