I'm just wondering why people like this trope. Personally, I'm not a fan of smut, let alone harem. I think most smut stories are shallow and lack complexity because they're focusing more on the smut. I prefer character-driven or plot-driven stories. How I view it, those stories are just purely for entertainment. Though they're overrated, it is honestly boring after a while. Like, how many times can you read about the same scene? Sure, there might be different characters, positions, places, etc, but there are only so many ways you can talk about the same thing. I tend to skip that part and just go straight to the plot. And harem... Gosh, I just don't know how it's supposed to work. They usually have a main guy but the mc would still do it with countless men and they just tolerate it? I would be grateful if they don't contract STDs. But then again, STDs probably don't exist in a novel world. Lol...
My theory is: The Harem Romance is just an escapist power fantasy for socially inept individuals with toxic unrealistic expectations where the Male or Female MC without putting that much effort gets to be easily desired by many obsessive possesive hot people/characters that don't have a real complex life of their own.
People read for different reasons. Ppl who read a lot of this type of novel are reading them to get their rocks off (psychological or physical), not because they value creativity or want their mind blown. I won't act like I'm better than them, I just don't read those because I have fanfiction and porn sites for that. Personally prefer my webnovels to have "substance" as far as you can get that in a webnovel. I do feel sad for people who read these smutty harems to get their rocks off, and that's the only reason they read. Like go to work/school, sleep, eat, jerk off to harem shit. Nothing else, no reading stuff for the pure joy of good storytelling. Like damn that's gotta FR suck, like, what kinda life
Why do some read harem-centric stories? So that they can be judged and pitied by those who don't, thereby bringing some sunshine into their miserable lives. Simply put, they do it for our good!
Ah, so kind of like self-insert story. I get it. Hahaha... Omg, same. I mean, there's other website with pure p*rn if you really want to get it off. Tbh, I feel like I'm losing brain cells whenever I stumbled into these kinds of stories. The main characters would usually do it nonstop for days, like seriously? It's so unrealistic. And how if the minors learn this kind of stuff from this kind of novel? I feel bad, really.
Omg! You're savage! Ugh, after being an avid reader of web novels for years, I kind of developed an allergy to bland one-dimensional characters, too-op characters, stories with lots of plot holes, boring mc, unrealistic mc, self-insert stories, etc. It's very hard for me to get into a story nowadays because nothing can please me anymore. If there is a story that can interest me, then it means the story is very good. But it's annoying because it's so hard to find.
It is not easy to find a good fun or cathartic story that makes your day. I think Self-Insersation in some way already starts with taking sth from yourself/your life and put it into your fictional characters. https://writing.stackexchange.com/q...self-insert-and-how-do-i-avoid-it-or-overcome https://medium.com/write-it-forward/how-to-write-a-character-that-isnt-you-d2324d73260b For example, the creator of Sailor Moon Naoko Takeuchi based some of her characters on her personality and her real-life family. Maybe you might like Terry Pratchett's Death (Discworld). A powerful parody personification of death that struggles with his existence, learns and envolves into a complex character with depth.
That seems interesting. Do you have any more recommendations for Shoujo-type stories? Honestly, I'm too fed up reading the same kind of boring characters over and over again to the point that I decided to write it myself. I'm currently working on 2 projects. The first one is my main story which is a very angsty regression/reincarnation story. I wrote the protagonist using my experience as an avid reader of this genre. Basically, I just wrote everything that I wanted to avoid in this kind of story, and of course, I tried to make the protagonist as realistic and relatable as possible. The other one is my side project which is a parody book. It is the complete opposite of my main story. I took every single overused plot, character, and trope in this genre and then mash it into one dreadful, yet hilarious parody. Well, the parody book isn't intended to insult anyone though, but to lightly make fun of the way most web novels are written.
What kind of unconventional Shoujo-Type Stories do you have actually in mind? A parody about the FanRom Genre... Reminds me of How to Survive a Romance Fantasy/Romance Fantasy Manhwa Binge. Have you read the meta webcomic This Isekai Maid Is Forming A Union! that criticizes and deconstructs many Rofan Tropes? I personally consider this story dark, realistic, grounded, smart and progressive.
A main character who has a personality and I'm talking like a real flawed human being who acted humane, and not like some kind of constipated doll. Yup... But it's more like your typical romfan told in a very sarcastic way that would make you think of how ridiculous it was and yet, that's what happened in most romfan. Not yet. I checked it and I think the concept is very interesting. I think I'm going to continue reading that one.
How about these unconventional Shoujo Mangas: Skip Beat! (Has been dragging on too long) Confidential Confessions Otomen Mizutama Honey Boy Beauty Pop Kaibutsu-san Ni, Rei! Kimi ni Koishite Ii desu ka. Kimi ni Todoke Kawaii Hito (Saitou Ken) Ore Monogatari!! Pochamani Warau Kanoko-sama Koi dano Ai dano Last Game Perfect Girl Evolution Hibiki: Shousetsuka ni Naru Houhou
I don't like r-19 novel cause they're corny. The s*x scenes are comical and so unrealistic. They're hardly well written.
it might seem so random, but Demon Slayer (anime/manga) has the protagonist to have flaws of his own and struggles. So check it out if you are into anime (normally the ones who watch it first(in my knowledge) loves it)
Well, "smut" implies that there is a very specific purpose for the novel. More unique harem members means more material for that purpose. That's all. You should really only read smut if you're in the mood for that kind of thing. There are exceptions, but basically if a novel is worth reading while skipping any sex scenes, it's probably not smut. There... is. I remember reading a few like that a long time ago, but can't remember their names. There's also that romcom manga Pseudo Harem.
Huh... so I wasn't the first to have that idea. Tbh, by that I mean a male lead with multiple personality that each of them can be classify as a separate individual. Although the terrifying part was that I got this idea from watching M. Night Shyamalan "Split"
It's okay to read when you r bored and have nothing to read sometimes but no rape both parties should enjoy .
But what if it's based not from love or mutual attraction, rather desire to control and dominate. Sorry, that might sounds twisted and abrupt, but I just came to the idea of "What If" both male leads and female lead aren't exactly "sane" or the world they're in are twisted in regards of the difference between genuine attraction and perversion?