Harem Anime

[The Bucket]

I know it's hard for certain people to find women that are interested in them, especially if they live in isolated communities or aren't very social. I mean, I fall into that category. But at the same time... the way harem animes depict women is just so juvenile. I like tits and ass and panties as much as anyone else but there's more to life than accidentally catching glimpses of a girl's undies.

I think its kind of overly simple to say people watch harem anime because they cant get girlfriends. I'm not massively into the genre myself, but I know guys in long term relationships who watch them quite regularly, as well as plenty girls who're in to them. Yeah, its juvenile and base, but most people enjoy cheap trashy entertainment of some kind on occasion, it doesnt mean they're using it as a substitute for human interaction or anything.

 

[Orga777]

Ehh... Harem is my least favorite genre of all of them. Almost all of them are nothing more than Otaku pandering garbage with no real story, no real character beyond their assigned tropes, and fanservice for the sake of fanservice. They are carefully constructed to sell merchandise in Japan, and most of them don't get much further than that.

Now, there are good harem series, though, and some of them I do like. But they are more the exception rather than the rule.

 

[Fox12]

This is the one anime genre that offends me. I wonder how things would go if the genders were reversed, just to hopefully allow people some self-enlightenment.

Look up Ouran High School Host Club and you'll see how things will go if the genders are reversed. I rather find that show quite funny, but then I also rather like harem anime. What sort of "self-enlightenment" do you think would be gained by watching gender-reversed harem anime? It's not like I watched Ouran Host Club and went, "Hey, that's objectifying!" I just smiled a lot and enjoyed the show. Out of curiosity, why does it offend you? That seems a rather strong reaction.

This is the one anime genre that offends me. I wonder how things would go if the genders were reversed, just to hopefully allow people some self-enlightenment.

I despise this genre. It just reeks of wish fulfillment for lonely men.

But I'll ignore the moral implications of the genre for the moment, in favor of the quality. It's uniformly terrible. Bad writing, paper thin characters, and Ill advised attempts at humor. It's pandering in its worst form. It's television by commitee, where a bunch of men in suits check off a list of cliches. The tsundere, the yandere, ect. And the otaku buy it hook, line, and sinker. The saddest part is that it's strangling a medium I otherwise respect.

So I'll choose the anti-harem. Neon Genesis Evangelion.

I read a few of your other posts after this one so please forgive me for going back to this one when the others are a bit more tempered but why is harem anime strangling anything? Sure, you may find it vapid and have a bunch of perfectly good criticisms of it but the idea that some people might really like the stuff is reason enough for it to exist. "But this is killing the medium!" is the same sort of argument people use when trying to argue against, say, media aimed at gay or trans people and surely you'd argue in return that gay and trans people whould be allowed things that appeal to them, so why not people who like harem anime, or anything else really? Please excuse me if you've already covered this and I missed it; I am late to the thread.

Nah, it's cool.

How do I say this? There are a lot of reasons I don't like this genre. Part of it is the fact that it annoys me a little. I find it slightly objectifying that a host of attractive characters with cardboard personalities are throwing themselves at a shrimpy, awkward protagonist (that is likely an author stand in). But that's fine, in and of itself. As I've said before, anything can be done well, theoretically. I don't enjoy the Magical Girl genre either, but I enjoyed Madoka. And NGE even played on the concept slightly before brutally deconstructing it. The other problem I have is that the genre seems to encourage bad, formulaic writing. It's like the COD of anime. High school harem anime is the in thing right now, because men in suits know they can fill in the pieces of the story with stock characters, and people will buy it. It's just a little sad after the anime renaissance in the 90s that brought us Cowboy Bebop, Evangellion, princess Mononoke, ghost in te shell, perfect blue, and so much more. I... Can't honestly think of any harem series that reaches anywhere near tht level of quality.

I'm not saying people can't enjoy it, and I'll even apologize for being too harsh on it. I just find that it encourages all the bad habits I don't like in anime.

Edit: I just read your comment. Don't watch school days! Don't watch school days! Please, you don't have to do this! Quite possibly the worst anime I've ever seen, even if it is a deconstruction.

 

[Gorrath]

This is the one anime genre that offends me. I wonder how things would go if the genders were reversed, just to hopefully allow people some self-enlightenment.

Look up Ouran High School Host Club and you'll see how things will go if the genders are reversed. I rather find that show quite funny, but then I also rather like harem anime. What sort of "self-enlightenment" do you think would be gained by watching gender-reversed harem anime? It's not like I watched Ouran Host Club and went, "Hey, that's objectifying!" I just smiled a lot and enjoyed the show. Out of curiosity, why does it offend you? That seems a rather strong reaction.

This is the one anime genre that offends me. I wonder how things would go if the genders were reversed, just to hopefully allow people some self-enlightenment.

I despise this genre. It just reeks of wish fulfillment for lonely men.

But I'll ignore the moral implications of the genre for the moment, in favor of the quality. It's uniformly terrible. Bad writing, paper thin characters, and Ill advised attempts at humor. It's pandering in its worst form. It's television by commitee, where a bunch of men in suits check off a list of cliches. The tsundere, the yandere, ect. And the otaku buy it hook, line, and sinker. The saddest part is that it's strangling a medium I otherwise respect.

So I'll choose the anti-harem. Neon Genesis Evangelion.

I read a few of your other posts after this one so please forgive me for going back to this one when the others are a bit more tempered but why is harem anime strangling anything? Sure, you may find it vapid and have a bunch of perfectly good criticisms of it but the idea that some people might really like the stuff is reason enough for it to exist. "But this is killing the medium!" is the same sort of argument people use when trying to argue against, say, media aimed at gay or trans people and surely you'd argue in return that gay and trans people whould be allowed things that appeal to them, so why not people who like harem anime, or anything else really? Please excuse me if you've already covered this and I missed it; I am late to the thread.

Nah, it's cool.

How do I say this? There are a lot of reasons I don't like this genre. Part of it is the fact that it annoys me a little. I find it slightly objectifying that a host of attractive characters with cardboard personalities are throwing themselves at a shrimpy, awkward protagonist (that is likely an author stand in). But that's fine, in and of itself. As I've said before, anything can be done well, theoretically. I don't enjoy the Magical Girl genre either, but I enjoyed Madoka. And NGE even played on the concept slightly before brutally deconstructing it. The other problem I have is that the genre seems to encourage bad, formulaic writing. It's like the COD of anime. High school harem anime is the in thing right now, because men in suits know they can fill in the pieces of the story with stock characters, and people will buy it. It's just a little sad after the anime renaissance in the 90s that brought us Cowboy Bebop, Evangellion, princess Mononoke, ghost in te shell, perfect blue, and so much more. I... Can't honestly think of any harem series that reaches anywhere near tht level of quality.

I'm not saying people can't enjoy it, and I'll even apologize for being too harsh on it. I just find that it encourages all the bad habits I don't like in anime.

Oh we're cool then. I totally get that it's not everyone's cup of tea and will happily concede that a lot of it is poor quality (Hell a lot of any media/genre is poor quality) I was just taken aback by the strength of your seeming conviction against it was all. Thanks for clarifying your position for me, I just tend to get rankled a bit when people suggest that something they don't like just plain shouldn't exist even if a lot of other people like it. Since that's not your actual position, we're good friend!

 

[major_chaos]

I normally find harem incredibly annoying. Like triple mosquito bite in a hard to reach spot annoying. Like "that one ************ at the back of the class who talks non stop but keeps juuuust quite enough that the teacher doesn't notice and shut him up" annoying. Which is why I'm still really confused about why I like Monster Musume so much. Might be because the protagonist is less of a bumbling dickless loser than normal, might be because I actually think the humor is more hit than miss for once ("if I was alive I would be dead right now" is one of my favorite lines in anything ever), might be because there is way more world building than I ever expected from harem echi, and it might just be because I'm a sucker for anything where non-human humanoids aren't evil that also doesn't bash you over the head with the "HUMANS ARE THE REAL MONSTERS!!!" cliche.

 

[Dizchu]

I think its kind of overly simple to say people watch harem anime because they cant get girlfriends. I'm not massively into the genre myself, but I know guys in long term relationships who watch them quite regularly, as well as plenty girls who're in to them. Yeah, its juvenile and base, but most people enjoy cheap trashy entertainment of some kind on occasion, it doesnt mean they're using it as a substitute for human interaction or anything.

Sure, I didn't quite say that was what the audience is like. Rather, it's the kind of mindset that goes into shows like those with their abundant fanservice. Typically the protagonist is a socially awkward teenage boy and the kinds of situations he finds himself in with the female characters reflect those sorts of feelings. Like I said, it's the straight male equivalent of Twilight. Awkward heterosexual teenager suddenly finds him/herself in a situation where he or she is surrounded by idealised depictions of the opposite sex. The one thing harem animes have that Twilight doesn't (and what raises them far above that level of trash) is that they don't take themselves too seriously.

 

[Paragon Fury]

Personally I dislike most harem anime especially if they fall into the trope of:

a) Violence against men is cute! I hit you because I'm jealous! Aren't I Kawaii! ^.^

or

b) JDPS (Japanese dickless protagonist syndrome)

If you are a late teenage boy, or young man, surrounded by beautiful women who would do anything for you, you literally can not mess up, and all you can do is get embarrassed around them, then you might have JDPS. I guarantee any real male who isn't either inhibited by religion or not attracted to women would dive into at least one girl head first. It's unrealistic.

There is a reason that JDPS exists, and it has to do with men in modern Japanese society and I don't feel like getting into that right now.

I will say though that the Japanese guys who like harem anime I've met in RL are some of the creepiest people you'll ever meet, and these are the people that these kind of anime are aimed at.

That being said, it is possible to do it well. Highschool DXD has a more realistic male protagonist at the expense of realism in the women, but the story with the angels, devils and fallen angels is rather interesting, even if the producer has said that the main character "will never have sex with one of the girls because if he does that once, that's all he'd ever do"

I also have a soft spot for Zero no Tsukaima, due to it's world building, although it does fall prey a bit, especially toward the beginning, of violence being cute.

Also any anime with nosebleed spurts is immediately stamped with a giant F.

Dishonourable mention goes to Rito in To love-ru. Dude is the epitome of JDPS, even if I do think most of the girls in the anime are great, Momo in particular.

Hey now, there are people like that. I mean hell, I'm so socially awkward and oblivious that a woman would probably have to damn near rape me before I got the point and even then I'd be too nervous and wouldn't be able to do it.

I think this is porn for people with a very oblique approach towards porn.

Porn isn't very good - most of the women in it aren't very attractive, there isn't much to it except...well, fucking. Hell, even hentai is easier to watch than porn because they at least try with their stories.

Nobody watches porn for the story?

Well, if they're not watching it for the story, and most of the time the women in it don't look very good and its kind of gross, what the hell are they watching it for then?

 

[Wakey87]

Heavens Lost Property and Haganai are probably the only straight up harem anime I could recomend to people.
Higurashi could possably qualify has a harem seeing as three girls all show a love interest for the one guy, atleast in the happy half of each arc. The show is so much more than that tho.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I think this is porn for people with a very oblique approach towards porn.

Porn isn't very good - most of the women in it aren't very attractive, there isn't much to it except...well, fucking. Hell, even hentai is easier to watch than porn because they at least try with their stories.

Nobody watches porn for the story?

Well, if they're not watching it for the story, and most of the time the women in it don't look very good and its kind of gross, what the hell are they watching it for then?

The women "don't look very good" to you, it's "kind of gross" to you.
You need to accept that most people get off on porn, amazing as that may sound to you.

 

[Imp_Emissary]

Most of them seem pretty boring and or annoying. I've seen more bad than good, but there are some nice shinny gems hidden in the manure.

Mostly, I think it depends on what you're looking for. If fanservice is all the show has going for it, why should I watch it over others of the genre that have that PLUS a good story or good action?

Heck, most anime meant for people above the age of 12 has some fanservice anyway, so that makes the competition even bigger.
So if the anime can actually manage to have a plot that isn't just barely there to keep a string of fanservice moments tied together, that's probably a good start.
Also, it's nice when they can keep away some of the more troubling features as have been mentioned in the thread.
Other than that, it comes down to ones personal taste.

 

[Ihateregistering1]

This is considered an entire genre?

It seems like the anime equivalent of those T&A comedies that used to be shown on "T&A Matinee" and "USA up all night".

 

[spartan231490]

Frankly, I think High School DxD is probably my favorite harem. It is definitely heavy on the fan-service, not for the light of heart, but I find it to be the perfect blend of comedy and action, and I also find the plot and premise to be better than most Harem. Sekirei also comes to mind, real fun cast. And World Break: Aria for the curse of the holy swordsman or whatever it is is also really good, assuming you like main characters more powerful than god.

 

[spartan231490]

This is considered an entire genre?

It seems like the anime equivalent of those T&A comedies that used to be shown on "T&A Matinee" and "USA up all night".

um . . . I suppose it depends on how you define genre, but there are a lot more harem anime out there than you might think. I could probably name 2 dozen off the top of my head without even trying, either that I've seen or that I've heard of. If I took the time to look I could easily find at least 50, probably double that.

 

[SecondPrize]

Does Ranma 1/2 count as a harem anime? I like that show.

 

[Metalix Knightmare]

I actually LIKE the harem Genre, but I CANNOT stand Tenchi. Not because of the ladies mind you, it's because of Tenchi himself.

See, the primary source of angst in Harem situations stems from the fact the lead can only pick ONE of their potential suitors, what with polygamy being made illegal in most of the world. It's a pretty sad thing given that said suitors may ALL legitimately love the lead, but most of them will have their hearts broken, and the lead is the one who'll have to do it. Seriously, who would WANT that on their shoulders?

Tenchi however, is descended from an alien race that practices polygamy as a rule. He has the ultimate out. He can solve this issue without ANY tears or heartbreak. But what does he do? He mostly just faffs about and whines about his situation. Yeah. I have NO respect for that twit when most of his problems could've been solved LONG ago if he'd just man up already, and buy Viagra in bulk.

And I KNOW in some continuities he actually DOES marry them all, but I'm pretty certain the only reason he does that is because his dad, sick and tired of the costs of repairing the damages from all the catfights, finally just put a shotgun to the idiot's back and forced him to do so to try and put an end to the drain on his pocketbook.

 

[mecegirl]

Sometimes I wonder if the protagonists in these animes ever like any of the girls after them. Sometimes there is the one girl the protag finally chooses, but for others he just never commits. It seems obvious that the guy thinks the girls are sexually attractive, but that isn't enough to commit to a relationship with someone over. Especially since the shows tend to play up the fact that none of the girls have anything really wrong with them. So the guy is stuck since he doesn't dislike any of the girls, but he doesn't have the backbone to outright reject any of them.

In contrast the love interest in some shojo romances tend to have plenty of suitors to choose from but they at least turn the girls down. Sure that leads to trouble for the female protagonist later when he finally accepts her and all the girls he turned down start bulling her. But at least the guy didn't waffle around, and he generally shows up to tell the mob of girls off anyway.

 

[Mazinger-Z]

Negima! had a good run up until the point Ken Akamatsu lost interest and torpedo'd the ending:

Diverse cast that didn't rely on a lot of boobs. I was impressed.

That being said, big fan of Monster Musume

 

[Jake Martinez]

This is the one anime genre that offends me. I wonder how things would go if the genders were reversed, just to hopefully allow people some self-enlightenment.

Why? Do women not like having a bunch of hot men throwing themselves at them?

Honestly, your comment makes no sense. It's like you're assuming that females are asexual or something.

 

[Mazinger-Z]

You mean those animes about some guy running away from boobs for 50+ episodes?
Well, they really suck for the most part. Sex is a no no, meaningful relationship won't happen because no one has any life apart from all the love bullshit and a wedding of course won't happen too. It's like watching an action movie knowing beforehand that no guns ever fire.
Some of the harem animes are good, but they are good despite being harem and not because of it.

This is why I said stick with things that use it as a framing device rather than the plot. Like the Negima manga. It's awesome for at least the first 20 books, then fsck Ken and his inability to wrap up a story.

I'm not sure if Freezing counts as one, but that manga was like harem manga + Mean Girls + fighting giant monsters with big weapons.