Ai Yori Aoshi

Ai Yori Aoshi and its sequel, Enishi, are somewhere in between the previously mentioned Harem and Magical Girlfriend subgenres. Aoi is the obvious love interest, and the male lead basically never deviates from that path. Still, he lives in a house with about half a dozen women who are in love with him, so it's sort of like a Harem show with a predetermined outcome.

Aoshi is a pretty pleasant show. Sometimes it's humorous, and when it isn't it manages to avoid being annoying. The characters are all pretty likable with one significant exception, and enough is done to keep the story fresh. They do a fairly good job of developing the side characters and showing their feelings without deviating too far from the root of the story, the relationship between Aoi and Kaoru. She's a little too subservient to be a really defensible realistic person, but that's pretty much par for the course with this kind of series. Their development as a couple is enjoyable, because they're both sympathetic characters you can root for. Plus the fact that they actually move forward and show some passion at various points is a pretty surprising and welcome spin on a genre that usually revels in stagnation and teasing.

Enishi is just annoying, though. Nothing about the series itself is really worse, the animation and art are at the same decent level and it's the same characters. But it's two years later in the story, and the relationship really hasn't moved forward at all. They're still not allowed to reveal it to others for political reasons, and it just becomes a tired excuse to prevent changes to the status quo. What really irks though is the increased focus on the secondary characters. It wouldn't be a problem if it was just telling some other stories, which is pretty common, but it focuses on their affection for Kaoru, which is just a dead end. He's in love with a nice girl who loves him back. There's no chance of anything between him and anyone else. But still time is wasted while they pine for him. I'm really not interested in the underage girl who has a crush on Kaoru because he cheered her up at a party. Enishi also seems less entertaining overall. It has many of the problems the original series avoided. It still does some things right, but it's a disappointment in comparison.