Kanokon has quite the lovey-dovey start, with Kouta trying to protect his innocence from Chizuru, his upperclassman that makes her love for him apparent to the whole school. What the school doesn’t know is that she’s actually a 400 year old fox spirit, and when Kouta accidently discovers her secret, she feels that their happy days together are over. That is until he consoles her and the two share a kiss that combines their forms, unleashing phenomenal power! But their everyday school life is not without its challenges. It seems that everyone wants to break their special bond, both with power and seduction! Kouto adores Chizuru but just what is a young boy to do in the face of such aggressively forward spirits?

While Kanokon is an older show, there are some striking similarities! Both shows have a very dominant female who tries to force intimacy on the reluctant human male whenever the opportunity presents itself. There’s even a very similar scene with two demon girls trying to outdo each other by rubbing their bodies against their male protags only for them to pass out from overstimulation. Both Himari and Chizuru are frustrated with their beloveds’ kindness towards other girls, but both guys manage to turn enemies into friends in this way (and unfortunately for them, build their harem!). Both shows also focus on older and traditional spirits or yokai, and they don’t tend to take kindly to a relationship between their kinds!

Ryousuke is like a lewd knight, sworn to uphold eroticism’s value while always expressing it honestly and earnestly. Such a transparent lifestyle doesn’t seem to be in his best interests, until he’s chosen by a shinigami for the important task of sharing his life energy with her to keep her in this world. Much to her dismay… his power comes from the strength of his libido. Lisara finds this repugnant but she is without a choice if she wants to find The One, a human with incredibly high energy that will make it far easier to stay in the human world. Until then, she has to put up with his moaning and groping at every shinigami that crosses their path… while fending off those that want his ero-energy for themselves!

Like Omamori Himari, we have the main spirit partner and the jealous childhood friend who end up vying for the main character’s attention. However Lisara is much less quick to warm up to Ryousuke and doesn’t have the large, ahem, advantages that Himari has. One rather cute similarity is that both girls are moved when the main character embraces and accepts them as they are (Yuuto with his cat allergy, Ryousuke with his strong preference for large breasts). Despite their being powerful spirits that do the fighting, Yuuto and Ryousuke both treat the girls with the tenderness they believe is owed to a lady. Despite not being particularly powerful on their own, they manage to attract the admiration of many of their formal spiritual adversaries!

High school is a difficult time in a young boy’s life. With beautiful girls at every turn just waiting to be romanced (or so Issei thinks), trying to balance time between studies and peeping in the girls locker rooms, and a few demons here and there, it’s a tough life! Of course, the demon thing was a bit of a surprise when Rias, the school’s princess, appears after he’s stabbed, by an angel of all things, and uses her powers to save his life. He becomes Rias’ servant and joins her in the Occult Research Club along with other demons who start taking a fancy to the Shakespeare of eroticism. But with the constant battling between angels and demons, Issei has much more to worry about than satisfying his desires.

With both shows, we have spirits that insist on sleeping with their chosen male, and often appear naked in front of them. But you will DEFINITELY find more ecchi action with DxD. On a more serious note, we see a different side of these assumed ‘monsters’ as they display loyalty and affection and a willingness to protect Issei and Yuuto. While the amount of bouncing boobies is laughable (and appreciated), we are brought back to a more emotional side when we see the mighty demons made helpless at the thought of losing their human. We see Issei and Yuuto training throughout the show, and witness their efforts pay off as they grow in strength and take on the responsibility of protecting those around them. If you enjoyed the forbidden love between enemies in Omamori Himari, this is an excellent portrayal with an added angel vs demon twist!

Shidou and little sister Kotori live a relatively normal life, despite having to deal with special quakes every so often. These huge destructive quakes have no known reason for why they pop up and destroy the surrounding area… until Shidou happens upon a girl in mysterious glowing armor standing in the center of the depression! His simple life is turned upside down when he ends up in the middle of a battle between Spirits, beings with phenomenal power whose origins are unknown, and the Anti Spirits Team, a group summoned when a Spirit appears in order to annihilate any possible threat. A third group, run by his sweet little sister, aspires to help the Spirits assimilate into human culture. Shidou is thrust from one awkward situation to the next trying to establish a relationship with each spirit in order to save them. Will he be destroyed by these mysterious girls, or will he become the ultimate ladies man??

Date A Live is a bit more mysterious than Omamori Himari because none of the characters know the whole picture. Some of them don’t even know why they are fighting! However, we have the same humans against spirits dynamic our main characters fight against, instead hoping for coexistence. Both shows do a good job of showing pain and loss as a driving factor for one’s ideals, forcing us to rethink our simple views on good and evil. Much like Yuuto, Shidou ends up with quite the unintentional harem, and with girls this cute, we can’t help but cheer them on! If you wanted a more futuristic feel with all the harem glory of Omamori Himari, you will not be disappointed.

When Basara learns that his father will be re-marrying, having to suddenly take care of his two new stepsisters as his father departs overseas, seems to be too much. He is in for a nasty surprise however, when it turns out his ‘little sisters’ are actually demons. Not just any demons, but one is the heir to her father’s throne and the littlest sister is her succubus aide. However, they aren’t the only ones with secret origins. When the two young demons are attacked by their own people, Basara reveals himself to be a Hero and saves Mio and Maria. It’s up to this new family to take out those who would wish to cause a war between humans and demons and establish Mio as the rightful ruler.

Both Shinmai Mao no Testament and Omamori Himari focus on demons that are considered traitors to their kind. The Ayakashi were hunted to near extinction by powerful hunters, which fueled their hatred of mankind and other Ayakashi that are human sympathisers. In Shinmai, a violent faction of demons turns away from their leader’s peaceful teachings in order to take power back. Again, we had a male descended from a line of demon hunters whose patience and understanding allow him to see the good in beings others revile. However, this title is much more hardcore on the ecchi side, so if you really want to let your inner demon out, give this a watch!

After a mind-altering virus is released, suddenly all the yokai and spirits of myth are visible to everyone!! Not only is everyone’s perception shifted to be able to see them, but certain children are born with abilities they can use to fight these once untouchable menaces. Hosea Academy partners up these students to fight and protect their town, but Team E, consisting of Haruhiko and Mai, are the worst of the worst. After they enlist the help of transfer student Reina, things start looking up for them!

This is a much more thought provoking ecchi (no, not THOSE kinds of thoughts) in that it is heavily influenced by psychology and structure of the brain. There is less of a friend or foe attitude when it comes to these spirits, as some are quite harmless. Our main character still has a spirit sidekick but most of his relationships are with humans. Just like Yuuto, he’s perceived as rather useless at first, but Haruhiko comes into his own and is able to protect his friends. The artwork in this show is much like Nagi no Asukara and the colors of the various demons really make them stand out. If you’re looking for a more ethereal ecchi, you will not be disappointed!