Harem (genre)

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Japanese. (January 2016) Click [show] for important translation instructions. View a machine-translated version of the Japanese article. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Japanese Wikipedia article at [[:ja:ハーレムもの]]; see its history for attribution. You may also add the template {{Translated|ja|ハーレムもの}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation. This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Harem" genre – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (October 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article's "criticism" or "controversy" section may compromise the article's neutrality. Please help rewrite or integrate negative information to other sections through discussion on the talk page. (May 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Part of a series on
Anime and manga
Anime History Voice acting Companies Studios Original video animation Original net animation Fansub Fandub Lists Longest series Longest franchises
Manga History Publishers International market Manga artist Alternative Gekiga Heta-uma New Wave Yonkoma Iconography Scanlation Manga cafe Lists Best-selling series Longest series
Demographic groups Children Shōnen Shōjo Seinen Josei
Genres Bara Boys' love Cooking Harem Isekai Iyashikei Lolicon Magical girl Mecha Otomechikku Ryona Shotacon Sports Teens' love Yuri
People Manga artists Anime directors
Fandom Doujinshi Doujin shop Doujinshi printer Conventions (list) Clubs Cosplay Anime music video Otaku Yaoi fandom
General Glossary Ecchi Hentai Moe Nijikon 2.5D musical Anime song Anime-influenced animation MyAnimeList
Anime and manga portal
v t e

Harem (ハーレムもの, hāremumono, "harem works") is a genre of light novels, manga, anime, and video games focusing on a main character surrounded by multiple potential romantic or sexual partners. Originating in Japan in the 1970s, its popularity increased during the late 1980s and 1990s with the advent of dating simulator games. The genre often features a protagonist who's surrounded by three or more suitors, love interests and/or sexual partners. Harem works are frequently comedies that rely on self-insert protagonists of whom allow projection for the viewer, often accompanied with an ensemble cast of supporting characters. A story featuring a heterosexual male or homosexual female protagonist paired with an all-female/yuri harem is informally referred to as a female harem or seraglios, while a heterosexual female or gay male protagonist paired with an all-male harem series is informally referred to as a male harem, reverse harem, or gyaku hāremu (逆ハーレム). Although originating in Japan, the genre later inspired variants in Western media.^[1]

The most distinguishable trait of harem works is the presence of a single protagonist surrounded by multiple different characters who are treated as options for a sexual or romantic relationship. In some instances, the plot may follow an additional arc for the protagonist and these characters to embark on together; however, many harem works, especially dating sims, focus on the relationships themselves (and the tension and competition between different potential partners) as the key driver of the plot.

While harem works are a loose genre and vary greatly, certain tropes that lend themselves to reader self-insertion are common.

The protagonist, commonly an everyman-archetype, often has very little characterization other than general amicability and reacting passively to their surroundings. This is done specifically to let the readers insert themselves in the character's stead or develop sympathy for the character.

Many harem love interests are easily enamored with the self-insert; falling for the main character because of simple kindness or coincidence, often described as due to their low self-esteem.^[2]

Harem works frequently put off commitment to any specific love interest for as long as possible, sometimes indefinitely; commonly executed by oblivious or easily-flustered protagonists. By leaving the protagonist's desires and choices unclear, viewers with different preferences are able to continue their self-insertion without coming into conflict with source material canon.^[3] Most Harem works end with the main character pairing up with one or more of their suitors, with some games and visual novels featuring branched endings dependent on player choice. A "harem ending" occurs in works where the protagonist ends together in a polyamorous relationship with all of the suitors.^[4]

While most harem works focus on a male protagonist with women or gay male suitors, "reverse" harem works focus on female protagonists courted by men or queer women.^[5]

Although most harem works tend to be binary and heteronormative, works in the genre can contain characters of various gender identities and sexualities, including many yaoi and yuri harem works.^[6] An example of a same-sex harem anime would be Kyo Kara Maoh!, which features a male protagonist with male characters comprising his harem. Especially in dating sim visual novels, it has become increasingly common for harems to feature characters of multiple genders, with the player choosing whether to pursue an opposite- or same-sex relationship.

Many harem works have fallen under criticism for unrealistic and often misogynistic portrayals of women and relationships. Female harem members frequently lack agency and personalities of their own, other than desire for the self-insert protagonist and one-dimensional visual and personality traits to differentiate them from other love interests. Critics have also argued that harem genre tropes around a passive protagonist effortlessly picking and choosing from multiple eager suitors furthers the mythos of men being entitled to female affection, and can lead impressionable male readers to react negatively to being rejected by women in real life. ^[2][7]

• List of harem anime and manga

• Brenner, Robin E. (2007). Understanding Manga and Anime. Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited. pp. 82, 89, 112, 297. ISBN 978-1-59158-332-5. OCLC 85898238.
• Drummond-Mathews, Angela (2010). "What Boys Will Be: A Study of Shonen Manga". In Johnson-Woods, Toni (ed.). Manga: An Anthology of Global and Cultural Perspectives. New York: Continuum International Publishing Group. pp. 69–70. ISBN 978-0-8264-2938-4. OCLC 1322861289.