Rumiko Takahashi’s first major hit, Urusei Yatsural, is largely credited with establishing the most common pattern appearing in contemporary anime, Monster Musume included: unremarkable male gets extraordinary girl(s). Urusei Yatsura might be quaint and a little dated by today’s standards. However, its vintage qualities perhaps render this show charming and fascinating. Within the fan service doled out each episode of Monster Musume, we can find echoes of Urusei Yatsura, whether it is ecchi or comedic interludes. For those unfamiliar with this classic anime, Urusei Yatsura details the life of the unlucky high school student Ataru Moroboshi and voluptuous space alien Lum. After a misunderstanding that leads Lum to believe that Ataru wants to marry her, Ataru’s daily life becomes intertwined with the wacky antics of the now local alien life.

More in line with the monster girl harem theme, we have Rosario + Vampire. Though the monsters girls of this show occupy the scarier end of the monster spectrum, with such creatures as vampires and succubus, they are pleasantly guised as youthful high school girls. Much like Monster Musume, we have a seemingly unremarkable male character surrounded by a dizzyingly array of monster girls attracted to him. Armed with both action and ecchi, this show might be best for those looking for a bit of shounen mixed with harem. Rosario + Vampire is the story of Tsukune Aono, a boy who fails to enter a human high school and find himself enrolled in a boarding school for monsters. Though he is frightened out of his mind, he quickly befriends the beautiful vampire girl Moka Akashiya and many other monster girls.

Bouncing back to alien girls, we have To Love-Ru, where a girl literally falls from the sky and falls in love with a hapless high school boy. Like the above mentioned Urusei Yatsura and Monster Musume, To Love-Ru combines harem, ecchi, and a little bit of science fiction in a love comedy certain to entertain. To Love-Ru is about the love struggles of Rito Yuuki. Having failed to confess to the girl of his dreams, Haruna Sairenji, Rito, through a variety of mix-ups, becomes engaged to Lala, the alien princess of Deviluke. To make matters worse, this sudden engagement places Earth in danger of being destroyed.

The previously listed anime generously doles out the fan service; Seto no Hanayome is not that type of anime. But this show’s quirkiness more than makes up for the lack of blatant ecchi. Though Seto no Hanayome is not a harem, Monster Musume resembles this show in some regards due to the focus on human and non-human relationships. This time, though, marriage is a reality for the hapless male who is suddenly tied down to a mermaid. Seto no Hanayome centers on the story of Nagasumi Michishio, a teenage boy who becomes married to Seto San, the daughter of a Yakuza-esque mermaid family. This marriage does not go off without a hitch, however, and Nagasumi find his newly married life to a mermaid to be complicated.

When all is said and done, Jitsu wa Watashi wa is a Rosario + Vampire in reverse. Rather than a human at a school for monsters, we have monster girls at a school for humans. These monster girls in turn focus their romantic attentions to a seemingly normal boy like they do in both Rosario + Vampire and Monster Musume. Yet, rather than featuring heavy fan service, Jitsu wa Watashi wa frames itself as a romantic comedy, making it a much more refreshing, story oriented anime when compared to the ecchi-esque Monster Musume. For those who haven’t tuned in to Jitsu wa Watashi wa yet, this show revolves around Asahi Kuromine, a relatively high school boy who discovers his classmate Yōko Shiragami is a vampire. Keeping this a secret wouldn’t seem to be a problem…if only Asahi wasn’t known for his inability to keep secrets and tell lies…and if only the secrets he had to keep didn’t keep increasing.

Last but not least, we have Orenchi no Furo Jijou. If you want a series like Monster Musume, but with a Boys Love twist, then look no further. Orenchi no Furo Jijou is here to serve with its bevy of mermen encroaching on the everyday life of an unsuspecting high school boy. Orenchi no Furo Jijou tells the story of Tatsumi, a high school boy who shares his bathtub with the handsome merman Wakasa. Tatsumi’s life becomes more difficult as other mermen begin to enter the scene and do more than just crowd his bathtub.