Best Ecchi Anime of 2018

In the MMORPG Cross Reverie, the Demon King Diablo stands unmatched in power. With the game's most coveted items and a maxed-out player level, he crushes any challenger with ease. Yet behind the screen, Diablo is Takuma Sakamoto—a socially awkward recluse whose only passion is his gaming life, even as he steamrolls endless foes. His routine is broken when a summoning spell drags him into a world that looks just like the game, where he keeps Diablo's form. There, he finds his summoners: Rem Galeu, a small Pantherian adventurer, and Shera L. Greenwood, an Elf summoner. They try to use an Enslavement Ritual to control him, but the magic backfires, making them his slaves instead. Trapped in this awkward situation, Takuma sets out with the girls to find a way to break the contract while adapting to his new life as the feared Demon King.

A culinary dark age descends upon Totsuki Culinary Academy. Following the Elite Ten's ruthless coup, Azami Nakiri has become the school's director, forcing students to adhere to his philosophy of "true gourmet food" and banning any creative expression under threat of expulsion. Refusing to accept this new order, Souma Yukihira and the residents of the Polar Star Dormitory join forces with other rebellious first-years, including the tenth seat, Erina Nakiri. Together, they battle against those who support Azami's regime. Yet corrupt instructors and the ominous Central organization block their path, forcing Souma and his allies to cooperate more fiercely than ever to survive every devious scheme aimed at driving them out of the school.

After successfully rescuing his master, Rias Gremory, from the Dimensional Gap, Red Dragon Emperor and aspiring Harem King Issei Hyoudou can finally return to his normal high school routine alongside Occult Research Club members Yuuto Kiba, Asia Argento, Xenovia Quarta, and Irina Shidou. The group embarks on a school trip to Kyoto, but their visit to a temple is disrupted by an assault from local youkai. Following the skirmish, the club learns that the mythical nine-tailed fox protecting the city has been abducted and that they are falsely accused of the crime. Issei and his friends must fight to clear their names, save the trip, and protect the city from impending disaster. Meanwhile, Rias, who stayed behind in Tokyo with Akeno Himejima and Koneko Toujou, grows increasingly uneasy about leaving the perverted Issei alone with the other club girls. Beneath her vague anxiety lies a deeper question: what are the true feelings Rias has been struggling with for the past few months?

Once a hot spring inn, Yuragi-sou now operates as a boarding house with shockingly low rent, but it's nearly empty except for a handful of eccentric residents. Word has it that a dangerous ghost haunts the place, driving away anyone who tries to move in. This makes it the ideal spot for Fuyuzora Kogarashi—a broke, homeless psychic looking for cheap lodging and spirits to exorcise. Kogarashi braces for a showdown with the ghost, only to discover it's not the malevolent entity rumors describe. Instead, it's the spirit of a lovely, silver-haired girl who remembers nothing of her life before death except her name: Yuuna. Even stranger, the other tenants of Yuragi-sou can also see Yuuna, and each possesses their own supernatural ability. Amid the turmoil stirred up by his quirky housemates, Kogarashi works to uncover the lingering regret that binds Yuuna to the mortal world—before she turns into an evil spirit condemned to an eternity in hell.

College student Yuuya Nomoto gets swept into a kidnapping scheme without realizing it, only to witness his companions slain by Hitomi Uzaki—the very high school girl they meant to abduct. Pressured into driving her to a secret location, he discovers he has been placed as the stake in a lethal confrontation between two Therianthropes, genetically enhanced hybrids of humans and animals. One of these hybrids, Hitomi, exploits the speed and audacity bestowed by her ratel DNA to ruthlessly eliminate her opponent and spare Yuuya from death. Hours later, Yuuya awakens desperately wishing it was all a nightmare, but he soon grasps that he is now trapped in a covert proxy conflict among four major Japanese business groups, where the victor will seize economic dominance. As her lone—and reluctant—backer, his own existence hinges on Hitomi's participation in clandestine death matches referred to solely as Killing Bites.

After messing up one too many times, yakuza underlings Kentarou, Ryou, and Kazuhiko are given a harsh ultimatum by their boss: either have their organs taken and sold off, or go to Thailand for gender reassignment surgery and train to become pop idols. Following a grueling year of transformation, the three former thugs are reborn as Airi, Chika, and Mari. Debuting as the amateur idol unit The Goku Dolls, they set their sights on reaching the top of the idol world. But even after enduring relentless brainwashing to make them more feminine, the three idols still hold onto their yakuza toughness inside. To correct this, their boss brings in Mandarin Kinoshita, a legendary manager with a perfect track record of never failing to guide an idol group to success. With their lives on the line, the reluctant yakuza must cooperate with their new manager, tap into their hidden cuteness, and become the triumphant idols their ruthless boss can finally be proud of.

Aki Shiina is often mistaken for a girl due to his delicate, feminine looks. Hoping to turn over a new leaf and leave his past behind, he transfers to a middle school in Tokyo and moves into a dormitory. Upon arriving, Aki is given a friendly welcome by the dorm's manager, Ayaka Sunohara, who instantly becomes fond of him. However, he quickly discovers that his new housemates are all female members of the student council. The girls frequently poke fun at Aki, treating him as if he were extremely girlish. Nevertheless, determined to grow more manly, Aki does his utmost to lend a hand to those around him.

Aspiring light novelist Yuu Nagami keeps entering writing contests but has never won a single one. Despite his repeated failures, he stays determined to hone his craft and become a better writer. After checking the winners list from his latest competition, he sees that someone named Chikai Towano swept the event. He soon learns that behind that pen name is his sister Suzuka—the last person he ever expected to be an author. Suzuka cannot let anyone know she is Chikai Towano, so she asks her brother to act as her stand‑in. Yuu agrees on one condition: he will keep pretending to be Chikai Towano for his sister until he can publish a book of his own. Until that day comes, Yuu uses his new alias as a chance to enhance his writing abilities and meets fellow authors and new acquaintances along the way.

Set in the 15th century amid the Hundred Years' War between France and England over the French throne, the story follows Montmorency, a noble's son devoted to studying magic and alchemy at a royal knight academy. After France's devastating loss at Agincourt, the school is disbanded. Left with nothing and now a fugitive, Montmorency, newly an alchemist, meets a mysterious village girl named Jehanne.

After six years in Tokyo, Hanabi Natsuno returns home, and memories come rushing back. As she gets ready to begin high school, she moves into Tachibanakan, a local dormitory for female students. Upon arriving, Hanabi stumbles upon a completely naked beauty and instantly falls deeply in love with her. She also runs into Konomi Fujiwara, her childhood friend whom she hardly remembers. Hanabi is introduced to the other dorm residents and quickly becomes the focal point of attention. The girls instantly warm up to the newcomer and start competing for her affection—whether subtly or openly—and Hanabi realizes this school year is certainly going to be an interesting one.

In the same timeline as Sin: Nanatsu no Taizai, Nanatsu no Bitoku centers on a cadre of angels dispatched from Heaven to locate a prospective "Savior." Their mission is to find this individual in order to mount a counter-offensive against the demonic influence being propagated by Lucifer and the other emissaries of Hell.

At institutions dedicated to training modern shinobi, young women devote their youth to mastering their craft and honing their abilities through intense competition. This rigorous path is interrupted when Asuka, a student whose grandfather is a legendary ninja, encounters a malevolent entity known as a Youma in the snowy backstreets of Tokyo during the Christmas season. The clash between light and shadow sets the stage for a historic confrontation, pitting over 28 of the most powerful and voluptuous ninjas from both good and evil factions against one another in a struggle to define true justice. The deadly conflict ignites immediately.

Evil forces are gaining strength. After Sister Jill turns one of her subordinates into the beastly Breast Claw and deploys her minions to execute a jewelry store robbery alongside the Panther Claw group, Honey Kisaragi leaves her Catholic girls' school to face the danger as Cutie Honey. This outcome is precisely what Sister Jill intends, since she covets Honey's Airborne Element Fixing Device, the artifact that enables her to shift into seven distinct forms. At the same time, Sister Jill appears in disguise as Inspector Genet, attempting to gain Honey's trust through a different approach.