This is a very new tag idea, and it’s been making the rounds quickly. Small wonder why. I mean, the e̶x̶c̶u̶s̶e̶ chance to not only talk about all those hot anime girls (and boys) we have crushes on, but to pick some out for a harem, all our own? Heck, yes! 😉

I have my friend Kimchi to thank for this chance to Build a Harem. Thanks for tagging me! 🙂

So, basic idea:

You are the central protagonist in a harem-themed anime. To build your harem, pick five characters (of either gender) from anywhere in anime. If they fit into the stereotypical anime tropes (more on that in a moment), so much the better, but if not, that’s good too. So, who do you pick, and why?

That’s the idea, anyway. The rules are, or were:

1. Thanks for the nomination.

2. Use the ‘build a harem’ logo in your post.

3. Pick 5 anime characters (any show and any gender) that would be in your harem if you were in a harem anime. Explain (if you want) why you chose them.

4. Make sure each character you pick falls into some of the following harem character types: Childhood friend, tom boy/girl, genki girl/boy, loli/shota, trap, tsundere, yandere, kuudere, dandere, etc. (If there’s a character you’ve picked that doesn’t specifically fall into one of these types or falls into multiple types that’s fine too!)

5. Nominate 5 people to continue the tag

“Think you can limit us like that, huh?”

Now, I say those were the rules because the tag was created by Cactus Matt at Anime Q and A, and it didn’t even make it past the first people they tagged before said rules started to change. I especially like how Karandi put it. The labels, types, and tropes and such really are quite limiting. A huge part, I think, of why so many new anime fail to catch our attention is because they use and conform to the tropes. I remember when Asterisk War and Chivalry of a Failed Knight came out, I could scarcely remember which was which because they’re so similar. Oh, and they both had harem themes, if I recall correctly? (I didn’t watch either one very far, but they were going in that direction already)

So, really, the categories that these characters fill have become limiting to the point where anime in general is suffering for the use of them. That’s one reason I ignored them.

Another reason is… well, there’s really so many “types” of girls out there! There’s the Good Girl, the Bad Girl, the Smart Girl, the Quiet Girl, the Shy Girl, the Ditzy Girl, the Plucky Girl, the Icy Girl, the Invisible Girl, the Bookworm Girl, the Tough Girl, the Sexy Girl, the Overly Sexy Girl, the Gratuitous Boobs Girl, the Oh-My-Goodness-Stop-With-The-Oversized-Boobs Girl, the Crazy Girl (no jokes about all girls being crazy, now!), the Really Crazy Girl, the Run-Away-And-Don’t-Look-Back Homicidal Insane Girl, the Strong Girl, the Powerful Girl, the Truly Deadly Girl, the Princess, the Delicate Princess, the Warrior Princess, the Crass Girl, the Slob Girl, the Scheming Girl, the Mischievous Girl, the Villain Girl, the Little Girl, the Why-Is-A-Girl-This-Young-In-A-Harem Girl, and infinitely more. And that’s even if they conform to a “type” at all!

Are we going to just ignore all of them because they aren’t a specific “dere” type? Um, no! 🙂

As such, I hope the creators of this tag and you, my audience, will forgive me for putting a little of my own twist to this. Instead of conforming to types, this is turning out more like the Flaming Hotties tag I did, but exclusively anime. 🙂

So, who do I pick to be in my anime harem?

…and that is problem number two. Problem One was the rules. Problem Two: there are so many anime girls to choose from! I swear, I’ve gone through a hundred different combinations in my head, and I’ll probably want to change this one up too, like two seconds after posting, but even so, here goes!

Basic guidelines: one girl per franchise, I must be able to explain my choice, and said explanation must go beyond drooling over their hotness (because they’re all hot, so, with several dozen strong candidates, I needed to look at something besides physical attraction if I was ever to narrow it down to five).

I also ended up having to dismiss a number of girls from the running simply because… well, honestly, they were just my favorite picks out of other harems. That’s still a lot of girls crowding things, ya know? I may devote another post exclusively to them, but, for now, I’m looking at non-harem girls. Love triangles are fair game, but not harems.

Oh, and I have decided that the one girl, who was easily my first pick, actually won’t be in this harem. I’ve made no secret of having a mad crush on Nami, from One Piece, so I’m putting her squarely in her own space, without any little annoyances from would-be romantic rivals. My harem is Tier One. Nami is Tier Zero, impossible to challenge, so where would the surprise be to include her at all, eh?

(is off stealing gold and hearts elsewhere anyway!)

So, after much debate and deliberation and jockeying among the candidates (and further introspection to the effect of “I am bloody nuts, aren’t I?”) …well, here’s my anime harem!

Deedlit: Perfect, Enchanting Beauty

Probably the most classic and famous figure in my harem. Deedlit, of Record of Lodoss War fame, is the perfect image of a high elf: calm, refined, poised, elegant, majestic, powerful, etc. She is, quite simply, the very definition of “enchanting.”

Nice Holystone: Tough and Capable and Just a Little Bit Crazy

Hailing from Baccano, Nice is a smart, vivacious tough girl. She’s sleek and sexy in both her appearance (she makes burn scars look cool) and her attitude. Her interest in bombs might be a little crazy, but she’s skilled with explosives (we men love explosions). She’s a loyal friend and a capable leader. What’s not to love about that, eh? And hey, one even gets lots of exercise, running away from her bombs and dragging her along! 🙂

Princess Luna: Clever, Sexy Schemer

Princess Luna of Magura may have only appeared in that last couple of episodes on Level E, making her the least publicized girl in my harem, but she impressed me. She’s quite the attractive beauty, but, even more, she out-thought the nefarious prince she wanted to marry. She actually tricked the trickster! The girl who can do that is even sexier than she looks. 🙂

Akatsuki: Adorable Warrior

If Shiroe does not ever officially pair off with her, then he is an absolute fool. She may be short and petite, but this ninja assassin of Log Horizon is formidable indeed, and loyal to a fault. I rather love watching her nip her friend’s more perverted words in the bud, and her devotion to those she cares about is most endearing. I also love watching her grow into a more independent person over the course of the series. Oh, and I definitely get Henrietta’s urge to hug her! 🙂

Hild: the Lady and the Baddest Girl of All

The ruler of demonkind in Ah My Goddess is not a “girl,” she is a Lady, with a capital L. Hild has what might arguably be the most killer figure I’ve ever seen in anime, and she knows how to work it without even trying. And how much more of a bad “girl” can you get than the demon queen? She apparently even slept with the ruler of heaven, as evidenced by their daughter, and I can see what the man was thinking when he did that! 😉 Now if only I could be just a little less terrified of her… but what fun would that be?

So, there it is… my harem! Whatcha think?

Finally, as for my nominees… heh, Problem Three, this tag has spread so fast through my blogging friends that there aren’t many left to choose from who haven’t already been tagged! So, if you’ve already been tagged, my apologies! 😉

Shaddowcat
Jiraiyan
Spooky Redhead
Raistlin
Krystallina

I look forward to your responses! 😀

EDIT: I am retroactively tagging a newer blogging friend of mine, 7mononoke of Anime Rants! 🙂