What do you like about 'harem' tag

[AdLeto]

*ahem*

May I present you this?

The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You - 100 Kanojo Manga

Aijou experienced 100 heartbreaks during Junior High. While praying in a shrine, the God of Love appears, saying that Aijou will meet 100 soulmates. If their relationship with him fails, all the girls will face an accident and die. Now it’s a matter of love or death, and it’s up to Aijou to decide.

100kanojo.com

 

[OneRanter]

I wonder how many writers here that are also avid readers of the stories in this site.

I myself barely read anything here. I read manga and LN instead.

I read some stuff (Although most of it is chuuni food :9), the series finder is really good and you can narrow your search a lot to find what you want that day.

 

[Mephi]

I generally find that harem stories tend to be less about the relationships and more about indulging in guilty pleasures and power fantasies. Rich, powerful, desired by all. There's a variety of personalities in the harems primarily to appeal to different reader tastes.

A lot of harem just come down to fan service, basically, rather than attempting deep relationships. Not a bad thing, mind you, but it's rarely something that defines the story. Harems are part of slice of life, adventrue, etc. But rarely romance.

 

[FDSIO]

I hate harems with passion!

 

[K5Rakitan]

For me, stories with harems are last picks. And that's only if the premise is interesting enough to bother. They all feel like wish fulfillment of single writers that don't have a working understanding of how relationships work. They're all trophies after the capture. There's just no personal growth for anyone involved. I noticed that a lot of fanfics even warp canon mentality to fit a harem setting.

In my case, I will admit to wish fulfillment 100% when it comes to the Kaiba brothers. However, I'm not single. I'm polyamorous with a husband, two lovers I'm not seeing in person right now due to the pandemic, and a dead boyfriend. It is exactly because I do understand how these sorts of relationships work that I want to share my experiences of them.

I grew up thinking that monogamy was my only option, and that mentality caused me much agony at the age of 19. I had to figure things out for myself, searching for crumbs of information in a world dominated by monogamous fairy tales. Obviously, monogamy works for some people, including my parents, and that's great, but it doesn't work for everyone. I'm writing so the next "me" who comes along won't feel so alone in her/his/their journey.

I'm not against harem, as long as there are sensible scenarios in the story that lead up to it. However, if it is a senseless harem for the purpose of wish-fulfilling, then it shall receive my scorn.
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What's with all the hating on wish fulfillment? Many people have similar wishes, and wish fulfillment stories provide comfort to those who need it.

For me, the general appeal with harems is that each girl(Or guy) fills a different niche. Characters can fill multiple roles but you'll want some variety. You need your confident flirtatious one, your easily embarrassed one, your elegant one, a bold and brash one, a trap, maybe a daughteru who everybody else dotes upon but when she grows up she REALLY asserts herself towards the MC, and various other potential things. So basically it's down to fetishes. Oh, and bonus points if the "Harem" are all pretty open about having fun with each other thus making it more of a polyamorous relationship that the MC just thinks is their Harem. Probably because he's a dumbass. Of course, it's most interesting if you can make them all actual characters beyond the niche they're filling.

Yes, yes, yes! The plural of spouse is spice, and variety is the spice of life <3

As long as the MC either bonks them all or bonks none of them then I'm good with the harem. I hate the kind where the Author introduces a bunch of S tier waifus, only to have the MC choose one at the end and break the other waifu's hearts. BONK THEM ALL OR NONE AT ALL.

Bonking for everyone! Check!

Sometimes the idea that so many people are satisfied with being one of the many lovers bothers me, but since harems aren't always done like that I can still read a book with harem in it, though I won't go looking for them.

Many polyamorous people are satisfied with being one of many lovers because it means we don't have to satisfy someone in every way under the sun. It's too much pressure to be someone's everything. As the real-life version of Marc from my story said, "Sometimes you need Thor and sometimes you need Loki, but you're with Odin right now."

Occasionally, my husband asks me to do things that I don't want to do, and I tell him to get a girlfriend. However, he spends too much time playing video games. As such, Michael's girlfriend Linda is the most original character in my story. I've been in her shoes in that I've been a girlfriend to a married man several times, but I haven't done so while looking after a child at the same time. However, I did babysit my dead boyfriend's daughter in the waiting room of a dentist's office, and it tickled me when the people there assumed I was his wife. Anyway, that was back in 2015. My first child is still on the way.

Only in it for comedy. If there's no comedy, then it belongs in the trash can.

Check.

Counterpoint: You have too few braincells.

BINGO!!!

Sorry to insult your favorite wish-fulfillment story.

Again with the hate on wish fulfillment

 

[McWeed]

Harem is or can be great for Stories (If it done right and not MC act like a brain dead Dude for half of the Story)

Just think about it Like I do..Harems can add many stories to Main story every harem member has first to be found and then to be conquer by the MC add then everyday problems plus Drama to ..it beautify an otherwise monotonous story and make it more colorful.

Harems don't need to be all about smut, with a good Autor it can have deep romance and funny Moments too... sometimes more then any one Girl one boy Love Story ~~

 

[Maple-Leaf]

Many polyamorous people are satisfied with being one of many lovers because it means we don't have to satisfy someone in every way under the sun. It's too much pressure to be someone's everything. As the real-life version of Marc from my story said, "Sometimes you need Thor and sometimes you need Loki, but you're with Odin right now."

What I meant was a harem essentially made out of mistresses who do nothing except incessantly try to attract the MC's attention from the main girl. It might make sense if they had a seductive personality, but it doesn't make sense to me when the harem is made of a large variety of personalities. It puts me off when the harem is just a group of collectables. Pretty similar to what everyone said but I tried to phrase it differently and I think I did it wrong.

 

[GloriouslyFamous]

It all comes down to preference and story with Harem.
- multiple members, so as a reader if you dislike a certain characteristic of FL (ML in some cases) you can ignore and continue in the story because there are more options and people to support.
- you do not get disappointed with the second FL settling down for the MC's rival
- more character diversity and a similar situation can be viewed from different lenses (works well with comedy)
- wish fulfilment and generally happy endings

You do tend to lose extra romance and character building with a harem. No matter what the screen time is reduced for some members. In the end, depends on what you are looking for. Story with Harem either has either a good story, harem, happy ending or wish fulfilment so at least something for you.

Although some people prefer romance in fantasy to be more believable and tend to not like it, so you can expect to lose a certain demographic.

 

[Alkareel]

In my case, I will admit to wish fulfillment 100% when it comes to the Kaiba brothers. However, I'm not single. I'm polyamorous with a husband, two lovers I'm not seeing in person right now due to the pandemic, and a dead boyfriend. It is exactly because I do understand how these sorts of relationships work that I want to share my experiences of them.

I grew up thinking that monogamy was my only option, and that mentality caused me much agony at the age of 19. I had to figure things out for myself, searching for crumbs of information in a world dominated by monogamous fairy tales. Obviously, monogamy works for some people, including my parents, and that's great, but it doesn't work for everyone. I'm writing so the next "me" who comes along won't feel so alone in her/his/their journey.

What's with all the hating on wish fulfillment? Many people have similar wishes, and wish fulfillment stories provide comfort to those who need it.

Yes, yes, yes! The plural of spouse is spice, and variety is the spice of life <3

Bonking for everyone! Check!

Many polyamorous people are satisfied with being one of many lovers because it means we don't have to satisfy someone in every way under the sun. It's too much pressure to be someone's everything. As the real-life version of Marc from my story said, "Sometimes you need Thor and sometimes you need Loki, but you're with Odin right now."

Occasionally, my husband asks me to do things that I don't want to do, and I tell him to get a girlfriend. However, he spends too much time playing video games. As such, Michael's girlfriend Linda is the most original character in my story. I've been in her shoes in that I've been a girlfriend to a married man several times, but I haven't done so while looking after a child at the same time. However, I did babysit my dead boyfriend's daughter in the waiting room of a dentist's office, and it tickled me when the people there assumed I was his wife. Anyway, that was back in 2015. My first child is still on the way.

Check.

BINGO!!!

Again with the hate on wish fulfillment

right, I'm not at the point in my life where I crave wish fulfillment. Let me change something then. If it is a senseless harem, without any story driving it, just for the purpose of wish-fulfilling, then it shall receive my spit. I don't hate wish-fulfilling, I hate storyless wish-fulfilling.

"Oh this girl is falling in love with me for no reason at all, better add her to the harem." said girl disappears into the background, only to add mindless praises to the MC during a conversation.

Stuff like this.

 

[Daitengu]

In my case, I will admit to wish fulfillment 100% when it comes to the Kaiba brothers. However, I'm not single. I'm polyamorous with a husband, two lovers I'm not seeing in person right now due to the pandemic, and a dead boyfriend. It is exactly because I do understand how these sorts of relationships work that I want to share my experiences of them.

I grew up thinking that monogamy was my only option, and that mentality caused me much agony at the age of 19. I had to figure things out for myself, searching for crumbs of information in a world dominated by monogamous fairy tales. Obviously, monogamy works for some people, including my parents, and that's great, but it doesn't work for everyone. I'm writing so the next "me" who comes along won't feel so alone in her/his/their journey.

I don't hate harem as a concept, I just hate it's execution. In almost all of the harem novels, anime, web novels, fan fictions, and visual novels I've consumed It's usually one guy with a pile of women, who all only love the guy. Or it's one girl with a pile of potential suitors. They all read like the author was the unpopular kid, and writing a harem centered on one person is them wish fulfilling they were popular. No women/men being bi with each other and the protag, no side lovers of the protag's lovers.

Thems not healthy harems, they're just emperor harems, conquered women to add to a collection. Atleast in Chinese emperor type harems the women are cutthroat. which is more likely to happen than, "I love X, so do you, let's share." and then that's that. Then there's the decline of character development the more people get added to the harem. Feels like once the author writes in more than 4 in a harem(including the protag), they just give up on character development, and the girls/guys just go along with whatever the protag wants.

It's like shounen anime, or Scooby Doo, and I don't watch Shounen or Scooby Doo anymore. I've seen enough to know where a harem is going generally from the character of the protag in the first chapter. Broody edgelord harem protag? The harem wants to take care of him emotionally. OP protag? Suspension bridge effect white knight save woman trope. Adventure harem? The harem members will never be stronger than the protag, and they tend to get kidnapped/targeted. Ruler's harem? Atleast one wants to put their son on the throne and will try to kill off other harem members and/or their children.

 

[DreamOfRen]

I prefer harem stories that endear the reader to each member of the harem. A bunch of people doing lewd things isn't really that interesting.

 

[BenJepheneT]

Sorry to insult your favorite wish-fulfillment story.

It's like complaining about cheap products in a dollar store. Of course it's cheap wish fulfillment. You're like an adult arguing with the referee about a foul score in a football match against toddlers. Of course it's too many flavours of titty, why else are we reading Harems for?

 

[K5Rakitan]

They all read like the author was the unpopular kid, and writing a harem centered on one person is them wish fulfilling they were popular. No women/men being bi with each other and the protag, no side lovers of the protag's lovers.

Ah, yes, the desire for popularity. I didn't think of myself as unpopular, just weird, and I still am proud of being weird. I was the girl who rounded up the nerds and got them involved in Odyssey of the Mind (I call it Imagination of the Mind in my story since there's a similar program called Destination Imagination).

I only had one boyfriend in high school, and then she transitioned and became my best friend, but the point is I wanted more in the relationship department back then. She didn't start going by "she" until after university, but going by her current pronouns, dating her was fun, and I love her as a friend, but I wasn't really "in love" with her. I broke up with her because I wanted to try and hook someone else, but nobody would date me because I was too weird. Since I thought monogamy was my only option back then, I only asked out a guy when I was REALLY sure I liked him, and they all turned me down. Aside from my best friend, nobody asked me out. The community was too small, with too much teasing preventing people from taking chances. I got back together with her during the last few months of high school just for fun.

That all changed when I got to university. Everyone was free and ready to explore, though of course I also went through a lot of pain as I mentioned earlier. It was all worth it, though.

As for the bi stuff, I had more bi characters in my early work when my ex was pushing me to explore bisexuality. These days, I call myself heteroflexible. I've had enough sexual experiences with women to know that they don't really do anything for me. I'm willing to go through the motions for a man's entertainment or for money, but not for my own enjoyment. I'd like to include more bi characters in my story, but I'm burned out on the topic after trying to be something I'm not for too long.

I still make a point of including other lovers of the protag's lovers, even though my actual husband doesn't have any at the moment.

 

[ForestDweller]

I prefer harem stories that endear the reader to each member of the harem. A bunch of people doing lewd things isn't really that interesting.

Yeah, same. That's what I'm aiming for with my story.

 

[Fox-Trot-9]

I personally got into writing and reading mainly through harem light novels. My faves include Saekano, Index, Strike the Blood, SAO, and Date a Live, so I just feel very at home with the genre.

To answer the question, I think a lot of people who get into amateur writing and posting on sites like this have somewhat similar backgrounds as I do, just in different shades.

Yep, that's pretty much me, as well. Ghost Hunt and Ouran High School Host Club fanfics were how I got into writing.

 

[Deleted member 40682]

As long as the MC either bonks them all or bonks none of them then I'm good with the harem. I hate the kind where the Author introduces a bunch of S tier waifus, only to have the MC choose one at the end and break the other waifu's hearts. BONK THEM ALL OR NONE AT ALL.

Lol! This was so funny and practically summarized my own frustrations with 'harem' stories. Of course, for me it's S tier hubbies ;)