Now for a manga spinoff for a change.
Fairy Girls is a bunch of filler side stories to the main manga Fairy Tail, featuring prominently are Erza, Juvia, Lucy and Wendy as they take on various jobs and ultimately get drawn into shenanigans including such situations as looking after a lost baby, infiltrating a school as students, waifu wars as well as many ecchi situations; this among the regular Fairy Tail filler types of poorly constructed villains vs Fairy Tail.
What more could you ask for? Well they chose a guest artist named Boku to draw this version which is fine but Hiro Mashima's style is missed in this.
It's pretty harmless, they chose the timeline between Grand Magic Games and Tartaros which I always considered the point where Fairy Tail peaked, at four volumes it doesn't out stay it's welcome either.
Final Verdict: A nice breather to read before Tartaros arc as I always believed that arc to be brutal and emotionally draining, while the art and situations aren't for everyone it's still a good read.
Bet you weren't expecting this post to be the last entry. Get ready for the final five.
5. Fairy Tail
My favourite shonen anime, a showcase of the best fight scenes anime can muster, with all the raw emotion that comes with some of the best performances from the voice actors.
4. Precure Franchise
The perfect magical girl franchise with a rich history between it's various Precure teams only rivalled by Power Rangers, not a single series can be considered bad and it's the magical girl show that says "girls can punch just as well as men"
3. Dirty Pair
My very first anime. A retro blend of over the top sci fi through the eyes of it's destructive heroines. It doesn't get enough love from otaku and I find this series more influential to the anime female character than those before it.
2. Slayers
For years I didn't think there would be a series that could knock Dirty Pair off my top spot, yet there are two; Slayers is a classic fantasy about an OP sorcerer named Lina Inverse, a chaotic neutral so to speak and it's fantastic but I rate it this high as it helped shape my interest in the music of anime with a handful making my playlist.
1. Black Lagoon
As I've grown up with anime I've seen it change for the better and for the worst and in that time I long for an anime with a classic feel yet with enough modern influence to stand up as a series. Black Lagoon is the perfect anime series, a love letter to every kind of trope that forms anime in a nutshell in the west. Ultra violent, rich in colour and animation, an elaborate multi layered story, many strong female characters, a normal main character that isn't annoying, balls to the wall action and a great sense of humour.
There will never be another anime this perfect again.
Now lets bring this list season to a close with the Top Ten Best Types of Females in a Harem.
Honorable Mentions
The Tomboy with a Girly Streak Type
Miss Sakaki from Azumanga Daioh
The Mama Bear Action Girl Type
Yoko Littner from Gurren Lagann
The Out of Luck Hard Worker who Deserves Better Type
Kiyone Makibi from Tenchi Muyo
10. The Genki Girl Who Thinks the Best of Everyone Type
Kaolla Su from Love Hina
These are the girls in a harem you don't want to underestimate as they are usually the first to like the male lead and are usually the ones that give enough confidence to said male lead to keep going. While their enthusiasm can go overboard it's usually that boundless optimism that makes the challenge worth it.
9. The Bifauxnen Girl who can do Both Genders Easily Type
Ukyo from Ranma 1/2
Charlotte Dunois from Infinite Stratos
Bifauxnen is a term used to describe someone of ambiguous gender and both these characters personify this term perfectly, while there is similarities linked to the Tomboy with Girly Streak type at the top of the page what makes this such a good type is that they get on best with the male lead and it's that kind of friendship usually from childhood in Ukyo's case with Ranma that makes the characters stand out.
8. The All Your Fantasies in One Type
The Entire Female Cast of Happy Lesson
This is cheating a bit because you can argue this with any harem but this one stands out for many reasons. Happy Lesson is unique that you have a choice of five different teachers who play mother to the lead character who by the ending become your wife and add to that, a tsundere, a little sister, an older sister and a stalker. Your very much spoiled for choice. There are no other harems like this one.
7. The Perfect Girl who Actually has a Backbone Type
Lacus Clyne from Gundam Seed
Surprised it's not Belldandy? Well for all the perfection this girl gives in her looks, boundless optimism and sickening kindness, Lacus Clyne is not afraid to command a Battle Ship and will call you out for being a dick, which is how Athrun Zala ended up being dumped by her.
6. The One Who Supports you when the Rest of the World Rejects you Type
Hinata Hyuuga from Naruto
It's surprising how often Naruto has managed to appear on these lists, well certain characters do really well to match the subject matter, and some of Naruto's best moments is watching Hinata take on impossible odds to defend Naruto's honor, it paid off after 700 Chapters as they are married with two children.
5. The Dependable Little Sister with Strong Domestic Skills who will make the Best Wife and will Likely win in a Realistic Harem Scenario Type
Sasami Jurai from Tenchi Muyo
Another character not to underestimate is the youngest one, sure you may think she's not a threat being too young to do the things the main females do but she can also get away with a lot more things like spending quality time, winning praise and generally being kind and benevolent; compare that to the other girls which include a Mad Scientist, a stuck up Princess, a clueless Police Officer and a Rambunctious Space Pirate, bonus points that you already know what this girl is going to look like when she grows up, who are you going to choose? It's obvious isn't it.
4. The Extremely Sexy One who will fall in Love with you for Real Type
Rias Gremory from High School DxD
Harem shows get alot of stick for featuring match ups that depict really unrealistic relationships, then you meet Rias Gremory. It's easy to make assumptions considering that the target audience have probably seen this so many times before, really sexy girl and a hapless loser? Actually Rias subverts this by genuinely caring about Issei Hyodo, not only does she encourage him to be a better person but does so the normal way by actually giving useful advice and training and not over reacting when she has to scold him and it pays off when she develops feelings for him for real which saves her from an unwanted marriage.
3. The Thrill Seeker who's Idea of Fun is Building a Fast Car and Testing it out Type
Charlotte Yeager from Strike Witches
A relationship needs to be fun and creating thrills to enjoy makes for some of the happiest of memories, there are plenty of times where you can relax and lay back and forget the world but enjoying activities that both can do creates the kind of memories you tell your kids about. As for Charlotte Yeager? Out of all the characters who love adventure, Charlotte is my personal favorite.
2. The Perfect Gamer Girl Type
Ayame Shaga from Ben-To
As a Geek, the best relationships come when the person who plays games with you is the perfect partner to go into battle with, whether it's pulling an all nighter in Co-op, a team battle in a shooter, an intense racing session or a quick one on one fight, you know full well you'll enjoy the experience much more than playing against a stranger who swears alot. Gamer Girls get alot of unfair criticisms and should be made to feel more welcome into the world of gaming because you don't realize what you're missing. Bonus points for Ayame Shaga being a Sega Fangirl.
1. The Adorable Girl who wants to Shower you with Love Type
Juvia Locksar from Fairy Tail
But the most important girl in the world is always the one who wants to shower you with love, because it's that kind of dedication that becomes an important part of any close relationship and the support beam of the Harem Anime. This may feel like a kop out and it's true that Juvia borders some unhealthy Types such as the Stalker and the Clingy Jealous Girl but Juvia also has streaks of the "Girl who wants to be Accepted". Love is a free emotion and it's a beautiful thing to see when that one girl wants to show it to the Guy she loves the most and while Juvia has her faults so does every other girl and looking past that makes a relationship last a lifetime.
Now for a special set of lists because A) I've not done one for a while and B) It's a special super duper quadruple list featuring the best and worst types to have in a harem for both male and female characters.
We start with the worst types of males in a harem.
Honorable Mentions
The I Make a Better Girl than the Girl I'm Actually Dating Type
Ranma Saotome from Ranma 1/2
The You Look Like my Dead Sister so you'll be her Replacement Type
Tokiya Mikagami from Flame of Recca
The I have an Entire Class in my Harem yet I'm Young Enough to Get Away with it Type
Negi Springfield from Negima
10. The Doesn’t Know the Meaning of Personal Space Type
Ichiya Vandalay Kotobuki from Fairy Tail
Ever met those types who like to flirt with you but come across as really creepy? That's exactly what Ichiya is like and I can see why Erza is scared of him. Yes I did say Erza, the same Erza who can take down a hundred monsters by herself.
9. The I Always Travel with Different Female Companions and Ignore all of their Hints Type
Ash Ketchum from Pokemon
Makes me wonder if Ash Ketchum's cross dressing phase had other implications but in all seriousness he's on his fifth female traveling companion and the current one really does have a crush on him, does someone have to slap some sense into the guy but then again he's not just this but also number 8.
8. The Shonen Protagonist who is Oblivious to Love Type
Monkey D Luffy from One Piece
The sexiest woman in One Piece can't get the potential Pirate King to look her way. This is the same woman who under normal circumstances looks down on men so much that she looks up, yet when she does fall madly in love with Luffy, nothing happens.
7. The You’re Going to Die if you try to Date me Type
Any Gundam Pilot from the Gundam Franchise
If death follows you everywhere don't fall for the one who's creating the Death in the first place, this goes double if your love interests are from Gundam Seed.
6. The Over the Top Manly Man who likes Lolita Type
Adam Blade from Needless
Adam Blade is a big guy in terms of muscles, ego and personality, basically Kamina on steroids, so liking little girls doesn't bode well for the female cast of Needless.
5. The Doesn’t Realise he’s in a Harem Type
Ichika Orimura from Infinite Stratos
These are the ones that attract countless women of all types, the same ones who created the Harem Genre in the first place yet some are too stupid to know this. The only one who's excused from this is Hibiki from Vandread as he grew up in a world where the genders are separated but Ichika is just an idiot. Tenchi Misaki comes to mind as well.
4. The Stupidly Popular Angsty One who is really a Dick Type
Sasuke Uchiha from Naruto
He broods, he's stoic, he wants revenge, all the girls love him because they want to save him, he's basically Edward Cullen with a Ninja Headband, he's actually a dick, it's Sasuke Uchiha! Everyone who's ever tried to get close to this guy has been stabbed and yet Haruno Sakura still married the dick
3. The I’ll Use Your Feelings to further my Goals and Kill you when I don’t need you Type
Light Yagami from Death Note
While this is normally reserved for a metric ton of evil villains, Light Yagami is supposed to be the hero yet he cares so little for Misa that he'll happily kill her when he's done. Do you really want a guy who eats potato chips and writes in notebooks with as much subtlety as firing a handgun in public.
2. The I Like Fake Girls Better than Real Girls yet I have better Dating Skills than the best Dating Experts on the Planet Type
Keima Katsuragi from World God Only Knows
Oddly specific this one but understandable when you consider that Keima is a master troll at doing this sort of thing. Well done Japan, you've made the harem hero a troll worth punching.
1. The Any Male from Utena Type
Every Male from Revolutionary Girl Utena
Just try and watch this anime and try and understand how the men in that world function.
The words "Narcissistic and Proud" come to mind along with a few things that I'd rather not talk about, as I feel ashamed that males were designed this way.
Time to have a crack at a big anime and this time it's the best shonen series not to be serialized in Shonen Jump. I am of course referring to Fairy Tail.
Fiore is a world full of wizards of all ranks of power and alignment all split up into Magical Guilds that keep the peace of the lands going. Wanting to be part of Guild life herself, Celestial Wizard Lucy aims to join the Guild Fairy Tail which leads her to a fated meeting with the Dragon Slayer wizard Natsu who himself was drawn to the port town in search of his adopted father, an actual Dragon named Igneel. From that meeting, Lucy finds herself among other high powered wizards such as Ice Maker Gray and Knight Wizard Erza as they keep the peace from the evils of the Dark Guilds.
It's very easy to write off this series as a One Piece with wizards but all the things it does often surpasses One Piece in quality; to give a fair assessment lets compare the two.
Characters
Many of Fairy Tail's cast start off as being strong and remain that way throughout so there's less emphasis on simple powering up and more time dedicated to character develop, One Piece puts too much time into being creative with it's powers that they ignore the weaknesses of the characters they develop.
Villains
Both series seem to have the same problem with it's villains, for every good villain they have, you have to put up with at least five bad ones; while many are creative in design, their personalities along with their motives are a bit silly and do little to move the plot and function as a punching bag for the main characters.
Spectacle
Fairy Tail always manages to end each arc with a bang and even some of the side villains go down in spectacular fashion as well. One PIece can do the same but many people would agree that Luffy's best moments passed ages ago.
Tearjerkers
Both shows are known for some pretty emotional moments but Fairy Tail can boast so many tearjerkers that it would empty a modest sized tissue box. I only remember crying once watching One Piece.
Comedy
Sometimes Fairy Tail's comedy moments can come at inappropriate times but the moments they get right are hilarious, One Piece has similar issues but current chapters seem to be taking away the humor.
Translations
Fairy Tail has a lot of translation issues early on, which is strange for a series not set in Japanese culture, many moments in the dub have made little to no sense whatsoever. 4Kids aside, One Piece rarely has issues with translation.
Story
Fairy Tail rarely keeps a story arc going for too long to avoid them outstaying their welcome and their cool down episodes contain some of the best comedy anime has to offer. One Piece goes on and on and on and on.
Dubbing
Fairy Tail boasts one of the best dubbing performances of all time with special mention to Cherami Leigh, Todd Haberkorn, Colleen Clinkenbeard and David Wald, honorable mentions to Patrick Seitz, Jad Saxton and Monica Rial. One Piece is just as good but is still haunted by the 4Kids dub.
So from that little analysis, Fairy Tail is a much stronger anime and able to out perform anything Shonen Jump can come up with. Yeah it still has the same weaknesses as other Shonen series but the stuff it does well is better than anything it's rivals can come up with.
Final Verdict: If Shonen Jump isn't satisfying your taste buds for action then Fairy Tail is the first choice anime for you.
