One of the reasons that I originally fell in love with the mediums of manga and anime were the variety of genres and storytelling formats that had developed in contrast to the, at the time, stale stories told by Western animation. However, a controversial genre commonly seen in manga and anime and certainly one of the more unusual ones has to be the harem genre.
First, I should explain the origins of the word “harem” since that by itself explains quite a bit about what you’ll find when you begin to explore the genre. Harem is originally a Turkish word that referred to areas within a house that were exclusive to women. Interestingly, this word developed from the Arabic word “Haram” which literally translates as forbidden. However, the word harem tends to have a different definition in the English language, that being the women who make up a polygynous marriage. When it comes to the harem genre of manga, anime etc., it is this particular definition that is closest to what you will experience.
Harem manga, anime etc. tend to focus on a male character who is surrounded by multiple female love interests. He is typically oblivious to their attraction to him or he is indecisive, unable to commit to a particular character and continuing to exist in a state of romantic limbo. While these stories can theoretically go hand in hand with any genre, you typically see many of these harem series fall into the category of “Romantic Comedy” or “Slice of Life”.
With regards to how the harem genre developed in Japan, I was surprised to see that Rumiko Takahashi, the bestselling female mangaka/comic artist of all time, is quite often credited with planting the seeds of the genre with her releases of Urusei Yatsura (1978-1987) and Ranma 1/2 (1987-1996). However, looking back on them, I realised that, while there are some men who desire the female love interests, the series predominantly focuses on the male protagonists and the women that desire him. While my first instinct wouldn’t have been to refer to these as harem manga, I fully understand how they could have served as an inspiration for the genre.
One of the most famous harem franchises and certainly one of the most influential has to be the Tenchi Muyo franchise. Starting as an OVA series in 1992, the franchise follows male teenager Tenchi Masaki who accidentally releases space pirate Ryoko Hakubi and soon finds himself in a sci-fi adventure while being surrounded by adoring alien women.
Understandably, the harem genre is heavily associated with fan service and when I and many others think of harem in general, we tend to think of series that display this aspect fervently. However, it surprises me to think of how many harem series I’ve actually enjoyed. I distinctly remember adoring the reverse harem (a girl surrounded by multiple male love interests) series Ouran High School Host Club for how genuinely funny and charming it is. It’s also interesting to think of Ranma 1/2 as a harem series as well as one of my favourite anime series, Clannad.
I started writing this article with the intention of tearing the harem genre apart, deriding it for its fanservice and stale plots and, while there are PLENTY of examples of that within this unusual genre, I ended up surprising myself with how I did genuinely enjoy some manga and anime that would fit within harem. Let me know your thoughts on the unusual genre of harem, which harem series you enjoy or did not enjoy, if you would disagree with series like Urusei Yatsura or Ranma 1/2 being categorised as harem, if you know anything about the early history of harem and any additional information you might have on the topic.
Hopefully you have found this article interesting and informative and, if you wish to seek any of the works I mentioned, don’t hesitate to use amazon.co.uk or amazon.com for all of your needs!