6 Anime Protagonists Who Don’t Realize They Are In A Harem

Harem is quite popular in the anime world. Harem occurs when a male character is surrounded by female characters who all have romantic feelings towards the male character. This genre leads to a plethora of comedic situations, misunderstandings, and sometimes heartfelt moments of connection. However, what truly sets some of these series apart is the intriguing element of the protagonist, who remains blissfully oblivious to the romantic dynamics swirling around them.

These unaware protagonists add a layer of humor and complexity to the narrative, making every accidental flirtation, misunderstood compliment, or jealous spat between rivals all the more entertaining and engaging. These characters are often too naive, focused on their personal goals, or too dense to realize the romantic feelings that the females around them have for them. This cluelessness can serve various narrative functions—from driving the plot forward to providing comic relief.

6 Ichika Orimura

Infinite Stratos

• Episodes: 12
• Studios: 8bit
• Genres: Action, Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi, Ecchi

The Infinite Stratos is a weapon that can only be controlled by women. However, Ichika manages to overcome that notion by being the only male who can pilot an infinite Stratos. Because of this, Ichika is forced to enroll in the Infinite Stratos Academy to officially learn how to pilot an Infinite Stratos and to be a professional pilot.

Since this weapon can only be piloted by women, the academy is an all-girls school, meaning that Ichika is the only male in a school filled with girls. This situation officially makes the anime harem because all the girls are drawn to him, and some of them have romantic feelings toward Ichika, but Ichika is too focused on his studies and is oblivious to the feelings of the girls around him.

5 Raku Ichijo

Nisekoi

Ichigo finds himself in a complex situation, and he is forced to date Chitoge so that peace can reign. Ichigo is the heir to a yakuza family, and Chitoge is the daughter of the boss of a rival gang. Peace is not usually common among gang members, but they try to avoid war by any means necessary, and when all efforts have been made with everything still pointing down to a war happening, love is forcibly added to the equation. Ichigo and Chitoge have to date for peace to reign between their two gang families.

Ichigo has a standing love promise to a girl he met when he was a child. He can do nothing about that promise and his secret crush on his classmate, Onedera, because of his situation with Chitoge. However, other girls have feelings for Ichigo, but he is unaware because he is only interested in Onedera and does not fully recognize or understand the extent of the feelings the other girls have for him.

4 Keitaro Urashima

Love Hina

This anime centers around Keitaro Urashima as he tries to fulfill a childhood promise he made to a girl. Keitaro promised that they would meet in the future at Tokyo University, but unfortunately for Keitaro, he has failed the exams twice, but he has no plans to stop. No parent wants their child to be a failure, and there is a limit they can handle because of Keitaro’s incessant failure and his unwillingness to find an alternative. His parents send him off to his grandmother’s hotel, which is now a hostel for only girls.

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Keitaro finds himself living with five girls, but that does not bother him as he spends his time reading for the Tokyo University entrance exams. He gets help from one of the girls who is also studying for the exams, and his interaction with her causes him to believe that she is the girl he made a promise to when he was younger. Given his living situation, Keitaro obliviously finds himself at the center of attention and affection from several females who live in the hostel.

3 Kazuya Kinoshita

Rent-A-Girlfriend

Heartbreak can be devastating, especially if one does not see it coming like Kazuya. Kazuya thought he was in a seemingly happy relationship till his girlfriend broke up with him out of nowhere. This pushed Kazuya into a dark and sad place filled with pain, and to find some sort of relief from the pain he was feeling, he hired a rental girlfriend online. His rental girlfriend, Chizuru, carries out her job perfectly, but Kazuya leaves her a bad review online, which makes her infuriated. Kazuaya, upon seeing her reaction, decides to keep renting her, as he now believes that her feelings are authentic. Their fake relationship is perceived as real by most of Kauzya’s friends and families, but the poor guy is still hung up on his ex, in some way.

While Kazuya is tending his broken hearts, other rental girlfriends have their eyes on Kazuya, and they have some romantic feelings towards him, but he is unable to tell anytime he interacts with them.

2 Kodaka Hasegawa

Haganai: I Don’t Have Many Friends

Most people like a fresh start because they tend to use it to try to build a new and favorable image for themselves. Kodaka planned to do this when he realized that he was transferring to a new school, but unfortunately for him, things went south for him due to his looks. Because of his blond hair and expression, he is seen as a delinquent, and no one wants to associate with him. All Kodaka wants is to make friends, but that is now difficult. Luckily for him, he meets Yozora Mikazuki, who is just as friendless as him, and together they decide to change their story by starting a club called the Neighbors Club where people like them learn social skills and make friends.

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This club is a success, and Kodaka finds himself surrounded by many club members, particularly girls. As the anime develops, the female members of the Neighbors Club sort of develop different levels of romantic feelings towards Kodaka, and he is oblivious to their feelings and the fact that he is the center of attraction of the club.

1 Tenchi

Tenchi Muyo!

Some prisoners often dream of the day they would be set free, and Ryoko’s day came 700 years after he was imprisoned inside a cave. Ryoko’s release was an accident, and Tenchi, who released Ryoko, would pay for this mistake. Tenchi’s life dramatically changes the moment he accidentally frees Ryoko, triggering a series of encounters that lead various alien women to converge on Tenchi’s home. These women, six in number, have to adapt to their new life on Earth, which is not easy and causes trouble for Tenchi.

Tenchi has to help these women adjust to their new life, and in the process of doing that, he gets close to each of them. As expected, these women all develop romantic feelings for Tenchi, and they often find themselves competing for his attention. On the other hand, Tenchi is unaware of their feelings and is just trying to maintain a peaceful home and cater to all these women living with him.

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