History Main / HaremGenre

Contrast RoyalHarem, which is about the literal, traditional sort of harem as found in a royal palace. See our [[SoYouWantTo/WriteAHaremAnime handy-dandy guide]] if you want to write one of your own. Often overlaps with StarringSmurfette, though the presence of that trope doesn't necessarily mean a harem story is taking place. The "haremlit" subgenre shares many aspects of the classic Harem Genre, but with several key differences - it's usually written by Western authors, often self-published on sites like Amazon and Royal Road, and rather than exploring romantic tension, it revolves around full-on [[MarryThemAll polygamy]].

* {{Meganekko}}

The protagonist may take it as an UnwantedHarem, react as a HaremSeeker, or be ObliviousToLove; but he almost ''never'' [[WillTheyOrWontThey actually enters a consummated romantic relationship]] with any of them, except perhaps [[WeddingFinale as the grand finale]]. Particularly pure examples of the set-up, where the plot is designed to keep the "race" for the male protagonist's heart in a perpetual dead heat, are known as the BalancedHarem subgenre. Other possible dynamics include the "Harem Route", where the girls choose to share the lead character amicably rather than risk losing him and their friends completely, or the "Shuraba" ("Bloodbath") route, where ThereCanBeOnlyOne and the contenders ruthlessly sabotage each other to secure mastery. There is also the hybrid option where the harem is "led" by a female lead in a conventional OfficialCouple relationship with the MC and "backed" by a SupportingHarem. In such cases, the work usually indicates only one or two girls as the main characters, in contrast to the standard harem works.

Contrast RoyalHarem, which is about the literal, traditional sort of harem as found in a royal palace. See our [[SoYouWantTo/WriteAHaremAnime handy-dandy guide]] if you want to write one of your own. Often overlaps with StarringSmurfette, though the presence of that trope doesn't necessarily mean a harem story is taking place. The "haremlit" subgenre shares many aspects of the classic Harem Genre, but with several key differences - it's usually written by Western authors, often self-published on sites like Amazon and Royal Road, and rather than exploring WillTheyOrWontThey romantic tension, it revolves around full-on [[MarryThemAll polygamy]].

* WillTheyOrWontThey

* ClingyJealousGirl -- in order to perpetuate [[LoveTriangle the triangle]] and [[WillTheyOrWontThey romantic tension.]]

!! {{Harem}} genre tropes:

* CoolLoser -- Very often the protagonists, regardless of gender.

Not surprisingly, Harems frequently go hand-in-hand with the {{Ecchi}} genre and gratuitous {{Fanservice}}. That said, outright {{Hentai}} harems are rarely seen and often poorly exemplify a genre where WantingIsBetterThanHaving and UnresolvedSexualTension is a primary source of dramatic interest.

* ''LightNovel/MagiciansAcademy'', which features ''both'' the UnwantedHarem and a HaremSeeker.

Contrast RoyalHarem, which is about the literal, traditional sort of harem as found in a royal palace. See our [[SoYouWantTo/WriteAHaremAnime handy-dandy guide]] if you want to write one of your own. Often overlaps with StarringSmurfette, though the presence of that trope doesn't necessarily mean a harem story is taking place. The "haremlit" subgenre shares many aspects of the classic Harem Genre, but with several key differences - it's usually written by Western authors, often self-published on sites like Amazon and Royal Road, and rather than exploring WillTheyOrWontThey romantic tension, it revolves around full-on [[ExoticExtendedMarriage polygamy]].

Contrast RoyalHarem, which is about the literal, traditional sort of harem as found in a royal palace. See our [[SoYouWantTo/WriteAHaremAnime handy-dandy guide]] if you want to write one of your own. Often overlaps with StarringSmurfette, though the presence of that trope doesn't necessarily mean a harem story is taking place.

* ''LightNovel/HaremPrince'' deconstructs and parodies a lot of tropes associated in the genre a la ''Manga/TheWorldGodOnlyKnows'' and ''Literature/{{Toradora}}''.

* ''LightNovel/{{Kampfer}}'': Here the main guy turns into a girl thanks to a magical MacGuffin. Who's probably hotter than the rest of the main girls. Problem is that the girl he loves is 100% lesbian [[spoiler:and the BigBad of the series]].

* KavorkaMan -- often exists as a role-model for the protagonist

* ''LightNovel/{{Oresuki}}'' starts out as a twisted satire of harem series, where the protagonist Joro is a manipulative jerk who [[HaremSeeker actively wants a harem]] but quickly finds out that the two girls he tried to manipulate into falling for him are both into someone else, and the only girl who ''does'' like him is a creepy stalker. The satirical aspects [[SatireAndSwitch are eventually downplayed]] as more girls become genuinely interested in Joro, though the series never completely stops being self-aware about various harem tropes.

[[quoteright:350:[[LightNovel/{{Oreshura}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/e5e8055d5ae3cb142e0a3445d6e7551d.png]]]]

* ''LightNovel/{{Oreshura}}'' starts with the main character's childhood friend and (fake) girlfriend vying for his affections, and later on other girls become interested in him as well.

The protagonist may take it as an UnwantedHarem, react as a HaremSeeker, or be ObliviousToLove; but he almost ''never'' [[WillTheyOrWontThey actually enters a consummated romantic relationship]] with any of them, except perhaps [[TheyDo as the grand finale]]. Particularly pure examples of the set-up, where the plot is designed to keep the "race" for the male protagonist's heart in a perpetual dead heat, are known as the BalancedHarem subgenre. Other possible dynamics include the "Harem Route", where the girls choose to share the lead character amicably rather than risk losing him and their friends completely, or the "Shuraba" ("Bloodbath") route, where ThereCanBeOnlyOne and the contenders ruthlessly sabotage each other to secure mastery. There is also the hybrid option where the harem is "led" by a female lead in a conventional OfficialCouple relationship with the MC and "backed" by a SupportingHarem. In such cases, the work usually indicates only one or two girls as the main characters, in contrast to the standard harem works.

* ''LightNovel/{{Oreimo}}'': For most of its run, only one girl (Kuroneko) is openly in love with the protagonist, while Kirino (his sister) has tons of UnresolvedSexualTension with him. His childhood friend Manami seems to hold a flame, and another (Ayase) feels something towards him, but it might not be best called "love". Then in the ending OVA, the subtext becomes text as nearly every girl in the cast openly declares their love for him for no apparent reason.

* ''Literature/ACertainMagicalIndex'' rapidly turns into this, courtesy of its CluelessChickMagnet NiceGuy hero, Kamijou Touma. It also attempts an explanation for why this trope occurs. Thanks to Touma's [[AntiMagic Imagine Breaker]] negating all supernatural effects which contact him, it's hypothesised that he is immune to the [[RedStringOfFate red string of fate]], meaning no one woman can be his soulmate. The series can be said to have the largest harem of any work, primarily due to the inclusion of the Misaka Network, who are 9969 clones of Mikoto Mikasa. Even without them, it arguably still holds the record.[[labelnote:A not exhaustive list of harem members]]Index Librorum Prohibitorum, Mikoto Misaka, Aisa Himegami, 9969 clones of Mikoto, Kaori Kanzaki, Itsuwa, Lessar, Leivinia Birdway, Othinus, Seria Kumokawa, Misaki Shokuhou[[/labelnote]]