Alot, or most of the protagonist in wuxia/xianxia novels are emotionally brain dead. Their partners do not come about because of true love, but instead rely on the use of aphrodisiac. How true is that?
This morning I read a chapter of a novel showing it's not necessarily true. Nightfall. I loved today's chapters. Bad writers riding the waves of the genre's popularity produce novels with shitty romance. How unexpected. Is this today's Let's shit on xianxia! thread? And yeah, pull wuxia in too at the same time, it's not like there's a difference. It's not exactly difficult to find novels on NU with bad romance that aren't xianxia. NU's infested with bad romance. Everyone seems to complain about xianxia, seemingly holding it to a higher standard, while ignoring shitty ones in other genres like survival, or shitty romance in JP novels. Bad writing is everywhere, and there's good writing everywhere as well. Though less of it, unfortunately.
I think Martial Art Master have the best romance from all the Chinese webnovel I read. But yeah, most especially with harem tag have shitty romance.
Because making good and not awkward romance is hard? I know that it may come as surprise but it's hard to make proper romance (or even flesh out characters [monster paradise]) when every chapter that isn't make to push the plot or its fighting chapter ppl spam "FILLER!!! BURN THE AUTOR". The exception are romance focus novels
Some writers see romance as a checkbox to be ticked. It's not an easy thing to do well though ... I think so, yeah. I really like the relationship between those two. Calling it romance is a bit too much though probably. Or too early. Knowing those two it's never going to be very conventional. Sure. Relevant to the title under your username, the harem tendencies of the generic novels don't really help. Fuck yeah give me more MAM, if only it didn't get dropped every other month
Just saying, not that i condone it mind you, but people use date rape drugs and such even to this day. So considering that all those chinese novels are based around might is right it doesnt seem that strange that they use such methods and that their relationships are twisted.
You don't need to focus on it to do it well. Usually the authors aren't great at characterization, which is a dead giveaway for the romance to suck as well. In xianxia's defence, I'd say the power gaps and multiple realms don't exactly help the authors to let their protagonists develop relationships like family, friends, lovers, ... But that's not an excuse to do it badly, better leave it out completely then.
I guess, maybe the authors feel that boy meets girl, both fell in love with each other is too boring and won't last. So they want to make it 'impactful'
Not all harems have aphrodisiac usage tho. or some only have 1 time out of thousands of chapter lol I don't like the use of Aphrodisiac, unless rare chances depend on the story. Like If MC and random girl he just meet got drugged and had to have sex, then become lovers. or if like some novel MC lose control coz of cultivation or something and rape a girl etc. I don't like it. but there is some rare times in some novel, that aphrodisiac is used after the MC and the girl love each other for a while, but just did not "Do it" and officially become a couple yet, but coz of aphrodisiac they break that last layer of barrier and become offical, At these time i don't mind the aphrodisiac. Like for example a novel i read few years ago, Spoiler: Example MC and a girl meet and were friend for long, they already developed feeling and such, but coz the girl was injured and had to go into deep sleep for years until MC find cure. by the time she wake up, MC and her sister were a couple ! and even tho both MC and the girl liked each other, and the sister felt guilty, they never bought it up out of embarrassment lol until a aphrodisiac accident and they had an orgy, and she officially joined harem LOL
That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying to look at it from the mc's point of view. In most cultivation novels, the mcs struggle just to stay alive and have to spend all of their time cultivating. Where are they going find the time for a proper relationship? It's just like a person who chooses to focus on their career. The only ways to get those types into a relationship is by force or fate, hence the bad romance.
Romance doesnot fell good because it has ulterior motives ,when the author want the mc to clash against some power he make the kingdom toppling beauty there fall for mc and cycle of revenge occur ,and when he wants him to go to other place which will be a suicide mission for mc he makes the beauty kidnapped to that place ao romace feels very cheap and makes me think the story is cheaper and drop it