Is AMG harem anime?

[Straywolf]

I recently saw it classified as such and was wondering what everyone else thought. :p

[Anh_Minh]

No. Girls generally don't like K1 that way. Those who do don't appear much.

[DaFool]

Oh come on. AMG is a harem anime patterned after the mother of all harems, Urusei Yatsura!

Harem anime traits:

1.) Everyman male lead. (Keiichi Morisato = check!)
2.) >1 female who likes him a lot. (3 Goddesses + extra characters = check!)

AMG is not an h-game based anime, maybe some were confused because apparently a lot of harem animes such as Shuffle! were based on h-games.

[SlugZilla]

Nope it's not harem, there is only one girl that Keiichi loves and that is Bell.

[NoSanninWa]

It is not a harem anime for one simple reason. Keichi is interested in one girl and only one girl, without exception. Since his mind is already made up, there cannot be any confusion as to what his choice is. The only question is how slowly their relationship will form and if anything will happen to derail it.

A harem show requires that there be options which the male lead will at least be intrigued by.

[aliensporebomb]

Keiichi is interested in Belldandy but not the others.

However, there are definite signs that Urd maybe likes him a little more than he
suspects despite her machinations.

Some might classify it as harem anime but it's not like "Love Hina" where there
are a lot more women and many of them take turns crushing on the male lead.

[idofgrahf]

Even in love Hina, the main lead knows who he likes/loves from the get go. AMG isn't Harem simply because there is no competition, Keiichi likes one person and one person only if you watched the movie you would know why it isn't a harem. and I doubt Bell's sisters are stupid enough to try and steal him away since bell coud be pretty scarey when she actually gets angry.

[Maids! Maids! Maids!]

Maybe Urd likes Keiichi. In her own way, maybe Skuld likes Keiichi too. However, I don't think either would consider themselves potential partners. As far as I'm concerned (and I think Urd and countless old fans of the series would agree with me here), Bellandy and Keiichi are a couple. There is no harem. This is a more straightforward romance built around a couple.

Maybe Keiichi is the cause of confusion. He's probably one of the prototypes for anime male leads suffering from (and I'm choosing my words carefully here) romantic paralysis. I haven't seen the OAVs in years, and my memory may be a bit cloudy, but I recall a scene involving a pratfall. Belldandy fell on Keiichi or Keiichi fell on Belldandy. She looks him straight in the eye and (if memory serves me correctly, and it often does not) asks, "what can I do for you?" Well, about ten things popped into my head, but I'm sure you all know what happened instead. NOTHING!!! He's not indecisive. She's not unwilling. He just can't take the next step. She loves him. He loves her. They're a couple. And Skuld aside, I think most of the characters in the anime think them that way.

[Souten no Seigyoku]

There arent a lot of the usual harem stuff Ive seen.

Few to none of the common perverted misunderstood situations. Like Keichi walking in on Bell while she changes, Keichi falling face first on Bell's lap (itadakimasu!) or vice versa. tripping and falling on someones face (ala a shuffle! scene), etc. Nor are there any of the common followups to such scenes like the male lead getting the crap beat out of him.

There's just no perversion aside from Urds occassional inuendos. Wholesome family fun. Harem? No. Its just not there.

[Imion]

And Skuld aside, I think most of the characters in the anime think them that way.


Actualy even Skuld thinks that way, at least in the further development of the storyline.
She just doesn't like the fact, that her sister may be... err... occupied with something else than herself. She's a bit selfish in that point.

[Sector 6 Slum]

I don't think AMG is a harem anime because keiichi is only interested in belldandy and belldandy is basically the only one who likes him seriously.

by the way, what IS the definition of a harem anime? i know that love hina and ichigo 100% are examples but is there some sort of a definition?

[Whitemoon648]

I don't think AMG is a harem anime because keiichi is only interested in belldandy and belldandy is basically the only one who likes him seriously.

by the way, what IS the definition of a harem anime? i know that love hina and ichigo 100% are examples but is there some sort of a definition?

An anime is called Harem when a male character lives with few girls in the same house and eventually the girls start having feelings toward the main male character. But AMG isnt like that. URD is even trying to get Bellandy together with him. So it doesnt count as Harem.

[Keiichi_chan]

Maybe I'm in the minorty,but I defintely qualify it as harem.

[Decel]

I have to say the question is indeed interesting, and got me musing about the harem definition and if it applies to this.

However I also think that this series is also considered harem. Even though he (and everyone else) knows who he loves, Keiichi always falls into situations that "isn't what it looks like".

I know that it's hard to compare AMG with Love Hina. A better comparison would be Ai Yori Aoshi which is also considered harem.

Waitaminute.... :twitch:

If AMG is harem, then Suzuka would also be harem... :eyebrow:

Gah, I need to think this out...

[rooboy]

by the way, what IS the definition of a harem anime? i know that love hina and ichigo 100% are examples but is there some sort of a definition?
If you're asking, "Is there a universal definition?" The answer is no. Even on this thread not everyone's answering it the same way.

Wiki says this. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harem_anime) Note that a harem series doesn't have to have a male living with a ton of females (Canvas2 and Shuffle were as haremy as they get, and neither lead lived with most of the females. In Futakoi, the male lead lives alone), and generic leads (male and female) are hardly limited to harem animes. Perverted situations are also not tied to harem animes (the same things can show up in non-harem animes). The term (I believe) is actually of WESTERN origin and has become a perjorative in the same way that "mindless shonen" is a perjorative for things like Bleach, Naruto, FMA, etc.

Usually I define it as a harem if there are at least three girls who like one boy and he has some level of romantic attachment to at least two of them (though usually the male character has a preference from the beginning). This would include things like Love Hina (wherein Naru, Motoko, and Mutsumi are shown to have various stages of romantic feelings towards Keitaro, who is shown to at least reciprocate feelings towards Mutsumi and Naru). Ichigo 100% would qualify (Manaka has feelings towards Toujo and Nishino). Ai Yori Aoshi would also qualify (as the male lead has some level of attachment to both Aoi and Tina).

Ah My Goddess (by my definition) would definitely not qualify. I've always thought of AMG as a slice-of-life show that happens to feature a couple in love, but depending on how you define it, it could definitely qualify as a harem.

EDIT: And, of course, I forgot to vote.

[Decel]

rooboy, nice explanation! It sounds very logical. I guess I'll use that as my reference for harem.

[Seyluun]

Some random loser suddenly find himself living with beautiful girls. Each of those have a personality straight off the "cliché personalities for hawt girls in anime" list. Yup, AMG is definitely harem in my book.

[viet80]

Who said AMG is a Harem anime?

[NoSanninWa]

Who said AMG is a Harem anime?
DaFool and eight other people who answered the poll anonymously. While that is a clear minority, the telling factor is that the anti-haremists have been clear and concise in their posted reasons.

[Muir Woods]

I think the main factor of how A!MG is percieved as harem or not is directly related to how indepth one defines their own definition of "harem". If one gives a broad/general description of what "harem" is (eg. "A wimpy male surrounded by many girls"), then it is simple to include A!MG in that very large container definition. But if one adds more detail and specificity to their definition (eg. "slapstick jokes, or ecchi situations"), it will become increasingly difficult to contain A!MG within the label of harem. But of course, this notion of definition specificity versus containment applies much more generally (to all definitions) than just anime genres. Anyways, what rooboy666 said is true, everyone has their own definition of what harem is, and not everyone's definition will agree with the major consensus. I, however, have a fairly conventional definition of harem, and it is in accordance with the perspective of the "no" side. Avoiding to re-iterate what they have already argued, I'll just say I support their main point, thus I voted no.

[saravis]

Taken from dictionary.com:
Harem: A GROUP of woman SEXUAL partners for one man
This show is not Harem, Keichi is only interested in Belldandy he only talks about Belldandy and any reference to any sort of interest in him from any of the other characters is only meant to "motivate" character development and not for any sort of "relationship"

[rooboy]

Taken from dictionary.com:
Harem: A GROUP of woman SEXUAL partners for one man
This show is not Harem, Keichi is only interested in Belldandy he only talks about Belldandy and any reference to any sort of interest in him from any of the other characters is only meant to "motivate" character development and not for any sort of "relationship"
By that definition 90% of widely accepted harem animes wouldn't count either. Not that I have a problem with you defining it that way, but I thought I'd point it out.

[saravis]

Then perhaps not all Harem animes are truly Harem animes, but let me go further
Once again taken from dictionary.com
Sexual: Implying or symbolizing erotic desires or activity
With that said Harem Anime doesn't have to mean that they're physically involved, it could just mean that they look at each other in sexual ways, that they are interested in each other as a man would a woman. As I said in my previous post Keichi is only interested in Belldandy, he does not care for the others and any reference to any sort of interest in him from any of the other characters is meant only to provide an obstacle to their relationship, not to develop a relationship with that character.

[Anh_Minh]

Sorry, but in the circumstance, who gives a damn about what dictionary.com has to say?

[saravis]

:confused: Um you have anything more to add to that little post of yours. Sorry, but I'm having a little difficulty understanding what your trying to get at. Are you saying that you don't agree with the definition (I don't see why not seems pretty accurate to me) or you don't like it or... I don't know. And may I ask what circumstances your refering to.

[jtrog]

Basically, from all stories standpoints which most answers have come from, AMG is 66 percent inclined to be a harem anime. Family relations of belldandy skurd urd and kei's sister block the other 34 percent.

BTW!!! NO one has mentioned GOD. Look at who and how many he has 'Serving him' as well as how he lets them dress.

From my standpoint, I would have it no other way than to have a huge number of females running my 'business' as 'he' does 'upthere' in this show and it is very cute that they can do pretty much as they wish to :D .

[NaNash|]

No. Dun even feel a hint of harem.

[Altrisha]

For some reason I get irritated when someone says something bad about Belldandy and Ah! My Goddess in particular... Weird...

[Keiichi Morisato]

I t hink the problem with this is that everyone thinks that Keiichi is after the other goddesses and women in the AMG universe. But, the truth of the matter is that Keiichi is only in love with Belldandy and is the only one he wants. It's the other girtls in the anime who meet Keiichi and discover they have feelings for him not the other way around.

In order for this series to be considered a harem anime series is that there has to be some mutual affection between the main male character and the female characters. Sister Princess, Love Hina, Maburaho, Tenchi Muyo, Hanaukyo Maid Team, could all be considered harem anime but not Ah My Goddess.

[Wordplay]

^ It may be what he thinks he wants, but the idea that made the manga so interesting was that the other characters made him think it again. So I would call OMG a "harem" serie, especially if you stop reading before the author decided to ditch the story and rip off the money.

Interesting that you mention Tenchi Muyo, since the protagonist of that serie is a wimp that never confesses anything to anyone of the other cast. When was the last time the author decided to advance Belldandy's and Keiichi's relationship after the initial first kiss + stuff issues? In fact, it has been for the most part about him and the other girls, Belldandy becoming a "taken for granted" wife for him.

[Maids! Maids! Maids!]

Basically, from all stories standpoints which most answers have come from, AMG is 66 percent inclined to be a harem anime. Family relations of belldandy skurd urd and kei's sister block the other 34 percent.

BTW!!! NO one has mentioned GOD. Look at who and how many he has 'Serving him' as well as how he lets them dress.

From my standpoint, I would have it no other way than to have a huge number of females running my 'business' as 'he' does 'upthere' in this show and it is very cute that they can do pretty much as they wish to :D .
Back in the day, when I first saw the AMG OAV series (was it on VHS or the Laserdisks?), we didn't know from harem animes. And none of my anime watching friends really entertained the notion of Keiichi's sister as a rival for Belldandy, although I must admit the little sister dynamic has changed a bit. We didn't consider any of the girls rivals or even real impediments. Belldandy had patience befitting her station as a goddess and Keiichi was... (How should I put this delicately?) The world's biggest, most infuriatingly poultry-like chicken!!! How long have they been dating? Seventeen years?

That poor, poor girl.

Now, I don't agree with you about Keiichi as harem lead, but your point about God is brilliant. It never occurred to me, but you're absolutely right. God has the mother of all harems. And they absolutely do dress the part. It must be good to be the Diety.

[Decel]

Back in the day, when I first saw the AMG OAV series (was it on VHS or the Laserdisks?), we didn't know from harem animes. And none of my anime watching friends really entertained the notion of Keiichi's sister as a rival for Belldandy, although I must admit the little sister dynamic has changed a bit. We didn't consider any of the girls rivals or even real impediments. Belldandy had patience befitting her station as a goddess and Keiichi was... (How should I put this delicately?) The world's biggest, most infuriatingly poultry-like chicken!!! How long have they been dating? Seventeen years?

That poor, poor girl.

Now, I don't agree with you about Keiichi as harem lead, but your point about God is brilliant. It never occurred to me, but you're absolutely right. God has the mother of all harems. And they absolutely do dress the part. It must be good to be the Diety.
Oh how I loved the OAV (I have it on tape). I prefer the OAV's keisuke look over the TV one for some reason. Skuld always had a thing for Keisuke, but indeed it seems more pronounced in the TV's ep 26.

And what's 17 years for a goddess? Probably the equivalent of the time we take to brush our teeth.

Heaven must be bliss. The only male I saw up there aside from God was that guy overlooking Belldandy/Urd when they were kids (in the TV and in the movie, same guy right?) compared to how many departments of goddesses?

Anyone know the number Keisuke dialed?;)

[Keiichi_chan]

Who the hell's Keisuke?

[Maids! Maids! Maids!]

Who the hell's Keisuke?
I'm guessing it's an accidental fusion of Keiichi and Kyousuke, the male lead in Kimagure Orange Road. If I'm right, it's an honest, old school mistake. They may be the prototypes for the male harem lead.

[Decel]

Who the hell's Keisuke?
Ah yes, this is what I get for posting so damn late :heh: Reading Adachi's Rough manga at the time didn't help either :heh:

I meant Keiichi, sorry about that.

[geowrian]

"Ai Yori Aoshi would also qualify [as harem] (as the male lead has some level of attachment to both Aoi and Tina)."

I disagree...he has an attachment to Tina, but I don't see any hint of it being romantic. He just likes Tina like any of his other close friends at the house. I've been following the manga for a while now and haven't seen anything to indicate that his feelings were for anybody but Aoi.

Anyway, I don't think AMG is harem simple by the fact that it is about two people and their love for each other. In my opinion, if you removed Urd or Skuld from the series, then you would still have the same basic storyline. If the two of them were gone, I don't see how anybody could call it harem anymore. Therefore, I don't see how it is harem since the only somewhat harem aspect (Kei living with multiple women) doesn't greatly affect the general plot.

[hyperblaster]

I've been a fan of AMG for a long time. The series does have many of the aspects of a harem anime, but it is not one.

First, let's take a look at Kosuke Fujishima's other anime. You're Under Arrest and eX-driver both have female leads. In fact, barring AMG, none of his anime have *any* male leads.

Second, K1 is already taken. A harem anime requires an eligible young man surrounded by potential girlfriends. As for K1 and Bell, they are practically married.

[AstroNerdBoy]

It is not a harem anime for one simple reason. Keichi is interested in one girl and only one girl, without exception. Since his mind is already made up, there cannot be any confusion as to what his choice is. The only question is how slowly their relationship will form and if anything will happen to derail it.

A harem show requires that there be options which the male lead will at least be intrigued by.

While I agree that this isn't a harem title, K1 has been at least somewhat interested in both Urd and Peorth (at least in the manga), but Belldandy wins. :p

Ai Yori Aoshi is very much a harem title. Yet Kaoru is only in love with one girl -- Aoi-chan and she with him. The harem aspects come up when a bunch of other girls move into Aoi-chan's mansion and all of the girls are in love with Kaoru. Now there is no doubt that Kaoru and Aoi-chan are the couple, but since they have to keep the relationship secret for political reasons (regarding both of their families), the other girls assume he's free and the fun begins. :)

What discounts AMS as a harem title is the fact that while all the girls like K1 as a friend, none (except maybe Peorth) see him as anything more for themselves...if that makes sense. Sayoko in the manga was the only other girl to find herself falling for K1, but as soon as that happened, Fujishima-sensei dropped her like a hot potato.

[Mephisto2k]

Taken from dictionary.com:
Harem: A GROUP of woman SEXUAL partners for one man
This show is not Harem, Keichi is only interested in Belldandy he only talks about Belldandy and any reference to any sort of interest in him from any of the other characters is only meant to "motivate" character development and not for any sort of "relationship"


please dont take definitions of dictionary.com to explain anime vocabulary because it simply doesnt apply. Furthermore as far as i know there is really no commenly accepted definition for the anime herem genre. But for my personal definition it is enough to have half a douzen girls in your surrounding that fall in love with you. There are many titles where the winner is known from the beginning but that doesnt change the fact that all the other girls are in love with him to and he still "would" have a "choice" theoretically. Of course AmG is not the most typical and "haremishest" harem out there, but there are still clear harem characteristics. Its not just the love but the fact that 3-4 girls are living with him and there is still the "who wouldnt want to be together with a goddess(catgirl, mahou shoujo, maid,alien,maid, and whateven fantasy)-girl which is also aften used in harem. As i said, its not the mother of all harems, but i voted YES.

Edit: acctualy i just found out that there is a AmG character listed in the harem wikipedia article as an example for typical harem cast...
on the other had that character listing doesnt seem to be very proffesional because they seem to base their listing on very few animes so that the "typical" characters seem to be taken out of certain specific animes and arnt that usual in other titles, or at least not in that detail.

[Keiichi_chan]

I meant Keiichi, sorry about that.

I know it was a mistake. I was just teasing you abit.:heh:

And K1's shown sexual interest in pretty much EVERY girl around him,except his sis. I mean he is a human male. A human male who never got any female attention pre-Bell. Now his life is filled with ubber hawt women who all wanna bed him. What do you expect? K1's only mortal.

[saravis]

I apologize for the misunderstanding, but I wasn't using dictionary.com as a means to define Harem Anime, but merely as a means to define Harem, as a means to make a point. Harem Anime is derived from the term Harem, so obviously there is some similarity. Here let me put it this way: Harem Anime: An anime where an individual has multiple potential love interests, where the possibility of different routes of affection is presented. There that's better. I don't really think that it has anything to do with them being together because if that's the case then why is Onegai Teacher Harem Anime; he doesn't live with all of the interests. And I feel it doesn't have anything to with if the viewer is interested in who is living with him because that kind of takes the meaning out of what a genre is: a means to define the subject of the story(not the viewer's feelings towards the characters) Besides it's a little difficult to subject something when the subject is too varied and people's interests are definitely varied. What it comes down to once again is this who else is he interested in, who else could he potentially have affection towards?

[Mephisto2k]

I dont quite agree with you harem anime defenition. What harem anime defines in not the main character having (potential) love interest in multiple girls (because there are also looser character who just have unrequitted love feelings for many girls), but its about multiple girls having love affection for the main character. The main character doesnt have to have feeling for all of those girls in return. Sometimes the maincharacter is uncertain and could possibly end up with everyone of them. Sometimes the maincharacter just ignores the feelings of one or two girls who have feeling for him (like the girl-type thats shy and only watches form afar, or the girl-type that is only considered friend and the maincharacter fails to see her feelings). Sometimes only one girl is given a special role and it is predictable for her to end up with the maincharacter right from the beginning, while the other girls can still have slight chances (lovehina, Amaenaideyo, ...) or they are rarely given any chances or love interest by the maincharacter except for short perieods/episodes to bring up the jealosy-theme (>>ah my goddess<<).
There is a lanrge variety of harem animes and sometimes its hard to say if they are harem or just romance like with AMG, He Is My Master and Suzumiya Haruhi, but as for me im pretty sure AMG is harem.
Dont forget that harem isnt about the maicharacters feelings about the girls, but about the girls feelings about the maincharacter, which give him the theoretical chance to choose; In the datingsimgame adaptation ToHeart1 the maincharacter didnt show any sign of love for any of the girls untill the very end of the last episode, and its obviously a harem show because its story is taken from a eroge.

[saravis]

Your absolutely right mephisto in Harem Anime like Girl's Bravo the boy doesn't return what the girls feel towards him. I guess I still didn't word myself well enough. Oh well never really been very conversational. Anyway, I have to ask then who else is interested in him besides Belldandy?

[Spawnblade]

Actualy even Skuld thinks that way, at least in the further development of the storyline.
She just doesn't like the fact, that her sister may be... err... occupied with something else than herself. She's a bit selfish in that point.

Skuld does indeed like Keichii, as is seen in one of the last episodes of the first series... where she becomes older for a day and ends up falling in love with Keichii, she doesn't tell him though, and afterwards pretends to go back to her old self, but keeps a picture of her/him pretending to be a married couple when they were on their date.

[saravis]

There was no pretending she did go back to her old self. Your right about her having the picture in her room, but that was before Urd pulled her little stunt at the end. Urd knew of Skuld's feelings, but she also knew that those feelings were misplaced and misunderstood. Skuld really wasn't in love with Keichi she was just having her first feeling, like a first crush you know. Not really love, it was just the first time she was exploring that side of herself, but as I said that all went to the waste side at the end when she went back to being typical Skuld. She probably threw away the picture after that episode.

[Samatarou]

The way I see it, harem is about the offering up of girls to the viewer with the wimpy male character as a Bobby Sue type figure, so regardless of the characters' relationships in the actual story I would call AMG a harem show, you only have to look around the fansites to see the "romantic" interest that viewers have in all of the various female characters - let's face it you have the classic harem lineup to cater to all otaku fetishes: nice girl; sex siren; loli; kid sister; studious girl-with-glasses; devil woman... all we need to add is a maid (maybe there is one, i haven't watched the recent series...)

[Spectacular_Insanity]

AMG is definitely not harem anime. K1 is only interested in Bell (as far as I know!).

Off the topic, but a good example of harem anime might be Ai Yori Aoshi in the loosest terms, which is a series I'm currently watching. But that's up for debate. PM me if you want to discuss it.

[ashwell]

ya it obviously is, what else can one say about them? Now the main talking point is anything that is related to harem should mean exciting things in store. When here we are having so much problems even to tackle a single person , I wonder how people of the previous days managed to maintain it? Any ideas about that?

[dolphin]

I dont think it is harem.. He should have more girls ... Thats my opinion..

[Raniie]

I'll go with the check format as well.



A Male Lead having very little experience and/or troubles with the opposite sex. - Checked!
The Male Lead having strong interest in being with the opposite sex. - Checked!
Many female characters surrounding or living near/with the male lead. - Checked!
The females having varying degrees of affection toward the male lead - Checked!
Affections for REALLY NO REASONS or a really insubstantial explaination of the reason! - Checked!
(They like/love him just because he's a really nice guy or feeling sorry for him!)
Affections from lovely dovely to angst and ressentiment. - Checked!
Forbidden seduction / ecchi / sexual connotations expressed in the series. - Checked!

I'd say A!MG TV series is past the boardline of being Harem. There are just too many elements in the TV series that can lead it toward that direction. Now, if we look back at the A!MG OVA series or the Movie, that isn't harem at all. The OVA is truly more of a Romance / Fantasy / Love story, imo. The TV series however, is slapped with too many elements that can relate it to the harem genre. I'd classify A!MG TV as: Slice of Life, Fantasy/Supernatural/Magic, Ecchi, Comedy, and Harem.

But I won't cast my vote, since not the entire AMG series is harem.

[Js2756]

It depends on your definition of harem. If the girls have to show sustained romantic interest, then no, AMG is not a harem anime. If it's just they have to show romantic interest at one point or another, then yes. The big difference is that most of the females don't have sustained romantic interest in Keiichi, the only one is Belldandy. Urd is playful, but isn't interested in a romantic relationship. Any potential romantic interest on Skuld's part is dead due to Sentaro. Peorth has completely given up. Sayoko is the only other female aside from Belldandy to actually maintain romantic interest, but she hasn't been seen in ages.

Generally speaking, a harem anime usually requires at least 3 girls with sustained romantic interest in the show, and usually it has to be concurrent romantic interest.

[EphemeralDream]

If you look at it with a microscope, I guess you could say it's a harem anime. I'm sure there are plenty of definitions of what a Harem anime is and i'm sure they're all just as right. In all honesty, if it is a harem anime it's at an extremely shallow level to the point of one not even noticing it's harem. I consider it more of a Magical Girlfriend kinda anime, but maybe that's just me :P

[Demongod86]

Absolutely not. K1 likes Bell, and Bell makes everyone else look like a bad choice aside from Lacus Clyne if she were in AMG. (At which point Lacus only need to go blonde and then you'd have twins with Bell/Lacus).

[Subaru Lover]

My definition of a harem anime is where there is typically only one male lead character and the rest are female. Regardless of how long interests b/w one of the females and the main male have shown themselves or if they are already declared a couple or not. If the guy has more then 3 girls, it's a harem, however plain it may be. But hey, we're all entitled to our opinions, no one is clearly right or wrong.

[mdauben]

AMG is definitely not harem anime. K1 is only interested in Bell (as far as I know!).

Off the topic, but a good example of harem anime might be Ai Yori Aoshi in the loosest terms, which is a series I'm currently watching. But that's up for debate. PM me if you want to discuss it.
I find this kind of interesting, AMG is not a harem anime because Keichi is only interested romantically in Belldandy. However, Ai Yori Aoish is a harem, even though Kaoru and Aoi are betrothed before the series even starts, and he is never interested in any of the other female characters over her? (Whether they are interested in him is another issue).

I guess it really comes down to exactly how you define "harem anime". To me, it's a romantic comedy sub-genre where one guy is surrounded by multiple female characters, some or all of whom are romantically interested in him. Under that definition, I think AMG qualifies, as Keichi is certainly surrounded by female characters, and several of them (in addition to Bell) are romatically interested in him. At least to some degree, or at some point in the story.

At least, that's my 2¢ on the subject. ;)

[Kleo Scanti]

I'd say it's Harem-ish. While some things qualify for a harem (male lead who is nothing special but an ordinary nice guy, a lot of beautiful and totally different females around him), at the same time our male lead is not interested in other girls at all. Usually in a "classical" harem the main character initially doesn't know whom he likes more, and he has to choose.

The best example of a harem anime which comes to my mind is Zero no Tsukaima.

[Spectacular_Insanity]

I find this kind of interesting, AMG is not a harem anime because Keichi is only interested romantically in Belldandy. However, Ai Yori Aoish is a harem, even though Kaoru and Aoi are betrothed before the series even starts, and he is never interested in any of the other female characters over her? (Whether they are interested in him is another issue).

I guess it really comes down to exactly how you define "harem anime". To me, it's a romantic comedy sub-genre where one guy is surrounded by multiple female characters, some or all of whom are romantically interested in him. Under that definition, I think AMG qualifies, as Keichi is certainly surrounded by female characters, and several of them (in addition to Bell) are romatically interested in him. At least to some degree, or at some point in the story.

At least, that's my 2¢ on the subject. ;)

Well, to be honest my opinion has changed about Ai Yori Aoshi. I retract all my statements about Ai Yori Aoshi being a harem anime. There are a lot of animes that are though.

[ReverseSide]

Personally, I feel that A!MG is not a harem anime. After all, was Keichii x Belldandy's relationship ever in doubt? Throughout the entire anime I never once felt that anyone, other than Belldandy (and Skuld in ep.26) felt anything for K1 romantically. Everyone, if they ever try to get Keichii, just wants him for some superficial reason.

But that's just my opinion.

[Spectacular_Insanity]

Personally, I feel that A!MG is not a harem anime. After all, was Keichii x Belldandy's relationship ever in doubt? Throughout the entire anime I never once felt that anyone, other than Belldandy (and Skuld in ep.26) felt anything for K1 romantically. Everyone, if they ever try to get Keichii, just wants him for some superficial reason.

But that's just my opinion.

Well, MAAAAYBE at a point or two, when they (enter spoilers for season 2).

[Mushi]

Single male living under the same roof with numerous females = harem anime, IMHO.

I suppose you could get picky about the romance angle and who has feelings for who, but Keiichi has to deal with the awkwardness of multiple female personalities in close proximity. That, to me, is a harem "theme," if nothing else.

[kagato3]

I can't see it as a harem anime but maybe thats because i came in as a manga reader and see it more as a standard romantic comedy as their is quite a bit more time between the so called Haremish events. In the Manga it goes through nearly 2 volumes before Urd shows up and she is more a force trying to get K1 and bell togeather then anything else. Mara has no feeling for him what so ever. Skuld doesn't show up till vol 5 and a force trying to keep Bell and K1 apart. To me AMG is no more a harem anime then Urusei Yatsura is.

[happyfoosball]

I don't know what harem anime but in harems don't people have sex? Because nobody in AMG does. Not even Urd apparently which is awfully suprising giving her first few scenes lol.

[Kleo Scanti]

Many women + one man = harem.
In harem anime those women are usually in love with the guy or at least like him, and he initially doesn't know whom to choose.

[happyfoosball]

Many women + one man = harem.
In harem anime those women are usually in love with the guy or at least like him, and he initially doesn't know whom to choose.

Well a lot of people do seem to like K1

[Demongod86]

Yes, but he likes Bell.

That said, Bell xxx Peorth would be very thx =)

[happyfoosball]

Yes, but he likes Bell.

That said, Bell xxx Peorth would be very thx =)


Hahhaha. I don't think any of the girls in the series would be good for KI but Belldandy. They are all so radically different from him.

[Reminded]

Personally, I don't think it is, as Keiichi is set only on Bell, and not Urd or Skuld...

Even though he's living under the same roof as 3 other goddesses (at one point, 4 including Peorth), his only love interest is Bell.

[Tiamat's Disciple]

In a harem show you take the guy out of the equation, it isnt about who he likes, it's about who the girls love.

So far only Bell has love love feelings for K3 all the time. Urd has strong feelings for him, but i got the impression that was more like an older sisters love. Several times throughout the manga the impression she gives is that she see's him as part of their family, and will protect his and Bell's love.

Skuld has only had two run in's where she's been in 'love' with him. The when her powers started to awaken, and her emotions went on the rampage, and then briefly when she was an adult, and again her emotions were on the rampage.

Later in the series we see her experience love for real with Kouta, and while it dosent go anywhere, it's clear she had strong feelings for him.

I think she see's K3 as an older brother, but also a rival for Bell's affections. While she knows they love each other deeply, she hates the fact that K3 is becoming more important to Bell than anything else.

So looking at the girls, only one other could possibly be a rival, and thats Sayako, and i can't see her really being a rival. To much it seems like she's only feeling like that because it's the first time she's been rejected.

As for Ai Yori Aoshi, that falls definatly into a harem show. Since all the girls are after the guy, not just Aoi, even though it's obviouse that he only loves Aoi.

AMG dosent have this rivalry

[Kleo Scanti]

It's K1, not K3. K = Kei and 1 = ichi (one in Japanese). And Sayoko, not Sayako. And by Kouta do you mean Sentaro?

Sorry, just too many mistakes in one post. :)

[Tiamat's Disciple]

You try writing a post on morphine, 1 handed, with enough tubes in you to bo one of skulds inventions, and see how many mistakes you make :p

[Mr Hat and Clogs]

Hospital eh? Spent the better part of two years inside a hospital, fun times (yay crohns). Self-Admin Morphine Drips for all, god that made playing WoW interesting when I was in there. Was so sad when the "happy-drug doctor" took it away. Get better soon TD.

I more-or-less agree with what you said about AMG though! To be on topic...

[Kleo Scanti]

You try writing a post on morphine, 1 handed, with enough tubes in you to bo one of skulds inventions, and see how many mistakes you make
You always spelled Keiichi's name like that. :p
Anyway, get well soon!

[Tiamat's Disciple]

Hospital eh? Spent the better part of two years inside a hospital, fun times (yay crohns). Self-Admin Morphine Drips for all, god that made playing WoW interesting when I was in there. Was so sad when the "happy-drug doctor" took it away. Get better soon TD.

I more-or-less agree with what you said about AMG though! To be on topic...

im not allowed to play games when im hospital, i played WoW for a while and it really didnt mix well with the morphine. I ended up kicking the doc in the jewels cause i thought he was an orc >.<

never sneak up on someone just waking up after a intenive wow session, especially when they're on morphine, noy unless you in american football styled protection hehe.

I'm allowed my manga and anime though, i threatened to discharge myself otherwise lol. couls just see the taxi drivers face with me getting into the back with 4 drips and half a dozen other bits and pieces roflmao

That said im due to into surgry tomorrow, only 6 more days and 3 ops to go before i can go home

[Mr Hat and Clogs]

good luck with the surgery.

My doc's let me have my laptop for what ever i wanted (wow, anime, manga, movies), heck even had my desktop at one point. Was funny when my GP asked for help with one of his computers that was playing up, lol. My anesthetist played wow to.

But anyway, good luck. best stay on topic.

[Spectacular_Insanity]

Personally, I don't think it is, as Keiichi is set only on Bell, and not Urd or Skuld...

Even though he's living under the same roof as 3 other goddesses (at one point, 4 including Peorth), his only love interest is Bell.

Actually, at one point it's FIVE if you include Lind in the special, even if it was only for a short time. :heh:

[Tiamat's Disciple]

hmmm thinking on it the only one thats even close to being a rival for bell is the Gate. It manifests as a loli girl with a weird cloak for hands, and she has her eyes set on keiichi so she can learn about love. Bell goes all jealouse, and while it gets settled in the end, i got the impression she still had a few feelings for him >.<

Lind never loved him, so she's out of it completely. She thinks of him as a friend, the manga handles her a bit better, the anime ballses it up as usual.

Neither Peorth or Lind 'lived' there, they just visited ,uch like the rest of morisato's friends do.

Hild could be interesting, she's shown on a few occassions she's interested in him, now that could be a head turner, bell and hild in a 3some >.<

[Kleo Scanti]

I don't think Hild was ever interested in him. She was interested in turning such a good boy to darkness (which could be fun) and in taking him from Bell to look at her reaction (even more fun plus good for investigation).

[miloy2k]

it is subjective for AMG to be define as Harem anime... for some it is for some it aren't..

[Sezren]

The setup is clearly harem. There is one "looser type" boy who in the course of the anime gets surrounded by lots of attractive females. The boy is the center of the world/anime and most everything revolves somehow around him although there is no visible cause for that. The females are all (for some reason or another) interested in the boy beyound sane reason. Almost all of them show sexual attraction or advances towards the boy at least once.
By looking at the story/plot (what is "really" happening) one might come to see that most of the females arent really interested in the boy - and vice versa. They are just being warped by magic for example. But considering the shallowness of the plot (if one can even call it plot - it seems more like a stage for doing things like having every girl jump at the boy) I dont see that as relevant.

[ShadowFoX]

It depends on how you see it I guess. From the literal and obvious end, it definitely looks like a harem anime :\

[Roger Rambo]

I don't see how it works that way. There are only 3 people living in the residence. Belldandy (loves Keichi), Urd (Wants Keichi in Bell's pants), and Skuld who currently is mostly ok with Bells and Keichi's relationship , but is sometimes unhappy about cause she's a clingy little sister.

This isn't like Love Hina where all the girls (sans Sarah...thankfully) at one point or another, express overt romantic intrest in the lead.

Many women + one man = harem.
In harem anime those women are usually in love with the guy or at least like him, and he initially doesn't know whom to choose.
Except only 1 of them has expressed anything resembling interest in the one male.

[Sezren]

Except only 1 of them has expressed anything resembling interest in the one male.

But they did. Urds interest was due to magic but it clearly was "romantic interest". Skuld was under magic too at the time (adult Skuld) but the romantic interest was not directly due to magic.

[Kleo Scanti]

Well, most of the female characters are "sort of interested" in Keiichi at one point or another. But here we miss one important for harems thing - rivalry. Nobody, besides Sayoko, tries to take him from Bell, and she does it not because of "love", but because she wanted to harm Bell who'd taken all the male attention from her. You may also mention Hild in the infamous anime-only time-travelling episode, but again, she was interested in Bell's reaction and not in Keiichi himself.

[MercFH]

Well, most of the female characters are "sort of interested" in Keiichi at one point or another. But here we miss one important for harems thing - rivalry. Nobody, besides Sayoko, tries to take him from Bell, and she does it not because of "love", but because she wanted to harm Bell who'd taken all the male attention from her. You may also mention Hild in the infamous anime-only time-travelling episode, but again, she was interested in Bell's reaction and not in Keiichi himself.

and even she kinda disappears in the second season......so not much of a fight lol.:D

[Strahan]

Yea, I can't see AMG as a harem either, there is far too much lack of romantic interest from the other female leads.