Discussion Harem as a Genre

Discussion in 'Novel General' started by FlowingSong, Mar 1, 2016.

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  1. FlowingSong

    FlowingSong Otome Isekai Reader and Trash ML Hater

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    Okay so I was just wondering about this genre ... when is it considered a harem genre? does the protagonist have to be interested in every girl? like does he have to be going for all the girls? or is merely interacting with every girl in "a somewhat romantic but not really way" considered harem too?

    is btth and issth and the novels like them harem? when its clear as the sun rising in the east that they are going to end up with "that girl" no matter how many girls come at them...or is that genre something readers just decided because they have lots of potential girls?
    the only difference between them being, unlike xiao yan who actually does have some almost romantic interactions with the girls meng hao is really not interested in anyone but isnt it the same?
    they are still surrounded by girls right?

    can someone please enlighten me!

    also ps. to mods or anyone else if this thread is a copy paste thread then feel free to delete or close or report it but please link me to the proper thread cause i've been searching but i cant find any "harem as a genre" discussion. thank you :D
     
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  2. Wowafay

    Wowafay Well-Known Member

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    This bothers me as well, Lu Bu is my father in law is not tagged as a harem but the MC's got 3 wives.

    When is one considered a harem genre? When the MC's got lots of girls but is afraid of them?
     
  3. Anoncommander1

    Anoncommander1 The Commander

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    When the mc collect every single beautiful women.
     
  4. Nikko Anderson

    Nikko Anderson The Second Apprentice of The Fourth Librarian

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    When many heroines fall for mc (and sometime with ridiculous reason). Or so I thought....
     
  5. TokenZero

    TokenZero Mystic Sanctuary: Divine Fairy

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    I think that in order for something to be considered harem, all of the members of said harem have to be aware of each other. To make it a harem in true sense they have to all except each other as well(E.G Mushoku Tensei) otherwise it just creates unnecessary drama. There is usually someone(usually the first girl usually with the excuse that its normal for the strong to have many wives) in the harem that will support MC getting a harem as long as they approve of the people added.
    So I wouldn't consider MC moving around and meeting people to be considered a harem. Harem members have to be in contact with the MC a pretty substantial period of time and the most important, at least to me, is that the MC actually has to have feelings for those people. I wouldn't consider it a harem if the MC only likes one person but has many people that like and hang around him.
     
  6. EUGA

    EUGA The Taco Sovereign

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    Based on tags if mc blushes towards more than 1 person its harem

    Based on my ideals- if mc sleeps with more than 1 person its harem, considering a "harem" was something only royalty or similar had and all of their harem were for sexual desires not love,

    I think we need a new genre tag for storys where mc loves multiple people ( like shinka no mi)
    Because i think thats not really harem its more " open relationships"
     
  7. Odyssey

    Odyssey Well-Known Member

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    or when the MC is a "one woman kind of guy" til he finally falls for a second and then the floodgate break open.....and the one doing the pushing for the MC to fall for girl #2 was done by girl #1
     
  8. Nordic

    Nordic The Lazy Cat

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    I don't think ISSTH is harem in any way pretty sure BTTH is but saying why would be spoiler alert and I can't be asked to do that right now. Harem is usually defined as the MC going after multiple girls on the internet its usually viewed a little twisted but MGA is a good example of Harem, WDQK is not a Harem for now. Harem is essentially one guy living with multiple wifus who agree to share him its not really having multiple female interests(doesn't have to be at the same time but having multiple wifes and they are aware he has another one).
     
  9. Odyssey

    Odyssey Well-Known Member

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    so something like Arifureta should have "sex friends/open relationship" instead of "harem".......
     
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  10. The Darkness

    The Darkness 『False God』

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    When the MC is sleeping with more than one girl, and they both know of each other's existence. And not like, "I know you are fucking him" but more like "hey there wife #2"

    You catch my drift. It is only a harem if the MC isn't trying to hide the harem. A hidden harem is just adultery lol.
     
  11. Asf

    Asf 《《The aria of souls》》

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    When theres 2+ girl hanging around the mc.. and mc decide to keep those girls around. Ie. Not rejecting them/ friendzoning them or initiatively trying to make them their mate. Or when all the girls falls for the mc because the author said so. Harem mc will have tendency to keep wooing many different girls they met, they tend to not have the ideality of 1 on 1 couple. Even if they say they do, they will not actively do so and keep all the other fangirls at bay..
     
  12. Sproutling

    Sproutling We are the Sproutlings

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    technically something considered as harem when a guy had many wives.

    but when we read a novel and say it was harem probably because the influence of japanese anime or manga (i think), when one guy surrounded by many girl with the girl had feelings for the guy (the example an anime where background character say something like "sugoi, harem da...). then we also think it's harem.

    or

    we acknowledge something as harem genre because the probability mc end with more than one girl.

    these days harem is really few, some country also only allow one wife in marriage. that's why people get confused what is harem.
     
    Last edited: Mar 1, 2016
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  13. Cupcake Ninja

    Cupcake Ninja [Kind Sage][Lord Benevolence][ The Great Paragon]

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    as someone who read and watches many harem anime/ novels, it is considered a harem when multiple girls who are more important to the story than the average character surround one guy. They can grow feelings for him but it is not strictly necessary in some cases. There are multiple types of harems, such as the MC being in love with a woman while other women love him at the same time, like Nie Li from TDG of the novel Skyfire Avenue. Another type would be when the MC is dense and has no clue for the girls feelings for him, such as Nisekoi. Another is when the MC is like Yun che and is a casanova type of person who actively seeks out woman and flirts with them. Sex between the MC and the heroines is not required but it would be considered a true harem end if the MC sleeps or starts a romantic relationship with the heroines.

    Harems are based on a guy being surrounded by women who take a more important part in the story than other women or characters. The only thing that really changes is the MC's attitude towards the girls and how he interacts with them. Even if the MC is dating another woman, as long as he is surrounded by other girls who have more screen time than average characters, it can be considered a harem. As i said, feelings for the MC dont have to be present, at the beginning at least. 18+ novels with rape and slave harems are an example of this.
     
    Last edited: Mar 1, 2016
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  14. Aicila

    Aicila Huh?

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    Harem as a genre, and the literal meaning of harem are different things though, I'd argue.
    Well, if all/most of the important women in the story are keen, I'd say it's a harem. As for if btth or issth are harems or not, I don't know because I haven't read the whole thing. Just because it's not a harem now, doesn't mean it can't be one at the end.

    Harem is very difficult to define. I'm not going to define it myself because everyone has a different take, to some extent. I just use mangaupdates' definition:
     
  15. imacutemotherfucker

    imacutemotherfucker Puyo

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    hahahahahaha someone has called a discussion in my forte.
    1 - two girls is not harem. inmyopnion. that what you called bigamy. that mostly usually in comedy, drama, romance genre in which love triagle that could the mc can not choose eithier girl

    2 - three girls is harem because it not a love triagle

    3- a lot of girls have romance interest in one guy that would be considered a harem

    4- there also WHO WILL HE CHOOSE? like nisekoi , to love ru , umi no misaki. just potrayed as the gambling harem that end up choose the girl or harem ending

    5 - every girl have to have romantic interest in the mc . not to your surrounding.
     
  16. FlowingSong

    FlowingSong Otome Isekai Reader and Trash ML Hater

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    YOU ARRIVED LATE TT^TT (yea im an ass and not considering your timezone sorry ♥ )
    ive been killing myself over this, like why is btth considered harem? why is issth not harem? and then i forgot that we all havent read it to the end yet so maybe its considered harem because of the ending?

    anyway thanks for reminding me aici!
     
  17. EUGA

    EUGA The Taco Sovereign

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    I hate you... Change your color.. I mean white on white bg? Cant even read on my phone lol.


    Ahh bigamy was the word i was thinking of,

    But people google deffinetion of harem

    Guess i was a bit wrong guys...
    Full Definition of harem
    1. 1a : a usually secluded house or part of a house allotted to women in a Muslim householdb : the wives, concubines, female relatives, and servants occupying a harem

    2. 2: a group of women associated with one man

    3. 3: a group of females associated with one male —used of polygamous animals
     
  18. neoshadow

    neoshadow Lurker Sect Leader

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    Ok, I want to correct that definition for historical accuracy (such as the myth of polygamy = harem) and then help better define the 3 cultural different culture versions of harem (western european, Southeast Asian, and Ottoman).... but before I drop a huge wall of text, I do have a question for you all.

    Is a novel considered harem if the MC's NTR's himself? In other words, imagine a situation were the mc has different female romances(*) (waifus?) but none of them realize the person they love is the same person.
    This drama of hidden love and hidden identities continues to the point that it jumps the shark and his own fiance that you hear about in the first few chapters falls in love with and wants to NTR with himself under a different fake identity.

    I mean is it even netorare if the person "he/she cheating on you with is yourself" as a different person. Is it harem if none of the female leads realize they all are dating/love the same person?
    [​IMG]
    Bringing the Farm to Live in Another World
    No really in the later chapters the mc tries to divorce is fiance (the translation is not clear on who starts it), but it later turns into his fiance cheating on him with his alternate identity that uses his Earth name instead of his regular name. Its clear she really hates being his fiance and hates him personally for justified past history reasons to the point trying to kill him several times. Its something about his pre-reincarnation self raping her or some other complicated over the top stuff dealing with family politics. If the google translations can be trusted then she finally attracted to his alternate identity and trying to convince his fake self to marry/enlope with her so she can finally be rid of his current evil-bastard child ex-fiance(?) self.
    Meanwhile, the other female leads all like his other identities and only one of them actually knows there all the same person, but she too dense to realize the other girls like the same guy at least in this point in the novel.
    Instead of a love triangle its a hyperdimensional love mobius strip. Yet with no echii.

    *what is the proper way of saying the heroine's that a male/female romances in harem novel?
     
    Last edited: Mar 2, 2016
  19. Casul Reader

    Casul Reader Well-Known Member

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    According to the dictionary that I use|:
    "Harem
    (n.) a back in the day term for a stable full o' bitches."

    And thats about it i think

    JK
    To me, well its a term used when a bunch of women (usually more than two[more than one at least]) show interest to the MC as something other than a "Friend" so should be a simple way to define it
     
  20. Casul Reader

    Casul Reader Well-Known Member

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    Not really an NTR kek cause an NTR happens when someone(Someone other than the MC) takes the gurl away so ye
    He can still get her back if he talks to her a bit also which one we talking bout here, is it meg?!?!?
     
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