For female readers who read harem stories, why?

Prezombie

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The funny irony is that the good harem romance has some elements that you don't normally get in romance. First, you usually get a cast of well defined and creatively designed love interests, instead of one or two cookie cutter characters like in a lot of others. Secondly, if the story depicts a healthy poly group, the relationship between the love interests is usually a lot more engaging than the one with the mc.


I read a lot of harem stories when I was struggling with my gender, and figuring out the above and how I was always more connected to the girls, either self inserting and enjoying mentally dressing up as the different girls, or just enjoying the close girl companionship scenes, that helped me break the paradox and accept that I was enjoying the stories as a girl.

I still sometimes read the genre, but it feels like a shallow substitute for the realistic polycule fantasy romance that I desperately want. Give me those all girl polycules or some polycules that don't treat the main character as the center of the web!
 

BlackKnightX

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I don’t have anything to add, I was just making fun of your two sentences being contradictory really.
You don’t get the message, do you? There’s nothing contradicting about it.

I said, “I don’t think any woman would like a harem genre, aside from some of them who just want to enjoy the plot, action scenes, and some other aspects of the story.”

See the words I emphasize there? I only listed the other aspects, aside from the harem element, that some of them might like.

You’re welcome~
 
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ForestDweller

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Objectify is to objects. Objectivity is to objectives.

That out of the way, I want to know which kind of harems you are talking about because not all stories with harems, the kind vying for a single male, is how I'm feeling you've implied them. I, specifically, enjoy stories of when an innocent boy (maybe a prince?) is thrown into a den of cougars (or bears, if BL). I get to experience the variety of emotions from these characters, those with their own backgrounds told in the story, who compete against each other towards claiming the boy and protecting him from the other thirsty beasts. Many times this center of attention became the main attraction because of the wealth, fame, power, or some sort of lifechanging reward following getting hitched at the hip. Harems like this don't... Well, I wouldn't call that objectifying the characters in that harem, but I would believe (in this scenario) that the object and objective is that poor boy; the trophy.

Heh, I may be fond of that type of the story too.

Though probably not for the story itself, but for the smut. I don't usually like passive, helpless, naive MCs.
 
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EternalSunset0

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In LN I love Kimi to Boku no Saigo no Senjou, Aruiwa Sekai ga Hajimaru Seisen. Does that count as harem?
Kimisen fan! 😍

Really love that show and was looking for someone to talk about it with.

I think it counts since Sisbell starts getting into him too.
 

Echimera

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The funny irony is that the good harem romance has some elements that you don't normally get in romance. First, you usually get a cast of well defined and creatively designed love interests, instead of one or two cookie cutter characters like in a lot of others. Secondly, if the story depicts a healthy poly group, the relationship between the love interests is usually a lot more engaging than the one with the mc.


I read a lot of harem stories when I was struggling with my gender, and figuring out the above and how I was always more connected to the girls, either self inserting and enjoying mentally dressing up as the different girls, or just enjoying the close girl companionship scenes, that helped me break the paradox and accept that I was enjoying the stories as a girl.

I still sometimes read the genre, but it feels like a shallow substitute for the realistic polycule fantasy romance that I desperately want. Give me those all girl polycules or some polycules that don't treat the main character as the center of the web!
Add to that that many of the typical harem stories have male MCs so bland and generic that you can sometimes ignore that they are male and self-insert in their place anyway, especially since the mainstream ones rarely move into the smut territory, so their equipment doesn't really matter.

I also used to read a lot of standard harem stories too, though in the last couple of years I realized that I usually would either ship the girls with each other and ditch the guy or more rarely just tune out the fact that it's a guy.
I have grown to dislike the ones where all the characters fail at communicating though, but that's not specific to harem stories, just very prevalent. If the plot revolves around a few easily resolved misunderstandings, it has no right to go on for a full length anime season or book.


Harem is a very broad genre by now, as it includes both GL and BL harems. The only thing that sometimes has a standalone tag is reverse-harem.
More balanced poly relationships are usually also tagged as harem, for lack of a better alternate.
 

Yati

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Kimisen fan! 😍

Really love that show and was looking for someone to talk about it with.

I think it counts since Sisbell starts getting into him too.
I really loved the anime too. I do not understand why most people hated it...
Well Sisbell and there is Mismis who is clearly into him too...
And then there are some serious yuri vibes between Rin and Aliceliese... I know it is just bait... but still, the vibes are clearly there.
It is like there are 2 harems one around Iska and one around Aliceliese.
 

EternalSunset0

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I really loved the anime too. I do not understand why most people hated it...
Well Sisbell and there is Mismis who is clearly into him too...
And then there are some serious yuri vibes between Rin and Aliceliese... I know it is just bait... but still, the vibes are clearly there.
It is like there are 2 harems one around Iska and one around Aliceliese.
Most complaints I've seen pretty much boiled down to "it's nothing new" or "lol Kirito clone protag with a harem in an LN adaptation again" which I frankly don't give a damn about. In fact, those Kirito clones bait me into watching a show :blobrofl: It helps that Alice is such waifu design too, so double the bait.
wv95oz7oug851.jpg

I actually like Nene, too. Would have liked more screentime for her.
 

Yati

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Most complaints I've seen pretty much boiled down to "it's nothing new" or "lol Kirito clone protag with a harem in an LN adaptation again" which I frankly don't give a damn about. In fact, those Kirito clones bait me into watching a show :blobrofl: It helps that Alice is such waifu design too, so double the bait.
View attachment 9754
I actually like Nene, too. Would have liked more screentime for her.
Yes Alice is super cute. That tsundere act always does the trick :blob_aww: I wonder if they will ever adapt the next part where
Iska goes with Sisbell to the enemy castle as her bodyguard, and getting Alice super jealous...

I see Nene x Jhin as a possible side ship myself...

I don't really get why people would expect an anime like this to be original. I felt in the novels that it was more funny and a bit of a parody...
 

EternalSunset0

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Yes Alice is super cute. That tsundere act always does the trick :blob_aww: I wonder if they will ever adapt the next part where
Iska goes with Sisbell to the enemy castle as her bodyguard, and getting Alice super jealous...

I see Nene x Jhin as a possible side ship myself...

I don't really get why people would expect an anime like this to be original. I felt in the novels that it was more funny and a bit of a parody...
Yeah that's a cool part. Unfortunately, I doubt season 2 will happen. The show never became anywhere near popular, so I just to dig for spoilers all the way to the latest volumes.
 

PunishedKom

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You don’t get the message, do you? There’s nothing contradicting about it.

I said, “I don’t think any woman would like a harem genre, aside from some of them who just want to enjoy the plot, action scenes, and some other aspects of the story.”

See the words I emphasize there? I only listed the other aspects, aside from the harem element, that some of them might like.

You’re welcome~
Damn champ I do think you figured out the way to relay that information in the single most condescending manner possible, I bow to your intellect
 

longer

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I think it might be helpful to have the inverse perspective.

As a straight male reader, I can still enjoy reverse harem stories and the like. However, the appeal is the plot, characters, and other aspects of the story. Perhaps female readers reading a harem story don't mind the harem aspect and are attracted to the other parts of the story.

So it might not be that they want to read a harem, as much as they might want to read an otherwise good story. That or they should hook up with an Arabic oil Sheikh.
 

Cipiteca396

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It is like there are 2 harems one around
That sounds interesting. *taking notes*
Arabic oil Sheikh
Come now, no need for that. All you have to do is find another girl who's polyamorous and convince her to look for a willing guy. I think it would be harder to find an unwilling guy, though.
I'm not the one who insulted a genre and decided that it was somehow a foreign concept for a gender to reader said genre
Aw, did your feelings get hurt because you happen to write said insulted genre? Too bad they weren't really insulting it. It's a fact that Harem stories tend to objectify women, with little to no appeal to female readers.

There are exceptions, of course. But you don't really care about that, huh? Just went straight to being butt-hurt. No counter examples, no 'Yes, but-', and no politesse in any form. Just 'No you're dumb.😡'
 
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