Yes! We discuss this topic in its entirety ~ When does a Harem become stale? For those of you who are unaware of what a Harem is, imagine this scenario: A bunch of girls/guys fighting for one guy's/girl's affection. Comedy ensues, Fan-service is presented, and above all else ~ Romance & Drama become the dominant theme. I will openly admit, Harem is my favorite genre of Anime. Why is this? Well, not gonna lie, I'd love to be in a Harem, but at the same time I'm fearful. I'd love to be in a Harem because a lot of beautiful, hot, and cute women would be fighting over me (A man's dream come true), but at the same time the tension, drama, and overall Yandere (over-the-top/clingy) could take a toll on me. There are various Harem Anime out there and, to me, various Harem sub-categories. These include (but not limited too) are:
1) A Harem where the guy/girl chooses 1 girl/guy in a group (Ex: Shuffle!)
2) A Harem where the guy/girl chooses all the girls/guys (Ex: Tenchi Muyo GXP)
3) A Harem where the guy/girl chooses a girl/guy outside of the Harem circle (Ex: Tenchi in Tokyo)
4) A Harem where a guy/girl is indecisive and is harassed by all girls/guys (Ex: To-Love-Ru)
Notice I put up Harem & Revere-Harem (Harem where guys are fighting for girls affections). When in Harem(s), comedy, romance, drama, and especially Fan-service ensues. However, I will openly admit that the Harem formula can, at times, get pretty tiresome. It needs to be presented in a way where it can keep my attention while remaining fresh. Unfortunately, it's seldom fresh ideas are presented in Harem(s). Here's my Favorite Harem (no order) that I find works:
1) To-Love-Ru
2) Tenchi Muyo
3) Monster Musume
4) Nisekoi
5) Haganai
6) Date a Live
7) Rosario+ Vampire
8) Infinite Stratos
9) Hanaukyo Maid
10) Freezing!
Even though the Harem formula is hit-and-miss, it delves straight to the point: There's a central character, a group of girls/guys end up falling for central character, the CRDF (Comedy, Romance, Drama, Fan-service), and the Decision/Indecision making. So why do those 10 I put up work? Well, for starters, it grabbed my attention right away.
To-Love-Ru, for example, is a Harem I'm fond of just on the basis that the comedy and bad luck Rito possesses is inhuman. He's constantly at ends with all the girls (his falling that leads to fondling of breasts & pussy) and due to his kind nature, the girls fell for him one by one.
Tenchi Muyo, for example, created a storyline & lineage surrounding Tenchi Masaki. Royalty & Barbarian women fell for him on the basis that he opened up the unknown and it'd be just coincidental that he's also of royalty to the unknown.
Monster Musume is a Harem where the worlds of Humans & the Supernatural collide. A guy hosts several monster girls and it's because of his non-bias and non-prejudice towards the monsters that the girls all admire the guy.
Nisekoi is a school-based Harem where the comedy, slapstick, & a promise are the themes. Nisekoi "promise" is the thing I'm engrossed in ~ what lies in the locket, who has the key, and why are there several keys?
Haganai is a Harem revolving around the creation of a club with 1 guy & several girls. Slapstick comedy ensues, but at the same time there's a certain charm to be found with the protagonist considering he's perceived as a thug, but it actually a teddy bear.
Date A Live is Harem that is reminiscent of Dating Sims ~ a guy's world is now surrounded with dating abnormalities that could potentially cause havoc to the World. He's literally has the Balls to ask out a girl who could destroy the Earth
Rosario+ Vampire is a school-based/supernatural/action-adventure Harem. A human meets a Vampire chick and he enrolls in a school full of monsters. He's constantly fighting for the affections of 4 chicks while also trying to save himself from the other monsters who want to kill him.
Infinite Stratos is a Harem that revolves around a guy who enrolls at a school where they pilot some sort of suit and fight off against monsters. While he's still a beginner, the girls around him are reluctant because, well, he's coincidentally related to the hottest teacher there.
Hanaukyo Maid is a Harem where a 12 year year old is entrusted with his Grandfather's mansions and the hand-full of maids all want to serve him. He has an allergy to women all except the head Maid. However, he doesn't necessarily hate them ~ he loves everyone equally.
Freezing! is a Harem that resolves around a guy enrolling in a school where there are seemingly normal students, but they have enhanced genetics which means ~ more agile, durable, and tenacious. A lot of students are often fighting against one another, but new threats emerge threatening to destroy their school & their foundation.
See, I summed up the 10 Harem(s) I love in 2-3 sentences. Each one of them has a emphasis on what it's trying to convey and I know what a lot of you are thinking: "That's been done before." Take into account the popularity behind these series, it's no coincidence that people know what lies in a Harem, but sometimes those little additions like adding action, adventure, suspense, and definitely the unknown are what keep me interested. If you have a Harem that takes place in a school, that's been done a lot. However, the same thing can be said with incorporating action, comedy, & the supernatural. So let me answer this question, When does a Harem become Stale? I can sum it up in two words: ATTENTION and EXECUTION. It needs to know what it's doing, bring in plenty of humor & fan-service, have the romance & drama element be balanced, and overall have a ending where they pick 1, all, someone else, or is indecisive to the very end. A lot of Harem(s) are like that and, to me, my favorite Harem sub-genre is when the guy chooses ALL the girls rather than 1. Now it's true I didn't really solve the answer if Harem(s) are stale because, I will be open, originality doesn't really exist as much as before. Anime(s) now are trying to be copy+cats off the succession of others. There'll be rip-offs/knock-offs so at the end of the day, the word "Stale" is all dependent if it grabs your attention & is executed properly. Yes it's true Harem(s) most likely exist presently, but not in the over-the-top scenarios that happen in Anime. There are good & bad harem, but at the end of the day ~ Attention & Execution, to me, are what keep Anime, not just limited to Harem, from not getting stale. Trust me, I can name a few Harem(s) where it just didn't work for me. It can be that the comedy didn't stick, the romance was downplayed, or even the characters were dicks. If it didn't grab my attention, then the execution didn't work. I can ramble on and on about Harem, but it's true ~ everything nowadays isn't original, it's the focus that can either be perceived as entertaining or boring. So to me, Harem(s) or anything only becomes stale if and only if it didn't grab your attention & the execution wasn't all there.
Food for Thought? Comment below and let me know your thoughts on this topic. FFTs will be posted every Tuesday. Like always, you stay classy as always! Here's the order of FFTs
1) Anime: Subbed or Dubbed?
2) When does a Harem become stale?
No comments:
Post a Comment