The Harem Genre

[EternalSunset0]

Just something that came across my mind the other day... what do you guys think constitutes the Harem genre? I know the basic definitions and all, but at what point does a title cross the fine line into the genre? When the number of possible love interests reaches 3?

I know the most basic definition is having a lot of girls liking a guy, but there are some cases where fans of some anime like Mahouka or Oregairu are arguing that their series are not harem titles.

I have not taken the logistics of the genre or the tag too seriously because it just gets slapped into whatever LN that has a guy and a cast full of girls that he regularly interacts with. I'm guilty of doing that myself (just slapping the tag on any show with a disproportionate boy-girl ratio in favor of the latter with the associated archetypes and tropes checked), but after someone messaged me the other day, it got me thinking. How do you draw the fine line between "just looks like harem" and actual harem titles?

Think something like Chivalry of a Failed Knight. Or A Certain Magical Index. Where do you draw the line in these debatable cases? Is it in how into the MC the girls are? The number? How MC perceives the girls?

 

[EternalSunset0]

And yeah, this is in author general because it has to do with my tags in my works moving forward. Basically wanting to see your opinion so I know whether to use it or not or whether it will be appropriate or not

 

[ForestDweller]

Those two are harem in the book.

 

[BenJepheneT]

Realistically speaking, I think you'd get away with it easily. The girls need not even be romantically interested in the MC. Sprinkle some fluff moments with them every once in a while and the readers would eat it up as HAREM IN ACTION

 

[Sabruness]

Realistically speaking, I think you'd get away with it easily. The girls need not even be romantically interested in the MC. Sprinkle some fluff moments with them every once in a while and the readers would eat it up as HAREM IN ACTION

not so. you might bite the mindless sheeple but you;d likely drive away those looking for a true harem.

My view is: minimum of three love interests and an MC with functioning testicles and brain to accept the affections.

 

[bigbear51]

My general rule is three girls (or boys in the case of reverse harems) at minimum that are romantically interested in the protagonist. How the MC handles it during and by the end is irrelevant for me. Choose one, all, or even none, it'd still be a harem story in my eyes. Now that doesn't mean if I'd like it or not, but liking or disliking something doesn't change what it is.

 

[DarkGodEM]

My general rule is:
Since every single fucking novel I write is a harem I have no idea. But if there's more than one girl from the get-go and I can possibly add more girls later on.... Put the f*ing tag on already

 

[EternalSunset0]

not so. you might bite the mindless sheeple but you;d likely drive away those looking for a true harem.

My view is: minimum of three love interests and an MC with functioning testicles and brain to accept the affections.

Thanks for the insight. Yeah, I've had people message me about the tag since the girl cast really doesn't bloat up until three volumes in, but I had the tag on the first one, so I can attest to the first point. I'm wondering if I should drop the tag or not (I did, actually) I'm also thinking of what I could do should I pursue a second series to write alongside what I have, so that's very helpful. Thanks.

I personally felt that three is the magic number because two would just make it a love triangle.

 

[TachimeSan]

Either the MC bonks them all, or bonks none of them. There's no in between.

 

[BenJepheneT]

not so. you might bite the mindless sheeple but you;d likely drive away those looking for a true harem.

My view is: minimum of three love interests and an MC with functioning testicles and brain to accept the affections.

i don't think those looking for true harem would serve a big ratio against the mindless sheeple

 

[LimitBound]

Guy liking more than 2 girls = harem
Girl liking more than 2 guys = harem
2-3(or more) girls liking the same guy = harem
2-3 (or more) guys liking the same girl = harem
This is of course my opinion on it
Sometimes it can be multiple girls with one guy and not one of them likes him (goes for reverse too) and not be a harem

 

[Reisinling]

I think the protagonist is irrelevant, as harem tag is not there for the MC, it's there for the reader. And ppl like the idea of browsing through the catalogue of possible love interests, that are a constant part of the cast. I think it's there to distinguish between stories where romance is about one developing story (maybe two, as I don't know if love triangles should be considered harem), or multiple less developed stories where you can choose your favorite character.

Notice how shit ton of harems follow the formula: romance with girl A, joins the harem, becomes pretty much NPC, next girl, joins harem with small story, becomes NPC, etc.

 

[EternalSunset0]

Notice how shit ton of harems follow the formula: romance with girl A, joins the harem, becomes pretty much NPC, next girl, joins harem with small story, becomes NPC, etc.

Yep I know that pattern alright. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

 

[ForestDweller]

Notice how shit ton of harems follow the formula: romance with girl A, joins the harem, becomes pretty much NPC, next girl, joins harem with small story, becomes NPC, etc.

Hopefully my story isn't like that.

 

[MDHWrites]

If you look up the technical definition of a harem, the only requirement is that there are multiple girls centered around one guy. As such, I'd say 2+ people (of the same gender but I refrain from just saying girls because there are what is commonly called 'reverse harems') who have common interactions that are mostly about/around a main character, regardless of if they're the same gender or not. And if anyone tells me they have to get into an actual relationship than I would argue 90% of harem anime aren't harems then because GET WITH THEM ALREADY!