Let´s start our countdown with Cardcaptor Sakura, one of the most popular anime series that has become an all-time favorite for boys and girls alike. This year Cardcaptor Sakura is celebrating its 20th anniversary telling us the story of Sakura Kinomoto, a cute 10 year old girl that lives her life normally, until she opens a magic book, and releases by accident the magical “Clow Cards”, awakening their Guardians: Yue and Keroberos, who tasks Sakura with the mission of returning the 52 cards deck, and avoid the calamities that they’ll bring upon the world when they release their power. One of the aspects that makes this anime so successful, is the “Kawaii” fashion that is shown in every episode; thanks to the hard work of the charismatic Tomoyo Daidouji, who joins the adventures of her best friend Sakura, filming every moment of her adventures and preparing for her in every occasion, wonderful sets of clothes and its accessories, presenting more than 60 different changes of outfits at the length of the series. These cute attires, that in many occasions are allusive to the card that Sakura have to capture, became the favorites of the viewers attracting many fans to the series. This show was aired more than 15 years ago, and still continues to be present in every important anime convention, standing out among the cosplay fans and inspiring current fashion apparels for young girls in Japan and the followers of “Lolita fashion”. So what do you think? Among all the costumes of Cardcaptor Sakura series which ones are your favorites?

Continuing with our fashionable shows, we present you another anime where the magical cards are highlighted, and this time, will take us directly to the dance floor with: Fashionable Witches Love and Berry: Magic of Happiness. This movie, introduces us in the adventures of the pretty Love and Berry, who besides of being great friends, are Fashion Witches, and with their ability to choose the perfect combination of clothes and accessories, helps the shy Yumi to gain confidence in herself, so she can shine in the audition of Sweet Records, and be able to make her debut as an Idol singer. Even when Fashionable Witches Love and Berry is part of a videogame franchise, unexpectedly reflects a deeper focus on clothing that aims to popularize the more positive aspects of fashion among young girls, clothes and accessories are regarding as a tool that helps them to discover their own identity, beauty and improving their personal care. In this movie, Love and Berry make use of their many Magical Cards, which materialize different styles of clothes, shoes and accessories, rivaling with each other on the dance floor and to create the perfect ensemble; like the princess outfit that they use in the Royal Ball embedded with sparkling rhinestones, or the cute Charleston dress that both wear when they act as back dancers of Yumi in her audition as an Idol Singer.

Ongoing with the series where magic powers and colorful dresses are emphasized, the number 8 in our list is a movie that is part of one of the most popular anime franchises in all Japan: “Precure”. This animation titled: Heartcatch Precure Movie: Hana no Miyako de Fashion Show… Desu ka?, casted the TV series stars Tsubomi Hanasaki as Cure Blossom, Erika Kurumi as Cure Marine, Itsuki Myoudouin as Cure Sunshine and Yuri Tsukikage as Cure Moonlight. Let’s accompany them in a new adventure in Paris, where they’ll fight to defeat the evil Baron Salamander. This movie unlike others from the Precure universe, distinguishes for emphasizing the role of the Kurumi family in the development of the fashion industry, since the four girls, that are members of the fashion club in their high school, are sponsored by Sakura Kurumi (an ex-model who is Erika’s mother). They travel to Paris and observe the making of a big fashion event. In addition to Erika, who stands out as a future creative fashion designer; her older sister Momoka is recognized for being a very famous Charisma Model in Japan, and their father Ryuunosuke Kurumi, is a coveted fashion photographer with international fame. Filled with battles and action within the city, cradle of the “haute couture”, Precure enchants us with the cute floral costumes, with which the girls transforms and confront the battle against evil.

Now let’s jump off from the haute couture to the depths of lingerie with a fun and sexy comedy that plays in the borderline of fetishism, Chuu Bra!! This series, shows us in deep the school life of Nayu Hayama, a junior high school girl that loves lingerie, and that has an almost superhuman ability to see in others which pieces of underwear favor them more. When Nayu is discovered about her preference for more sexy and adult like underwear, she came to be misunderstood and rejected by everyone, until Yako Jinguuji and Haruka Shiraishi became her friends, and together with other classmates end up forming the “Panty Club”, helping other girls in their school to discover how fun is to choose the most fashionable panties and bras that benefit them more, especially in the adolescence when their growing bodies need the adequate clothes to develop. Chuu Bra!! Attract us with spicy themes, hook us with the comedy, were the characters always wind up under situations that tend to be misinterpreted. This show takes the taboos about female bodies and strip them naked, showing us in a hilarious and easy way to understand, the importance to know what the adequate underwear teenagers should use. Chu Bra!! Offers the viewers a peek inside the lingerie world as a fashion phenomenon; where from the frilly lace ensembles that give a “girlie” and cute vibe, to the more sexy pieces of garter and thigh-highs, which pulls us in with every episode the different types of modes, forms, designs, materials and sizes that make lingerie so attractive.

Prepare yourselves to fill your screen with action, fanservice and adventure, because our number 6 is an anime series with a lot of visual impact: Kill la Kill. This anime initiate us in the mission of Ryuuko Matoi to find the owner of the second half of the “scissors blade”, a legendary sword that was used in her father’s assassination; her search for revenge, takes her to the Honnouji Academy, a high school ruled by the student’s council, under the command of Satsuki Kiryuin and her “Elite Four”, who use the “Goku” uniforms, that give to the bearers superhuman abilities. Being defeated in her first confrontation, Ryuuko withdraws wounded, accidentally awakening Senketsu, a sentient Kamui known as “God Clothes”, who feeling Ryuuko's blood, feeds from her making a symbiotic link that imbues her with super powers. Considering that for girls clothing can be seen as an armor (as it provides protection, status, and reflects the personality of the wearer) Kill the Kill takes this idea literally to the screen, giving the "Sailor Fuku" or sailor-like school uniforms a leading role, by imbued them with conscience and personality; playing a definitive factor in the fate of the girls who wear them, where fashion is used as a mean of segregation between social classes, and where only the rich can wear special suits that underpin and increase their power, while the rest of the people that form the basis of society, are regarded as the labor force and a source of energy that maintains them.

Reaching the position number 5 comes Samurai Flamenco, an anime series that shows the secret life of Masayoshi Hazama, a charisma model that captivates audiences on the catwalks and commercials, and that at night becomes the superhero Samurai Flamenco fighting against crime. Unlike other anime titles, Samurai Flamenco shows comically the growth of a character who begins his fight against crime from scratch, without super powers, with any magic or any feature whatsoever that makes it stand apart from the rest, besides his strong sense of justice, and his fervent desire to fulfill a childhood dream to become the hero who always had admired. For the fans of fashion, Samurai Flamenco is a blend of themes and scenes that displays, in an attractive and refreshing way, an eclectic collection of different costumes inspired by the genre of "Tokusatsu", also known as "Super Sentai" and "Sailor Senshi"; showing them in the best way possible, being wore by the handsome and attractive designed characters, providing an adequate amount of "fanservice". Like the cute costumes used by the "Flamenco Girls" who fight crime in their secret identities, without neglecting their fashion sense.

Based on a popular manga we introduce you Gokinjo Monogatari, also known as Neighborhood Stories. A tender and romantic story developed amidst the creative world of art and fashion design; where the cute Mikako Kouda and her neighbor and childhood friend, Tsutomu Yamaguchi, struggle to achieve their personal aspirations, as they discover and nurture their feelings for each other, making us empathize throughout the series, in their indecision towards change their relationship from friendship to romance, and sharing the adventures of those who are part of their life. With beautifully stylized characters designs, that seems out of the fashion sketches, Neighborhood Stories lets us see in a positive light, the great work and effort behind the dream of belonging to the world of art and fashion industry, taking as a starting point the personal stories of Mikako (who wants to create her own brand of clothes) and Tsutomu (who wishes to become a great photographer ); introducing different characters with very special artistic characteristics like their best friends Risa Kanzaki, who wants to become a designer for children's clothing and the cute Mai Oota, who wears beautiful pieces of clothing filled with lace in the "Lolita " style, and wants to become a professional designer of teddy bears and stuffed animals. Neighborhood Story is an anime that surely will leave you a good taste and make your heart go "Dokyun".

Continuing with the romance, in third place on our list we recommend a delicious animated film: The Garden of Words. This anime will catch your attention with the wonderful scenery and background designs, which develops in the city of Tokyo in Japan; transporting us to the National Garden Shinjuku Gyoen where we witness the meeting of Takao Akizuki, a school boy who decides to escape from class to sketch in the tranquility of a secluded place, and Yukari Yukino, a mysterious woman who feeling dejected from life, finds in the brief moments of silence shared with Takao, the cure for her disappointment and loneliness. More than words, is a slow pace anime as warm as the summer rain, it makes us part of a simple story of friendship and love, where a shoe becomes for the protagonist the best way to say I love you. In this animated film Takao and his aspirations of becoming a professional shoe designer, gives us a glimpse into the world behind the craft of women's shoes creation, where to make palpable the beauty of the design into the production of the material object, it’s necessary not just the talent, but also the study, the practice and the effort to create not a necessary item but a work of art; a premise that has helped making the shoe industry a stepping stone in the fashion world.

Arriving near the end of our list, we take a brief pause from the romance, so be prepared because our recommendation No. 2 will have you laughing out loud with the adventures of Kuragehime. This anime series, takes us into the life of Tsukimi Kurashita, a girl whose dream and obsession is to surround herself with marine jellyfishes, or "Kurage" and although she usually is shy and withdraws herself for human interaction, when she sees that her beloved Kurage are being mistreated and neglected in a local pet store, she tries to defend them unsuccessfully, until a super fashionable girl rescues her from her predicament, ushering in an unusual friendship full of adventures. Kuragehime takes us all the way down the rabbit hole in the Otaku world, where Tsukimi, thanks to the encouragement and support of Kuranosuke Koibuchi and the "Amars", which are her otaku friends, transforms her natural talent for illustration, in the passion to design beautiful and incomparable outfits inspired by her beloved Kurage. Apart from the beautiful pieces designed by Tsukimi, in Kuragehime we can also see the beautiful kimonos and traditional clothes and accessories that Chieko, the manager of Amamizukan, (the apartment building where they live) uses daily, supporting the nascent dream of her friend with her organizational skills and her sewing talent.

Continuing in the field of fashion, we arrive at number one of our recommendations with Paradise Kiss. In this animated series, we share the feeling of Yukari Hayasaka, who is naturally endowed with beauty but sick of her monotonous life, however, like any other teenage girl, she fights to find her own identity and purpose in life, until a certain day, she is approached by an extravagant guy with blue hair and eyes named George, who offers her unexpectedly, to becomes the exclusive model of his clothing brand, "Paradise Kiss", introducing her into the world of haute couture. With tints of romance and a strong sense of independence in the characters, Paradise Kiss, introduces us to the hard work behind the scenes of the fashion shows, the design of haute couture and the fashion world in general, where the characters put on the line all their efforts to project their professionalism into each piece presented, and thus consolidate the synergy that will get them professional success in the future. One of the great attractions of Paradise Kiss, is certainly the beautiful fashion pieces exhibited, like the grandeur floral dress with dozens of blue roses, which shows in every detail and accessories, the joint effort of all the characters and their particular contribution. So if you are a fan of fashion, do not hesitate to include this anime title in your list, we assure you, you’ll enjoy this show full of romance and visual beauty.

Shū starts out as the somewhat whimsical best friend of our main character Raku. He jokes around a lot and is more than content to spend his halcyon days teasing Raku and any girl that gets within a meter of him. More often than not, he plays the role of comic relief in the series and gets the snot beat out of him by enraged females because of his crude jokes. However, like many things in this anime, his whimsical demeanour is merely a front for his deeper and much more serious self. When push comes to shove, Shū also proves himself when it Raku needs his help. Because Raku did something that cemented his loyalty in the past, Shū has become extremely dedicated to helping his best friend whenever Raku needs his help, especially when it comes to the main subject of the series, the Nisekoi.

Adelt and Issei are the fathers of Chitoge and Raku respectively, two of the main characters of the series who are caught up in a fake romantic entanglement. They are the only ones who were privy to the details of the fake relationship as it was them who arranged the whole thing in the first place. Despite them doing what is possibly a bad thing to their own children, they have good intentions for doing so. For one thing, they truly hope that their children can get along, as they already do enjoy a friendship with each other despite being leaders of rival gangs. The greater reason is their dedication to the ideal of peace. Throughout the series, you will find that these are the most docile gangsters or yakuzas ever. They don’t seem to peddle drugs, start fights, murder anyone or mess with the police. That is, until their heirs get involved. This is due to the peaceful nature of their leaders and their want to keep the peace between the two gangs. It is the dedication of these two characters that sparked off the entire series, so how can they not be on this list?

Hana Kirisaki is the wife of Adelt Wagner Kirisaki and the mother of Chitoge Kirisaki. Despite being married to the mob boss, she seemingly has nothing to do with the operations of the gang at all. In fact, she actually has nothing to do with her own actual family at all, only returning on Christmas Day to celebrate before leaving once more. That is because she is entirely dedicated to her work and career. Now you may ask, how can a character who is dedicated to something so shallow in comparison to her family be seen in a favourable light in any fashion? This is due to the sheer scale of her dedication towards her work. She is the business consultant of hundreds and possibly thousands of corporations around the world. The finances of the world economy is handled by her on an hourly to hour basis. She plans her schedule in minutes, as that is just how busy she is. Therefore, despite her seemingly shallow reasons, she is still extremely dedicated to something that she can fight for.

Paula is a hitwoman formerly working for the Bee Hive gang, also known as the gang that Chitoge is the heir of. However, you might be surprised to learn that the person she is dedicated to is not Chitoge but a fellow hitwoman who she was working with during her time at the gang; Seishirō Tsugumi. When they first met, the two didn’t hit it off initially because they both thought the other was a male due to how they dressed or looked at that point in time. Soon enough, they had to work alongside each other on operations. Paula starts to find herself being outpaced by Tsugumi due to her superior skills a hitwoman. Surprisingly, she doesn’t get jealous but dedicates herself to surpassing Tsugumi due to how much she admires her skills. She even goes to the extent of following her to her new school in order to show how much she has improved since they last met.

Claude is the badass of the series. He works as the loyal hound of the Bee Hive gang, dedicating his life to its cause and the people within. His skills include shooting firearms with extreme precision, jumping up buildings that are way too tall, and beating the crap out of anyone in hand to hand combat. He is one of the only ones in the series who believes that the relationship between the two main characters to be fake. His dedication to Chitoge is overwhelming throughout the series. He always seems to be shadowing her at a distance to ensure that Raku does not do anything untoward towards her, and is always trying to protect her to the best of his abilities. He has even trained another individual to protect his mistress at all times, because he cannot be everywhere at once. The level of his dedication could bother on creepy, but let’s take it as it is and say that he’s a swell guy.

Chitoge is the heir of the Bee Hive gang. However, that has caused her a large amount of stress throughout the years because everyone is fearful of her status to get too close to her. The terror that the gang can inflict on a normal passer-by is so great that even guys won’t get close to what is obviously a cute girl who has the brains to go along with the brawn. This has led her to being a lonely person throughout her life. This all changes when she arrives in the school where the anime takes place. She quickly befriends a majority of the class who are willing to look past her background, and makes close friends to with the other heroine of the series, Onodera Kosaki. She starts to do everything she can to protect her new found friendships. You could say that she is dedicating herself to do everything she can to prevent her life from slipping back into the lonely state it was before; that’s how much her new friends mean to her.

Tsugumi is the bodyguard of Chitoge and does all that she can to protect her mistress from harm. As a child, she was found by Claude and raised in the art of assassination in order to give her the skills needed to protect Chitoge. However, Claude mistook her for a guy, and gave her the name Seishirō. His delusion of her gender continues throughout the years and he continues to treat her as such. However, when she finally meets her charge, Chitoge immediately properly identities her as a girl. She remarks that a girl shouldn’t have a guy name and gives her the name Tsugumi in the spirit of her gender. This cements Tsugumi’s loyalty to Chitoge towards the series. She does everything she can to protect her mistress and goes so far as to attack Raku outright in order to determine if he is in fact fit to be her fiancé. They are not just mistress and servant, they are the greatest of childhood friends as well.

Onodera is one the main heroines of the series vying for the attention of the protagonist. She enjoys a high amount of popularity in school due to her cute “girl next door” look that she rocks extremely well. Despite that, she has never gotten hitched to any guy over the years. This is due to the fact that she is still holding hope that the “promise” still holds true. This “promise” forms the basis of Raku’s character, so more on that later. She basically has the idea that Raku is the other participant in the promise and she holds on to the hope that he will be the one and remember the promise as well. This has led to her having a crush on him throughout the series, but she doesn’t confess because of her inherent shyness.

Raku is the protagonist of the series who is involved in the main entanglement involving the fake love. On the surface, he appears to be a very typical guy going through his school life, albeit with a yakuza family backing him up on every step. This causes him to have less friends than normal, but it doesn’t entirely mean he’s isolated. He has a crush on Onodera at the start of the series. However, he doesn’t do anything to go after her at all because he still remembers the “promise” he made with the girl when he was younger. The locket that he received from the exchange is still around his neck several years later. When Chitoge causes him to lose the locket, he loses his mind and spends several days searching for it, even when he is severely insulted for by her for cherishing something so childish. His dedication to the “promise” is the strongest throughout the series, only losing in intensity to the next character.

When she was younger, Marika was extremely sickly. She could barely attend school and was always confined in the hospital. One day, Raku stumbles into her room and they befriend each other. He doesn’t seem to mind that she’s so sickly and spends some time with her before circumstances forced them apart. Over the years, he seems to have forgotten that he met the sickly girl in the hospital and his life continues forward. On the other hand, she has fallen for him so hard that she does everything she can to become the perfect wife for him. Marika completely changes herself into the perfect fiancé by taking lessons that change her accent into a more feminine one, etiquette lessons that will let her be more womanly and even cooking classes to cement herself as the wife of the century. Because of her complete change in her very being due to her dedication to Raku, Marika places herself at the top of this list.

If you enjoy magical bishojo anime then Magical Doremi is an anime for you. While not focusing on bishoujo, Magical Doremi does focus on clumsy elementary school student Harukaze Doremi, who has an affinity for witches (to be more specific, to become one herself). Doremi gets her wish one day when she encounters an actual witch at a magic shop, with Harukae turning Majorika into a small worm like creature (if a witch is revealed to be a witch, they transform into a familia). As punishment for revealing her true form, Majorika decides to turn Harukaze into a full fledge witch in order to transform herself back. As you’d expect, having a ditzy, wishy-washy person such as Doremi for a witch ends up being an amusing series to watch unfold. Already Magical Doremi and Sugar Sugar Rune have the whole magical witch aspect about both of them. They both also share the innocent plot at first, which evolves into a more complex dark plot as the series progresses. Magical Doremi, just as with Sugar Sugar Rune, has a contrasting cast of characters with opposing attitudes between them. While Chocolat is loud and gregarious in Sugar Sugar Rune, Vanilla is more laid-back and shy, refraining from speaking unless spoken to. Doremi is the same way in Magical Doremi, being the outgoing but spacey girl in her group. Her other friend, Fujiwara Hazuki, is the shy but brilliant type, being the more reserved and logical friend in their trio much like Vanilla in Sugar Sugar Rune. Their transfer student friend Seno Aiko is the energetic, friendly, and popular one of their group. If you do decide to watch Magical Doremi and want more of the same thing, there are three (yes, count them three) more series that are sequels to Magical Doremi: Magical Doremi Sharpd, Motto Magical Doremi and Magical Doremi Dokkan.

Shugo Chara! is an anime about Amu Hinamori, an elementary school student who is thought to be the coolest girl in the entire school. The thing is, Amu actually isn’t. She just wants to wear dresses from time to time, be cheerful and happy, and overall just act like a normal girl. So after a night of hopeful wishing to herself, three brightly colored eggs appear beneath her (no joke). They hatch into Guardian Characters, little spirits who are personifications of who Amu truly is on the inside. With the help of these Guardian Characters, Amu will learn how to literally be herself. Already taking one look at Shugo Chara! and you’ll be reminded of the cute atmosphere of Sugar Sugar Rune. From the way girl’s character acts to the little chibi designs of the Guardian Characters are reminiscent of the character design in Sugar Sugar Rune. That also goes for the animation style as well. Similar to Magical Doremi and Sugar Sugar Rune, Shugo Chara!’s story becomes more serious and darker as you progress through the anime (even though it does have to do with eggs and a magical lock known as a Humpty Lock). Unlike Magical Doremi, the love aspect is more in line with Sugar Sugar Rune’s. It’s the more usual “lovey-dovey” kind of relationship. Amu has a major crush for Tadase Hotori, but dances around the topic when with him, gets embarrassed when around him, etc. Humor is still a driving force in this anime, but not as much as Magical Doremi (but it is still pretty funny either way).

Sakura Kinomoto walks into her parent’s library one day to find a mysterious book. After carelessly picking the book up and opening it, Sakura releases all the cards within the mystical book, having only the guardian of the book Kero (or Cerberus, if you want to call him by his full name) to help her. Since Sakura released the cards and all the Clow beasts sealed within them, the Kero gives her the official title of card captor and the mission to capture ALL of the monsters released. Oh yeah, Sakura is a cheerleader too. Known as Cardcaptor Sakura, based on the manga and produced by the legendary CLAMP studio, it’s no wonder this series became a favorite among anime fans. Already Cardcaptor Sakura reminds one more of Pokemon or Dinosaur King than Sugar Sugar Rune, but keep on reading for the similarities. In Sugar Sugar Rune, Chocolat and Vanilla have to collect hearts in order to decide who will become the next queen. Sakura must collect all the released cards so her world isn’t destroyed. Okay, those two don’t have that much in common, but they do involve collecting stuff. And as usual with these types of anime, the usual love interest is also included (she has a crush on her older bro’s friend Yukito). Also, similar to Sugar Sugar Rune’s later half, Cardcaptor Sakura is already action driven from the get go. Don’t believe us? Watch the first episode and you’ll get a sense of the battle’s Sakura will be going through.

This magical girl anime is about a mermaid who can transform into a powerful pop singer! Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch is about princess Lucia Nanami and her cute penguin sidekick Hippo as they try to locate the other mermaid princesses in order to combat the evil water demons. Not only this, but Mermaid Melody also focuses on Lucia’s love, a human boy named Kaito Domoto. Unfortunately, Lucia doesn’t realize the danger she’s in if she confesses her love to a human. What will become of Princess Lucia and Kaito? The only way to find out is to watch Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch! You can obviously tell the shoujo style is present in both Sugar Sugar Rune and Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch. Both have characters with large eyes, small faces with pointed chins, and the proportions of the characters themselves. Other similarities between the two include the themes of love and, more importantly, good versus the forces of evil. Such as how Chocolat and Vanilla have to be on the lookout for black hearts in the world, Princess Lucia has to constantly battle with water demons of various sizes and forms in order to keep the world safe. Another similarity between the two anime would be the importance of friendship. Chocolat and Vanilla are best friends, and they would do anything to save the other (this becomes more prevalent near the end of Sugar Sugar Rune). In Mermaid Melody, Lucia wouldn’t be strong enough to defeat the water demons all by herself nor adjust to normal human livelihood, so her friends are necessary in order to keep the world protected and to maintain her daily life.

Yes, an anime about a girl who transform in a magical ballerina! Princess Tutu can be described… exactly as that. Ahiru is a young girl who attends a private dancers’ school in an odd unnamed town. Although Ahiru aims to become one of the top dancers at her school, it’s a bit of a challenge due to her clumsy and spacey behavior. It doesn’t help when she’s destined to save the world by transforming into Princess Tutu, a graceful and beautiful ballerina who smites evildoers with her elegant moves. And FYI, Ahiru means duck in the Japanese language, which is what Ahiru truly is: a duck. That may be hard to believe, but it should be expected for a town where a cat is a dance teacher along with an anteater. One would mistake Princess Tutu as something Studio Ghibli would’ve made due to the feeling the anime gives off (talking animals, bizarre world that is the norm for the inhabitants of said world, creepy evil character pulling all the strings, etc), but the strange world is similar to the Witch World in Sugar Sugar Rune, where rules and customs are slightly different than they're in the normal human world. Where it was polite to be loud in the Witch World, it’s normal to have… walking animals as teachers. In Sugar Sugar Rune, Pierre and Rockin’ Robin, who start off as minor characters, play a larger role later in the anime. The same goes for Mytho in Princess Tutu, having a very strong connection to storyteller Drosselmeyer (the creepy old dude in Princess Tutu). And just as with every other anime recommendation mentioned above, Princess Tutu also has to do with love, just as innocent as it is in Sugar Sugar Rune. Overall, Princess Tutu could be described as a more classy and refined version of Sugar Sugar Rune.

This next anime is way more modern than the recent ones on this list. Momona (yes she has no last name) is supposed to be attending her cousin’s wedding in Jewel Land when she is suddenly brought into the Jewel Palace. Specifically chosen by her mentor jewelpet Ruby, a little rabbit creature with red eyes, Momona is one of several candidates in line to become the next Lady Jewel of the land. In order to reach this attain this high title, Momona will have to learn how to act like a proper lady and prove that she is the worthy one out of her other competitors for the job. This is basically a modern day bishoujo anime, and we mean that literally. Her magical transformation device is an iPod, with apps that perform different activities! One can tell they knew their specific audience of today. Lady Jewelpet also has the traditional shoujo aesthetic to it, but in this case, it has the current pop shoujo art style rather than the old Sailor Moon style. It would be hard to explain if one doesn’t compare old animation with newer ones and vice-versa, but basically the shoujo style has evolved to have characters with small heads but large rounded eyes, large and over the top hairstyles, noses represented only by a line or dot, and of course a rounded chin and essentially rounded features. The old style is basically a more pointier and cartoon-ish style, the style that Sugar Sugar Rune is most similar to. You would actually have to compare two images side by side in each style to get the idea. Moving on, Lady Jewelpet has an overall happy and cheerful atmosphere to it. It may be due to the vivid colors and fluid animation, but there never seems to be a dull moment for your eyes on the screen as you watch Lady Jewelpet, just as in Sugar Sugar Rune. The plots are very similar to one another with mild alterations. Chocolat and Vanilla must collect enough hearts in order to be worthy of becoming the next Witch Queen in the Witch world. That sounds an awful lot like Momona’s mission in Lady Jewelpet, which is to become the next Lady Jewel by receiving different etiquette training and quests to prove her worth as a true lady. The romance in this anime is spot on to the romance within Sugar Sugar Rune. Momona doesn’t exactly like nor care for Kaien (at first). The two eventually start to gain feelings for one another as they work together through their various trials and challenges. Sounds like the relationship between Chocolat and Pierre in Sugar Sugar Rune. Any bishoujo anime wouldn't be complete without the eventual dark turn of events within the plot and, as you could guess, Lady Jewelpet also has this intertwined with their storyline as well. If you want a anime with more current themes and animation to it, Lady Jewelpet is the way to go.

Misato Kisaragi is the character in Evangelion that deserves more attention than she gets. Thankfully for the purpose of this list, some of her most defining moments come in an unexpected scene following her emotional distraught late into the series, when we find her laying intimately with Kaji after having been so concerned for Shinji’s well-being. Shinji had just avoided his most dire predicament yet, this time losing his entire physical being after being absorbed into the cockpit of Unit-01 after a battle with an Angel that was only one step away from wiping humanity from the face of this Earth. Misato, who was obviously the most emotionally invested in saving Shinji, chooses to deal with her relief by lying with her old flame Kaji in a brief but intense scene. Misato isn’t a character who lets out her inner self often. As a result, it’s beyond shocking to see her let everything out down to the deepest and darkest corners of her mind without any hesitation; that’s how important Kaji was to her and that’s how much we learn that she relies on him. In an even briefer moment of inaction, we see Kaji casually drop a birth control pill on the dresser as Misato tries to convince him of her terrible personality, but it’s convincing to no one. It’s a farce that is immediately recognisable, but it’s a moment that it becomes possible to recognise the complexity that is Neon Genesis Evangelion as we realise the depth of her character, and the amazing writing of the whole series when we later learn that the pill was really a long awaited opening for Kaji to relay to her the even darker secrets that NERV hid from the world.

Strictly speaking, the now universally infamous toothbrush scene isn’t a sex scene in the literal sense. However, if Studio Shaft’s ridiculous aptitude to visual storytelling makes sure that we recognise every bit of sexual imagery for what it is. Koyomi Araragi and his sisters are close, but his supposed “challenge” raised against the older Karen goes way beyond anything to be expected among siblings. Thinking that he’ll be able to deny her a chance to meet the perverted Kanbaru Suruga, he proposes a competition where he either wins by getting her to give up from the unpleasant sensation of having her teeth brushed by someone else, or he loses if she’s able to tolerate it long enough. Frankly, it takes less than a few seconds for everyone to forget about it having been a competition in a first place. The situation goes from lewd to undeniably sexual when it becomes clear that Karen finds the entire experience a very sensual affair, and the show goes crazy from displacing the pair into the depths of the universe to show the pervertedness of the situation. It’s really something that needs to be seen than described, but do make sure that there are no prying eyes in the room when you do so.

This is the first entry of this list in which a sex scene employed to tie up two characters’ romantic interest in one another and show their progression to the next phase of their relationship is a major part of the series. Incidentally, Yosuga no Sora ends up showing such a scene four times throughout its 12 episode runtime thanks to its series structure. The scene we at Honey’s Anime have chosen is not any of the four, but a scene that is more narratively significant in that it sets off the inner turmoil of half of the main cast, and was used as part of two separate storylines. Haruka and Sora are closer than a typical pair of twins, to the point that from a young age they had already been sexually attracted to one another. However, to the dismay of both, Haruka’s first sexual encounter is not with Sora but with their childhood friend neighbour, Nao. Distraught from her parents’ arguments and the fact that Haruka, her first love, will be leaving her in the near future, Nao makes the mistake of forcing herself onto Haruka physically; making things worse is the fact that Sora had been there watching in secret. As far as consequences go, Nao cuts off whatever chance there is of Haruka and Sora having a normal life and the event, better described as a case of female on male rape, is the beginning of a series of unfortunate events in the twins’ lives. For Nao, it meant years of suppressed guilt.

Going back to the point about how seasoned anime fans tend to never expect any sex scenes even from anime revolving around romance, this is largely due to the story conventions of the shoujo genre. The one exception to this is a 1 episode OVA aptly named, when translated to English, ‘I Love My Sister’. One thing that is very impressive about this anime in general is how well it integrates sexuality in what would otherwise be very typical developments in a shoujo story. Iku, the titular female sister, had her love taken away from her when the anime shows Yori being seduced and having sex with her best friend Tomoka. Even when the pair finally find themselves in each other’s arms (in a love hotel, no less!), the usual dynamic of Yori teasing and comforting Iku remains true. From Iku’s shy nervousness to Yori’s assertiveness to the latter’s clear awareness of the taboo they are committing, this is a sex scene that is multifaceted and engaging.

Immediately follow the shoujo incest oneshot is a one cour-long TV series about Koshiro’s budding love for a high school student who is barely over half his age, who by the end of the first episode is revealed to be his younger sister Nanoka. Separated since their parent’s untimely divorce, their love only continues to grow in between the anxiety they face from social pressures and Koshiro’s persistence sexual frustration. By the last two episodes, Koshiro has finally found it in himself to approach his sister in an emotionally authentic way, going as far as to refuse the advice of his close friends. The climactic sex scene of the penultimate episode is nowhere near like Iku and Yori’s, as any joy we have of the pair being together is twisted by the realistic sense of impending disaster that Koi Kaze emphasises. Even when the scene makes it so clear that the pair are truly in love, the horror in their eyes give the scene a dramatic tension as we can never ignore that their relationship is a mistake.

The third entry to the Kara no Kyoukai seven-part film series makes its way into the second place of our list, not at all for being any more emotionally satisfying than the entries ranked below it. Instead, Kara no Kyoukai: Tsuukaku Zanryuu deserves a high placing for being one of anime’s most brutal and most well-executed rape scenes. Fujino Asagami, the victim of the situation, is a classmate of protagonist Mikiya Kokutou’s younger sister and, as many people in the Kara no Kyoukai world are, a wielder of supernatural abilities. In a truly unfortunate fashion, her parents deemed her powers to be unnecessary and had them sealed through medication, numbing her sense of touch as a side effect. As such, despite being completely helpless against the repeated sexual assault by the local gang, on some level she is so devoid of physical displeasure that it only serves to infuriate them further. Like every other Kara no Kyoukai film, Tsuukaku Zanryuu holds nothing back to bring us out of our comfort zone. The realistic direction of the scene is astounding, from the detail put into the disheveled state of the room and everyone in it to the haunting sound of flesh hitting flesh. Even then, the film refuses to let our distress be the judge when it gradually becomes impossible to distinguish between right and wrong, and bring about the justice that everyone involved deserves.

After Hideaki Anno’s success with the mega-popular Evangelion series, no one could have expected him to adapt a shoujo manga of all things. Anno made sure we wouldn’t regret watching it though, as the show brings with it a lot of the directing genius from Evangelion while also providing the emotional satisfaction that some viewers may have felt is missing. What KareKano does better than almost any entry in this list is build up; from the moment the episode begins to the moment when they give themselves up to each other, the show convinces you that everything is happening as it should. Soichiro, who suffered from an early childhood of mistreatment by his birth parents and his overbearing relatives found it difficult to accept the unconditional love of his current parents. On the other hand, when the person whom he loves unconditionally, namely Yukino, is also doing everything she can to make his life easier, he can’t help but be caught in the moment and want to make her his own. And what a beautiful moment it is. The pair are initially nervous, slightly afraid of taking their relationship to a more intimate level. However, they quickly find ease in one another and the ephemeral happiness they share is immortalised.

Midway through NANA, it became the case that Hachi’s fulfillment came at the cost of Nana’s happiness and the precious friendship that they had developed together. This is underlined and highlighted in episode 34, when we see the clear beginning of Nana’s breakdown from her inability to accept Hachi and Takumi’s unhealthy relationship. Hachi is completely under Takumi’s dominance, uttering no words as Takumi speaks entirely for the pair when relaying to Nana about their decision to marry, and their decision to essentially force Nana from the apartment she and Hachi had become so attached to. Brought into her own room, Takumi forces himself onto her disregarding anything Hachi has to say. This is a sex scene that tells us that whatever feelings are keeping the pair together, love has little to do with it. Nana hears everything as it happens, unable to hide her despair from feeling as though her best friend has betrayed everything their friendship had been about. In a spur of unconscious emotional outbreak and a follow-up attempt to cope, she breaks the strawberry-decorated glasses that symbolised all that was precious between she and Hachi.

In many cases, anime tends to skyrocket the level of drama through the sex scenes. Wolf Children shows that this does not always have to be the case, showing only an instance of an almost poetic instant of physical intimacy that tells us all we need to know. Hana’s relationship with the werewolf is simple and endearing, starting with a fateful meeting in a college class that the latter snuck into despite not being a student. Even though their love was mutual and obvious, it was not until the werewolf reveals his identity that we understand the weight and difficulty of their relationship, and the life that they would have to lead in order to make it work. To the surprise of no one, Hana wholeheartedly accepts the werewolf for everything that he is. In two brief shots of the pair affirming their love, Wolf Children makes a beautiful but fleeting picture of the moment that Hana and the werewolf make the decision to spend the rest of their lives together. There was need for the details to be portrayed, as eroticism had no place in that very moment; the framing of the shot made clear that the focus was on the purity of their relationship. As a result, even though we learn that the time they had together was tragically short, there is no doubt in our minds that the love that tied them together was very real indeed.

Although Yosuga no Sora might have you expect that eroge adaptations are a wealth of dramatic sex scenes, it’s actually rather rare for them to serve as anything more than advertisements with low production values. Thankfully, in the same way of Yosuga no Sora being a high quality adaptation of a decent romance story, White Album 2 brings into anime form a story about young love that is truly deserving of attention. Haruki, Setsuna and Kazusa are brought together in a series of fateful events as a band to perform for in a school festival; in every sense of the word, they wish for the absolute best for one another. However, in the night of the performance, Haruki is put into a position to choose between the two girls and the delicate balance of their relationship is unknowingly ruined forever. At the series’ dramatic conclusion, Haruki finds himself unable to give up on the person who he had always loved, and the two lie together in the long-awaited acknowledgement of their mutual feelings. Tragically, this is a scene that is as much a culmination of the pair’s repression of their feelings as it is a realisation that the final member of their group has been betrayed by the two persons who are most precious to her, and nothing is more sad than understanding that this is the result of all three doing what they felt was best for each other.

As aforementioned the term “oresama” refers to a character that displays a very assertive behavior and places themselves above others without much thought. While it certainly isn't a bad thing to think of ourselves, it goes a little too far when you claim yourself to be above everybody else around you. In anime however, the term is used as a way to express that bad boy attitude and a very ruthless approach to life. If there is one character that truly can't seem to get himself off his own mind, then it is most certainly Vegeta from Dragonball. Vegeta truly defines the term oresama just by his overwhelming cocky behavior towards Goku and the other characters in the series. From here we will dive a little deeper and tell you why we chose this saiya-jin as the first pick.

We decided to start off with the cream of the crop since it would provide a solid base to move on from. Dragonball Z is arguably one of the best anime franchises to have ever been created, all thanks to Akira Toriyama and his wonderful imagination. Dragonball Z was where we managed to see Vegeta at his prime, and where he demonstrated a huge ton of cockiness towards everyone especially Goku. The story starts with Goku as he is faced with having to defend planet Earth against the evil saiya-jin that are about to terrorize everyone. Vegeta and Nappa arrive with the only intent on obliterating everything in their path, and so Goku along with his friends must stop them at all costs. During the peak of the Saiya-jin saga, Vegeta and Goku go at it with each trading blows while he spat in the face of Goku stating how much more superior he is because his father was the king of all saiya-jin, while Goku's Father Bardock was just a mere weakling. His self-proclaimed prince of all saiya-jin slowly started to affect him as Goku was able to take Vegeta down. He gained respect for Goku but vowed to himself that he would never lose to such a vermon like him ever again. Over the course of the series, the relationship between the two grew, but whenever Vegeta was faced with a challenge he always displays his masculinity to prove just how much stronger he was than Goku. Little did we know that throughout this entire ordeal, Vegeta had a soft spot for Bulma and so perhaps his oresama behavior was really just a show of assertiveness to really capture the eye of Bulma. Now in the latest Dragonball Super, Vegeta still carries his narcissistic attitude with him always stating how he'll be the most powerful saiya-jin to ever live, but has toned it down since marrying and having a child with Bulma.

Bleach is another popular franchise that really took off back in the mid 2000's and ended about a few years ago. The show has managed to capture the hearts of many fans worldwide, with various products and games to keep it going strong. The story follows ordinary high school student Ichigo Kurosaki on his crazy journey through ups and downs, as he becomes a Shinagami along with Rukia to put an end to the hollow onslaught that terrorizes his city. He finds himself in a new world called the soul society, where he ends up coming across some very insane and unfamiliar faces. One of those faces is Sousuke Aizen who was captain of the 5th Division in the Gotei 13, and was a mild mannered very soft spoken intellectual who always made it a habit to address his colleagues by first name. He rarely shows any signs of distress and had always planned out his endeavors in advance. This all changed however when his actual plans had been exposed and he decided to betray his colleagues, join the arrancar, and wage war against the society. Aizen started showing us a more narcissistic, manipulative, and very dangerous nature. He began to show little care for those around him, and was willing to use everyone as a pawn to achieve his goals. This extreme form of masculinity in Aizen was definitely a contrast from his more soft sided approach, but this shows an example of someone who uses their power to take control and only think of themselves throughout the ordeal. A great example of the oresama attitude is when Aizen finally states his godly status to 13th division captain Ukitake by stating: "no one has stood on the top of the world, not even the gods, but I aspire to stand on the heavens and end the unbearable vacancy on the world's throne." Nothing speaks oresama more than that one statement above, and further cements just how crafty Aizen was from beginning to end in his mission to rule the world.

People, especially men, love to show off their bravado and prove to everyone who the supposed real boss is. When masculinity is asserted it gives off a very cocky and abrasive feeling which can turn off a lot of people. Oresama doesn't necessarily always promote a negative image, but more so an attitude towards life. Sometimes boys will show off on purpose in order to impress the other sex, while it can also be a way of protecting your terrority when you feel threatened. Nonetheless expressing masculinity is nothing bad, but is just another form of self-expression that just doesn't sit too well when used the wrong way. We thought we would share yet another great anime that defines the oresama term, and so we will take a look at Mage from Dance with Devils. Dance with Devils is a supernatural harem romance anime that released in the fall of last year, and was well received within the anime community. Let us dive more into the summary and discuss why we chose Mage as our final oresama.

Dance with Devils follows the life of Ritsuka Tachibana, who is just your ordinary punctual student, but is suddenly called upon by the student council for unknown reasons. Shortly after being called to the front of the council, she is told that she was seen as a troublemaker and that this was her punishment. At this moment we are immediately greeted with one of the biggest example of oresama, and that is Mage Nanashiro. Mage is a blonde-haired arrogant member of the council who uses his wit and craftiness to get what he wants, whenever he wants. This oresama attitude can be seen in much of episode 5 where Ritsuka is constantly under attack by a group of gang members, and Mage steps in to help her at each moment she's in distress. The show even went as far as to creating a music video called “Vanquish” in which Mage blatantly calls himself oresama, while everyone around him including Ritsuka fall under his spell of manlihood (The trailer down below even has Mage referring to himself as oresama) and made great use of agokui which is another what is article we suggest you check out too! After saving her however, he claims that he only had intentions to save her so that he could use her for his ultimate gain in power. This entire time Mage used masculinity to assert power over Ritsuka in order to get her attention. Fortunately, it worked but this cocky oresama persona turned soft when the two watched the sunset, and he accidently drops her into the water after being allured by her sweet smell. Much of the show we see Mage as this guy with an athletic build and pompous behavior but when around Ritsuka, he can't seem to hide his more honest and nurturing side.

Affiliated with Aoni Production for a long time in her career since 2002, Shiraishi Ryouko has a rather vast repertoire of roles up her sleeves, with a considerable number of young male characters among her usual mature, caring oneesan-type characters. Though Ryouko is more known for her various female roles such as Onizuka Hime in Sket Dance, Nishio Rina in Soukyuu no Fafner, and Anew Returner in Gundam 00, she is also known to be good in voicing effeminate, kind bishounens. Shiraishi’s alto voice is incredibly gentle, the young man type of sexy, which probably also what scored her a role in the first all-female seiyuu otome game released in 2004, Goes!, in which she voiced Vince Vivian Vickers. Her most known male role is probably Ayasaki Hayate of Hayate no Gotoku, as well as Wanijima Akito and Agito of Air Gear, which showcased both Shiraishi’s cute feminine voice and her brash boy, but violent one, and also Schrodinger in Hellsing Ultimate.

Matsumoto Rica’s voice is probably the most known in the world out of the rest of the seiyuu in this list, thanks to her trademark “Pokemon, getto da ze!” line. Not to mention that other than working as a seiyuu with permanent recurring roles in popular series, she was also a member of JAM Project. In the long, long years of her career, she is known for her brash and powerful voice befitting protagonist roles—for example of course, her role as Pokemon’s Satoshi, and let’s be real, there are countless of girls out there crushing on Satoshi. Her brash and strong voice makes for a great dangerous, sexy antagonist role as well. A good example would be Bakura Ryou from Yu-Gi-Oh, Mitarai Kiyoshi of Yu Yu Hakusho, or Nataku of CLAMP’s popular series, X. Matsumoto Rica was also the voice behind Matsuno Choromatsu of the old Osomatsu-kun series. Sadly, it’s rather hard to find Matsumoto Rica’s voice in anime series nowadays other than the ongoing Pokemon series, though she had just reprised her role as Bakura Ryou in the newest Yu-Gi-Oh movie.

With an impressively extensive repertoire of male roles, Sanpei Yuuko is best known to voice young cheerful boys who are straightforward even if they are sometimes annoyingly loud, such as Gintama’s Seita, Uzumaki Boruto in Boruto: Naruto the Movie, Kadoya Masamune in Beyblade: Metal Fusion, and Harima Shuuji in School Rumble. Yuuko is one of the few female seiyuus who is more popular for their male roles instead of female ones—though she does voice girls as well—take Yumehara Nozomi in Yes! Precure! 5, Yoshida Chizuru in Kimi ni Todoke, or Machi Youko in Bokurano. Depending on the male characters she voices though, when she gets calm, mature, and cool male characters, Sanpei Yuuko’s voice could turn charmingly sexy in your ears. Older female anime viewers might remember her portraying Saionji Kanata in Daa! Daa! Daa!, which charmed everyone with his cool but rather careless personality. There was also Akizuki Ryou of IdolMaster DearlyStars, the bishounen Afuro Terumi in Inazuma Eleven, Satou Shinya in Mitsudomoe, Yuzuru Ema in World Trigger, and Ryuu in Akagami no Shirayukihime.

Despite being known mostly for her successful female roles such as Midorikawa Nao in Precure All Stars, Yoko Littner in Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, and Miyamoto Rei in High School of the Dead, Inoue Marina’s most known role is actually one of her male roles: Armin Arlelt of Shingeki no Kyoujin. Affiliated with Sigma Seven, Inoue Marina has been doing various kinds of roles ever since her debut in 2004. Among the male roles in her repertoire are Tagiru Akashi in Digimon Xros Wars, Inugami Koutarou in Mahou Sensei Negima!, and Hazama Hikaru in Beyblade: Metal Fusion. Having a rather versatile voice, though her range doesn’t reach as low as the other seiyuu mentioned in this list, Inoue’s light but upbeat voice proves to be a cute kind of sexy in some particular characters. One of her notable roles, Tachibana Wataru in Hayate no Gotoku, definitely managed to steal a lot of people’s hearts. Don’t forget to check out her voice in Grand Stage, an all-female seiyuu otome drama CD, where Inoue voices Kazamiya Eru.

Looking at someone from 81Produce this time, Takayama Minami is the owner of the voice behind the all-time classic series Detective Conan series’ Conan Edogawa and Kudou Shinichi. Her performance in this anime series has always been amazing, considering Takayama has to switch to her lower ‘Shinichi’ pitch every time she voices Conan’s inner monologue. She’s also widely known to have voiced Tendou Nabiki in Ranma ½, Rantarou in Nintama Rantarou, and Ascot in Magic Knight Rayearth, and Kiki in Ghibli’s Kiki’s Delivery Service. She might have done only several female roles, but they are all considerably amazing: Anissina von Karbelnikoff in Kyou Kara Maou! and Kati Mannequin in Gundam 00 are some of them. Takayama’s voice is the kind of light, almost playfully sexy, especially when she voices questionably antagonistic characters and draws out her dialogue. Take a look at Asakura Hao in Shaman King, Mithos in Tales of Symphonia, or even Dilandau Albatou in Escaflowne. She was also the one who voiced Envy in Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, taking over the role from Yamaguchi Megumi who did him in the 2003 version of the anime.

Recent anime audience would perhaps know Minagawa Junko as the voice behind Ten’ou Haruka, or Sailor Uranus, in the new Sailor Moon Crystal. Male anime audience would probably recognize her as the voice behind Cornelia Li Britannia in Code Geass series. But Minagawa Junko is actually most known for her extremely low alto which had scored her many young male characters who are slightly sully, arrogant, or temperamental—most notably her role as Echizen Ryouma in Tennis no Oujisama. Among her more boyish and less sexy voices in her roles was when she did Aoyagi Ritsuka of Loveless, Oz Vessalius in Pandora Hearts, and Kaidou Ren in Super Lovers. If Echizen Ryouma doesn’t sound sexy enough for you, do check her calmer roles in Duel Masters as Hakuoh, Asaba Yuuki in Kimi to Boku’s drama CD, or Saruwatari Shinobu in Godannar. Minagawa Junko was also cast in the otome game Goes! as Hinata Eli Farce. And don’t forget Trinity Blood where Minagawa Junko voiced the extremely beautiful Earl of Memphis, Ion Fortuna!

One of the very few Japanese seiyuu who is actually a fluent English speaker, Kaida Yuki actually started her career as a stage actress before becoming a radio personality and then a seiyuu, and is currently freelancing. Though her voice range is actually quite wide and versatile, Kaida Yuki’s known best for her young bishounen roles—beautiful, slightly mysterious young male characters, or mature, if slightly flirty oneesan characters such as Alexandra Garcia in Kuroko no Basket, and Jamille Kaela in Sister of Wellber. Along with several seiyuu in this list, Kaida is also another one cast in the all-female seiyuu otome game Goes!, portraying the mysterious and expressionless Kurone. Kaida’s male voice range is pleasingly soft and almost whispery, sounding very tantalizing in your ears, almost playfully sexy. Her best male role, also known as her most notable role, is Fuji Shuusuke in Tennis no Oujisama. Other than Fuji, several of her rather sexy male roles you should definitely check out are Himura Kenji in Rurouni Kenshin: Reflection OVA, Riou in Saiunkoku Monogatari, Kurapika in Hunter x Hunter, and Asaba Yuuta in Kimi to Boku drama CD. She’s also the voice behind Makabe Masaki in Zettai Shounen, Abe no Masahiro in Shounen Onmyouji, and China in Hetalia series.

A veteran seiyuu who has been quite busy lately with her singing career, Ogata Megumi actually still does a number of roles in the voice acting industry. She’s the voice behind Ten’ou Haruka or Sailor Uranus in the original Sailor Moon anime, and has been in the industry for about 24 years now, most famous to voice many beautiful male roles in various hit anime. Her most legendary role is perhaps Ikari Shinji from Neon Genesis Evangelion and Himura Kenshin from Rurouni Kenshin anime series. Ogata Megumi has a low, rather husky type of sexy voice that works really well with bishounen characters. Some of her sexy male roles include Yu Yu Hakusho’s Kurama, Tsukishiro Yukito or Yue in Cardcaptor Sakura, Sanada Yukimura in Samurai Deeper Kyo, and Dark Yuugi in Yu-Gi-Oh. Recently, she’s been doing roles for more boyish characters, and has been appearing in Persona 3 the Movie series as Amada Ken, Ansatsu Kyoushitsu as Horibe Itona, and Danganronpa series as Naegi Makoto. Ogata Megumi has also been casted as Hiou Akito in the otome drama CD Grand Stage.

Famously known as a Korean-Japanese voice actress, Paku Romi’s name leapt into absolute popularity worldwide ever since she began voicing the role of Edward Elric in Fullmetal Alchemist. Her voice is known to be strong if a bit rough, low and masculine, which secured her a lot of roles as young male protagonists or extremely tough female characters. Paku Romi won the First Annual Seiyuu Awards of Best Actress through the role of Osaki Nana in NANA, and she portrayed female roles such as Emma Guzman in Garo series, Teresa in Claymore, and Madam Red in Kuroshitsuji. Other than Edward Elric, some of the roles Paku Romi is widely known for include Shirogane Naoto in Persona 4 series, Hange Zoe in Shingeki no Kyoujin, Ichijouji Ken in Digimon Adventure 02, and Natsume Hyuuga in Gakuen Alice. Her sexy voice is the rough, if a bit boyish type, which you could hear in her role as Bleach’s Hitsugaya Toushirou, Tao Ren in Shaman King, Regene Regetta in Gundam 00, Heimdall in Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok, and Sengoku Basara’s Uesugi Kenshin.

If you look up Saiga Mitsuki on Google, one of the first suggestion you’d be getting is “Saiga Mitsuki’s gender”—a proof of how many people had been fooled by Saiga’s voice. Her repertoire is made up completely of male roles as well as manly, mostly badass, female characters. Some of her female roles include the cool Atari Kou in Star Driver and Maria Ross in Fullmetal Alchemist. She also gets a considerable roles of young boys, such as Okita Souji in Peacemake Kurogane, Shuu in Pokemon Advance, Kodate Mamoru in Soukyuu no Fafner, Tsukasa in .hack://SIGN, Wolfram von Bielefeld in Kyou Kara Maou!, and Rossiu in Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. Having a naturally deep, masculine voice does give Saiga more masculine male roles than most other female seiyuu who voice male roles as well. Among the roles where she gets to sound sexy are Jing in Jing: King of Bandits, Jomy Marquis Shin in Terra E, MakubeX in GetBackers, and Robert Haydn in Law of Ueki. Saiga also has been casted a number of BL and otome anime, drama CDs and games—she voiced one of the Thanatos Kyoudai in Kannou Jikan, Nijou Sakuya in Norn9, Kai Jolis Sakura in Goes!, Suoh Yui in Grand Stage, and Hanashiro in Hana Ki Sou.

A new princess must be chosen every 30 years as part of the Hime family tradition to serve the Hayagami. Arata is one of the very few who were born to take over the throne, since time and time again, no female had been able to take the throne. However Arata isn’t a female at all, but in fact a male and now he’s forced to disguise himself and play the role of the princess until an actual one is found. A shocking turn of events occur as he witnesses the current princess being murdered at a festival and now his own life is in turmoil, as he’s been framed for her murder. The real killer is on the loose and so now Arata must somehow convince the Imperial Court of his innocence. Even more of a twist is that another Arata is introduced into his world, and now the two of them are being chased after in this very comedy driven shounen series. As we stated earlier, Yuu Watase developed much of her reputation around the shoujo genre, but her shounen works have also garnered a lot of attention. Arata Kangatari came out in 2008 and was her first shounen serialized manga which debuted in the Weekly Shounen Sunday. While many were a little skeptical at first as to how the story would pan out, Arata Kangatari managed to woo over a lot her fans and created a lot of buzz among various mangaka in the community. Arata Kangatari is extremely funny because you have a young man posing as a woman who then is framed for a crime he didn’t commit, and what’s worse is that another Arata shows up to create even more drama. You couldn’t ask for a more terrible start to your teenage life, and try to live up to everyone’s expectations. The mythical world of Amawakuni is where it all goes down as Arata tries to uncover the truth behind the murder, why this new Arata character shows up, and just how he’ll manage to survive with his head being hunted by the entire kingdom.

This romantic story which takes place in the Taishou Era focuses on the life of Tagami Masataka, as he aims to seek out his life purpose. While preparing himself to become a rounin in school, he encounters a young boy named Saiki Souma, who’s the son of a dignified noble, and the two start to create a new relationship as part of the Saiki household. Sakura-Gari focuses on the life of Tagami and his budding relationship with Saiki, as the two come to learn of each other's pasts and uncover more about their own futures. It’s Yuu Watase’s first attempt at a Yaoi story which really dives into areas which can be a bit touchy for some, but it’s main purpose is to show you just how serious life can be at times. As you read on through this story, you start to discover more secrets behind Tagami’s tragic past and just how much hardships he’s dealt with, along with learning dark truths about the Saiki family. With so much going on throughout the story, you’re led to believe that one particular thing is true, but then your entire mind is blown by a shocking revelation that changes the story again. This psychological maze of mystery is sure to keep you buckled in your seat, as you start to unravel just what’s transpiring in this odd household.

Alice is considered by many to be quite the normal high school girl, as she’s a bit shy in her ways, has a crush on a young boy named Kyo, and her older sister is quite popular among many of her peers. However one day, Alice encounters a mysterious looking girl that isn’t quite like a normal girl since she resembles that of a rabbit. This encounter changes Alice’s life forever as she’s now introduced to a new power of the Lotis Words, which was given to her by this rabbit girl and she must use these special abilities to help reshape the world. This manga is full of laughter because Alice just doesn’t seem to know how to control her own powers, and one of the first big mistakes she encounters is making her sister disappear. The Lotis ability uses words to create special spells that affect the world around the user, and can reach the inner heart of others when used properly. Maram Words are the dark counter to the Lotis Words, which took Kyo’s girlfriend Mayura and so now she must learn to master this ability so that she can bring her sister back, and team up with her crush Kyo to uncover the dark truth that lies ahead of them. Yuu’s take on the fantasy drama proved to be a successful one as she stated this adventure drew inspiration from the famous Alice in Wonderland series, from which she remade her own unique story about Alice Seno. This tale is sure to excite those who enjoy a little slice of unpredictability, as well as a funny love triangle that’ll entertain you for some time.

Tanpopo attends an extremely elite academy in Tokyo but feels that the environment just doesn’t suit her. Many of the students at school tease her and claim that she isn’t capable of living up to their standards, and even the boy who she had interest in had absolutely no interest in her. All Tanpopo wanted to do was make friends and create a community around the things she loves, so she decides to make a gardening club in order to make her school experience more fulfilling. In this world of elitism and egocentric behaviors, Tanpopo must try to discover herself and hopefully encounter someone special along the way. This slice of life comedy looks at Tanpopo as she tries her best to fit into a world that she doesn’t belong in. Many of her peers accuse her of being unintelligent, while others just don’t seem to notice her existence. This determination to find answers is what makes Imadoki so rewarding of a read because, it demonstrates the power of the human mind to overcome obstacles, so long as you continue to strive to achieve what’s in your heart. Tanpopo truly wanted to make friends and so the insults and disgraceful remarks didn’t deter her from finding people who actually cared. A lot of people in this world will claim to respect you, but then laugh behind your back and make fun of you due to their own insecurities. Tanpopo overlooks all of that and along the way decides that her destiny relies solely on her decisions, and that love will only find her once she starts to accept and love the things she truly enjoys.

Something just didn’t feel right for both Aya and her twin brother Aki, as they thought they’d be celebrating their birthday at their grandfather’s home. However the funeral style atmosphere they were thrown into really tipped them off, and they suddenly realize that their birthday gift is a mummified hand which grants them enormous power. This hand awakens mysterious powers that were once hidden in Aya’s body, and leaves her brother Aki’s body covered in scars. Her grandfather informs her her brother will inherit the Mikage fortune while Aya must perish. With these newly found powers at her disposal, Aya must decide what’s right for her and to prevent further catastrophe from developing. Ayashi no Ceres was well received in Japan and was awarded the 1998 Shogakukan Manga award for best shoujo, which cemented her status as one of the great mangaka. What made Ayashi no Ceres so exciting was that the way it all began seemed intriguing. Aya has this mysterious power that can destroy anything in her path, and it was granted to her through her grandfather of all people. Then these very same powers almost killed her brother, but now she must finish the job to receive the heir. Two of her friends try to come to her rescue but they two face an extremely out of control power that only Aya can tame. You’re left curious as to why she needs to be killed, and just how much Aya can endure before she goes nuts and causes more pain which was never her intention to begin with.

For most of her life, Riiko just hasn’t had the best of luck when it comes to dealing with men. Her countless efforts to score the right mate ends up in rejection, so she decides to take the next step and signs up for a free trial of a nightly lover figure. By the next day the robot figure arrives at her door, and surprisingly wants to become her boyfriend. All of the traits she had wished for had finally become a reality, and now all she needed was time to spend with him. Unfortunately there’s only so much time to spend with him since she needs to return it back, so Riiko must decide what’s best for her. This manga was so popular all throughout Japan that it was turned into a drama series, which also became an extremely huge hit among many. We managed to read and watch both and they really do follow the story to the tee. Riiko’s life was just a bore and almost depressing, as she just couldn’t find someone who she could love. This is so relatable because we’ve all been there before at least once in our lives, where constant rejections continue to haunt us and opportunities pass us by. What made this manga so wonderful to read was that it spoke of the truths pertaining to human behavior but reflects on the relationships between humans and robots. Think of this like Chobits but on a more mature and extremely romantic level, and how much it truly captures every detail of Riiko’s budding yet humorous relationship. You laugh so hard at her mishaps or when she tries to express her deepest emotions, but you feel her struggles as she tries to get to know more about herself through the entire ordeal.

Fushigi Yuugi has an expansive story that looks at the life of various characters who all get sucked into the Universe of the Four Gods. Much of Fushigi Yuugi looks details the mythology of the four creatures of China. Genbu Kaiden is the prequel to the original series and focuses more on how the Universe of the Four Gods was created, and explains the full backstory of the Princess of Genbu. Takiko had every intent in her body to destroy her father’s translation of the Universe of the Four Gods, but is then transported into the world and becomes the Princess of Genbu on a quest to find seven warriors. We chose Yuu’s prequel mainly because it gives readers an opportunity to learn more about the origins of the Universe, and to understand just why Takiko was chosen. Yuu’s clever approach to the series is what made it very fascinating since you’re initially thrown into the main part of the story with the original, but if you wanted to know how it all began reading through Genbu Kaiden would serve its purpose. This manga is full of so much emotion and tragedy that it’ll tear right through your heartstrings once it all escalates. Without giving too much away, Takiko falls in love with Uruki and the two become inseparable, but because of her duties as a princess much of their relationship is back and forth. Takiko works hard to find these celestial warriors and must use her own willpower to overcome deadly obstacles that could potentially prevent her from having her 3 wishes granted. As an extra bonus in the manga, there’s a side story to Ayashi no Ceres that details the events after the end of the series, so once you read through Genbu Kaiden be sure to check that out as well.

Ebichu is the sweet and caring pet hamster of Office Lady who just wants to do what she can to please her owner. Ebichu’s constantly fighting with Office Lady’s useless, cheating boyfriend, Kaishounashi, who Office Lady just can’t quit. This little hamster is determined to make up for the useless people in her master’s life, taking it upon herself to do household chores, answer embarrassing questions for her master, and refereeing Kaishounashi and Office Lady’s sex when she thinks it’s not good enough for OL. Despite getting beat up constantly, Ebichu faces each day with energy and optimism! Both Ebichu and Gakuen Handsome take things that are supposed to be cute and instead pervert and make a mockery of them. While Ebichu definitely has more sexual content, they share in their use of violence as comedy, with characters healing quickly from their wounds. Neither of the shows uses romance or sexual innuendo in an attempt to arouse or excite the audience. When Ebichu reads an erotic novel out-loud using character voices while her master has sex, and when Sakuya asks Yoshiki out to pee together, it’s only to elicit laughs with the ridiculous scenarios.

Teekyuu follows the everyday life of Yuri and her three friends in the tennis club, who are far removed from reality. She’s swept along by their antics every day despite wanting to lead a normal life abiding by the laws of physics. Kanae, Marimo and Natsuno flout decency of logic without much concern for what that means for others. Yuri doesn’t have the luxury of worrying about their lack of tennis proficiency when she has to constantly stop her three senpai from abusing their wealth, committing crimes, and engaging in reckless activities! Yuri and Yoshiki both are the main characters and end up being somewhat of a straight man in the series. They are also both the target of gay advances by multiple characters. However, Yuri is definitely more likely than Yoshiki to give the others a hard time about their antics or refuse their advances. Both anime feature quick dialogue where almost every other line is something ridiculous or perverted. The actions and abilities of the characters far exceed human limitations which make for a lot of visual humor. Teekyuu doesn’t have quite as strong a gay romance presence as Gakuen Handsome does, but they are very similar in terms of comedy!

Ai, Mai, and Mii are members of the manga writing club, yet Mai and Mii care little for actually participating. Instead, they spend their days annoying Ai, who is the only one who takes activities seriously. The three girls are constantly getting into crazy, video game-like situations and often get into battles with each other, yet they'll be together again by the start of the next episode. From meeting strange creatures to encountering magic and becoming cyborgs, each day brings with it new and strange joy! Ai and Yoshiki are very similar in that they both are slightly more serious than their schoolmates but still get into some weird antics of their own. They might not be as prone to crazy, but they have their own bizarre displays. Ai Mai Mii is another short anime with ridiculous scenarios and undetailed artwork, yet it parodies several genres and there is far less romance in this series. However, if you came for a crazy, slice of life comedy, you will not be disappointed!

When Tomoya’s father remarries, Tomoya is interested to see what kind of person his new stepsister, Ichika, is. He soon finds out she is an obsessive stalker and desperately wishes to be around him at all times. She’ll even put her safety on the line just to get a few more moments with him! Ichika has no shame and will throw herself at her stepbrother in front of friends and family. Tomoya tries to maintain normal relationships with others but that’s a difficult endeavor when Ichika won’t let him be alone with anyone! While not being potential romantic interests to the main character like in Gakuen Heaven, the supporting characters of Oneechan ga Kita are similar. We have the childhood ikemen (pretty boy) friend, the verbally abusive and intelligent student from another class, and the violent delinquent who shows favor to the main character. Aside from additional characters being introduced, there's not much progression to the plot. However, My Sister Came is a bit more of a serious attempt to show complicated romance between characters. Instead of gay love, it's sibling love, and of course, the other characters react to it like it was a weird hobby rather than a social taboo.

When the cat-loving Inugami meets the dog-enthusiast Nekoyama, a mutual attraction is born when the two find the characteristics they love in each other. Inugami is quite the dog when it comes to cute girls, and she relentlessly goes after Nekoyama. Nekoyama enjoys the attention, but too much makes her run away. As more animal-like classmates enter their circle of friends, the girls might find the need to mark their territory. Inugami-san to Nekoyama-san features an all-girl cast where multiple relationships seem possible, while Gakuen Handsome features an all-boy cast with multiple possible pairings. Right off the bat, though, we can guess who the main character will end up with in Inugami-san, while Gakuen Handsome leaves us wondering just who Yoshiki will choose sexy tea-time with. Inugami also is quite easily flustered by each new girl she encounters just as Yoshiki feels his heart beating faster with each new senpai! This show is great for animal lovers~

Arikawa Hime finds himself in serious trouble when his parents leave a huge debt in his name and then run off, leaving him to be the prey of loan sharks. After being forced into a maid outfit in order to bring in some money, the beautiful boy tries to run away, only to be hunted down. He thinks his luck is turning around when the bishoujo (beautiful girl) student council members of Shimoshina High School beat off the intruders, and offer to pay his debts. The catch? He must continue to dress as a girl, and be the dog of the student council! While Himegoto has the added ridiculousness of forcing the main character to dress as a girl, it’s similar to Gakuen Handsome in that both main boys are showered with more attention than anyone else in the school. Both shows are also in a school setting where teachers obviously don’t do much to stem the flow of crazy from their students. The artwork certainly isn’t as laughable as Gakuen Handsome and their antics are more nonsensical than straight up impossible. However, it is definitely another fun, short, ridiculous anime to watch when you run out of GH!

If you are enjoying the extravagance and the alluring dance moves in Yuri!!! on Ice, then look no further than the dancing found in Starmyu. This group of high school musical boys, create idol dance performances that even Victor could learn a thing or two from. This group has reached celebrity status within the school and there is a harsh competition to become a new member of the school’s musical class. We come into the anime from the perspective of the new boy in school who is inspired by the draw of performing on stage. During the auditions for the “Star Frame Class” musical department of his school, he realizes achieving his dream of becoming a member might not be as easy as he thought. Similar to Yuri!!! on Ice, we have a main character who is trying to make it into the big leagues. Despite his lack of skills, his passion shines through to the other members of the group. If you enjoy watching Yuri fight for his dream, then you will enjoy watching all of the prospective members of the Star Frame Class strive toward their goals.

Talk about extreme sports, Prince of Stride is the ultimate parkour dream! This is a colorful and intense anime about an extreme sport called “Stride”. The players run in teams of 6 in a relay race through many natural obstacles including, parks, buildings, and bridges. Yagami and Fujiwara are the two characters struggling the most at the beginning of this show. They are unable to perform good relay connections, or “Relations”, during the matches, which is a wonderful innuendo that the audience can grab hold of. Prince of Stride is full of beautiful men working hard, and what could be better than that. Each of the characters has their own personal obstacles to overcome, whether they be past problems or family issues. Throughout the anime we get to see these characters grow and form bonds together. The BL nature of this show can be seen most in the competitive spirit of the team members, as they seem to never stop challenging each other.

A love for volleyball brings a high school team together to go against some of the strongest opponents in their division. When the short Hinata and the setter-genius Kageyama join Karasuno High School's volleyball team, two former rivals must learn how to play together. It takes a long time to build up trust between the two, but once these two players are in sync, Karasuno’s Volleyball team becomes unstoppable. The relationship between all the members of the team are open for BL interpretation. Between the captain and the legendary libero, and of course between our couple who loves to hate each other, Hinata and Kageyama. People from all over the world have created pairs from the interactions and subtleties that you can see in the anime. All of the characters are working to make their team the best, but all of them can fall into slumps. It takes encouragement from all of the other members to cheer them on and continue fighting.

Cheer Boys follows a team of boys as they struggle to create an all men’s cheerleading club at their university. Kazuma Hashimoto and Haruki Bando were inspired to create this team after leaving their school’s judo club. After recruiting several members, the boys realize that cheerleading is not nearly as easy as they thought. Episode 4 of this series is when you will fall in love with this band of misfits. This cheerleading group brings all kinds of people together and you get to see how such a varied group can become a strong united front. Similar to Yuri!!! on Ice, Cheer Boys!! creates a story around a not so typical sport for men. Cheerleading is often seen as a women’s sport, so the juxtaposition of seeing it with men in the leading role is really fun. People’s perception of this stereotype is also one of the challenges that the club must fight while training. This is such a lovable group of kids though, who are all trying something new and challenging for the first time. There are some BL implications between the two main characters similar to Yuri!!! on Ice, but they are both struggling together, rather than trying to surpass the other. This show has a lot of squeal worthy moments, especially when all their hard work pays off and you can watch the final routine.

This is an adorable show about one high school student finding his love for soccer. After being introduced to the sport by the handsome Jin, Tsukushi is determined to become a member of his high school’s team, despite having no experience. His goal at first is to at least be able to run, and with that we can see how strong his spirit is. Despite Jin being the star first-year player, Tsukushi is the one who is able to inspire the other students and encourage them to work their hardest. Throughout the anime we get to see Jin’s care for Tsukushi. The Boys Love theme in this anime is very strong between these two characters, as Jin is moved by Tsukushi’s determination and cares for him when he is injured. This show has an overwhelming amount of fighting spirit shown by the main character, Tsukushi. If you love watching Yuri’s determination, then you will also love Tsukushi’s no-quit attitude, especially with the dreamy Jin there cheering him on.

Free! Is the original sports BL fantasy. Ever since the broadcast of the trial commercial by Kyoto Animation, the anime community could not help but fantasize about these toned young men and their love for swimming (and each other). When Haruka joins his high school swimming team, we learn about his troublesome relationship with his childhood friend, Rin. Rin and Haruka used to swim together as children, but after winning an important tournament, Rin moved away. After meeting again in high school, Haruka realizes that his childhood friend is completely changed. Rin is now obsessed with beating Haruka and becoming number one. The relationship between Rin and Haruka, while having a different tone, is very similar to the relationship between Victor and Yuri. Both of these couples have a passion for the sport they are in, and are fighting to better themselves. While Rin is taking a competitive path against the main character, Victor plays a much more supportive role. But the intensity level between both couples are very similar. Free! is full of innuendo and adorable mishaps between all of the boys in the swim teams.

Shirobako is all about the anime industry, sharing the process and hard work into creating them. Shirobako also documents five high school girls from the Kaminoyama High School animation club with hopes and dreams of making it into various fields of the anime industry. The girls are in the midst of producing their own publication, unveiling their work at an upcoming cultural festival. From this, fast tracking two years later, their dreams becoming reality, as we follow two of the girls, who now work at a very notable animation company. In comparison, Shirobako is about making anime, while Gi(a)rlish Number is about seiyuus. They both reveal the hardships of such industries; showing that it is not as easy at it appears to be. Additionally, Shirobako and Gi(a)rlish Number begin their stories on a lighter note, but further into the series, strike viewers into a more dramatic and profound position. Each of the anime have an array of vibrant characters, who all depict very realistic and relatable personalities.

Hibike! Euphonium is a slice of life anime that involves the day-to-day events of Kumiko Oumae and her high school brass band mates. After a terrible incident that occurred at her middle school regional competition, Kumiko never wanted to play her euphonium again. Looking to rebuild her identity and image at the start of high school, her instrument fails to escape her, as she makes friends who have an interest in playing in the school’s brass band club. Here, we watch the drama and excitement unfold, as disorder and disagreements ignite the various members of the club when the time comes for them to compete again. Hibike! Euphonium and Gi(a)rlish Number surround a group of girls realizing their dreams, ambitions and goals, and the focus they muster in order to achieve what they want. In both anime, we see a lot of different characters, which make for an interesting cast, highlighting various subcomplexes for the storyline. Lastly, we can observe that all the characters work incredibly hard to where they want to be.

Love Live! Sunshine!! is “a youthful school drama about nine girls who aim to shine!” To be a school idol is what Chika Takami always wanted. She was so mesmerized by school idols, particularly by school idol group Muse, and wanted to share this interest and obsession with her friends. In the prequel to this anime, Love Live! School Idol Project, which provides an alternate, yet similar storyline, Chika creates the “school idol club” and their group, Aqours is born. As we follow Chika and her friends, we observe the ups and downs of the girls working to become rising idols. In comparison, Love Live! Sunshine!! and Gi(a)rlish Number share a colorful and likeable cast, with vibrant, bright animation. They both highlight the journey to reaching your dreams and the difficulties that you can encounter. Although one is about the anime industry and the other music, there is some realism to each theme with an abundance of climatic drama and comedic relief. The secondary overall message for both anime wishes to relay that everyone should have a positive outlook to every situation, no matter how grim things may appear.

Sore ga Seiyuu! is a comedic, slice of life that follows three young ladies, Futaba Ichinose, Ichigo Moesaki and Rin Kohana, who all aspire to be prominent voice actresses in the seiyuu industry. The leading character, Futaba, is on the quest for any and every audition and casting calls she can nab in order to establish her place in the industry. Collectively, the three girls strive to undertake the competitive realm of voice acting, facing many hardships along the way. In both Sore ga Seiyuu! and Gi(a)rlish Number, they discuss the trials and tribulations of voice acting. The two anime take different approaches to sharing the seiyuu world, but they do provide a little insight to how things are like, along with some humor to not make each series entirely somber. The group of girls in both anime offer each other support and nurturing that is ultimately needed in such a cut-throat domain.

Aoba Suzukaze is a recent high school graduate, ready to impact the workforce by being employed at a popular gaming company. Aoba has been into games throughout her life . Incidentally, the individual who happened to create the game Aoba loved as a child, is her supervisor. In addition to her excitement, she is working on future installments of this very game that drew her into games in the first place. In awe and admiration, Aoba is compelled to put in her greatest efforts at the company in order to be as successful as her predecessor. We also see the collectiveness that comes together in creating such imaginative productions. In comparing New Game! and Gi(a)rlish Number, Chitose and Aoba, our heroines, strive to become part of the entertainment industry, trying to make a name for themselves in society. They are both new to the field with a lot to learn and experiencing various events that contradict their previous ideals in their respective fields. Both anime feature an adorable cast, which we believe spotlight the innocence Chitose and Aoba possess in starting out on their endeavors.

In Wake Up, Girls!, we begin to see the seven member group off to a rough start. The girls make their debut, but have little luck establishing a fanbase and popularity. In their fruitless debut performance, the girls are knocked with more misfortune, as their manager takes off with their earnings, resulting in their label, Green Leaves Entertainment, and the band itself being on the brink of nonexistence. Later on, we see the girls experience a turn of events, they’re offered a second chance at their dream; of course, paired with much turmoil, but nonetheless the girls are willing to bear it. As such, we watch the girls take on the demanding and taxing musical industry. In similarity, we watch both groups of young girls fight hard for the place they want to be and the goal they want to attain. We experience their heartfelt crusade, recognizing that this lifestyle and field of work, music and voice acting, is more than just fame and flashing lights. More so, these girls are ambitious, an admirable trait that is essential in such a competitive environment.

In an era where pirates were “everything” on both land and sea, Gol D. Roger was the most prominent “Pirate King” to sail the Grand Line. Upon his capture and death by the World Government, his last words invoked and echoed a great challenge to the next generation of pirates. Among the challengers is Monkey D. Luffy. Unlike most pirates, Luffy quickly distinguished himself by setting the highest bounty in pirate history. Together, Luffy and his crew, the Straw Hats, take on their dreams of sailing the Grand Line in search of riches, fame and glory. Their adventurous spirits take them on an incredibly exciting voyage, with countless twists and turns. Emporio Ivankov or Iva-chan is introduced to viewers at Impel Down, the Marine’s maximum-security prison. Iva-chan is the former Queen of the Kamabakka Kingdom, where the inhabitants are cross dressers (okama). Recognized as a “miracle worker”, Iva-chan is a current inmate in Impel Down’s notorious Level 5, which is also the secret location of the “Okama Paradise”. As a renowned Okama queen, Iva-chan does everything in the most outrageous fashion. Her makeup includes dramatic eyeliner and lashes, blue eye shadow, and purple lipstick to match her showy afro. Even in her other feminine form, she rocks this look with the utmost confidence.

Fullmetal Alchemist follows two brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric. The Elric brothers live in a world where alchemy exists. After their father abandoned them, Edward and Alphonse lived peacefully with their mother. Some years later, the boys tragically lose their mother at a young age. Having a talent for alchemy, the boys decide to bring their mother back. In explanation, alchemy utilizes the laws of equivalent exchange; something of equal value must be sacrificed in order to receive what is desired and things cannot be produced out of nothing. However, human transmutation, what the boys attempted to perform to get their mother back, is strictly forbidden and unfortunately goes terribly wrong. Consequently, as the anime progresses, we discover the heart-wrenching lengths Edward and Alphonse must go to in order to regain the parts of them that were lost. Lust is a homunculus, an artificially created human. She disregards humanity and compels people to act upon their lustful desires for her own advantages. Lust is heartless and capricious, until later on, memories of her humanity gradually emerge. Classified as one of the seven deadly sins, Lust’s appearance is dark, always dressed in form-fitting, feminine attire. Her makeup includes winged tip eyeliner for a sultry cat-eye look, in addition to the classic red lip that contrasting her pale complexion. A timeless, recognized look, you can’t go wrong with a red lipstick to any outfit.

Kamisama Hajimemashita is a romantic comedy that follows a young lady named Nanami Momozono. Nanami is in a bit of a bind when she loses her home due to her father’s gambling problem. Without any direction on what to do and where to go, she wanders into the park to figure out what her next step is. In happenstance, she hears a commotion, finding a guy stuck up a tree, blockaded by a barking dog. After Nanami saves this man from the harmless dog, he bestows to her a special mark deeming her a “land god”, along with a place to stay, which happens to be a shrine, and the responsibility to care for it. As she accepts this task, Nanami’s exciting escapades begin. Narukami is a horrific, bratty god with a shrine located in the sky. Harboring huge jealously towards Nanami because of her close relationship with Tomoe, Narukami steals the mark bestowed to Nanami and temporarily gains control of the shrine. Cold and heartless in the most immature way, Narukami needs everything to be her way or the highway. Moreover, she treats her familiar in the most nasty and unpleasant ways. Dissimilarly, her horrible personality does not reflect the beauty she displays on the outside. As she is very alluring, Narukami has gorgeous blue and purple ombré hair, purple eye shadow, purple lipstick and wears beautifully matching kimonos. Essentially, she does not embody the phrase “beauty is only skin-deep.”

Ergo Proxy is an interesting, deeply intricate and philosophical anime that surrounds the dark elements of humanity at the brink of extinction. As most of the planet is inhabitable, mankind must rely on the usage of autonomous robots called AutoReivs. Re-l Mayer enters the story as an AutoReiv inspector who must investigate a number of defective and contaminated AutoReivs due to contracting the Cogito virus. As she dives deeper into this investigation, Re-l further discovers mysterious and mythical beings called Proxies. As such, she must uncover what purpose they hold for the city of Romdo and the entire planet. As Re-l has the fate of humanity to be most concerned for, we cannot help that her appearance is what draws viewers into this anime. In an all black ensemble, she wears heavy blue eye shadow around her eyes. Surrounded in darkness and dreariness, the blue that she wears may perhaps interpret tranquility within herself, as the world around her is in chaos.

Hunter x Hunter captures the story of Gon Freecss, a strong willed young man who is determined to be the very best hunter. In doing so, Gon must face perilous challenges, testing him in every way possible. In completing the prestigious Hunter’s exam, Gon meets several people who grow to become his close friends; Leorio, Killua and Kurapika. Each with their own goals in mind, the four of them always have each other’s backs. As time goes by, Gon, Leorio, Killua, and Kurapika encounter various characters, creatures and obstacles that demonstrate more challenging than the previous ones. Overall, they never lose sight of their ambitions, continuing to grow as skilled Hunters. Hisoka is a memorable character because of his strength and abilities, climbing to the top in the most cruel and deceitful ways. As he is constantly scouting for challenging opponents, Hisoka quickly takes interest in Gon. Although he doesn’t wear much on his face, Hisoka is recognized with his star and teardrop adornments and his thin but dramatic eyebrows. With an affinity for cards, this look is flattering to his brash personality.

Peach Girl is a drama-filled romance comedy about Momo Adachi, who is caught in a love triangle with a boy she likes, named Toji, and a boy who likes her, Kairi. Momo is not your typical-looking high school girl, in that she is very tanned due to her being on the swim team and tanning very easily. Her ginger hair also stands out from the rest as the chemicals in the pool water have lightened it significantly. As she is very gorgeous in her own way, her looks do not attract her crush, which notably crushes her self-esteem. Unfortunately, Momo tries her best to be the girl Toji wants, but has trouble doing so. Peach Girl reveals the events and circumstances of Momo as she is faced with everyday high school challenges. Momo’s look covers blue eye shadow and hot pink lipstick. As the anime is called Peach Girl, her skin tone is very glimmered and sun-kissed. As this warm tone is very flattering, Momo should remember that she should embrace her differences and not try to change who she is for anyone!

Oshiete! Galko-chan shows the daily on-goings of Galko and her friends, Otako and Ojou, in and around school. In addition, the girls attempt to “bust” the myths surrounding the female anatomy. Galko-chan is “a bit sharp-tongued, but a good-natured, popular girl in the class.” As such, we explore the minds of school-aged youths and what they experience as they go through various physical and psychological changes. To highlight her bubbly personality, pinks are featured in Galko-chan’s appearance. Galko-chan’s makeup includes pink eyeshadow, blush, glossy lips and pink nail polish. Unlike the typical schoolgirls surrounding Galko-chan, she is more full-figured, but does not let this aspect of her become the target of intimidation.

Nana is the story of two women named… Nana, lol. Nana Komatsu, the narrative of this anime, is an adventurous spirit, who moves to Tokyo to be closer to her boyfriend. Alternatively, Nana Osaki is an aspiring musician in a punk band that is slowly making its way to the top. They coincidentally meet on a train, unexpectedly bond, and later end up as roommates. Nana captures the lives of these two women, joined by their name, as they live out their lives beginning new adventures. Nana Osaki’s edgy and dark look includes heavy eye makeup (eye shadows, liner, and mascara) and various hues of red lipstick. Her color schemes include a lot of red and black with little variation of anything else. In addition, she also has painted nails, piercings and tattoos and wears tons of accessories to brighten her look.

In Bihada Ichizouku, the Bihada sisters, Sara and Saki are involved and compete in the world renowned “World Beautiful-Skin Competition” to retain their legacies as prominent figures in the beauty industry. Sara, the younger twin, is more personable with natural beauty to compliment. Saki, the older twin, is equally beautiful. However, Saki is more opposed to the industry and vindictively wants to steal the crown and spotlight from her outshining younger sister. Throughout this anime, we observe the drama unfold and the competitive nature between the sisters and other competitors. “It’s about to be a girl fight!” Although both Saki and Sara are beautiful in their own right, Sara is the face for Bihada Ichizouku. Sara resonates very pleasant and magical features; like a fairytale princess, if that makes any sense! Her makeup look includes eyeliner, mascara, blush, and pink lipstick. Her full and voluminous hair is always accompanied with a lovely accessory, whether it’s a crown or a floral headpiece. Furthermore, Sara’s look has influenced a line of beauty products to include facemasks, creams and cosmetics!

Kuragehime is the story of Tsukimi Kurashita and her four awkward, nerdy, and anti-social roommates, all possessing strange fixations. Tsukimi and her roomies all live in a sharehouse in Tokyo with a strict ‘no boys allowed’ rule. Tsukimi’s world, along with the other girls’, is greatly impacted when she meets a gorgeous ‘lady’ who is actually a guy name Kuranosuke. Tsukimi and Kuranosuke are from vastly different worlds, but offer each other great advice, teaching each other the benefit of stepping out of one’s comfort zone and accepting yourself as you are. Kuranosuke, aka Kurako, is extremely fashionable. Not only has he helped Tsukimi and the other girls in the sharehouse open up, he discovers and puts forth more efforts into his own dreams and aspirations; that is, to make a name in the fashion industry. Kurako likes who she is and is not afraid to experiment with new styles and trends. It’s hard to keep up with the many looks Kurako uses, but she usually pairs her makeup, a bold lip color, eye shadow and eyeliner, with different wigs and trendy outfits displayed throughout the series. As such, we feel she is number one on this list for the countless, limitless, and various ways Kurako uses makeup, inspiring beauty in herself and others.

Let’s start off the list with an anime that hits close to Kiss Him, Not Me, minus the reverse harem. Sakaguchi Ryou is not your typical high school boy, as he is a full-fledged Fundanshi -a boy that likes male x male romance. However, he has one certain dilemma, he doesn’t have any friends who are also Fundanshi like him. Join him as he goes through OTP ship wars, mistaken sexuality because of BL, buying BL Doujinshi alone, and a whole lot more! Fundanshi Koukou Seikatsu is written by another famous BL mangaka, Michinoku Atami, who is more known for her deep and somewhat realistic plot in yaoi mangas. BL lovers will surely enjoy this show as they can relate on a spiritual level. In this anime, it is quite evident that Nishihara Rumi and Sakaguchi Ryou can be similar to our heroine in Kiss Him, Not Me, Serinuma Kae. They are both Fujoshi and/or Fundanshi by heart. Both anime tackle the life and everyday struggles of being a BL lover, and really it’s quite hard when they have such wide imaginations. From not falling in love because of their OTP’s to pairing real life people, they practically mirror each other! We also get to see the different sides of being a Fujoshi and a Fundanshi despite having the same obsessions for BL. To put it simply, this show parodies the real-life adventures of BL lovers in a comedic way just like in Kiss Him, Not Me. The episodes are fairly short; nonetheless, it delivers the comedy nicely. Go ahead and watch Fundanshi Koukou Seikatsu as it will surely never disappoint!

Sakura Chiyo has gathered all her might to confess to her crush, Nozaki Umetarou. Unfortunately, Nozaki is as dense as a rock and mistakens Chiyo as his fan. It is then revealed that Nozaki and the well-known shoujo mangaka, Yumeno Sakiko, are one and the same! Chiyo ends up as Nozaki’s assistant all the while still trying her best to get Nozaki to notice her feelings. One main point that is very similar to Kiss Him, Not Me is that both main characters, Nozaki and Serinuma, are very oblivious to the advances of the people who are fond of them. Chiyo tries so hard to get the attention of Nozaki but it ends up with her helping him in his ridiculous antics. Just like how the four boys are constantly making the moves on Serinuma but ends up in her weird shenanigans. Both shows also have their very own female prince-type character. In Gekkan Shoujo, it’s Kashima Yuu; while in Kiss Him, Not Me, it’s Nishina, Shina who, by the way, is also a doujinshi writer, unlike Nozaki who is a shoujo mangaka. If our first selection parodies the life of BL lovers, Gekkan Shoujo parodies the genre shoujo like Kiss Him, Not Me. Gekkan Shoujo is a romantic comedy that will appeal to anyone. This show is surely a highly recommended anime, so why not give it a watch?

Haruhi Fujioka, a scholarship candidate from a prestigious school, just wants to find a proper place to study. However, when Haruhi opened the door to the music room, the scholarship candidate was greeted by a bunch of handsome hosts! Frantic about their unexpected approach, Haruhi accidentally breaks a vase that is worth 8 million. Without the means to pay the vase, the host club takes Haruhi as their errand boy, and each member begins to realize that Haruhi is a girl after all! Similarly, Ouran High School Host Club and Kiss Him, Not Me are reverse harem anime that don’t follow the basics or the norm of the genre. Both of these shows are unique in regards to their plot and execution, but very similar when it comes to the overall atmosphere of the anime. Besides having almost the same vibe as Kiss Him, Not Me, it also parallels some of the characters’ situations, mainly our heroines in both shows. Serinuma and Haruhi have “transformed” into whole new people because of a certain event, they got their first kiss with an unexpected character, have been chased by a certain handsome woman and are always surrounded by handsome young men, who have their very own distinct personality archetypes. If you are trying to find an anime that is very close to Kiss Him, Not Me, then Ouran High School Host Club is definitely a choice that you won’t regret.

Four handsome young boys are allowed to stay at a luxurious mansion for free in the condition that they must transform Sunako Nakahara into a perfect lady. They thought it was easy until they realized that Sunako is far off in the deep end with her gloomy self and her dark horrendous atmosphere. To make it worse, they can’t fully approach Sunako as every time she sees good looking people, she ends up with a nosebleed, making their advances towards her useless. The similarity of these two anime is that our main heroines are obsessed with their hobbies. Serinuma likes anime and BL related things while Sunako loves anything that is dark, scary, and gory. Both also “transform” in a way, but unlike Serinuma’s sudden change, Sunako’s is a bit slower, as Serinuma’s change is due to a shocking experience while Sunako’s change is intended from the start by her aunt. The show is also a reverse harem anime with the boys of both shows having the same weird expressions when their respective heroines are fangirling or fantasizing about their obsessions. However, in spite of this, they slowly but continuously respect their main heroines, support them in their hobbies and become personally attached to them throughout the whole process of the show. The only big difference between these two is that Yamato Nadeshiko’s boys don’t pursue Sunako romantically, except for the main guy; while Serinuma is being pursued by the main boys that surround her. Yamato Nadeshiko is very exaggerated and more random than Kiss Him, Not Me, but that’s what makes this show enjoyable and adorable! It’s very funny and sweet, another good choice in your watch list.

Hikigaya Hachiman’s world is turned upside down when his teacher punishes him for writing an essay that is filled with disgust towards relationships between people. His punishment? To join a volunteer service club in order to help students in their predicament. In the club, he meets the “Ice-cold beauty” Yukino Yukinoshita and the bubbly girl Yui Yuigahama. My Teen Romantic Comedy is deeper and more serious compared to Kiss Him, Not Me and our other listed selections. However, despite the heavy issues that this anime has to offer, it also showcases romance and comedy, just like in Kiss Him, Not Me. Overall, Kiss Him, Not Me and My Teen Romantic Comedy are anime about school life and its colorful and funny interactions. If you want something that is a bit more realistic when it comes to romantic comedies, then My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU is right for you! It has a 2nd season and an OVA so it’s a good binge watch without waiting for it every week.

Ever since she was young, Tachibana Hotaru has had a strong sense of justice. That’s why when Hotaru misunderstood her friend, Kanae, and thought that a host had tricked her, Hotaru immediately went to the host club to punish the evildoer. There, she meets Matsuoka Masamune and is introduced to the world of survival games. When the match was done and Tachibana emerged as the loser, Matsuoka invites Tachibana to his survival game team “Toy Gun Gun” to pay up the damage that Hotaru has caused in the host club. Aoharu x Machinegun may not be another reverse harem in our list but hey, Tachibana Hotaru is surrounded by hot male guys. Just like Kiss Him, Not Me, Aoharu x Machinegun is filled with funny and cute sweet moments. Not only that, Tachibana and Serinuma are very similar in that both characters are strong-willed, naive, and mostly oblivious to their surroundings. And just like how the boys in Kiss Him, Not Me do not realize that Serinuma is an otaku and BL lover until she shows/admits it, Aoharu x Machinegun’s Matsuoka and Yukimura are completely unaware that Tachibana is a girl, despite people from outside their team noticing that she is indeed a girl. This show is certainly heavy in action but that is only a plus for this gorgeous anime.

It doesn’t happen every day when you discover that your family bloodline carries the DNA to the world’s most notorious phantom thief and our hero Niwa Daisuke found out the hard way. Daisuke is your average teenage boy who is clumsy and wimpy and has a huge crush on Harada Risa, but his life changed after he turned 14 when the blood of Phantom Thief Dark Mousy manifested within him and turned our wimpy guy to one of the most prolific thieves in history. The story focuses more on the sorta-love-triangle-ish story between Daisuke and the twin siblings, Risa and Riku, and living his life as a normal boy by day and a phantom thief by night. Like a majority of the anime these days, D.N.Angel has some magical elements that turn stealing valuable artifacts, evading the police, and fighting powerful foes into a sort of art form that is one of a kind.

Despite having no memories of his childhood, Klein Teito is a promising young student of Barsburg Empire's Military Academy, specializing in training elite soldiers to serve, fight and bring glory to the empire. The elite soldiers have the ability to use the energy called “Zaiphon” and use it to battle, but ultimately the Zaiphon’s power entirely depends on the wielder’s personality. On graduation day at the academy, Teito’s memories are slowly coming back and discovered that one of the top elites of the empire killed his father. In a fit of rage, he tried but failed to kill the elite and got thrown into the dungeon awaiting death. With a help of a friend, Teito escapes the academy and the quest for Teito’s vengeance begins. The majority of the story focuses on Teito making new friends and unraveling the mystery of her father’s death, but there’s a good helping of fight scenes that involve the magical power known as Zaiphon. The fights aren’t really as flashy or as lengthy, but they’re plenty to break the tedium.

You follow the story of two best friends Yuuki Miaka and Hongo Yui are transported from Japan’s National Library into the world of a mysterious book set in ancient China, "The Universe of The Four Gods." There Miaka was destined to become the priestess of Suzaku and must find all of her celestial warriors to help her summon Suzaku for three wishes. Yui was teleported to rival nation Seiryuu and unfortunately, Yui was treated as kindly as Miaka was. Yui was manipulated by the people of Seiryuu to become a priestess of Seiryuu. With both girls in nations striving for power, the former best friends will battle each other not only for the wishes but also for love. The anime has everything from love triangles, betrayals, magic, and... uh, cross-dressing that is set in a mythical ancient China. There’s a healthy dose of action scenes to keep the pace going, and hearts thumping. And while the battles aren’t exactly shounen-tier, the battles of the warriors of Miaka and the warriors of Yui are spectacular in their own right. If you want to win the hearts of the priestesses, what’s wrong getting all bruised up in a tough battle, and show off your manliness?

Gareki is a professional thief that broke into a mansion of a wealthy woman. There he finds a captive boy named Nai and while he was trying to find something valuable to steal, the woman returned and then transformed into a horrible abomination called a Varuga. The two escaped the mansion only to end getting involved with a mysterious group called Circus who specializes in cases involving the Varuga. Gareki and Nai ended up joining Circus because Nai believes he can find his missing friend. The first thing you’ll notice when watching Karneval is the beautiful art and character design. The fight scenes are your usual magical types like weapons that materializing out of thin air and superhuman acrobatics, but adding the already attractive characters, watching each battle is like watching the eye-catching acrobatics you find in, well, a circus.

Edo Period, Japan, Yukimura Chizuru, 16 years of age living a simple life as the daughter of a doctor. And like every tragic war-torn story, Chizuru was left alone by her father because his profession was needed in the capital city of Kyoto, and the only means of keeping in touch is through periodic written mail. When Chizuru’s father stopped sending letters and fearing the worst, Chizuru travels to Kyoto to find him and found herself attacked by a group of samurai and a strange, almost-inhuman-like, man. Chizuru was then rescued by the Shinsengumi and was taken back to their base because of what she has witnessed. Will Chizuru find her father? And why did the Shinsengumi take her in instead of killing her and eliminate the witness? Is there a possibility he’s involved in this somehow? What’s up with ancient Japan and ancient China settings found in this list? Maybe the atmosphere, the art of sword fighting and lack of a smartphone and internet may sound romantic? Chances are the reasons are all of them. The main girl Chizuru is a helpless girl and she is protected by her hunky warriors and that feeling of security and knowing the boys will die protecting her has a special charm the female viewers might find appealing. Even if you don’t like Chizuru for being, well, useless, the huge cast of interesting hunky men and lots of samurai action make this show a worthwhile experience.

The Kingdom of Kouka is a peaceful and prosperous king being led by a kind king who detested weapons. That’s what the sheltered and spoiled Princess of Kouka Yona believed until her father, the king, was murdered right in front of her eyes by the hands of her childhood friend and admiration, Su-won. Rescued by her childhood friend and bodyguard Son Hak, the two escaped the castle and the princess soon discovered that her idyllic kingdom is rife with poverty, strife and corruption. Akatsuki no Yona is a coming-of-age story of Yona as she faces the harsh reality of her kingdom, and must find a way to bring the Kingdom of Kouka to its former glory, and face her childhood friend, and her father’s murderer Su-won. Akatsuki no Yona has a similar vibe to Fushigi Yuugi with a huge cast of characters, a strong female lead, and a bunch of hunky boys that you could consider Yona’s own harem. Jokes aside, the series has a ton of humor to keep you laughing and while the action scenes aren’t the highlight, the battles are very detailed with smooth animation and topped with magic to punctuate the mystical feel of the anime.

Hikaru, Umi, Fuu from three different schools went to Tokyo Tower on a field trip, and then suddenly a pillar of light blinded the tower and the three are teleported to a mystical land called Cephiro. There, they met the mage Clef and told the girls they were summoned by Princess Emeraude to become her Magic Knights and save the land from the clutches of the evil priest, Zagato. Back in the 90s, stories of kids being teleported to an alternate or parallel universe were the most popular type of stories in anime, and CLAMP’s Magic Knight Rayearth series fit right in. The story mainly revolves around the three school girls as they travel the land of Cephiro as they look for a way to return home, gain friendship, honor, fighting evil, and find love with a good topping of mecha action.

After meeting a young warrior killing a dragon, Kanzaki Hitomi and the warrior were teleported to the war-torn world of Gaea. The warrior Hitomi went with is Van Fanel, a prince to a small nation protected by dragons. Hitomi follows Van and his mysterious giant suit of armor called Escaflowne, on a quest to unite the countries of Gaea against the ominous Zaibach empire. Little does Hitomi know, she possesses the power that would lead Gaea to peace or to utter destruction. If Magic Knights Rayearth is shoujo for super robot fans, then Vision of Escaflowne is shoujo for the real robot fans. Shoujo and Mecha are rarely a good mix, but Vision of Escaflowne pulled it off thanks to its storytelling, pacing, music, and an excellent cast of characters. At one part the story slows down to give Hitomi and gang some story and another part is Hitomi helping out Van and Allen as they fight the Zaibach empire using their gigantic suits of armor. The music helps to punctuate certain battles that will leave you wanted for more or completely stunned.

The Garden of Light has been taken over by the evil forces of the Dark Zone. Fearing the Dark Zone will set their sights on the Garden of Rainbows, the planet Earth, Mipple and Mepple, the residents of the Garden of Light escape to Earth and bumped into Misumi Nagisa and Yukishiro, Honoka are school girls with different personalities and different hobbies. With the power of light, the girls transform into Precure, defenders of light, enemies of the dark. Don’t be fooled at the cute characters and magical girls because Precure has the fighting pedigree of a shounen anime. Magical girls tend to use magical staffs and the power of love to beat these vile monsters, but Precure prefers a more physical approach. While there are the usual magical girl cliches, combat is usually about beating the crap out of each other using the good old fists and legs. And due to this perfect blend of shoujo charm and shounen vigor, Pretty Cure has gained a lot of male audiences, and the anime series went on in becoming one of the most successful franchise in anime with a ton of spin-offs, sequels, and alternate settings.

Tsukino Usagi is a 14-year-old blonde girl who is the typical ditzy, crybaby type who isn’t particularly smart, like, she doesn’t know how to use a computer. Usagi’s life turned upside down one fateful evening when she encountered a talking cat named Luna. The cat granted Usagi the power to transform into Sailor Moon, a warrior who is to save the world from doom. You can tell combat is the main emphasis here because the show follows the monster-of-the-week formula like shounen anime and shows at the time like Ultraman, Kamen Rider, and popular mech shows like the Mazinger series and GaoGaiGar. Sailor Moon is popular for a lot of things and what made the show stand out from the rest of the shoujo anime of the time is it introduced the idea of magical girls kicking ass and inspired a new generation of anime like Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha and the Pretty Cure series.

Saint Oniisan is an OVA that truly takes the serious and complex nature out of religion, in addition to questioning how the foundations of life came to be, by twisting it into a relatable, modern and light-hearted story. The main characters are the founders of Christianity and Buddhism, Jesus Christ and Gautama Buddha, respectively. Jesus and Buddha take a vacation on Earth together to observe humanity. They are roomies in a Tokyo apartment where they both must discover the various ways that mankind lives their lives, abiding to one’s morals and ethics, in conjunction to rules and guidelines provided by society. While inhabiting their apartment in Tokyo, being celestial individuals themselves, they have a force more threatening to worry about: the landlady, Mrs. Matsuda. Upon their arrival, Mrs. Matsuda notices something is “off” with the “Saints” and investigates what that “something” is. In this two episode OVA, we watch Jesus and Buddha unveil the mysteries of life on Earth, as they attempt to hide their identities and miraculous powers to the public, and combat the ever scary Mrs. Matsuda. What is fantastic about Saint Oniisan is that it’s a very entertaining concept to watch, easing the tension that is often connected to comparative religion.

Robotica Robotics is about two robots, Natsu and Haru, who were abandoned by their previous owner, and now live with their new owner, professor/scientist Masa-san. Natsu and Haru narrate their thoughts about the meaning of love. Is it possible for robots to feel love, or any emotion for that matter? This OVA will definitely tackle “the feels” as it highlights Natsu’s conflicted emotions of deep depression, the meaning of his life, and suicide. Moreover, Haru’s curiosities are underlined as he provides proof to the question of whether or not robots hold any emotive consciousness. Lastly, differing from Natsu and Haru’s previous owner, Masa-san shows a strong and passionate paternal bond for the boys, something they have not experienced before. Robotica Robotics is an excellent slice of life OVA because it addresses many dark issues that aren’t normally presented in anime, with the final product being that there is some good that exists underneath the negative.

Marriage: Kekkon is a two part episode OVA that focuses on the subject of finding someone special, falling in love, and making the ultimate commitment with marriage. The first part chronicles the lives of five mid-aged women, who have just made their mark in the workforce after being out of university for several years. They have just established themselves, but are seeking a little more to their lives, particularly finding someone to share things with. Four of the five girls are actively dating, while one, Shizuka, has not taken the subject of dating enthusiastically because she is very shy. As such, Shizuka’s friends sign her up onto a dating service to increase her odds of finding the right person. Here, we observe that when it comes to finding Mr. Right, love takes patience and is something that can’t be rushed. The second part documents the story of five ladies as well, with one who is not married due to personal barriers. The single Kiyomi, unlike her sisters, seems to have no interest in being attached to someone and getting married. Eager to push Kiyomi into being in a committed relationship, her sisters convince a young man from her work, who is completely infatuated with her, to propose to her on their first date. With Kiyomi being a strong and intimidating individual, her suitor finds his forthcoming task incredibly challenging, even more so because she is his superior at work. Whether or not he gets the answer he wants to hear is the intense pinnacle of this episode. Additionally, this proposal must be perfect, as this moment in a girl’s life is one of her most memorable.

The Karugamo High School baseball team has been doing their best when it comes to playing the game, but unfortunately, they lack what it takes to make it to the top of the leagues. Their ferocious competitors, the Eagles, with their talented players and advanced sports robots, have made many members lose confidence and quit the sport altogether. Now, the Karugamo team is short one player. Desperate to keep the team together, Shunpei Harumaki decides to buy a robot, but sadly is short the funds for a decent one. Shunpei ends up buying a maid robot named Azusa, immediately seeing something in her when she was on display, but can’t quite put his finger on it. Outdated and coming short in athletic abilities, Azusa is determined and willing to help the baseball team come to a win. While practicing, when Shunpei was in immediate danger, Azusa’s instincts kicked in, demonstrating her unseen agility and strength. Over time, Azusa has built strong bonds with the members of the baseball team and regardless of her lifespan; she wants to fulfill her role and duty. As the day finally comes for the rematch against the Eagles, the Karugamo team is reminded by Azusa that the players and their efforts are what make the sport of baseball and overall drive the team’s spirit.

Tabisuru Nuigurumi: Traveling Daru illustrates a child’s imagination and her greatest efforts into creating her stuffed toy, Daru. Rushing onto their flight one day, the young girl drops Daru. As Daru has become her first true friend, she is very upset and has no chance in retrieving him. With a mind and spirit of his own, Daru stows away on another child’s carry-on, trying to find his way back to his owner. Exceedingly determined, Daru travels to many different countries asking around various characters if they have seen his owner. Time passes on and as we are drawn into this story, many ponder as to whether or not this girl will ever reunite with her long lost friend. In this captivating slice of life OVA, the innocence of a child and the wonders of the world display the strength of the human heart and the value of meaningful relationships. As the years have gone by for our female lead, Daru found his way back into his loving friend’s arms, in due course, by the most creative and unlikely way.

Kanojo to Kanojo no Neko is told from the perspective of the loving, loyal, and passionate cat, Chobi. Chobi first encounters his human on a gloomy and rainy day. His new owner, in his eyes, is the most beautiful person he ever saw. From that day forth, he was rescued from the cold, darkness, and loneliness into warmth and bliss. Many days have passed and over time, Chobi falls hard for his owner. He even, for a time, has a girlfriend, Mimi, whom he becomes close with, but unfortunately does not feel the same passion as he does for his human. As Chobi endlessly observes and watches over his master day after day, he knows her behaviors and emotions, glorifying all that she does and knows that nothing she does is ever at fault. With the recent release of Kanojo to Kanojo no Neko: Everything Flows earlier this year, this OVA captures the nature and relationship between people and their pets. As it is narrated by a life form that cannot express itself linguistically, us humans can only speculate that our pets really love us as much as Chobi does.

Chizuru, whenever on the verge of love, seems to always screw things up. Chizuru is a bubbly and charismatic girl, but unfortunately doesn’t have the best luck with guys. Currently, she is dating Yuudai-kun, who demonstrates to be the complete opposite of her. Kind, yet very serious most of the time, Yuudai has never responded back to the countless times Chizuru has told him she loves him. Frustrated with feeling that things are one-sided, Chizuru plans to have an all-out date and then end things with Yuudai. However, just when Chizuru was about to give up hope, Yuudai surprises her with a pet, unlike anything one would imagine receiving! This new pet creates an enormous amount of chaos, hindering the opportunity for Chizuru to break up with Yuudai. She later finds out that under Yuudai’s hard, concealing exterior, he feels just the same as she does for him. As we enter the second episode in Tokyo Marble Chocolate, we see Yuudai’s perspective to the relationship. Yuudai also believes he is a screw up when it comes to love, presuming that when things end, it is always his fault. Yuudai has a difficult time sharing his feelings that overall makes him depressed. Upon Chizuru’s discovery of her gift, her new pet, again, chaos ensues. As we wonder whether or not the couple will remain together or break things off for good, we learn collectively the effects to both sides of a relationship and the criticalness of communication throughout.

This amazing slice of life OVA, Zou no Senaka: Tabidatsu Hi touches on the heartbreaking moments of one’s life ending. With such an unsettling prognosis, how does one come to terms with such difficult news? Is it easy or difficult to accept one’s impending death? Moreover, how does one tell their closest family members? One wonders what they will do and how will they react. One also wonders if their family was truly happy with them and how each member will carry on without them. The lasting message from the main character states that crying is okay, if only for a short time. Essentially, it is important to remember all of life’s greatest memories; to cherish life; smile; to count one’s blessings; and to tell those that mean everything to them that they are cared for and loved because life is too short.

Sakura Capsule captures the story of six close girls, all BFFs, who would always play together at the park in their quiet neighborhood close to Tokyo. The six friends all knew each other from a very young age. In the fourth grade, regrettably, the girls had to change schools. As the girls sensed they might drift away from each other, each one of them promised to bury a time capsule, retaining their current memories and to one day look back at how their lives were. Much time has passed and the girls have not remained as close to one another as they would have liked. Each living their separate lives, something amazing happens surrounding all six girls. Sakura Capsule represents the innocence of incredibly sweet youngsters longing for that “happily ever after” and lasting memories. Although in reality, there is much sorrow to life, we can only hope to stay in life’s “perfect and happy bubble” for as long as it can withstand.

Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou takes place in the future where global warming has caused much of Yokohama city to be submerged, causing many higher peak surfaces to jut out of the water. Despite this adversity, the inhabitants of this city are content and satisfied to be living, enjoying the beauty that still remains in this environmentally threatened planet. Among the residents is a young woman named Alpha, who owns a lovely café called Café Alpha. Appreciating her surroundings and living life as humanly as possible, she cannot, as Alpha is an artificially created being. Nonetheless, this has no effect on how she differs from any human. One day, Alpha overhears on a radio broadcast that Yokohama is once again on the verge of being hit. As the typhoon destroys Alpha’s café, she then decides to embark on a journey, figuring out her next approach in building the café she lost. Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou makes our list for top 10 because it is the quintessential slice of life; where the main character is thrust into a circumstance out of her control and has to figure out how to deal with the situation. With many traits of this genre, viewers tag along on her journey as well, experiencing the same struggles and joys as many of these characters do. Therefore, we can abide to the saying that, “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade!”

Naruto Uzumaki is a young ninja with big dreams. He wishes to one day become the greatest ninja and leader of his village and makes grand proclamations of his intentions. However it’s not his silly antics that have people keeping their distance, but that the great Kyuubi, or Nine-Tailed Fox, has been sealed inside of Naruto since he was a baby. This gives Naruto heightened abilities but also a sense of isolation from others, who fear he may one day bring disaster down on the village. Naruto must steel his heart against the cruel words of those that fear him and the Kyuubi’s own cynical voice that encourages him to destroy everything. While the anime mostly focuses on Naruto’s path to becoming Hokage and the lives and battles of the other ninjas he becomes acquainted with, the kitsune inside him plays a huge role in how his life turns out. His incredible power is what sets Naruto apart from others and invokes respect, fear, envy, and hatred. As the series goes on (and on and on) the Nine-Tailed Fox plays more of a role in the story and we are able to see more of his power. Because we don’t get to see much of the kitsune considering how long the anime is, Naruto is our number 10 choice.

Though a descendant of the powerful and prestigious Kawahira clan, a family of Inukami (dog god) tamers who protect the world from evil, Keita fills his time thinking about girls. He doesn’t let his family’s disapproval discourage him and often complains the work doesn’t interest him. It seems fitting then that the Inukami he’s made a contract with is emotional, selfish, and quite a troublemaker. Unlike the other Inukami, Youko cares more about forcing Keita on dates with her or punishing him for his womanizing ways. She uses her powers to punish malicious spirits and her troublesome owner at her discretion. While Youko is pretty transparent in her love for Keita, she harbors a secret she fears may tear them apart. Based on this show’s inclusion on the list, you’ve probably realized that Youko is not actually an Inukami! Her secret is that she is, in fact, a kitsune, and she attempted to trick Keita into thinking she was an Inukami so that the two of them would be forced to grow closer. Just as foxes are rumored to be in legend, Youko is secretive and delights in using her powers for fun. While a good example of a kitsune with great powers, the slow reveal of her true identity takes Inukami down to number 9 on the list.

Sweet but shy Inari can’t seem to catch a break when she is running late to school and happens upon a fox pup in need of help. Unable to ignore the poor thing, she rushes to save him and ends up falling in a river. She resigns to being late at that point and brings the pup safely to the Inari shrine she’s named after and ends up winning the affection of the God that resides there. Uka-sama gives Inari the power to transform into another person and the little pup Inari saved becomes her familiar. However, having the powers of a God may prove to be too much for her. Inari Kon Kon has a ton of kitsune, though they mainly just stay in a single fox form. They are able to talk and float and serve as guides and mediators between Gods and people. Uka-sama does occasionally make them transform into video game consoles in order to play dating-sims which she seems to be very fond of. We mostly get to see Kon, Inari’s kitsune familiar, as he tries to give her advice about both love and her transformation power. Since the focus of the story is more on the human than the kitsune themselves, Inari makes it to number 8 on our list.

A misunderstood and secretly lonely young girl named Ririchiyo decides to leave her affluent family’s estate and live on her own in a special apartment complex where the tenants must be chosen. She wants to become a more honest and kind person and until she can talk without hurting others, she’s resolved to live in solitude, not intending to get close to her neighbors. When a man shows up claiming to be her servant and wishing nothing more than to take care of her every whim, it’s enough to shake her resolve. Ririchiyo finds it hard to keep the warmer and welcoming tenants away especially when they share something in common… being descended from various youkai (demons/spirits). Inu x Boku features a lot of different youkai with Soushi, servant to Ririchiyo, a kitsune. In order to stave off a large number of both human and supernatural attackers, Soushi often utilizes his transformations and swordsmanship. It isn’t revealed until later, but he has an element of trickery which is a key characteristic in fox spirits. However, since Soushi is technically not a full-blooded kitsune, Inu x Boku SS is our number 7.

Kohina, a self-proclaimed living doll, decides to test the legend that playing Kokkuri-san by yourself you will be haunted by the spirit. Sure enough, a fox-eared man with white hair appears during Kohina’s incantation… but he’s appalled at her living conditions! Thus, the fox spirit takes on the role of a housekeeper and tries to help Kohina lead an ordinary childhood. For a girl who happens to attract a lot of spirits, however, a normal childhood just isn’t in the cards. While fox spirits are rumored to value their freedom above everything, Kokkuri-san wasted no time devoting all of his efforts into taking care of the hopeless Kohina. It is later revealed that Kokkuri-san use to be revered as a god, but as people began to forget, Kohina remained the only one to continue visiting his shrine. Kokkuri-san is content however in remaining Kohina’s guardian rather than returning to his former glory as a worshiped kitsune. Despite this, he does frequently make use of his powers of transformation much to Kohina’s paw-pad-loving delight!

With the rise of Westernization in Japan, tensions between humans and youkai have escalated. The youkai’s homes are being destroyed and they are now being treated as subhuman creatures. A coalition is created between members of the army and several half-kitsune daughters to investigate and mediate problems that arise as a result of this. Kei is a human that is terrified of youkai, and Zakuro is a proud half-kitsune that can’t stand how people so easily replace their traditions with newer Western ways. When they become partners, they must learn more about each other if they are to achieve their goals of peace for their kind. Otome Yokai Zakuro has multiple fox girls which already is a huge plus for the show. This anime shows a more spiritual side to kitsune and youkai in general, despite the girls themselves lacking the trickery and mischievousness associated with their kind. This can be attributed to their human side, however. This is a great show that's a bit more serious than some of the others on this list and the spiritual aspect to how the girls fight is really captivating.

Gintarou is the kitsune herald of the Saeki family shrine, but only young Makoto can see him. She affectionately calls him Gin and often implores his help in telling fortunes and helping her friends. Though an ancient and revered spirit through her family line, Gintaro and Makoto share a close bond. Together they work to keep the community’s faith and help those that seek wisdom from the shrine. Gingitsune shows a great example of a kitsune in the role of messenger of the god Inari as in the legends. He is able to fly and predict the future with the use of his fox fire. He resides at the temple as a messenger of God but his words can only be known through the oracle Makoto. As Makoto is only a teenager she often selfishly demands Gintaro’s help. However, having such a strong bond, not limited to just hate or reverence, is refreshing for him. Gingitsune follows the lives of these two as they strive to fulfill their roles.

Kouta and Chizuru are absolutely inseparable, and their whole high school knows it. What they don’t know, however, is that while Kouta is a normal human boy, Chizuru is a kitsune. She hides this even from Kouta at first, for fear he will reject her, but Kouta proves Chizuru’s love for him is not unrequited. In fact, Kouta’s far less worried about her hurting him and far more concerned she’ll steal his innocence while they’re still high schoolers! Things become much more complicated when Kouta finds out Chizuru is not the only youkai at the school… nor is she the only one after his heart! Kanokon features the fox spirit Chizuru, who showcases many of the powers associated with kitsune. She's mischievous and sneaky, she goes exactly for what she wants, and she possesses strong spiritual powers. She can transform her appearance and also transform with Keita into an even more powerful being. Throughout the series, we get to meet more kitsune and even other youkai. Kanokon makes number 3 on our list due to the many examples of a kitsune’s abilities.

When Nanami accidently becomes the new Land God of an abandoned shrine, she has some trouble getting used to her new home life. To make matters worse, the fox spirit that's supposed to become her familiar hates her and runs away. Eventually, Tomoe and Nanami come together and try to make the best of a situation neither of them asked for. Everyday, Nanami must balance her life as a student and her life as a God. Even after she manages to seal a contract with Tomoe to become her familiar, things are not easy for the two of them. Some are displeased with Nanami as a God, and others hint of a past Tomoe, more cruel and cold than he is now. Tomoe is a powerful kitsune who is forced to become Nanami’s familiar, and expectedly, he doesn't take kindly to this. A common trait of kitsune is to fiercely protect their freedom and this we see clearly when he leaves his home upon discovering he has a new master. He also possesses many of the powers and skills associated with kitsune. He often uses his fox fire to locate what he needs and uses his charm and trickery to manipulate people. Despite his griping, he serves his role as familiar and eventually, friend.

Toru and Noboru are decedents of the Mizuchi bloodline, a family associated with spiritual powers over the element of water. They have bound and defeated youkai through the centuries, and they have always depended on a female to fully wield its power. However, the last priestess has died and her two sons become a youkai’s targets. A powerful kitsune named Tenko Kugen is unbound and granted freedom in exchange for protecting Toru and Noboru. Kugen has her work cut out for her as these two boys seem to attract all kinds of trouble. Wagaya no Oinari-sama is a fantastic kitsune anime because it really portrays the kitsune as more than just a person with fox ears and super powers, or simply the herald of a God. Kuugen makes use of her transformations all the time, often switching between male and female, a fox, and even mixing her fox and human forms. Her archaic way of speaking helps to remind you she is of a different time and her marveling at human technology and customs further serves to show her as a different entity. She often does what she wants with regard to humans, but still shows some reverence to benevolent spirits and Gods. That is why Wagaya no Oinari-sama is our number 1 kitsune anime.

Starting off the list, we have K-On! For those who have already seen this anime, you’d know exactly why this anime made it onto the list. Aside from its moe-like style that seemed to appeal a large number of fans, the character development in this anime is also something note-worthy. It starts off with the life of the average, carefree, air-headed, Hirasawa Yui, who, despite having no experience whatsoever in terms of musical talents, decides to join her school’s band. Initially, the only motivation for her to join the Light Music Club was because she thought that light music meant "easy music". After some initial tries, Yui actually develops a talent for it, albeit needing some more work. With the help of her bandmates, Mio, Tsumugi, Azusa, and Yui will learn to overcome her struggles in music as well as her school. Don’t miss out on this moe anime and be sure to enjoy the songs in it because they’re quite decent!

Uta no☆Prince-sama♪! is next on the list! This anime did a great job in terms of their animation style, as it contained extravagant colors. And just like Show by Rock!! the protagonist is a girl who is trying to make it through the world of music. Not only that, she is practically swarmed by hot-looking guys in her academy. As you can already tell by the character casting, that this anime ultimately leaned towards the Shoujo genre. It all started with a girl named Haruka Nanami, who longed to be the composer for her famous idol. To be able to achieve that, she decides to enroll at the prestigious Saotome Academy of performing arts. There, she will meet a bunch of good-looking guys such as Kurusu Shou, Jinguuji Ren, Shinomiya Natsuki, Ittoki Otoya, and much more! You can already guess the love storm that is going to brew between Haruka and the other boys at her academy!

Judging from the title alone, you’d probably already have some idea of what this anime is going to be like. If you’re thinking a bunch of high school girls becoming idols, then you’re right! Much like how the characters in Show by Rock!! saves the town from monsters, the characters in this anime struggles to save their own beloved school! So if you’re into the musical anime with a touch of slice-of-life, then this anime will be perfect for you! With the plummeting popularity of her beloved school of Otonokizaka High School, Kousaka Honoka struggles to brainstorm any ideas that could help save the school from shutting down. Thanks to the school’s un-strategic location of being located at the border of three major cities, it starts to lose popularity and face risks of getting shut down. It’s up to Kousaka Honoka and her friends’ idea of creating a school idol to regain popularity, will they be able to save their school?

If you like music and some rom-com on the side, then this next anime will definitely appeal to you! It’s basically ‘love is in the air’ with this anime, with the random quirky pianist named Nodame who fell in love with a perfectionist conductor, Chiaki Shinichi who live next door to her apartment. You will see the quirky side of Nodame be somewhat similar to the main protagonist of Show by Rock!!. As they might be quirky and weird, but nevertheless, they do appeal in that way. Even though initially Chiaki was forced into playing the piano together with Nodame by his instructor, Chiaki soon realized that the more she played there was something special about the quirky girl. As Chiaki tries to mold Nodame into a special pianist, her feelings for him grew. But will Chiaki ever feel the same towards Nodame? Stay tuned to Nodame Cantabile for a hearty laugh!

Moving on the list, we have the Pretty Rhythm franchise. This anime might be popular amongst the girl’s community. Just like the previous anime on the list, it features a group of girls who undergo great character development to become dazzling and stunning idols! Of course, with the added touch of magic, this anime becomes quite a sight for sore eyes! The plot centers on Naru Ayase, a girl gifted with the ability to see the colors of music when listening to them. She dreams to become the manager of a trendy fashion store like Dear Crown. And as fate would have it, she becomes interested and immediately applied for it when a newly opened fashion store opened and was recruiting middle school girl to be the store manager. But when she was performing at the final evaluation, a whole new world of music emerged before her eyes. Join Naru as she journeys to discover more about the world of Prism Stones!

Now as we all know that Show by Rock!! is an anime that features the protagonist that utilizes her musical abilities to defeat evil monsters. This unique plot can also be seen in Macross Delta, although the character cast and animation style very much differ from Show by Rock!!, but nonetheless, it became something unique in itself. With a futuristic mecha vibe, Macross Delta delivers an anime like no other. It perfectly blends some of the musical aspects into an action suspense anime, which is a rare combination of genre. It might seem weird at first, but once you go through a few early episodes then you’d get sucked into the plot. When the Earth is under threat and the human race was brought to the brink of extinction due to the Var Syndrome, a viral virus that spread like wildfire, turning people violent, that’s when Walkure, a tactical sound unit was established. Armed with their voices, they sing beautiful dazzling melodies to protect humans and save the Earth.