Sekirei can kind of be summed up with "Highlander with Fan Service". However, that really wouldn't do it justice, since it's so much more than a typical harem or another "There Can Be Only One" story. It centers around Minato Sahashi who, after having a beautiful girl LITERALLY fall into his life, discover that he is an Ashikabi, the destined partner of this girl and others like her known as Sekirei.
Minato himself is the best male lead for a harem anime you could ask for. While being physically weak and having a tendency to crumple under pressure, he is very likable and doesn't fall to the harem trope of being a lecherous pervert or a namby pamby with a deus ex machina on stand by. He does eventually become an selfless hero who puts his girls first and himself second (yeah, I know, that's a tired harem cliché of the weak male protagonist archtype), however this change is only introduced during the second season. And, believe me, it's given a very legitimate reason for happening.
The harem girls have diverse characters that allow for a balanced mix of comedy and drama, and they're really what makes the show work as well as it does. The writers seem to know just which dramatic moments between them to kill with comedy and which ones to let play out, resulting in a tone reminiscent of Glen Murakami's Teen Titans cartoon. Each member of the harem has a different kind of relationship with the hero and with each other, so they all feel like real people. These are not things you say about a dumb fan-service show, this was clearly something that someone put a lot of thought and care into crafting.
What sets Sekirei above most other harem anime is how it goes out of its way to trample nearly every harem cliché that people like me are sick of. There's an actual villain this time around who by all means I should hate but for some reason can't stay mad at whenever he's on screen. There's no perverted male lead to facilitate fan service, nor any contrived high school scenario. In fact, they kick THAT cliché in the happy sack from the get-go. None of the Sekirei are one-note nor are any of the other characters, with the exception of some of the lesser mentioned.
The other thing that separates Sekirei from other harem anime is its maturity. The show always find diegetic reasons for fan service and never has the main character cop a feel for no reason. The fan service is never the focus of a scene, the focus is always on fun character interaction or moving the story forward. And the one time Minato DOES accidentally cop a feel, the show uses it as a rather unique plot point dealing with a character's dual-identity. "Grabbing a woman's breast leads to a revelation about their identity and the psychological crisis they are currently having." How many shows can you say THAT about? It sounds so stupid on paper, and yet in execution it's not. That's this show in a nutshell, come to think of it.
On that note, I'm sure you've probably started asking questions about the credibility of the show's "destined romantic partner" thing. That idea that these girls are bound to whomever wins a genetic lottery regardless of character or moral fiber. Well, the show addresses that. Yeah, in Season 2 there's an episode that points out just how f**ked up an Ashikabi can be and what a sickening relationship it leads to. How many other shows do you know of that do that? How often has a show deconstructed its own premise like that? I certainly can't think of any that do. And said confrontation ends not with any kind of moral analysis or deep philosophical comment on the matter, it ends with a simple statement of, "This is why Minato is our main man: because he's a big damn hero with a big damn heart who always tries to do the right thing no matter what." It's just so refreshing to see that kind of attitude in a meek and vulnerable character like Minato instead of a powerhouse like Goku or Superman.
Don't be fooled by this show's appearances on the surface. This is one the smartest, best-paced, best-written shows I've ever seen, harem or action or animated or otherwise. It directs all of its elements and resources towards engaging and entertaining the audience, and it never resorts to cheap anime gimmicks to do so. While the show isn't flawless as there are one or two scenes that I feel go on a bit too long for where they take the story, I still have no qualms about calling this my all-time favorite anime, beating out such acclaimed series like Cowboy Bebop, Trigun and Fullmetal Alchemist.
Why? Because I am a huge sucker for shows featuring multiple kick- ass lady protagonists living under one roof, which this show is entirely responsible for doing to me. I've watched it four times already and am not even close to getting sick of it. Just for context, I watch most anime once and then never go back to them, even those other three I mentioned, far more than any of the bad harem shows I've seen. I think that says something about the appeal of Sekirei. Watch it, analyze it, love it. It's THAT awesome.
