Harem (genre)

Harem (ハーレムもの, hāremumono; "from harem") in anime and manga is an emphasis on polygamous or love triangle relationships characterized by a protagonist surrounded amorously by three or more members of either the same and/or opposing gender, sex, and/or love interests.[1] When it is a yuri or male-hetero oriented harem series, the polygynous relationship is informally referred to as a female harem or seraglios. When it is a yaoi or female-hetero oriented harem series, the polyandrous relationship is informally referred to as a male harem, reverse harem, or gyaku hāremu (逆ハーレム).

Etymology

The word derives from Harem, which was a term used to refer to the most private rooms of a household in the Islamic world, especially among the upper class where only women and close relatives were permitted inside.

Structure

Because romance is rarely the main focus of an entire series,[a] a harem structure is ambiguous. The most distinguishable trait is the group of polyamorous females and/or males who accompany the protagonist; in some instances cohabitate with the protagonist. While intimacy is just about customary, it is never necessary. When it is present, it is always a minimum of three supporting characters who express romantic interest in the protagonist.

Insignificant-protagonist

With characters such as Haruhi Fujioka (Host Club) and Keima Katsuragi (The World God Only Knows) being the rare few exceptions, the main "love interest" protagonists of any "harem" anime, manga or video game, are rarely given much focus or character development. These characters are "blank slates" meant to literally allow the reader, player, or viewer to pretend they're the protagonist and apply their own personality. Harem protagonists are designed to make females and/or males within the "harem" more attractive while highlighting interesting aspects of their personalities, usually because of said protagonist's kindness, courage and the will to protect/support their friends.

These protagonists usually end up with a harem accidentally, because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time due to some unforeseeable circumstance or random chance. Most protagonists don't even want the harems they start, as they mostly only have one main love interest and all other members of their harem simply fall in love with him or her because they deeply admire some part of their personality, and the protagonist can bring themselves to tell them to leave. Issei Hyoudou (High School DxD) is an exception, who is a pervert that actually wanted to have a harem before he was reincarnated.

Harems need not be strictly heterosexual; instead of having a male lead character that all the female characters fawn over and desire to be with, a Yuri-themed harem, for example, forgoes this "classical" harem and omits the male lead character. Additionally, it is not essential for there to be one exclusive boy or girl. Many protagonists can exist as long as they are given less attention or the story calls for an unusually obscure sex ratio.[1]

Harem ending

Harem endings typically follow two different routes;[2]

  1. The person of desire ends up with one of the characters who fall in love with them.
  2. The person of desire winds up with none of these characters.

Other series have a route where the story concludes with a multi-marriage ending.

Notable series

In fan fiction

The harem genre can also be seen in fan fiction, such as that based on the series Naruto.[3]

Notes

a. ^ "Series" implies any that are designated as a harem.

References

  1. 1 2 Oppliger, John (April 17, 2009). "Ask John: What Distinguishes Harem Anime?". Anime Nation. Archived from the original on November 16, 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-16.
  2. ↑ Matthew Alexander (March 19, 2015). "Omamori Himari Vol. #12 Manga Review (Series Finale)". Fandom Post. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  3. ↑ Bauwens-Sugimoto, Jessica; Renka, Nora (2013). "Fanboys and "Naruto" Epics: Exploring New Grounds in Fanfiction Studies". In Berndt, Jacqueline; Kümmerling-Meibauer, Bettina. Manga's Cultural Crossroads. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis. pp. 192–208. ISBN 9781134102839.

Further reading

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