What do you consider as harem?

[Kenjona]

So if the MC is a highly attractive person and people generally fawn over them it's a harem? No, right? That's what I meant in number 2. The MC could be jerk and use their attractiveness, money or power to manipulate many people into having the fake sense of feeling aka love for them. I wouldn't consider that harem, in my opinion...

Point is that person is being pursued for romance by 3+ others, it does not mean that they are necessarily in love with them. Just that they are being pursued by them. One or a couple of meet ups does not meet the criteria. It means being actively and constantly pursued, even if the pursuit is Psychotic in nature (Yanderes, or Tsunderes for example).

Fan girls screaming out their lungs at a boy band concert when they are in town, nope not a harem. Fan boys who actively and constantly send love letters and appear at functions whether the MC likes it or not, qualifies. Many celebrities have the anime trope versions, and their lawyers are constantly sending out cease and desist letters.

FYI Yes, there are real world Harem tropes going on. They tend not to last long for various reasons, either through body guards, court orders, and jail time. Or because the person ends up being a jerk or the pursuers go on to other pastures, but they are there.

And yes there are kids in high school who have harems, they do not always realize it. Either one person pursuing "wins", or the "MC" messes up badly in trying to get the harem ending, it fails and they end up with a bad reputation for being a jerk/slut/scumbag.

TO EVERYONE
that need clarification

1) Pokemon Ashketchum but harem (ending)
>Keep the girls (not leaving group), but is VERY dense, and only after 300episodes slowly develop feelings (and ending of huge marriage)

2) Death Note Kira + the girls (used evilly by him)
>He keeps Misa, incest sister, get the police wife, get the news girl. Potentially or not have sex. But have no feelings for them, and use them at very end to escape the police, and mocking for their stupidity after he survives with a evil smile. Ending of Kira winning.


so yes. CLEARLY its (1)
because picking (2) is as dumb as telling that a "jp harem anime" is harem because lot of girls crush on protag, but protag dont reciprocate and marry 1 girl at end. Yes it isnt harem. Worse is that some animes with 2 girls fighting over protag, is considered harem when truth : love triangle.


ps : For more visibility OP, you can/could edit my 2 analogies into your post.

• Harem tag is for pursuit of 3 or more persons trying to get romantic with 1. It has been around since the 1970's. It is not suddenly different or new. Everything else is added on tags.
• Harem ending tag is for when the "I got them all/most" ending after all the harem tags antics to get there.
• Imperial Harem tag is for the plot where all who are required to be a persons spouse/concubine/mistress with or without choice, live and /or work together.
• Polygamy tag is for multiple partners. Which includes the harem ending tag. But the Harem ending tag does not necessarily include polygamy. As polygamy is marriage to more than one person, but a harem ending does not require marriage, just acceptance that the protagonist gets to be romantic with everyone in the harem.
• Reverse harem tag is just a harem tag with a female protagonist instead of male. To differentiate its target audience.

 

[LiteraryWho]

Yeah, thats what I think too. Harem is only applicable when both parties are mutually in a relationship or have any sort of feeling for each other. Not just one side, it would be a crush at best. And it shouldn't be considered a harem!!

I didn't mean like it like that... The characters are not married or anything in particular just The MC is playing with multiple people's feelings nothing else. I think harem should only be applicable when both parties have mutual at least minimal level of attraction.

So if the MC is a highly attractive person and people generally fawn over them it's a harem? No, right? That's what I meant in number 2. The MC could be jerk and use their attractiveness, money or power to manipulate many people into having the fake sense of feeling aka love for them. I wouldn't consider that harem, in my opinion...

Harem in the literal sense refers to the women's area in an Arabic court. Harem in the literary sense refers to one man who's the center of attention of a bunch of people, usually women. For instance, Konosuba is a (largely parody) Harem story, and the MC hates everyone in his harem (except best girl Megumin). In most Harem stories, the MC is a mugwump, who doesn't have any true feelings at all, because he's meant to be an audience stand-in.

In short, both of your scenarios would be recognized as Harem, so long as all the female characters largely centered their (on screen) actions around the MC. In fact, even if all the characters were largely indifferent to each other, so long as there was one male lead and 3+ female characters, the story would be considered by many to be a Harem story.

TO EVERYONE
that need clarification

1) Pokemon Ashketchum but harem (ending)
>Keep the girls (not leaving group), but is VERY dense, and only after 300episodes slowly develop feelings (and ending of huge marriage)

2) Death Note Kira + the girls (used evilly by him)
>He keeps Misa, incest sister, get the police wife, get the news girl. Potentially or not have sex. But have no feelings for them, and use them at very end to escape the police, and mocking for their stupidity after he survives with a evil smile. Ending of Kira winning.


so yes. CLEARLY its (1)
because picking (2) is as dumb as telling that a "jp harem anime" is harem because lot of girls crush on protag, but protag dont reciprocate and marry 1 girl at end. Yes it isnt harem. Worse is that some animes with 2 girls fighting over protag, is considered harem when truth : love triangle.


ps : For more visibility OP, you can/could edit my 2 analogies into your post.

Unless I've been totally missing out on some discourse (not impossible), I don't think there is any serious attempt to define Death Note as a Harem story. Which makes sense, given that the central relationship in the story is between Kira and L. If L had been a woman, especially if there had been some kind of hot/cold rivalry thing going on, then it would at least be in contention.

Konosuba is a much better "Harem exception" test, and it's still very definitely a Harem story, or at least satire of one.

 

[Fallen_Void]

TO EVERYONE
that need clarification

1) Pokemon Ashketchum but harem (ending)
>Keep the girls (not leaving group), but is VERY dense, and only after 300episodes slowly develop feelings (and ending of huge marriage)

2) Death Note Kira + the girls (used evilly by him)
>He keeps Misa, incest sister, get the police wife, get the news girl. Potentially or not have sex. But have no feelings for them, and use them at very end to escape the police, and mocking for their stupidity after he survives with a evil smile. Ending of Kira winning.


so yes. CLEARLY its (1)
because picking (2) is as dumb as telling that a "jp harem anime" is harem because lot of girls crush on protag, but protag dont reciprocate and marry 1 girl at end. Yes it isnt harem. Worse is that some animes with 2 girls fighting over protag, is considered harem when truth : love triangle.


ps : For more visibility OP, you can/could edit my 2 analogies into your post.

Yeah!! That's what I think too... But people consider both as harem ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯