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Harem Recommendation Thread.


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Covnam



Joined: 31 May 2005
Posts: 3629
PostPosted: Tue Aug 30, 2016 11:14 pm Reply with quote
Vaisaga wrote:
Alan45 wrote:
@Covnam

Realistically, a childhood friend has the same problem a sibling does. Since you grew up with them you see them as a person and not as an object of romance or sex. Of course anime and manga have ignored this reality with regard to siblings, but that is likely due to the taboo that doesn't apply to childhood friends.

I suspect that the childhood friend is seen as the equivalent of comfortable old clothing. Comforting but not at all exciting.


While the Westermarck effect is seen between non-relatives, it's not a 100% certainty. It's more simply a matter of being so used to something being a certain way that it takes a lot more effort to change that perspective. That person had been your friend for so many years that it's a natural as breathing. You have little reason to think of them otherwise where as a girl you've just recently met is a blank slate.


Right, it's psychological hypothesis, not a guaranteed fact. I can't imagine most authors even think that deep into it. More likely as you both say, it's the usual new vs old mentality that affects more than just people's love life. Of course, some people like the comfortable "old" things in their lives, so it'd be nice to see some manga/anime not have the childhood friend be the obvious one who isn't going to be picked.

Coincidentally, a new manga running in Shonen Jump (Love Rush) that just started features a harem setup with a protagonist interested in only his childhood friend.

nobahn wrote:
Covnam wrote:
Sorry that this is a bit late, but I only just found this thread...

You can find the full list of recommendation threads here.


Thanks =)
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Vaisaga



Joined: 07 Oct 2011
Posts: 13224
PostPosted: Wed Aug 31, 2016 5:36 am Reply with quote
Covnam wrote:
Right, it's psychological hypothesis, not a guaranteed fact. I can't imagine most authors even think that deep into it. More likely as you both say, it's the usual new vs old mentality that affects more than just people's love life. Of course, some people like the comfortable "old" things in their lives, so it'd be nice to see some manga/anime not have the childhood friend be the obvious one who isn't going to be picked.


I find that titles where the childhood friend wins over a new girl to be heavily in the minority.

In real life, while one might want to date the exotic and mysterious new girl for awhile, in the end the one they marry is the comfortable and familiar girl.
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Alan45
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Joined: 25 Aug 2010
Posts: 9812
Location: Virginia
PostPosted: Wed Aug 31, 2016 7:33 am Reply with quote
Vaisaga wrote:
Quote:
In real life, while one might want to date the exotic and mysterious new girl for awhile, in the end the one they marry is the comfortable and familiar girl.


And get divorced a few years later ..... Wink

In reality it depends on what they do after high school. If they both stay in the same area the childhood friend has a chance. If one or both leave home for college, the service or a job opportunity they will develop at different speeds and likely will no longer be compatible or will have found someone else in the meantime. Or the childhood friend will not want them.

I'm always amused at high school based shows that treat a first romance as the end of it all. Those situations are unstable at best even before high school ends and after graduation are really on thin ice. When you are in high school it seems like it will last forever and always be that way, after a few years you wonder why you wasted so much emotion on a transient situation.
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Key
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Joined: 03 Nov 2003
Posts: 18138
Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Wed Aug 31, 2016 11:00 am Reply with quote
Alan45 wrote:
I'm always amused at high school based shows that treat a first romance as the end of it all. Those situations are unstable at best even before high school ends and after graduation are really on thin ice. When you are in high school it seems like it will last forever and always be that way, after a few years you wonder why you wasted so much emotion on a transient situation.

True, but the high school perspective is, of course, what matters in most series.

For a rare exception to this in anime, see 5 cm Per Second (which definitely isn't a harem series).
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Alan45
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Joined: 25 Aug 2010
Posts: 9812
Location: Virginia
PostPosted: Wed Aug 31, 2016 4:08 pm Reply with quote
@Key

You're right, and you can't convince high school age kids otherwise. I remember in high school I would complain about some problem that seemed forever. My mother would say "this too shall pass". It irritated the hell out of me, but she was right.
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nobahn
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Joined: 14 Dec 2006
Posts: 5120
PostPosted: Wed Aug 31, 2016 4:50 pm Reply with quote

But please remember that that the brains of teen-aged Homo sapiens are still developing;* that is why it is now widely recognized that teen-aged drivers should not be allowed to drive without adult supervision – much less drive solely with their peers.

*However, please note that that the blog entry has no citations.
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ugh_hey



Joined: 05 Sep 2016
Posts: 2
PostPosted: Mon Sep 05, 2016 12:19 pm Reply with quote
Animeking1108 wrote:
The cliché that irritates me the most is the fact that they always pick the tsundere. What's so appealing about a violent sociopath that treats you like dirt?


This is an enduring convention of love triangles in general. Who does the guy in Macross go for? The bubbly idol who throws herself at him, or the cold frumpy older woman? It's an easy way for writers to get an arc out of a relationship, which gives it an illusion of depth.

Of course, it's fossilized into a cliche in the worst way possible in otaku culture, with the whole "tsundere" thing.

The only harem stuff I find watchable came out before "harem" was really a genre (Tenchi, Ranma, etc). Curse of diminishing returns.
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Vaisaga



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PostPosted: Mon Sep 05, 2016 12:41 pm Reply with quote
There was a study done on tsunderes, and basically they found the appeal was the sense of progress and accomplishment that comes when you make them show their dere side.
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Errinundra
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Joined: 14 Jun 2008
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 05, 2016 5:43 pm Reply with quote
Tsunderes are my favourite moe character type, for a few reasons. Firstly they are usually, though not always, the smartest character in the show, so I tend to relate to them, rather than the, mostly, clueless male at the centre of the harem. It follows then that I'm enormously annoyed by the idiot male lead and enjoy watching him get stitched up. (It also invariably follows that I'm disappointed when he lands her at the end.) Lastly, the tsun-tsun and dere-dere aspects make for inbuilt conflict within the character, and thereby provides impetus for the story telling. I think that's why there are far more tsundere than, say, genki protagonists.

I classify tsunderes into three types: ornamental, weak and strong. The "ornamental" is usually a minor character, put in the cast for the laughs. We never know why they are that way - they just are. An example would be Michiru from Plastic Memories or even, arguably, Holo from Spice and Wolf. The "weak" is the character who considers herself as higher status than the protagonist so is alarmed by falling for him - her feelings are in conflict with her self-image, hence the anger, which is directed at the source of her confusion. My example would be Naru from Love Hina. The "strong" is the idealistic character whose intentions are good but who has been savagely treated by their circumstances in life. Her notions of how the world should be conflict with her experience of how it is. Examples would be Rin Tohsaka from Fate/Stay Night, Victorique Du Blois from Gosick or Taiga from Toradora!. Such characters are among my favourites in anime and can really push a story along thanks to the grand conflict they embody.

(Oh, and I edited your post, ugh_hey, to identify the source of your quote.)
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Vaisaga



Joined: 07 Oct 2011
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 05, 2016 7:30 pm Reply with quote
I just draw the line at excessive physical abuse. I'm all for a little slap stick but sometimes it goes too far and some one should really call the cops.

Except no one will, because who cares when some stupid guy gets beat up? But if he fights back he's such a scumbag! And the female abuser gets no comeuppance and is instead rewarded the heart of the abusee. Now that's what I call true love! Rolling Eyes
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Cam0



Joined: 13 Dec 2009
Posts: 4884
PostPosted: Tue Sep 06, 2016 7:28 am Reply with quote
Vaisaga wrote:
I just draw the line at excessive physical abuse. I'm all for a little slap stick but sometimes it goes too far and some one should really call the cops.


It's often played for comedy so no one is getting actual physical injuries from the "abuse". I'm not a fan of it all when the dude gets punished for something that wasn't his fault, but often times the dude is also so clueless that I start thinking that maybe a few punches can knock some sense into them.

I just mostly shrug off the physical and verbal abuse, because I know that those tsunderes are actually really sweet and adorable inside. Only when the "abuse" gets particularly egregious is when I start to get mildly annoyed by it. And it's usually because the dude is constantly thrown into situations that provoke a justified or unjustified response from the tsundere and not because the girl just likes abusing the dude.
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