Before Bethesda began their event at E3 showcasing their various games such as Fallout 76 and Rage 2, there was a preview of things people really wanted to see. The highest vote was for a new Elder Scrolls game and low and behold, those who wished it got what they wanted. At the very end of the Bethesda event, The Elder Scrolls VI was revealed and while we got very little of it, it was enough to make our faces light up with sheer joy. We don’t know what will be in The Elder Scrolls VI or what consoles it will be for—it seems like it might be for newer consoles—but we didn’t care. The trailer—which we linked below—is only 36 seconds long, but we have rewatched it a dozen times and we know fans will do the same. E3 2018 was amazing and The Elder Scrolls VI made it even better.

Kingdom Hearts 3 has been the RPG many gamers—you can bet we’re included here at Honey’s Anime—have been wanting for nearly 14 years for. That’s why with every trailer and every little bit of info dropped for Kingdom Hearts 3, our anticipation grew stronger and stronger. E3 2018 however finally bought what none of the trailers gave us, a release date! We now know Kingdom Hearts 3 will be releasing January 29th 2019! This announcement made us clap loudly and literally some of us wanted to cry. Sora, Goofy, Donald and the rest of the gang will be coming back to us before we know it and we are so pumped. Now time to replay all of the Kingdom Hearts games to get ready for Kingdom Hearts 3.

Nintendo showing up at E3 2018 was minimalistic to put it nicely, which did anger some fans. However, what saved Nintendo for us here at Honey’s Anime was one trailer and one trailer alone, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Not only is Super Smash Bros. Ultimate releasing this year in December, but its’ coming with every character from the franchise! There are going to be 68 characters, yes 68 characters ranging from every Super Smash Bros. ever made! Besides the huge roster, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate also looks stunning with some vibrant stages and character design. Nintendo, you might have had a weak E3 2018, but this was enough to make it all worthwhile.

Fate/Apocrypha centres on the Holy Grail, a mystical object capable of granting the person who possesses it any wish they want. This has lead to Holy Grail Wars, where pairs of Masters and Servants fight to be the strongest team and earn the Grail. However, the last War ended suddenly when the Grail disappeared entirely. Years later, a guild called Yggdmillennia revealed that they had the Grail all along. The Holy Grail War begins again, but this time only between Yggdmillennia and the Mage’s Association. Each side sends forward seven pairs of Master and Servants, and whichever side still has people alive at the end is the winner. Fate/Apocrypha is another chapter in the long-running and very popular Fate anime series. It’s exciting and fast-paced, with lots of fantasy action and adventure to enjoy. It has magic, it has drama, it has epic fight scenes with mages and warriors; basically, you can count on Fate/Apocrypha to keep you on the edge of your seat and waiting for the next episode. It also features a few of the anime world’s most popular characters at the moment, like the very famous Saber. Any fans of magic and fantasy anime won’t want to miss out on watching Fate/Apocrypha. It has a wide fan base to give you plenty of people to discuss it with, too.

The iDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls sees a return to the 346 Production Idol Agency from the original The iDOLM@STER series. This time, the agency has started what they are calling the Cinderella Project. The idea is that they take girls who are living completely ordinary lives, pluck them from that normalcy, and make them into idols! Of course becoming an idol is never going to be easy, and these girls have to climb up literally from the bottom as they are thrust into a whole new world. Will they be able to make it to the top and become true idols? Let’s face it, Idol anime is incredibly popular. Especially in Japan, The iDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls was loved by many fans, and it’s sequels continue to hold the attention of huge audiences. The iDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls has a good underdog story, lots of characters to become invested in, and of course great Idol music. It’s an anime about chasing your dreams and rising above your circumstances, which is something a lot of people can get behind. Whether you are curious about trying an Idol anime for the first time or are a devoted fan of the genre, A-1 Pictures made a great show with The iDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls.

Ao no Exorcist is an anime about two worlds - the human one, Assiah, and the demon world, Gehenna. The only way for demons to move between these worlds is by possessing humans. However, Satan, the ruler of Gehenna, can’t find a human suitable enough for him to use. Thus he sends his son into Assiah instead, hoping to one day use his son to conquer Assiah. That’s where Rin Okumura comes in. He always thought he was a normal boy until he discovers he is actually the son of Satan! Going against his father’s wishes of taking Assiah together, Rin instead studies to become an exorcist to protect the human world. Ao no Exorcist is a great anime for fans of demons and the supernatural, but don’t want something overly dark or scary. Ao no Exorcist instead is more of a fantasy story, though there’s plenty of action and demon fights to go around! It presents an interesting story as well, and Rin is a dynamic main character who is interesting to learn more about as the anime progresses. Ao no Exorcist features an anime-exclusive ending that differs from the manga as well, so you have to watch the anime to see it!

Sword Art Online begins as a video game lover’s dream and becomes their biggest nightmare. Set in the near future, Sword Art Online begins with the launch of a virtual reality game of the same name, where players are totally immersed in a fantasy world of monsters and magic. Though, when the game is launched, a serious error comes up - no one can log out! And what’s more, if they die in the game, their brain will also shut down in real life. The only way to save the thousands of players stuff in Sword Art Online is for someone to be brave enough to defeat the boss. That means risking their own life to save everyone else’s. The anime focuses on a solo player named Kirito as he makes friends and trains to be the top player in the game. Sword Art Online has been an incredibly popular A1 Pictures title both in Japan and abroad, and for good reason. It’s fun to watch, well animated, colourful, and creative. It had a well-timed initial release when VR gaming was becoming a real thing in people’s homes and was already a buzzword for gamer and anime fans alike. And it’s gone on to have even more subsequent seasons, including one that is airing even as this article is published. While some people have complaints about an unoriginal premise or unbelievable characters, more people are happy to enjoy Sword Art Online and let themselves get immersed in the fantasy narrative.

Souta Takanashi absolutely loves small and cute things in Working!!. It’s because of this weakness that he allows small and cute Popura Taneshima recruits him to work at a restaurant in Hokkaido called Wagnaria. Wagnaria is far from your average restaurant environment though and is fuelled by an eccentric collection of workers that become Souta’s coworkers. The floor manager wields a katana, the waitress is afraid of men, and the chef is sadistic just to name a few! But Souta has the chance to constantly sore on Popura, though it only increases her complex about looking younger than she is. Working!! is so charming thanks to its insane cast of characters. It’s a workplace comedy unlike any other, never having a dull moment at Wagnaria. Every episode brings something new and hilarious to this hodge-podge team to face, and you’ll be laughing at all of their antics every time. Working!! is a fun and a feel-good story that is entertaining to watch, and the character are sure to capture your heart, too. Working!! has gone on to have several sequels as well due to how well it was received initially, so you don’t have to just stop with one season luckily.

Kuroshitsuji’s story begins on a night of misfortune when young Ciel Phantomhive lost absolutely everything in his life. In his darkest moment, the young Victorian boy promised his soul to a demon in exchange for his help. This demon is now in the form of Sebastian Michaelis, who is certainly “one hell of a butler” to his young master. Ciel helps the Queen of England herself in solving cases and solving problems, all with the aid of his amazingly talented butler. But the reality is that Sebastian is slowly preparing Ciel’s soul to be his most delicious meal even as the two investigate Ciel’s unfortunate luck together. Kuroshitsuji was massively popular when it first released both in Japan and abroad, and for good reason. It’s use of black comedy to balance an extremely dark story and concept with well-timed humour makes the anime appealing to many people. It also successfully brings alive Victorian England with amazingly detailed fashion and architecture, as well as beautiful foods. These aren't necessarily detailed to add but they make Kuroshitsuji a beautiful masterpiece that it is easy to get sucked into. The story is fast-paced and intense, keeping you at the edge of your seat. And Sebastian captured the hearts of people everywhere despite being, at the end of the day, a dangerous demon! Kuroshitsuji has gone on to have multiple sequels, musicals, video games, and even a live action movie.

Fairy Tail is set in the fantasy land of Fiore, where magic is an everyday part of life. Many guilds exist that magic users join, and one of the most famous is Fairy Tail. Enter young mage Lucy Heartfilia, who is determined to become a member of Fairy Tail herself. When she ends up almost abducted and saved by a boy named Natsu and his friend Happy, they invite her to join the guild! Lucy is excited to accept, and thus begins her journey with Fairy Tail to fight evil, make friends, and help those who need it. Fairy Tail is a big project, with nearly 200 episodes to watch. It has a large fan base across the world, with fans committed enough that it’s even popular to cosplay from. And it’s not just the fans that love Fairy Tail; it is an award-winning anime, too, also enjoyed by the critics. It’s an entertaining and fun adventure story with the right balance of action and comedy and has memorable characters to boot. Fairy Tail is a huge anime to commit to watching, but it definitely gives fans something satisfying and big enough to really get drawn into.

Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic is the story of a young magician named Aladdin. Leaving home to explore the world, Aladdin travels with a Djinn named Ugo as his only companion. He doesn’t remain isolated for long though, soon befriending a boy named Alibaba when the two accidentally destroy a merchant’s cart. To pay for the damages, the two decide to search for a nearby “Dungeon,” one of several mysterious magic labyrinths hidden throughout the land said to grant people immense power. Conquering one of these Dungeons allows one to become a candidate to rule the world! Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic is an anime with a unique and refreshing setting and story. It’s still a coming of age adventure of sorts, but it’s creative Middle Eastern setting and use of familiar folklore names (though the characters are all original) makes it feel like a very different anime. Using bright colours, humour, and fun character designs, Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic feels like watching a funny fairy tale - with the added bonus of a fair amount of action! It’s full of larger than life characters and boasts a sequel as well.

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Boku dake ga Inai Machi is about a man named Satoru with a mysterious power he calls “Revival,” which allows him to travel back in time a few minutes before a disaster happens to help save people. But when Satoru is accused of murdering his mother, he is sent back in time 18 years to his childhood home in Hokkaido. He begins to realise that the root of the murder must be in this time period and connects it to the abduction and killing of one of his classmates, a girl named Kayo. Satoru is determined to help save Kayo from this fate in the past, and also save his mother in the present. Boku dake ga Inai Machi is the kind of anime that will keep you guessing, and have you on the edge of your seat. It’s a fast-paced and intriguing mystery that doesn’t reveal all of its secrets until right at the very end. It’s also a story full of emotion, sure to make you laugh, gasp, and maybe even cry. It’s a great example of mystery and thriller writing in anime, and while Boku dake ga Inai Machi may not have the same reputation as some of the other anime on our list of the best by A-1 Pictures, it deserves recognition. Don’t let this gem slip under your radar.

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Kousei Arima is a young prodigy pianist in Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso. He has a promising future in music, and all eyes are turned to his piano playing. When his mother passes away, though, Kousei is so grief-stricken that he leaves the piano behind. He goes on to lead a life without music, staying as far away from the piano as he can. Everything changes when he meets a violist named Kaori Miyazono. Together with Kaori, Kousei begins to rediscover his love of music and find his place in the world again. Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso is a beautiful story, full stop. It has lovely animation and of course beautiful music. It’s a great coming of age story about friendship and romance, with the extra addition classical music instead of just a usual high school setting. Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso is also very emotional, tugging at heartstrings and bringing very real tears to the eyes of many who watch it. While some people may not have heard of it, Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso is a hidden masterpiece by A1-Pictures, so don’t be amongst the people who have never experienced this moving story.

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Let’s start with a classic, shall we? The planet Earth has been destroyed by Dark Joker and their minions. Only the power of the Flower of Life can save Ririka Moriya’s planet. Therefore, she transforms into the Nurse Angel to find the flower and fight against Dark Joker. Yes, Ririka is not your regular witch in black with a pointy hat, but hey! She is among the veterans who used magic to help others. She has to live a double life fighting evil and pretending she is a regular girl. Plus near the end, we have a great plot twist. Nurse Angel Ririka SOS is full of nostalgia and high quality cell animation, so it is worth to save from the memory’s vault.

It is 1940. Europe is in the middle of a war, and Germania plans to conquer the little country of Elystadt. The princess of this country is also kidnapped, but then the last witch, Izetta, escapes her prison. Izetta knew the princess, so she pledges to protect Elysdat from Germania. There have been a few attempts to combine witches and war, but the latest one has been an interesting and fresh experiment. Izetta and Princess Fine have contrasting personalities. They both can be taken as too young and naive, but they have to mature to prove they can handle the situation. Full of action, mystery and a bit of Macross nostalgia (because of the boosting morale part), Shuumatsu no Izetta tells us the story of a unusual witch.

What do you do when you believe in magic? Some people say that you should follow your dreams, but should you do so even it means to go into another world? Arusu is transported to a realm where witches rule, capturing sprites and, forcing them into slavery. So yeah, dreams are not always as nice as you thought they were, but Arusu has a plan to change things up… Mahou Shoujo-tai Arusu had a dynamic, complex and detailed art style for its time. The contrast between a magical lover and a world where magic is a tool of oppression was also original, and reminds us a bit of RPG fantasy style anime that would become popular in later years. However, the best part of the epic adventures of Arusu is that they are not overly depressing or serious; there is room for fun! Full of personality and imagination, the characters of Mahou Shoujo-tai Arusu are a delight for Witch anime lovers.

Welcome to medieval France! We are here to meet Maria, who lives with her two familiars in the middle of the war against England. Because our heroine constantly uses her magic to protect the innocent, the archangel Michael is sent from the heavens to stop her. So, the archangel issues a decree that states that if Maria loses her virginity, she will lose her magic too. The protagonist will not have it, though, and as the situation gets more and more dangerous, the church plots to stop her. Junketsu no Maria starts as a historical adventure with a lot of comedy. However, as the series progresses, the tone gets more serious from time to time. Double moral should be punished, and Maria will not have it! It helps that she is a happy teenager and that there is some ecchi here and there.

Chocolat Meilleure and Vanilla Mieux are two friends who, besides that, are witches. They are in a contest to see who will become the new Queen of the World of Witches, so they have to travel to the Earth to collect human hearts. This means that they are also rivals! Will their friendship survive? You will have to watch Sugar Sugar Rune to find it out! If you like your witches in the cutest girl power shape possible, you have to watch Sugar Sugar Rune. Fun, exciting, and magical at every minute, this story promises to capture your attention. Do not worry, because although it looks like just one of many fluffy shoujo anime, it has its depth. Also, it is looong, which let’s you get to know the characters better and leaves room for a surprise or two.

When a girl turns 15, some special things happen, but in the case of witches, they have to be serious about studying witchcraft. When Makoto Kowata turns 15, she travels to Aomori with her black cat Chito. There she will find exactly what she needs, as nature helps with magical studies. Together with Makoto’s cousins Kei and Chinatsu Kuramoto, our witch will train hard while she pretends to live the life of a normal girl. If you ever wondered how Kiki (from Kiki’s Delivery Service) would have been if she was a teenager, look no further. Makoto is an enchanting lead who takes life at her own pace. This entire series is devoted to the appreciation of nature, which is astounding in Aomori. Everything and everyone feels authentic, not forced or over the top. Flying Witch is the perfect combination between magic and slice of life.

Ok, so maybe the slice of life and happy witches are not your cup of tea. Maybe you want to watch a witch anime that really scares the hell out of you. In that case, let us recommend Umineko no Naku Koro ni. An isolated island, a who dunnit mystery, lots of horror, and a powerful witch await here. When the Kinzou family’s head senses his death approaching, he requests the family to get together in the island. They do so once a year, but this time, the patriarch is so desperate to see Beatrice, the love of his life, that he immerses himself in black magic. Yeap, we know that playing with black magic usually does anything but help. Still, thanks to some deeply disturbed characters, we testify a twisted game where reality becomes surreal. Death is hiding in every corner and the least you want to know is who is gonna get rich once Kinzou is dead. What we all want to know is the backstory of Beatrice, the Golden Witch!

Robin is a 15 year old teenager who has witches genes and memories. She arrives in Japan to work with the STN Japan division as a witch hunter. However, Robin’s mission is to capture the witches alive and try to find out why and how they acquired their powers. In using the power of modern medicine to fight the witches, our heroine will find out more than she expected at the beginning. Every chapter of Witch Hunter Robin is full with mystery and action. If you like sci-fi and thrillers, the right witch for you is Robin. This anime has a more adult tone, starting with a monster of the week plot style. Once the characters and the setting are well established, the main story captures you.

Atsuko Kagari, a.k.a Akko, has always admired the witch Shiny Chariot. Dreaming to be a witch herself, our protagonist enrolls in Luna Nova Magical Academy. There she will make friends with Lotte Yansson and Sucy Manbavaran, but the best part is that she finds Shiny Chariot’s wand! However, being a witch involves much more than the girls think it is, and they will not have it easy, especially Akko, who does not come from a magical family. If your favorite witch anime is on the lines of Harry Potter or The Worst Witch, Little Witch Academia has the same spirit. Akko has all the enthusiasm in the world, but although her adventures are in a happy tone, there is a bit of mystery to keep your attention in the screen. Overall, the themes of effort and friendship are all there, warming our hearts. And oh, that world building, so full of detail!

When witches come of age, they have to leave their parents home. Kiki has turned 13, so she takes her black cat Jiji and moves into the coastal town of Koriko. After a hard time adapting to her new surroundings, she finds a room in Osono’s bakery, where she starts working doing deliveries. That is how Kiki gets the idea of having her own delivery service. Who is better to tell us a magical tale than Studio Ghibli with Hayao Miyazaki? Kiki has the charm of being an enthusiastic little girl in search for her true call in life. She has hardships, warm moments, decisive moments… This movie has been around for decades and still is popular among otaku. As a classical tale about a witch who conquered everything and everyone with her pure heart, this is the ultimate witch anime!

Yato is a nameless minor god without a shrine to his name. If you have five yen, he’s willing to do just about any odd job you have in mind for him. Although he has ambitious dreams to become a widely worshipped god, he’s so far from his goals that his Regalia, a god’s weapon partner, abandons him. Hiyori, a high school girl able to see phantoms, comes to the rescue of Yato under the belief that he was about to be run over by a truck. The accident not only leaves Hiyori in a hospital bed but also a half-phantom. Hiyori enlists Yato to help her get back to normal for the affordable price of five yen. Noragami establishes the shounen stakes early on: Yato is aiming to be a famous god, but he’s starting from the very bottom. Despite what you may initially believe, Yato is less like the ambitious youngsters aiming to become the strongest, but more so the forgotten warriors trying to atone for their past. Noragami best represents the spirit of shounen with its emphasis on the friendships between Yato, Hiyori, and his new Regalia Yukine. Nevertheless, Noragami never falls short of providing fights with the emotional-punch we love to find in shounen.

Moritaka Mashiro’s dream of becoming a mangaka is crushed the day his uncle, an accomplished mangaka in his own right, dies from overwork. Mashiro chooses to settle for the life of a salaryman, but that doesn’t stop him from drawing in his notebooks. One day, Akito Takagi, an ace student and aspiring writer, discovers Mashiro’s notebook and proposes they team up to create a best-selling manga series. When Takagi’s proposal is rejected, he drags Mashiro to the house of Miho Azuki, the girl Mashiro has a crush on, and tells her of their plan to create a manga that will become an anime where she will be the lead actor. Now motivated by these new goals, all three middle school students won’t settle for less than their ambitions. Bakuman’s Mashiro and Takagi must deal with the common problem most shounen leads are faced with: their goals are hard to achieve. Even with his uncle being the creator of a popular gag series, he still ended up in debt and overworked, and for a moment, this sidetracked Mashiro’s dreams. Bakuman is a definite stand-out on this list because its characters aren’t physically competing but that only highlights that the true spirit of shounen goes beyond just the fist fights. It doesn’t really matter what you’re competing in as long as you are competing, the challenge is lofty, and the competition is to be the best. Mashiro and Takagi know from the get-go they’ve got a tough task ahead of them, but they aren’t willing to relent.

The Seven Deadly Sins are legendary knights who betrayed the Holy Knights of Britannia, so they could overthrow the ruler of Liones. They failed and were defeated by the Holy Knights. A decade later, the Holy Knights of Britannia have overthrown the ruler of Liones and begun their tyrannical reign over the kingdom. Elizabeth, one of the former princesses of the Kingdom of Liones, scours the region of Britannia to find the Seven Deadly Sins and get them to help her take back her throne from the Holy Knights. Meliodas, the lead character of The Seven Deadly Sins, fits into that category of shounen characters seeking to atone for their past. He’s not the only one, of course, all the other knights of his faction tend to have dark pasts as well. They each have an opportunity with Elizabeth and the Kingdom of Liones to atone for those sins by taking the throne back from the Holy Knights. The Seven Deadly Sins has all the big magical fights you could ask for, a great cast of protagonists, and a particularly sweet tournament arc to boot.

Tetsuya Kuroko was called the “Phantom Sixth Man” as part of Teikou Junior High School’s basketball team. The team went on to win championships three years in a row and earned the name “The Generation of Miracles,” but went their own ways in high school and became rivals. Tetsuya ends up going to Seirin High School where he teams up with Taiga Kagami, a player returning from the US, and they aim to win the Interhigh championship. It won’t be easy, especially when the former members of “The Generation of Miracles” will be standing in their way. Sports have always gone hand in hand with shounen, so it wasn’t too hard to make one out of basketball. Kuroko is the ultimate underdog, he’s only got one skill, and in a way, so does Kagami. However, they both must find a way to overcome their crippling overspecialization if they want to be able to beat the once-in-a-decade competition they’re facing from “The Generation of Miracles”. Kuroko’s Basketball dishes all the tournament battles, practices, friendships, and over-the-top action you can ask for in a shounen, all in a neat basketball package.

Kusuo Saiki is a psychic with countless abilities like x-ray vision, teleportation, telepathy, and telekinesis. His powers have been more of a curse than a blessing for him and only serve to make his life troublesome. Unfortunately, unlike most people, he doesn’t get to experience the highs and lows of life thanks to his powers. Furthermore, his psychic abilities somehow conspire to get him involved with the weirdest people. Saiki tries to avoid being in the spotlight but between his powers and the people it attracts, he doesn’t have much choice in the matter. The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. is somewhat of a parody of the shounen genre. Saiki K is all-powerful from the start and instead of having some great goal, he simply wants to live a normal life. Saiki K ramps up all the comedic elements found in shounen to eleven, and with its eclectic cast and short five-minute episodes, it’s hard not to enjoy the way Saiki K’s switched up the shounen formula.

Titans, flesh-eating creatures, have driven the last remnants of humankind behind three concentric walls. Humanity managed to survive behind these walls for a century until a colossal titan shattered their fragile peace and broke a part of the outermost wall. Eren Yaeger, Mikasa Ackerman, and Armin Arlert, three children who suffered a great tragedy when the wall broke, now enlist into the Survey Corps to combat the Titans outside the walls. Attack on Titan has quickly risen in popularity worldwide because of its much more somber take on the shounen genre. This series combines shounen tropes with the anyone-can-die nature of today’s finest post-apocalyptic series. Eren Yeager has an ambitious goal to match his fellow shounen leads, though it’s certainly darker than most of his peers: he wants to kill every titan on Earth. Eren will discover the ability to do just that, and his friends will be eager to help him, but he’ll also figure out that the world he lives in is much bigger and somehow more dangerous than he initially thought.

The human whose name is written in the Death Note shall die. Shinigami owns these notebooks and out of boredom. a Shinigami called Ryuk decides to drop his Death Note on Earth. Light Yagami, high school student and prodigy, picks up the Death Note and decides to skeptically follow its instructions. When the Death Note does as its intended to do, Light Yagami sees it as an opportunity to rid the world of crime. He will quickly find himself opposed by the greatest detective in the world, an eccentric named L, and caught in a game of cat and mouse. While Attack on Titan may be one of the darker shounen to date, it’s hard to top Death Note. Light Yagami wants to rid the world of crime, and as far as goals go, it certainly fits into the shounen genre; however, the way Light goes about it leads him to a darker path than most of his peers. Death Note may not have the iconic fight scenes of other shounen, but the series-long rivalry between Light and L stands toe to toe with any other shounen rivalry, and the game of one-upmanship is as thrilling as any fight you can find.

Saitama is a hero who can defeat anyone with only a single punch. He’s only a hero for fun, and for all intents and purposes, looks like an ordinary man. Being a hero without a challenge has made Saitama’s life out to be rather underwhelming. Despite his power, no one knows his name, but there’s an opportunity to change that when Genos, a 19-year-old cyborg, registers them in the Hero Association. Now a registered hero, Saitama will begin the solemn search for an opponent that will take more than a single punch to defeat. One Punch Man is a deconstruction of the shounen and superhero genre. Most shounen tend to focus on the main character working up to achieving untold power but Saitama already has that, and no villain or hero is a match for him. He’s well contrasted with One Punch Man’s other heroes who actually have to struggle against much stronger opponents, but whenever Saitama gets involved the fights are done with a single strike. In One Punch Man, you’ll find a brilliant action-comedy that fittingly plays host to some of the most gorgeous fights and funniest gags you’ll see in the genre.

Sakata Gintoki is the president of the Yorozuya, a company that does odd jobs to make ends meet. The other two members of the Yorozuya are Shimura Shinpachi, a samurai-in-training, and Kagura, an extremely strong alien. In an Earth where Japan was invaded by aliens during the Edo period, technology has quickly advanced, and the samurai have been mostly wiped out. It’s hard to make ends meet for Gintoki, but in a world of aliens, assassins, rebels, pirates, and everything else under the sun, there’s always a job to be done. Much like Saiki K and One Punch Man above, Gintama takes from its predecessors and contemporaries to heavily parody the shounen genre. Gintoki will easily draw similarities to the leads from Noragami and The Seven Deadly Sins mentioned earlier in the list, he has a dark past that he’s mostly tried to move on from. While Gintama is liberal with gags you can find everywhere from the episode titles, to the most dramatic of situations, it’s still quite ready to get serious when need be. The Yorozuya aren’t all that ambitious, but get ready for plenty of Earth-saving fights, and periodic rescue missions to go along with Gintama’s consistent humor.

Shouyou Hinata fell in love with volleyball after watching a player nicknamed “The Little Giant” on television. Although there was no volleyball team at his middle-school, he practiced intensively, convinced other people at his school to join, and they qualified for a tournament. Unfortunately, they ran into “King of the Court” Tobio Kageyama and were unceremoniously defeated. Hinata’s made it his goal to become better than Kageyama and joins Karasuno High School’s volleyball team, the same school “The Little Giant” attended. A surprise awaits Hinata at his new school, one of his teammates is Kageyama, and they will have to set aside their differences if they want to restore Karasuno to glory. As with Kuroko’s Basketball, the premise of Haikyu!! revolves around the middling lead character trying to overcome failures from middle school. Furthermore, Haikyu!! also has two lead characters on the frontlines trying to overcome their differences to elevate their team. Haikyu!! has everything that makes a shounen special, the entire series is pretty much a tournament arc, the animation is sublime, Hinata is an underdog worth cheering for, and its expansive and constantly growing cast have gripping relationships, friendships, and rivalries throughout. It can be easy to dismiss sports anime, but there’s a reason Haikyu!! tops our list of shounen, and it’s not a series you’d want to miss out on.

Before Naruto was Shippuuden, it was just Naruto. Telling the story of a boy rejected by his village, Naruto sets out to become the Hidden Leaf Village’s greatest ninja and eventually, the leader of the village, the Hokage. Set up into various different arcs, each story shows Naruto’s growth as a character alongside his teammates Sasuke and Sakura. One key moment is when he saves the village from a rampaging Gaara, turning his image amongst the villagers for the better. Each arc expands this ninja world, exploring the limits of a ninja’s power displayed through each of the characters we meet. Naruto was one of the most popular shounen battle series, capturing audiences very early on, securing itself a run that’s gone on for 14 years and still continuing with Naruto Shippuden and eventually Boruto. The series has spawned multiple games, figures and even several spinoff movies, including The Last and Boruto, expanding the series into the future.

The original and according to some, the best. Dragon Ball Z is perhaps one of the most popular anime series among a global audience, with it being a staple of 2000s anime viewing for Western fans, showing on Cartoon Network, Toonami and CheezTV. In a series that is always willing to push the limits of scale, Dragon Ball Z takes a young Goku into the stars, pitting him against some of the greatest enemies the galaxy has to offer. With the franchise starting with battles against common thieves, Dragon Ball Z has Goku travel to alien planets to face world destroying alien emperors. Famed for its lengthy action packed battles, Dragon Ball Z is the intrinsic action/comedy in regards to anime, with its wacky characters and world never detracting from the personal stakes at hand, even when characters can be easily resurrected. Now that the series has been rebooted with Dragon Ball Super and various movies, the scale has put Goku against the power of the Gods in a brand new adventure.

In a world of seas, pirates rule the waves with fierce power. After the promise of great treasure at the end of the Grand Line, Monkey D. Luffy assembles a crew to sail the seas to find it. With the power of the Devil Fruit giving characters extraordinary powers, each conflict absorbs a specific theme and the way in which battles are concluded rarely just comes down to “hit them really hard this time”. Whether it’s travelling through the desert, hijacking a train or saving an island from a tyrant, One Piece keeps the rules of its world loose, to allow for a new type of story as the journey continues. One Piece is the definitive most popular manga right now, constantly topping the sales charts as well as Weekly Shounen Jump’s rankings. The series is currently in the second half of the adventure, having passed the midway point. It’s a strong crew in regards to both their characteristics and their powers with each being unique enough to create a spectacle either fighting a formidable foe or tackling a simple obstacle.

Magi is a much more recent entry into this list compared to the choices above. With myths coming to life, we follow Aladdin, Alibaba and Morgiana through a world of magic based on the world of the Arabian Nights. Playing out through a similar structure to One Piece, our cast stop off at various points throughout their adventure to solve a problem and get involved within that story. However, Magi is much more willing to separate its cast, letting them be reunited later, after they’ve completed their own personal story. Airing in 2012, Magi takes its opportunity to show off this world with bright colours and vibrant effects animation with a lot of great character animation to really get at the personalities of those we meet. However, as we go into the Kingdom of Magic series, the series ramps up to new heights with extreme powers and strength that takes the show to a whole new stage. The franchise currently has a spinoff airing following Sinbad on his adventures prior to the start of Labyrinth.

We’ve had pirates, ninjas and the arabian nights, but Soul Eater is ready to take us into a world of horror. Although it isn’t a horror series itself, it completely adopts that theme in this high school action series. With the student base being split between Meisters and Weapons, Maka and Soul pair up to become the ultimate fighting duo. Fighting witches, demons and everything in between, the theme is what keeps Soul Eater alive and exciting along with director Takuya Igarashi’s excellent handle on comedy within his series. Shounen battle series don’t usually get such acclaimed directors such as Takuya Igarashi and his presence takes it to new heights within the genre along with genius composer Taku Iwasaki, adding rap insert tracks by Persona 3’s Lotus Juice. Soul Eater was a recipe for success from the very start with some of Studio Bones’ best animators providing cuts and an opening composed entirely of impressive background animation. Even its spinoff Soul Eater NOT did a great job of expanding its world for a new purpose.

The Seven Deadly Sins is a shounen battle series flipped upside down. Instead of a show about an underdog getting more power and the ability to take on defiant villains, the characters of Sins have already gained all of that by the time the series has started. They’re already strong and they already have the knowledge needed to go ahead with their task. The problem is, they’re scattered and their weapons have been lost after a betrayal by their own kingdom. Whilst most of these series use flashback to give context to a character’s motivations, The Seven Deadly Sins relies on these lengthy flashbacks to tell its story and it does an effective job at tying them in with present day events. With an upcoming second season and a four episode special airing in Summer, The Seven Deadly Sins is famous for having incredible success in regards to its promotion of the manga. After the anime aired, manga sales for the series went through the roof, beating out One Piece in the charts for the first half of the year as the most popular manga series. Its place on the Nichigo timeslot in Japan is not to be understated and we can look forward to seeing more of it in the future.

Airing in that very same timeslot as The Seven Deadly Sins, My Hero Academia is another series fuelled for great success in the future. In an age where superheroes have become the most popular thing in the world, the cultural influence has spread far and wide, including My Hero Academia’s world of superpowered individuals. Instead of the classic Avengers angle of superheroes saving people, My Hero Academia’s premise is closer to Sky High and I say that with the full knowledge that that was a terrible movie. But think of My Hero Academia is a good Sky High. A really good Sky High, in fact. With an exceptional display of character emphasised by the character designs of Yoshihiko Umakoshi, My Hero Academia always takes the opportunity to explore these important human moments, rather than just jumping battle to battle with a few cheeky quips added in. It’s a real character story about superheroes rather than a superhero story with characters that happen to be there. The manga is currently one of the most popular within Weekly Shounen Jump and I look forward to seeing more from it.

As the reboot of the classic 2003 series, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood brings in a unique appeal through its exceptional animation and fresh design. Whilst the 2003 series is still special in its own right, Brotherhood is famously easier to recommend and is the far more popular of the two series. Whilst it still is a battle series, a lot of the action is spread out across its run and many conflicts may not be resolved, resulting in these really neat quick skirmishes. Even though Edward Elric is indeed a strong protagonist, it’s many of the side characters and villains that really add weight to the narrative with their own personal arcs that all tie together into the larger battle at hand. You’ll find Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood on the top of most anime popularity lists as well as many favourites lists, with it being one of the most recommended shows for newcomers to watch, despite its 64 episode run. It’s still regarded as one of Studio Bones’ most valuable works, with several cuts of animation by the renowned action animators Yutaka Nakamura and Yoshimichi Kameda, displaying impact within every unforgettable battle.

Get out your blades! And proceed to chop onions. Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma is an entirely different form of battle series, instead taking place through cooking. Adopting many of the narrative tropes and style of the battle shounen that do so well in Weekly Shounen Jump, Shokugeki repurposes them for a cooking battle that trumps much of its more vanilla competition. Reimagining cooking competitions like Master Chef and Hell’s Kitchen, Shokugeki no Soma regards cooking to be not just important, but penultimate. Each character has their own style or cuisine and it’s reflected in the same way as a fighter would with their own special abilities. With a second season on the way next season, Shokugeki no Soma is a part of the new age of Weekly Shounen Jump now that many of the big names within the magazine have faded. Like My Hero Academia, it’s a fairly new series and hasn’t really had the opportunity to expand as much as the magazine’s other properties. Hopefully we’ll start seeing Soma in our Jump fighting games soon.

Speaking of the new age of Weekly Shounen Jump, author Yoshihiro Togashi is certainly someone from the old age. As the creator of Yu Yu Hakusho and eventually Hunter x Hunter, he’s defined exactly what the magazine is all about. Whilst the series had an adaptation in 1999, it was incapable of continuing beyond what had been created thus far. But thanks to the series’ continuing popularity, even throughout various hiatuses, the series was greenlit for a remake, this time adapting the Chimera Ant Arc. Following Gon and Killua throughout various adventures, Hunter x Hunter is regarded for its exceptionally creative action sequences and the logic behind them. Each power has its own rules and the way in which these rules are exploited makes for a marvel to watch as we always understand exactly what each of the characters options are and what they need to achieve to win the battle. Each part of the series takes on a different genre entirely, with tournament battles, sleuthing in New York (Or rather, Yorknew) and even a ‘trapped in a video game’ arc, all with entirely unique narrative elements that reinvents what the series is about. Despite its 148 episode run, Hunter x Hunter is not something to be missed. And by the time it’s done, you’ll regret doubting it as you hammer on the doors of Shueisha yelling for more.

Everything about Garbodor emanates filth. Its appendages are made of garbage. Its head is the remains of a torn trash bag. Even its breath is putrid, as Garbodor exhales toxic gas with every breath it takes. This is thanks to the steady diet of trash Garbodor ingests. The only way to rid an area of a Garbodor infestation is to introduce Grimers and Muks to their habitat, which is essentially cutting off an arm to save the entire body. Because of Garbodor’s trashy design, we can’t exactly say it’s the most popular Pokémon. In fact, it’s quite the opposite! Whenever you hear old-school casual fans of Pokémon (frequently referred to as “genwunners”) complain about how much better older Pokémon designs were compared to more recent ones, Garbodor is often the first to come up. They tend to not even know its name; Garbodor’s just “that trash Pokémon”. Sadly, Garbodor is always going to be infamous among the Pokémon fanbase as one of the least commercially appealing in the franchise. You can’t say it’s not memorable, though!

Should someone get this kid a belt? It looks like it’s having problems keeping its pants up. Actually, never mind; that’s just some of Scraggy’s leg skin. Scraggy’s body is fairly rubbery and loose, giving it a lot of durability. This is good, as Scraggy can be a tad confrontational. Scraggy really hates being stared at and will instantly challenge any Pokémon that makes direct eye contact. Maybe Scraggy should wait until it evolves into Scrafty, though, as it’s too young to handle tougher battles on its own! The Pokémon that people latch onto tend to be the cute or cool ones. These are the ones that people would love to keep as a pet or groom as a power fantasy. However, we tend to forget that Pokémon can come in a different variety as well; the silly kind. Scraggy isn’t a novelty Pokémon any more than something like Slowpoke, but its simple design is just so goofy you can’t help but get attached to it. The Pokémon Company must have realized this and pushed for Ash to acquire one in the anime, where Scraggy remained one of his constant teammates throughout most of the Black & White arc. They didn’t even bother evolving Scraggy because people love its base form too much!

This snazzy-looking Pokémon looks like it brought its own pair of shades. Krookodile exudes cool in a way that’s not traditional for the series. Generally, when you think of Pokémon you want on your team, you’re thinking of the really sick designs that exude dominance. Krookodile is more sinister. It may not be the strongest Pokémon out there, but you can tell just by looking at Krookodile that it’s not afraid to get its hands a little dirty. It’s the sleek and dangerous kind of cool, like a good mob boss. Of course, it helps that the anime advertised Krookodile a ton. One of Krookodile’s pre-evolutions, Krokorok, was a mainstay of Ash’s team during the Black & White arc. It came complete with its own set of shades, acknowledging the slick gangster design. During a climactic battle against Iris’ Dragonite during the Pokémon World Tournament semi-finals, Krokorok evolved into Krookodile and scored a win. What child couldn’t love Krookodile after that exciting match?

You might think that Emboar, with its dual Fire/Fighting typing, is based on a sumo wrestler. However, this is surprisingly not the case! Emboar’s design draws inspiration from the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West. Specifically, it’s based on the pig demon Zhu Bajie. Game Freak was continuing a theme they had started in 4th Gen with Infernape, who drew similar inspiration from Sun Wukong (aka The Monkey King). Maybe if more fans recognized Game Freak’s Journey to the West references they would have been more understanding as about their third Fire/Fighting starter in a row. People were were getting a little sick of this particular type pairing, and Emboar was the brunt of a great deal of good-natured ribbing. People were starting to lose faith that Game Freak would ever create a fire starter of a different dual typing though. After Emboar, Game Freak has gone out of their way to make sure fire fans get a more unique combo to end with.

Bug-types have always been the laughing stock of the Pokémon world. They were the completely worthless counter to Psychic-types in Red, Blue, & Yellow, with none of them learning any Bug-type moves outside of Beedrill. When Psychic-types and Dark-types started falling by the wayside in later generations, Bug-types continued to fall into obscurity. Their only other strength was going up against Grass-types, which were never dominant in the competitive game to begin with. It seemed like Game Freak was going to allow Bug-type Pokémon to continue their descent into worthlessness. That all changed with the introduction of several incredible new Bug-type Pokémon in Black & White, with Volcarona leading the charge. Bug/Fire was a totally unique type combination, which are always exciting to see in new games. That, combined with incredible special attack and access to Quiver Dance (which boosts the user’s special attack, special defense, and speed by one stage), Volcarona was a competitive force to be reckoned with. Black & White’s champion Alder even used Volcarona as his centerpiece Pokémon like Lance’s Dragonite or Cynthia’s Garchomp. Bug catchers everywhere rejoiced over Volcarona restoring the credibility of Bug-type Pokémon.

Does… that lizard have heads for hands? No, that’s not a creature from the works of H.P. Lovecraft. It’s Hydreigon, Black & White’s requisite pseudo-legendary Dragon-type. Thanks to Hydreigon’s unique Dark/Dragon typing and high special attack, Hydreigon found itself as a major force in the competitive meta-game of Black & White. In fact, Hydreigon’s reign of terror in 5th Gen may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back. Fairy-types, which are immune to Dragons and strong against Dark-types, were introduced in 6th Gen to address the growing imbalance of Dragon-types. We can’t say for certain that Hydreigon was the reason, as Dragon-types were really in need of a proper counter anyway… but that added resistance to Dark-types raises some eyebrows. Since then, Hydreigon’s competitive presence has fallen. Its popularity sure hasn’t, though. After all, there are plenty of Pokémon that are cute. There are a lot that are cool. There’s even a niche for goofy Pokémon. But how many Pokémon can claim they are legitimately kind of terrifying? We’d chance a guess and say slim to none. It’s not just the head-hands either; it’s those black and red eyes that line up perfectly with an internet troll’s idea for a creepypasta.

Pokémon don’t get more unique than Chandelure. Sure, most of the time Pokémon are stylized after plants or animals. You’ll occasionally get something inorganic like Magnemite or Voltorb. You can’t say you ever expected a Pokémon based off a chandelier though! Chandelure’s origins probably make a bit more sense to the Japanese audience. It’s based off a Hitodama; the fire spirits from Japanese folklore you often see in other anime and games. It’s a clever visual pun, combining the ghosts so familiar to your average Japanese fan with a more modern application. Maybe that’s why Chandelure keeps popping up everywhere. We’re not going to say it’s the most recognizable Pokémon out there, but Chandelure certainly finds itself included in side material frequently. In Smash Bros, Chandelure showed up as an enemy during the Smash Run mode, which gave it just a bit more presence in that game than your average Pokéball Pokémon. Chadelure even made it as a playable character in Pokken Tournament, making it the only playable 5th Gen Pokémon!

Believe it or not, Zoroark and its pre-evolution Zorua were the very first Pokémon we knew from Black & White! Game Freak had high hopes for the not-actually legendary Pokémon, hoping to achieve the same level of popularity that Lucario managed in Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum. Zoroark got an entire movie devoted to it an entire year before Black & White came out! Make no mistake: Zoroark was primed to be the face of the oncoming generation. While Zoroark never quite reached the same level of recognition of Lucario, it’s still a pretty notable Pokémon. Its central trait is that it’s able to create illusions so powerful that you’d never be able to tell you’re inside one. So, by 5th Gen, not only did we have Pokémon with the ability to travel through time and create life, we even had one that could distort reality as we knew it. The endless potential of Pokémon and the sheer mystery that surrounds them is encapsulated in Zoroark. We never know what’s in store for them next!

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Never believe you won’t eventually be accepted. Just take a look at Oshawott! When we first got a glimpse of Oshawott, people mocked it. Its color scheme is busy, with a whopping total of 6 different colors on display. People weren’t thrilled with the departure from Pokémon’s traditionally basic designs, especially for the cute ones. Not only that, but that orange nose combined with that odd shell on its tummy made Oshawott look like a baby clown in a onesie. People were not thrilled, to say the least. But… fans looked into those little doe eyes and couldn’t help but eventually fall in love. Perhaps it helped that Ash had an Oshawott himself for most of the Black & White arc. Not only that, but it never evolved throughout the course of the anime, so young kids got tons of exposure to the otter Pokémon. Now, while you’ll still occasionally find the odd holdout still complaining about it, you’ll find even more people who love Oshawott and its final form, Samurott. You can’t help but want to coddle it like your own child!

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Sometimes you don’t need raw strength or gumption to succeed. Sometimes all you need is absolute confidence in yourself. When we first got a glimpse at the three starter Pokémon in Black & White, Snivy was the immediate favorite thanks to that smug look in its eyes. It was almost as if Snivy was saying to the audience, “Yeah, you know you’re going to pick me”. And pick it we did! In fan polls, Snivy has turned out to be the favorite starter of Black & White by a country mile. Of course, people weren’t simply reading too much into Snivy’s personality by its picture. Series artist Ken Sugimori has admitted that he was a huge fan of Rose of Versailles and based the designs of the Snivy evolutionary line off his observations of French royalty from that anime. To remain consistent with that vision, Snivy has been portrayed as overly proud and viewing itself as better than others in all Pokémon media. The Pokémon Adventures manga takes this a step further by making Cheren’s Snivy a clean freak who views anyone getting him dirty as an insult, staying true to its kingly disposition.

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Cat allergies might be murder for Amakawa Yuuto, but he might be willing to put up with it for all the benefits he has in Omamori Himari. Descending from a long line of exorcists, Yuto has inherited a powerful demon cat girl that is willing to give her life for him. However, she also is willing to give him her body, as she reminds him at every opportunity. Beach scenes, shower scenes, and close encounters of the perverted kind run abound in this demon girl harem anime. It’s worth checking out!

Imagine a school filled with youkai. Sure, some are the scary and curse-giving kind, but there are also the sexy kind too. That’s the type of school Oyama Kouta goes to. There he meets a fox spirit named Chizuru, and for her, its love at first sniff. Kouta’s days and nights are filled with nothing but playful and aggressive teasing of the highest order of ecchi. From never seeing a naked woman in his life to seeing them aplenty, Kouta is probably about to have his chastity stolen very soon.

Ecchi equals power in Masou Gakuen HxH, thus making Hida Kizuna’s power level over 9000. Tasked to head up an elite group of female high school super soldiers, this inventive MC uses his wits and pervertedness to power up the girls before every battle. Probably the most censored anime you’ve ever seen when it comes to the broadcast version. This anime is too lewd for words!

Every student at Tenbi Academy is there to prove their worth as a warrior in combat. Every student except Ooyama Takeru, that is. He came there only because it was full of chicks, and he’s gotten more than he can ask for. Reunited with his childhood friend, meeting a new fiancee, and getting a tsundere obsessed with uncovering his secret ability, he’s thrust into one ecchi scenario after another. Nosebleeds aplenty in this one folks.

Are the dead walking? Yes. Are the oppai jiggling? Big yes there as well. Just because the world is ending doesn’t mean you can’t have a good time before you die. Komuro Takashi may have had to watch his best friend get ripped to pieces, but on the bright side, the girls he’s trying to survive with are mega ultra babes. You have to take small victories where you can get them in post-apocalyptic harem ecchi shows.

One after another, Kurusu Kimihito’s house just keeps getting filled with monster girls by the government. First a busty lamia, then a petite harpy, followed by a stacked centaur - is there no end in sight?! Bathing, love hotels, foreplay, bondage - this anime has it all and more. Don’t let the fact that the girls aren’t quite human slow you down, because it’s not stopping them.

Dying at the hands of a hot fallen angel on your first date isn’t so bad. Not when you’re resurrected by a smoking hot chick like the fiery Rias Gremory. Hyoudou Issei might have been impaled to death once, but if he’s not careful, he’ll end up bleeding to death from his nose. An anime that really toes the line between borderline hentai and ecchi comedy, Highschool DxD is that perfect way to scratch your itch for some harem ecchi.

Sometimes your dad remarries and you get new siblings. Sometimes you don’t get along with said new siblings. And sometimes on rare occasions, your siblings are life-stealing succubi who are trying to mind control you out of your worldly possessions. That happens to Toujou Basara but, thankfully, he’s a super powerful badass so things are all good and fine for him. He even gets a harem out of it to boot. Yay! Testament of Sister New Devil is by far one of the lewdest anime on the planet. You have many, many scenes of sexual acts that go past borderline hentai and go straight to hentai, light beams, steam clouds and all. You also have one of the most varied and expansive harems an MC can ask for. He’s pretty much got it all. Don’t sleep on this one if you want more sexiness in your anime.

Yuki Rito is one kind of special guy. For one, nearly every female introduced in the show belongs in his harem, even if they don’t know it. Even if they don’t have feelings for him, he’s going to be feeling them, and often. The guy can’t stand up on his own two feet for more than ten seconds. It’s actually a law of nature by this point. He slips and falls on the girls in his harem almost as fast as they fall for him. Groping, bathing, misunderstandings and the works abound in To Love Ru. If you see even one episode you know this show definitely belongs on a list like this.

Okay. So there’s harem ecchi, borderline hentai, and then flat out hentai. This show is more of a mix of all three at once. After moving to the countryside with his biological sister after the death of their parents, Kasugano Haruka reconnects with many of his childhood loves. And yes, this reconnection occurs physically. There are actual on-screen depicted sex scenes in this one, and Haruka is the only male main character on this list to actually bed the women in his harem. Of course, it’s in the omnibus format so he doesn’t have to suffer the fate of School Days’ Makoto. Oh, and did we mention his biological sister is one of the heroines? Yeah... they went there.

Yamada Ryuu enrolled to a new school far away so he can start a life and away from everyone who knew of his violent and delinquent nature. Sadly, he got bored at being productive so his old habits returned and he's back to his old self not taking classes seriously and getting into fights. As fate would have it, Ryuu bumps and trips into honors student Shiraishi Urara and they accidentally kissed! However, that's not the end of it because it turns out Urara is secretly a witch and they swapped bodies! Before descending into the madness that is harem anime, new fans of the genre should start out with this anime as a starting point. Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches is a harem-lite anime without the excess baggage like heavy fanservice, a wimpy male character, and his indefinite indecisiveness to romance a girl while keeping the theme of multiple girls longing for the MC’s affection. The main selling point of this series is the humor surrounding the witches and Yamada’s power to copy a witch’s power through kissing. Only a handful of female characters are in love with Ryuu, but that doesn’t mean the anime lacks in the sexy department. Shiraishi Urara, Odagiri Nene just to name a few are exceptionally lovely ladies. The anime is no Kimi no Na wa., but it doesn’t need to.

Suminoe Keita, Suminoe Ako, and Suminoe Riko are step-siblings after their parents remarried. Since this is a romance-centric anime, the sisters are very attracted to our hero in a very, very, very, VERY lustful way. Initially, Keita avoided his sisters’ advances since he thought it wasn’t right to get so—romantically involved with his new family. Things changed after Keita transferred to the same school as his sisters. He’s slowly getting attracted to them. So you’re a guy living with your hot step sisters who are madly in love with you and your parents don't mind you three getting all kinky, while you’re popular with some of the girls in school? It’s a dream come true! ...Not for Keita at least because despite the ever increasing sexual advances of his lovely step sisters, he doesn’t want to cross the line and just want to have a normal family life. The real question is: How long will he last?

Hasegawa Kodaka is very determined to make a good impression and make friends along the way in his new school, but life isn’t really that simple that things ended up doing the opposite. Due to his blonde hair and intimidating look, his classmates and the entire school thinks he’s a delinquent and they avoided him completely. All was not lost however when Kodaka meets Mikazuki Yozora, a girl who is also having trouble making friends. After a brief talk, the two decided to start a new club that focuses on making friends and improve social skills. Soon enough a group of eccentric oddballs joined the club that is now known the Neighbor’s Club. Haganai isn’t a traditional harem anime that it focuses on the male lead character his developing friendship with the girls in the Neighbor’s Club without resorting too much to typical boob shots, panty shots, and the occasional wardrobe malfunction. You know how important Kodaka is in the story? He’s prominently in front of the DVD/BD cover. The girls are great as well and they didn’t fell in love with the guy unconditionally and it took a couple of seasons for the girls to show any romantic attraction to Kodaka. But if you don’t care of all that, the girls are very attractive, especially Sena with her long blonde hair, big breasts with a very plump build who often gets teased/abused a lot by fellow club member Yozora.

Father and son Toujou Jin and Basara is gonna have company, or rather, more family members. Jin is finally getting remarried and wouldn’t you know, Basara has now two cute little sisters Naruse Mio and Naruse Maria! After the unexpected news, Basara’s father got a call and will travel outside the country, thus leaving Basara with his new step sisters all alone. After their father left, Basara was shocked to see Maria a succubus and Mio the daughter of the Demon King! And here’s another twist, Basara has supernatural powers as well! Honey Anime has listed this show in our Top 10 Borderline Hentai Anime because the things happening in the anime is almost close to porn with Basara’s tendency to do lewd things to the girls so he can increase his power. Basara’s harem is small, but they’re loyal and it’s still a win-win for Basara because if one of the girls disobey, they go into an uncontrollable arousal frenzy only Basara can stop. How? We’ll leave that up to your imagination, dear reader!

*deep breath* Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière is a young mage studying in the prestigious school of magic Tristain Academy. Louise has a problem, however: she sucks at magic that her spells often go BOOM. With her natural ability to make things explode unintentionally, her peers have given her the title “Zero Louise.” Her world changes after she summoned a boy from a failed summoning spell to call forth loyal familiars. The boy’s name is Hiraga Saito and he is now the unwilling “loyal” familiar of Zero Louise. Or is he…? Zero no Tsukaima is popular for many things like maybe it’s the anime-fied version of Harry Potter, or maybe the main female protagonist is one of the most tsundere characters in existence - Louise. At first glance, Zero no Tsukaima doesn’t look like a harem anime because the main male protagonist Saito isn’t some dumb guy and is a capable fighter and he did get the girl in the end. But as the series progressed, we find out that Saito has a habit of flirting with other girls ranging from the seductive resident maid, ultra-busty elf, and to the queen of a nation with all that royal assets. But really, can you really blame someone who happened to save the world many times, good looking, all of the ladies flock around him?

If your wish is to become a girl, then Senou Natsuru is one of the luckiest guys on the planet, as he can do just that. Unfortunately for him, there is a consequence to his transformation: He/she is now a Kämpfer, a female warrior with powers who are locked in an eternal struggle to fight other Kämpfer for the fate of the universe. Kampfer’s story make no absolute sense and you might as well give up, and there are so many absurd moments in the show that you can’t help wonder if the animation studio were high in weed or were on an LSD trip. In order to enjoy Kampfer, you need to throw your brain out and focus on what’s important: the lovely and criminally sexy ladies. Natsuru has no special traits and is totally a dense oaf, but the girls find him sexually attractive… either in his original male form or his transformed female form for that yuri flavor.

Monsters are actually real and they’re already living with humans. With the combined efforts of humans and non-humans, they passed the Interspecies Cultural Exchange Act - All manner of beasts and mythical creatures are assigned to live with host families to help them adapt to human society. Kurusu Kimihito is one of these hosts who lives with Miia, a lamia - a half-human, half-snake being, who is madly in love with our hero. As host to Miia, Kimihito must do what he can to help Miia adapt to her new world. Since our hero is the nicest guy on Earth, and with some “help” from Agent Smi-Ms. Smith, more monster girls have fallen in love with Kurusu and are now living with him. Is he the luckiest guy on earth, or the unluckiest? Monster girls, especially the ones in states of undress, are mostly in hentai anime, but thankfully Monster Musume gave fans an alternative: remove the sex but double down on the lewd stuff. Who knew watching a snake girl wearing a pair of panties can be so kinky? Kimihito is perhaps one luckiest person on Earth.

Humans, gods, and demons coexist together in the world of SHUFFLE!. Our main character Tsuchimi Rin is your normal high school boy doing normal things was surprised to see the kings from the god and demon realms moved in into Rin’s neighborhood. It appears the daughter of the realm of gods Sia and the daughter of the realm of demons Nerine has met with Rin at a young age and the two are love with him. Will Rin accept one of the girls’ love and be the new king, or will go with his childhood friend Kaede? SHUFFLE! is one of the most successful visual novel adaptations along with ef: a Tale of Memories, Kanon, and the extremely popular CLANNAD series. Like most VN adaptations, SHUFFLE! follows the same route of one main guy surrounded with multiple love interests, but there’s a slight twist of the anime showing its VN roots by adapting story arcs of the main girls Sia from the realm of the gods, Nerine from the realm of the demons, childhood friends Asa and Kaede. The story arcs don't really go anywhere because our hero Rin wants the neutral route by not choosing a final girl. And it’s understandable because it’s doubtful any guy would stick to one rather than being surrounded by these beautiful and sexy princesses. If the afterworld has beautiful princesses like Sia and Nerine, people would be committing suicide left and right so they can go to heaven or hell… and both are good options.

Aki Tomoya is a hardcore otaku who loves anime, video games, visual novels and writes in anime blogs (spoiler: every Honey Anime writer). Captivated by the beautiful stories he has watched and read, Tomoya is inspired to make his own video game and express his emotions to the world. And in order to do that, he recruited his female classmates to form a doujin circle and make his game a reality. This is the most modern harem anime you can get that, most of the part didn’t use the basic harem tropes you have come to expect. Tomoya is your typical nerd with thick glasses, short black hair, and an otaku, inspired to make his own visual novel. Through his conviction and dislike towards 3D girls, Tomoya recruited his classmates and cousin (all happen to be girls) to help him make his dream game about romance no matter what. Since they’re dabbling into romance territory, the girls slowly develop some feelings towards Tomoya and sometimes the girls opted for a more hands-on approach for inspirations. Basically, Tomoya just created his own harem and he has no idea he made one.

Masaki Tenchi is your typical 17-year old boy spending his summer break doing chores in his family shrine. Ever since his father told him about their ancestors defeating a demon and sealed it in a cave 700 years ago, the curious Tenchi accidentally released the demon known as Ryoko who looks like a human girl. The breaking of the seal then sent a signal into space and called four more aliens who happen to be female. Tenchi soon discovers the secret of his ancestry and deals his new life with a group of alien girls who somehow are romantically attracted to him. If you’re looking for the very first anime to have popularized harem anime, then look no further than Tenchi Muyou! Ryououki with harem tropes that are still being used to this day. The setup is very typical involving a normal teenage boy who stumbles upon immeasurable power and is surrounded by very beautiful alien girls with varying personalities. And like harem anime, there are a lot of fanservice moments tucked in between a story of a guy discovering his existence in the universe.