Let's talk about Light Novel Harems
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@drone205 I'm noticing that there are very few "true" harem on your list. Which is ok, because I agree with you that they are not that common.
Now here's a question. Of the true harems, have you seen any reach a conclusion of the story and what was the resolution? Me, I don't know of any.
P.S. Animes don't count unless they covered the entire LN/manga.
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@paul-nebeling said in Let's talk about Light Novel Harems:
Now here's a question. Of the true harems, have you seen any reach a conclusion of the story and what was the resolution? Me, I don't know of any.
P.S. Animes don't count unless they covered the entire LN/manga.
Spoilers for resolutions to stories. First one is likely a "true harem," with whatever definition you'd want to use; second I'm not sure about:
Then if you count web novels, I'm sure you get the list to grow quickly; though the only one I'd be able to mention offhand is one of JNC's, so I won't spoil it (even if everyone here probably already knows it, and I only know from reading spoilers).
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One thing I do find to be a bit of an issue is how these girls fall in love with the MC. There's never much setup. It's "he saved me, so I love him". Even in series that have the time to set it up properly, it's "love at first sight" or that damsel element that strongly sways the girls.
@smashman42 said in Let's talk about Light Novel Harems:
Yes, what Terrence said, moar ships need to sail!
I agree, but I also think you see fans get upset when "their girl" ends up with certain guys. Like any hint of Ranta x Yume had some people irate (though I guess less because she could be claimed by someone, and more because that someone potentially could be Ranta).
I think sometimes authors try to play it safe and make it so "best girl besides the lead heroine" stays single so fans can write their fan fics for them and Imagine themselves as their BFs. Idk. xD
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Being old and married forever makes me want to see the characters I like happy, I don't want to fantasise about them being with me. But then I'm old enough to be the target demographic's dad so I get they aren't writing these stories for me.
I could ship Ranta x Yume if he grew the hell up first, they both talk garbage so there's come compatibility there :P
That love at first sight being way overused annoys me. In Smartphone for example, I could let it slide for Yumina because of her eye power thing & her seeing the potential in him making it not really love but a choice, but the other Princess* was pretty off IMO. The initial 3 girls had plenty of time to get to know him, the new injections into the harem seem more forced.
notes about * in spoiler tags about other current/future wifes prepubs or further out
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Damn I feel like this about anime when it comes to a corny ass harem it’s a insta drop for me and I can’t remember character names half the time.
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@hatguy12 That's an interesting resolution.
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@smashman42 Being of a similar age, I can agree with you. For Grimgar, I really don't have a lot of hope for Ranta. For Smartphone, I totally agree with you. Yumina's attachment to Touya seems to be more cerebral and less emotional, but she is the driving force behind that harem, so... Realist Hero seems to be the most realistic as far as not having a plethora of "love at first sight" girls. Rokujouma, well, I think we're about to see a major development in that harem.
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I share your frustration, I'd like to see a story that ends - "Married them all and we all lived happily ever after" . Of course that would require a story/series to "end" with a certain finality. I can understand why authors may be reluctant to do so - after all you can't write sequels to a story that is 'over'.
I read banned books
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I want the Light Novel equivalent to Big Love - it starts with an MC who has married his harem and then goes into the reality of what a hassle that would actually be.
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@jon-mitchell Thanks to Dr. Babylon, we already know how (Smartphone) Touya's harem ultimately ends up. It's the journey that's going to be fun, and seeing how close we get to there during the story.
Realist's harem will probably end with everyone happily married.
Rokujouma is going to be interesting. My gut is telling me that it's going to be resolved in the next volume, but I'm not sure how it will turn out.
Diamao is still very early in the story.
Mixed Bathing is such a mess that there's no telling how it will end up. That story's Touya has a whole lot of girls and six goddesses to contend with.
Any others that could be speculated on?
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@jon-mitchell that's how Magika Swordsman and Summoner ends. Marrying the core harem, and the extended harem also get their share of the MC. Other true harem endings include Testament of Sister New Devil, Campione, Chronicle Legion, Mushoku Tensei, and High School DxD will be as well (MC has already proposed to 3 girls, arguably 4). It's certainly a new wave of authors that have the guts to actually go through with harem endings.
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@the-green-death said in Let's talk about Light Novel Harems:
I want the Light Novel equivalent to Big Love - it starts with an MC who has married his harem and then goes into the reality of what a hassle that would actually be.
I would love that... Though I fear it would end with everything being happy go lucky / the guy putting up with their problems in a jokey loser fashion until he dies.
I'd love something like that, but with the wives at each other's throats for political gains for their sons + daughters. Game of Thrones anime style. =P
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@Paul-Nebeling
From what I remember of Mixed Bathing, there's only two girls who are actually in the running, Haruno and Clena. The other girls may like him, but they act more like friends or little sisters. The goddesses seem to treat him more as their favored champion instead of a romantic partner.I'm with you in that I'm not so sure about Apartment Invaders. Liked Mixed Bathing, there appear to be only two girls who are in the running, Harumi and her. I think the others are slowly falling in love with him, but Koutarou is dense, and the author may not go that direction.
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@eins All of the girls are in love with Koutarou. The problems are him and circumstances. He's still emotionally scarred from the death of his mother, but getting better, thanks to the girls. The circumstances are galaxy spanning, literally. Everyone has their favorite girl that they want to see him pick, but he won't pick any of them and after next volume, I don't think he will need to.
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@paul-nebeling
but will Koutarou make everyone happy? what about the current empress that is kinda in love with him too? (or at least her younger self is)I read banned books
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@terrence
as a hobby, I'm writing a story that play with these themes. MC unintentionally gathers a harem. What do the wives need to do to get to a stable place? what does he need to do to keep everyone happy? (it involves flow charts!) Why does fate keep throwing women at him? He's not a harem seeker, but has a harem- the story begins with the 'marry them all' ending that I wished I saw examined more. -
@jon-mitchell Koutarou was (is?) Elfaria's first love, but she knew that love was doomed when she overheard Clan refer to her as "Theia's mom". While Elle might tease Koutarou, I don't see her as being cold enough to steal her daughter's man, even if he was hers first. I also don't think Koutarou ever had any romantic feelings toward Elle.
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Personally, I like true harem if the size isn't tool big and it's somewhat reasonable (like realist heroes)
I'm also okay with platonic harem if author made the story direction clear that no one would fall for each other and they're just hanging out and goofing around like konosuba
Now What I hated the most is one-side harem where girls fall for Mc (especially for the heck of it) but not vise versa, like my big sister lives in a fantasy world. I want conclusion damnit.
I also hated that one novel I read where author have Mc goes 'I know whom I would go out with in the end' but don't clearly tell us who and just end the story. Worse kind of open ending.
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Konosuba is kind of interesting as far as the romance goes. It starts off completely as a platonic harem, where in the MC is not romantically interested in any of the girls and they're just friends. And then slowly as the books go on, we get more developments and characters start to fall for each other more just as they spend more time together. That feels more natural than the typical harem where the girl instantly falls for the guy.
Some spoilers up till Vol 13 of Konosuba:
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@chi-c said in Let's talk about Light Novel Harems:
Heh, when Konosuba was mentioned as a platonic harem, my first thoughts were your spoiler comments too. Have you actually read them/can read Japanese, or do you just read too many wikis like I do?
