Harem (genre)

Harem is a term used to describe Japanese works (such as Love Hina) wherein a single average male character is surrounded by numerous (usually three to seven) attractive females, most of whom are romantically interested in the main character. The term "harem" is generally not used by itself, but as an adjective to the medium—such as harem anime or harem manga.

Harem titles have experienced a backlash from some anime fans, particularly from females, due to recurring usage of fan service in series with such genre designation.

The term comes from the English use of the word "harem" meaning "a group of women associated with one man".

Design

The prototypical harem anime features a number of characters, usually with a minimum of one boy and three girls whose personalities are often stock characters popular in moe fandom. The term does not necessarily imply sexual connotations. Most members of the "harem" have some level of emotional attachment to the lead, ranging from romantic interest to casual friend to a sibling figure.

Some harem series, such as Ai Yori Aoshi, are designed such that the main character focuses only on one of the girls, with the others being mostly just temptation that the character rarely seriously considers. Others, such as the anime and manga adaptations of Shuffle!, remain unspecific as to which girl the main character is most interested in until near the end. The latter is especially true of harem anime and manga based on visual novels, as the original work would let the player choose which girl to pursue.

Harem anime often suffer from ending without the romance actually being resolved. This is usually due to adapting a harem manga series which itself has yet to be completed. For example, the Strawberry 100% manga ends with its male protagonist Manaka being in a relationship with one of the girls, while in the anime—which finished a few months before the manga—he does not. The most common conclusion to the genre is the protagonist remains to be single in order not to hurt any of the female character's feelings as he sees them over time as an extension of his family. A common theme among the protagonist is the obligation to give up one's own happiness to preserve that of another.

Another example of this, albeit only per extension, is Ranma 1/2.

Variations

The opposite of the standard harem genre, in which one girl is surrounded by numerous males, occurs frequently and is sometimes referred to as reverse harem or male harem. Examples include Ouran High School Host Club, Fruits Basket, Hana-kimi and Fushigi Yūgi..

Series with shōnen-ai and shōjo-ai same-sex harems also exist. Examples include, respectively, Kyo Kara Maoh! and Strawberry Panic!

Action-based harem manga also exist in which the girls help the protagonist in a journey or in fights (e.g., Tenchi Muyo! and Negima!: Magister Negi Magi).

Popular culture

The theme has been rather popular among fandom authors, building upon established anime to craft stories featuring a male or female character having relationships with more than one woman/man, sometimes with gravely exaggerated themes.