| 1 | %% Image and caption selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1309459402015260100 |
| 2 | %% Please do not change or remove either without starting a new thread. |
| 3 | %% |
| 4 | [[quoteright:346:[[Manga/RosarioPlusVampire https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/R2V_3768.png]]]] |
| 5 | [[caption-width-right:346:[[Literature/SwordArtOnline Man, it must be so hard for you chick magnets]].]] |
| 6 | |
| 7 | ->''Well, I'm running down the road trying to loosen my load,\ |
| 8 | I've got seven women on my mind.\ |
| 9 | Four that wanna own me, two who wanna stone me,\ |
| 10 | One says she's a friend of mine.'' |
| 11 | -->-- '''Music/{{Eagles}}''', "Take It Easy" |
| 12 | |
| 13 | '''Not to be confused with HaremGenre''', a genre of Japanese media that sometimes heavily relies on this trope. |
| 14 | |
| 15 | This trope involves a common reaction from the man when a Harem plot begins and women start fighting for his attention. He might either think like a CelibateHero, that the gratuitous quantity of boobs he is forced to see every day are just a bother (ComicallyMissingThePoint that he is in an enviable situation), [[OfficialCouple or see them as an obstacle between him and the girl he truly likes]], or he may just find them annoying for [[IncompatibleOrientation one reason]] or [[PrettyFreeloaders another]]. |
| 16 | |
| 17 | The more likely reason [[DoylistVersusWatsonian plot-wise]] is the fact that the male lead cannot reciprocate all the girls' feelings without seeming to the audience to be cruel, manipulative, and misleading to the girls. So the far easier solution is to make him oblivious to their affection or CursedWithAwesome. |
| 18 | |
| 19 | Even if he does like one or more of the girls, the man won't or can't admit it. Besides, until the point comes where one of the girls is in danger, the man would [[IJustWantToBeNormal rather have his nice quiet life back]]. |
| 20 | |
| 21 | While this is, as might be gathered, usually a male trope, gender-reversed versions have recently begun to appear. |
| 22 | |
| 23 | The most common and immediate consequences of said harem is the ever-hilarious (if incredibly painful to watch) LoverTugOfWar. |
| 24 | |
| 25 | When criticism is raised against a harem show it's usually due to an overdose of this trope; unfortunately, when played straight, this trope is almost always overdosed. While it's often criticized as blatant WishFulfillment, most criticism regards the tendency to portray the female cast very negatively, often [[FlatCharacter giving them little personality]], or having their characters largely defined by [[ClingyJealousGirl their dependency on the male protagonist]] and/or [[HystericalWoman irrational tendencies towards violence]]. |
| 26 | |
| 27 | Contrast HaremSeeker, where the "unwanted" part is left out. Also compare SexyManInstantHarem, which may or may not be wanted, but which usually involves more superficial characters. |
| 28 | |
| 29 | Resolutions to such a situation are varied. |
| 30 | |
| 31 | # Someone wins. |
| 32 | ** FirstGirlWins |
| 33 | ** LastGirlWins |
| 34 | ** LastConfessionWins |
| 35 | *** etc |
| 36 | # Everyone wins. |
| 37 | ** MarryThemAll |
| 38 | ** LetsJustBeFriends (if the harem decides to settle for befriending the person in question) |
| 39 | # The Harem loses. |
| 40 | ** DumpThemAll |
| 41 | ** ThirdOptionLoveInterest |
| 42 | ** CelibateHero |
| 43 | ** ChasteHero |
| 44 | # No one wins. |
| 45 | ** NoRomanticResolution |
| 46 | ** MaybeEverAfter |
| 47 | ** TheHeroDies[=/=]AnyoneCanDie (it ''did'' say till '''[[KilledOffForReal death]]''' do us part) |
| 48 | |
| 49 | ---- |
| 50 | !!Sub-pages: |
| 51 | [[index]] |
| 52 | * UnwantedHarem/AnimeAndManga |
| 53 | * UnwantedHarem/FanWorks |
| 54 | * UnwantedHarem/{{Literature}} |
| 55 | [[/index]] |
| 56 | |
| 57 | !!Examples: |
| 58 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 59 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 60 | * ComicBook/JeanGrey was the only girl in the ComicBook/XMen for years. She's also been the target of villains' affections, as well. Jason Wyngarde (Mastermind) wasn't above committing MindRape to get her to fall in love with him. |
| 61 | * [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/LegionRomanceSplash.jpg This]] ''Comicbook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' comic panel. Though it's a [[SubvertedTrope subversion]], as the girls are actually trying to make Comicbook/JimmyOlsen's girlfriend [[OperationJealousy jealous]]. |
| 62 | * Subverted in ''ComicBook/YTheLastMan'' where just about every woman Yorick comes across is either trying to kill him or capture him as a bargaining chip. |
| 63 | ** Unless you count Beth, Other Beth, [[PirateGirl Captain Kilina]], [[WrenchWench PJ]] and [[spoiler:355, for all of five minutes]]. |
| 64 | * In ''ComicBook/StarWarsMarvel1977'', Luke Skywalker is considered immensely attractive to [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe Zeltrons]] male and female; between their [[EthicalSlut frank sexual curiosity]] about [[BoldlyComing anything new]], his [[FamedInStory fame]], and the way his [[TheHero general goodness]] and incredible Force-Sensitivity feel to their [[TheEmpath empathic sixth sense]], they tend to chase him. Initially he fears this greatly, but with time and CharacterDevelopment he mellows and is able to hang around them and tolerate their desire to touch him, but gently rejects their propositions and is able to excuse himself and get time alone when he wants it. |
| 65 | * In ''ComicBook/{{Irredeemable}}'', Bette Noir [[spoiler:fails to kill the Plutonian and escapes to live a life of decadence surrounded by a boy harem; that is, until the Plutonian catches up to her and kills the poor man-toys]]. |
| 66 | * ''Angel's Proper Charlies'', a strip in the long-running UK comic ''ComicBook/{{Jackpot}}'', revolved around a girl named Angel who was pursued by three rather dimwitted boys who were all madly in love with her. Unlike most harem heroes, Angel was a JerkAss who routinely toyed with the boys' love for her for her own ends. |
| 67 | * Smurfette in ''ComicBook/TheSmurfs'' has a harem of male Smurf suitors all wanting to be her one true love, but though she is flattered by their affections, she turns them down because (1) she's too young to think about marriage, and (2) she loves all her fellow Smurfs equally. |
| 68 | * T'Challa the ComicBook/BlackPanther has a harem of bodyguards/wives-in-training as per tribal tradition. Though he values their services as bodyguards, he does not see them as his harem and has never slept with any of them. One member of his RoguesGallery is Malice, a member of his bodyguards who actually ''wanted'' to be his wife and [[{{Yandere}} didn't want to take "no" for an answer.]] |
| 69 | * ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': Peter Parker during ''ComicBook/BrandNewDay'' where every writer (until Slott took over the book) has a favorite girl. Throwing a lot of girls around Peter — Carlie, Lilly, Norah, Michele, Black Cat, Mary Jane, Betty Brant — resulted in this, which led to people complaining that Spider-Man turned into a bad HaremAnime. |
| 70 | * ''ComicBook/UltimateFF'': Sue already has a problem with his former boyfriend, Reed Richards, turning into the BigBad of the ComicBook/UltimateMarvel universe. And then Namor shows up. |
| 71 | -->'''Sue:''' Why. Does. Everybody. Think. He's (Namor). My. [[SymbolSwearing $%&/()!]]. Boyfriend. |
| 72 | -->[[CliffHanger Nest Time]]: Battle for New Atlantis. Also more people who think they are Sue's boyfriend. |
| 73 | [[/folder]] |
| 74 | |
| 75 | [[folder:Comic Strips]] |
| 76 | * In one ''ComicStrip/DreamOfTheRarebitFiend'' strip, an old woman becomes magnetically attractive after applying makeup. Her dream ends as she's trying to flee the multitude of men who are attempting to court her. |
| 77 | * ''ComicStrip/{{Nero}}'': In "De Ring van de Moefti" Nero is given a ring by a rich sheik for saving his life. As long as Nero carries the ring the sheik's harem will follow and protect him. Throughout the story Nero tries to get rid of his harem, but to no avail. Finally he [[spoiler:manages to take the ring off and give to Meneer Pheip. Then Pheip asks the women to take off their veils. It turns out they are all men!]] |
| 78 | [[/folder]] |
| 79 | |
| 80 | [[folder:Film — Animated]] |
| 81 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheEmperorsNewGroove'' features a different kind of Unwanted Harem. Kuzco rejects all the women because he thinks nobody is good enough for him. |
| 82 | * Disney's version of ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}'' develops one after he becomes a celebrity. Inverted with Phil who loves to chase scores of nymphs. In his case it's the harem that doesn't want ''him''. Though one nymph really does like him (the problem is that her family doesn't). |
| 83 | [[/folder]] |
| 84 | |
| 85 | [[folder:Film — Live-Action]] |
| 86 | * ''Film/TheresSomethingAboutMary'' subjects the title character to three (four if you count her boyfriend Ted who hires one of her love-/lust-smitten stalkers, and five if you count Brett Favre) [[StalkerWithACrush amorous suitors]]. |
| 87 | * ''Film/WhenInRome'' has the protagonist relentlessly pursued by several men after activating a magic fountain. |
| 88 | * In ''Film/WhiteSunOfTheDesert'', Sukhov gets stuck with an actual harem, formerly belonging to Abdullah, the leader of Basmachi guerrillas. While the women consider him to be their protector, they do not actually try to jump him (this being a Soviet film and all). |
| 89 | * The title character in ''Film/KullTheConqueror'' inherits a literal unwanted harem from the previous king. At the end of the movie, Kull officially disbands the harem, proclaiming that "the king commands no one's affection". |
| 90 | %%* This trope is the entire plot of the Australian film ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvin_Purple Alvin Purple]].'' |
| 91 | * In ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'', Galahad gets sidetracked to Castle Anthrax, full of women bent on seducing him. He initially refuses their sexual advances, but by the time Lancelot shows up to rescue him from "peril," he doesn't want to leave. |
| 92 | * In ''Film/BeautyAndTheBeast2017'', the Bimbettes serve as this to Gaston - unlike [[WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast the animated original]], where he liked having them buff his ego, he is openly disdainful of them because there's no challenge in courting them. |
| 93 | * ''Film/TheCheyenneSocialClub'': John O'Hanlon inherits the Cheyenne Social Club business from his brother DJ. He is horrified when he shows up in Cheyenne and discovers that the Club is a whorehouse. He's further horrified when the girls of the Club, who were obviously DJ's harem, make it pretty clear without explicitly saying so that they'll be happy to service him when they aren't servicing customers. He gives in at least once with Pauline, though. |
| 94 | * The '70s Oz cult classic ''Film/AlvinPurple'', where a KavorkaMan is sick of women ceaselessly trying to have sex with him. |
| 95 | [[/folder]] |
| 96 | |
| 97 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 98 | * In ''Series/BabylonFive'', Centauri ambassador Londo Mollari has three wives. Unfortunately for him, they're all from arranged marriages, and he can't stand any of them (he refers to them as "Pestilence, Famine, and Death"). When the Centauri Emperor grants him one favor as a reward for his work, Londo asks for a ''divorce''. |
| 99 | -->'''Londo:''' Here. Look. These are my three wives: Pestilence, Famine, and Death. Do you think I married them for their personalities? Their personalities could shatter entire planets! Arranged marriages. Every one. But they worked out, they inspired me! Knowing that they were waiting at home for me is what keeps me here — 75 light-years away! |
| 100 | * Dr. Temperance "''Series/{{Bones}}''" Brennan has often been pursued and flirted with by several guys. There was one early episode when she went to a small town and most of the guys there were all trying to get her attention at a local bar, until [[WillTheyOrWontThey Booth]] stepped in and grabbed her for a dance. However, she's not a ChasteHero, as she does date several men, two at the same time at one point. |
| 101 | * ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': |
| 102 | ** "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" features Xander trying to do a love spell on Cordelia, only for the spell to go wrong and every woman in Sunnydale (including Buffy, Buffy's mother, Drusilla and witch Amy) to fall head over heels for him. The only person who seems unaffected is Cordelia (due to the miscasting of the spell), but it transpires that she was already in love with him, she was just pretending not to be. |
| 103 | ** Another Buffy episode, "Him", has Buffy, Willow (who by this time has come out as a lesbian), demon Anya and teenaged Dawn falling for a high school boy, to the point where they are each trying to kill perceived rivals (or in Willow's case, work a spell to turn him into a girl) for his affections. The boys manage to work out that the boy is unwittingly wearing an enchanted letterman jacket which causes women to fall madly in love with the wearer. |
| 104 | * ''Series/DoctorWho'': |
| 105 | ** The Doctor has picked up this reputation, thanks to their penchant for traveling with good-looking young companions. See [[http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/4044/doctorsgirlsbymimina.jpg this picture]]. |
| 106 | ** Lampshaded in the second [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E5FleshAndStone "Meanwhile in the TARDIS"]] scene from 2010. After the Eleventh Doctor rebuffs Amy's attempt at GladToBeAliveSex and assures her he's "a Space Gandalf", she gets curious about the companions before her. He immediately loses the ability to look her in the eye and starts hedging about how many of them were girls / young / "hot" (i.e., nearly all of them). Then she tricks him into calling up visual records. "Oooh, Gandalf!" |
| 107 | * Constable Benton Fraser of ''Series/DueSouth'' tends to instantly inspire crushes in every American woman he comes across. It only really sticks with Ray Vecchio's sister, though [[StalkerWithACrush she's definitely enough]]. |
| 108 | * The one-season Scott Bakula sitcom ''Series/EisenhowerAndLutz''. Bakula played Bud Lutz, a shady lawyer who was juggling two girlfriends, a waitress played by [=DeLane=] Matthews and a much more successful lawyer played by [[Series/HomeImprovement Patricia Richardson]]. In the final episode, an enemy of Bud's vowed to make his life miserable. He did so by sending both women engagement rings in Bud's name! |
| 109 | * Played straight and parodied on ''Series/{{Glee}}''. Played straight with Will in how every time you turn around since the new season starts he seems to have gotten a new love interest. (though it might have come to head with "Bad Reputation". Parodied in "Bad Reputation" [[spoiler:as, Rachel attempts to make it look like Finn, Puck and Jessie are her unwanted harem in her music video of 'Run Joey Run' so she'll get a higher ranking on the Glist (a ranking of hotness by member). Of course since this is Rachel, it doesn't go well for her...]] |
| 110 | * Bertram Wooster (the Wooster bit of ''Series/JeevesAndWooster'') has a gang of girls who all feel that they have an open invitation to attach themselves to him whenever their current relationship has gone south. All of the women in question are attractive but they all have issues with their personalities. There's Madeline Bassett (a LoveFreak prone to extreme sentimentality), [[RichBitch Florence Craye]] (a pretentious [[ICanChangeMyBeloved ball buster]]), and [[BrawnHilda Honoria Glossop]] (who is probably a closet lesbian who [[ICanChangeMyBeloved wants to "mould" him]]). He has also expressed terror at the prospect of marrying Pauline Stocker, [[TheTrickster Bobby Wickham]], and Stiffy Byng, even though none of them really want to. His terror of matrimony also has a lot to do with Bertie's wish to preserve his [[HoYay cosy bachelor establishment]] with Jeeves. |
| 111 | * In ''Series/TheLastManOnEarth'', Todd gets a bad case of this when Gail falls for him in the wake of her grief over Gordon, Melissa can't let go after he turns down her marriage proposal, and Erica shares a kiss with him when she asks him to serve as the father of her baby. |
| 112 | * Maria attracts just about every eligible bachelor in ''Series/MariaLaDelBarrio'', as does Luis Fernando with most of the women. |
| 113 | * Ned's Unwanted Harem on the live-action but {{Animesque}} ''Series/NedsDeclassifiedSchoolSurvivalGuide'' call themselves "Club Ned" (but are referred to by Ned and his friends as The Huge Crew). They may be a tough, intimidating, leather-and-bandanna-wearing gang, but on the bright side, they don't see any other girls who like Ned as competition, but invite them to join the club! |
| 114 | [[/folder]] |
| 115 | |
| 116 | [[folder:Music]] |
| 117 | * Music/JimmyReed had a song about it. "But I Ain't Got You". |
| 118 | * The Duane Elms song "Who Do You Love?", where the protagonist feels he must choose just one of them. |
| 119 | -->''You think it's easy, maybe you would,'' |
| 120 | -->''to have more choices than one man should.'' |
| 121 | -->''There is such a thing as too much good.'' |
| 122 | * The Music/WarrenZevon song "Poor Poor Pitiful Me" is a masterpiece mixture of this and complete obliviousness. |
| 123 | * The Carl Perkins song "Everybody's Trying to be my Baby" |
| 124 | * The Eagles song "Take It Easy," as seen in the page quote. |
| 125 | * The UsefulNotes/WorldWarI-era popular song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6eZqYdOMLk "Oh Johnny"]] tells of a young man who suffers from this plight. |
| 126 | [[/folder]] |
| 127 | |
| 128 | [[folder:Tabletop Games]] |
| 129 | * The anime-inspired RPG ''TabletopGame/BigEyesSmallMouth'' has a Defect titled Chick/Dude Magnet (shortened to just "Magnet" in 4th Edition) that makes the character the center of one of these. The game specifically notes that having a bunch of love interests is not a Defect in and of itself; the guys/girls have to actively inconvenience the character with their antics, and the character cannot have the willpower to simply resolve the situation via "extreme measures". |
| 130 | [[/folder]] |
| 131 | |
| 132 | [[folder:Theatre]] |
| 133 | * Creator/GilbertAndSullivan seem to be fond of this trope: nine of their 14 operas have some version of it. |
| 134 | ** In ''Theatre/{{Iolanthe}}'', the Lord Chancellor, the Earls of Mountararat and Tololler, and the entire Chorus of Peers are all in love with Phyllis, who wants none of them. |
| 135 | ** At the start of ''Theatre/{{Ruddigore}}'', there have been no weddings in the village of Rederring for six months, because practically every bachelor is in love with Rose Maybud, but none of them can pass her standards of etiquette (except Robin, who is too shy to declare himself). |
| 136 | ** In ''Theatre/TheGondoliers'', the entire female chorus is in love with the same two brothers, who feel it "indelicate" to show a bias towards any particular girl. |
| 137 | ** In ''Theatre/TheGrandDuke'', Ludwig is all set to marry Lisa, but through various plot contrivances, finds himself forced to marry Julia Jellicoe, the Baroness von Krakenfeldt, and the Princess of Monte Carlo. |
| 138 | ** Played straight and subverted in ''Theatre/{{Patience}}'': At the start of the opera, the whole chorus of Rapturous Maidens are in love with the poet Bunthorne; when a handsomer poet, Grosvenor, appears on the scene, all the women transfer their affection to him. But while Grosvenor genuinely ignores the Maidens as much as he can, Bunthorne only pretends to — he only dons Aesthetic clothing and writes poetry so he can be followed around by an adoring harem. |
| 139 | ** Played with in in ''Theatre/HMSPinafore'': Sir Joseph enters "accompanied by the admiring crowd of female relatives who follow him wherever he goes" ("relative" is a euphemism here). Sir Joseph obviously enjoys the attention, but doesn't actually want to marry any of them. On the other hand, Hebe is the only "relative" actively pursuing him. |
| 140 | ** Played with again in ''Theatre/TrialByJury'': As soon as the Plaintiff enters the courtroom, the entire jury falls in love with her. She does not want them, but manipulates them as much as she can to win her case. |
| 141 | ** Subverted in a different way in ''Theatre/ThePiratesOfPenzance'': Frederic proposes to the entire female chorus, who unanimously turn him down. Averted completely a moment later, when Mabel enters. |
| 142 | ** Similarly Subverted in ''Theatre/TheSorcerer'': Dr. Daly, under the influence of the love potion, proposes to every maiden he meets, but each one refuses. (This happens offstage, but he sings a song about it.) |
| 143 | [[/folder]] |
| 144 | |
| 145 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 146 | * ''VideoGame/DotHackGU'''s Haseo manages to round up a rather large group of potential love interests, including four [[GayOption males]], although three of them are essentially zombies. This gives him a grand total of twelve possible characters you can marry in the end of the third game (although the aforementioned zombie characters glomp him instead of marrying him). And that's just characters that you can [[FanPreferredCouple canonically marry]]. |
| 147 | * Occurs in the HGame ''Artificial Girl'' 3, where you can have up to five girls in a single savefile. |
| 148 | * ''VideoGame/BaldursGate'' only has three options, although due to class and/or alignment you're pretty unlikely to keep them all in the same party... |
| 149 | * The Spectacles of Eros is a running gag in the ''Franchise/BlazBlue'' series. Whosoever wears them (like [[AntiHero Ragna]]) pretty much attracts every member of the opposite gender to them, and even some characters of their own gender, even if said characters would normally hate them. Shenanigans will ensue between the infatuated, ranging from Litchi shattering Kokonoe's drugged candy (potent enough to "knock the Black Beast out") to a stripping contest between Makoto and Bullet [[ThinkOfTheCensors that Noel interrupts before it goes too far]] to a cooking contest where Noel and Izanami's cooking wipes out some of the other contestants. |
| 150 | * Garlot of ''VideoGame/BlazeUnion''. He has childhood friends [[GenkiGirl Siskier]] and [[TheSmartGuy Jenon]], along with friends and allies [[CoolBigSis Medoute]], [[TagTeamTwins Luciana and Aegina]], [[FilleFatale Iita]], [[OurMermaidsAreDifferent Sleip]], [[OldMaid Eudy]], [[WorthyOpponent Leon]], and [[TricksterMentor Nessiah]] following him around. All of them have at least a little subtext towards him. As Garlot has other things on his mind--like winning the revolution--he views his party [[TrueCompanions rather innocently]] for the most part. [[spoiler:Three years later, in ''VideoGame/YggdraUnion'', he will ''still'' have the same harem (with a few members missing), and will ''still'' have more important things on his mind than romance. Though Nessiah and the twins appear to be ahead of the rest by then.]] |
| 151 | ** In the non-canonical endings to this game, the harem is also pared down thus: [[spoiler:Nessiah, Aegina, and Siskier]] in the good B ending, [[spoiler:Aegina winning]] in the bad B ending, and [[spoiler:Aegina, Luciana, and Siskier]] in the C ending. |
| 152 | * In ''VideoGame/ComeSeeMeTonight'', the main character's parents mysteriously disappear one day, so an old friend of the family offers to let him stay with her. When he arrives, he discovers her 3 beautiful daughters and a CuteClumsyGirl act as hostesses in the restaurant she owns. He slowly but surely becomes the target of their affections as he helps out in the restaurant. |
| 153 | ** The sequel involves the son of a family that runs a shrine famous for its annual harvest festival and accompanying "Dance of the Shrine Maidens" taking over his grandfather's duties as chief priest - which involves helping 3 beautiful maidens-in-training learn the dance, as well as learning his own part, and picking which of the maidens will become his wife. |
| 154 | * In ''VideoGame/ADanceWithRogues'', every male character who joins your party ([[HoYay and one female character]]) have at least some interest in the Princess. |
| 155 | * ''VideoGame/{{Fable|I}}'' has this if you get attractive enough. It will result in you being blocked into your house/shops. It is a ScrappyMechanic. |
| 156 | * In ''VideoGame/FatalFrameMaidenOfBlackWater'', Ren Hojo has several women interested in him romantically, including his assistant. What doesn't help is that he's [[CannotTalkToWomen terrified of women]], and two of his admirers are ''ghosts'' that have mistaken him for his [[IdenticalGrandson ancestor]]. The ghostly Matchmaker repeatedly summons him to the mountain in an effort to marry him to a VirginSacrifice, making them both sacrifices to appease the Night Spring. Which "bride" he ultimately chooses determines his ending in the game. |
| 157 | * ''VideoGame/GalGun'' is built around this trope not just narratively but mechanically. The main character accidentally gets hit with cupid-style magic that makes any girl who sees him instantly fall in love with him, and has to fend off the hordes of lovestruck schoolgirls (and a few female teachers) with a gun that briefly knocks them out ([[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything by making them experience "ecstasy"]]). The drama comes in when it's revealed that if any of the girls do manage to confess to him and become his girlfriend, he might [[RedStringOfFate get stuck with that girl forever, magically enforced through "destiny"]], even if the two of them don't actually love each other, which would not lead to a happy life down the line. The player character's goal, therefore, is to find a girl he actually ''does'' like and get into a relationship with her before the day is over. |
| 158 | * You'd think ''VideoGame/GalaxyAngel'' is like this. [[SubvertedTrope Nope]], the game enforces a strict RoadCone early on in the game. The [[VideoGame/GalaxyAngelII sequel trilogy]] even makes the fact about which girl Tact married very obscure until the last minute to keep it in line with your own choice in the previous games. The closest this trope comes into play is one instance in Milfeulle's route in Eternal Lovers, where the Angels start hugging Tact all at the same time [[spoiler:to try and jog Milfie's memories]], and he's visibly uncomfortable. |
| 159 | * In the "anti-dating sim" ''I Just Want To Be Single!'', the protagonist Aya is a socially awkward aromantic who has no interest in dating, but ends up attracting the attention of a small horde of (female) classmates on her first day at her new school. Her objective is to let all of the girls down easily and convince them they're BetterAsFriends. |
| 160 | * Yuri from ''VideoGame/InfiniteSpace''. Let's see, there's his [[spoiler:[[NotBloodSiblings unrelated]]]] [[BrotherSisterIncest sister]] Kira, [[TeacherStudentRomance Nia]], [[DamselInDistress Katida]], [[WrenchWench Franny]], [[ActiveRoyalty Glorinda]], [[WorthyOpponent Cico]], and [[HoYay Dietrich]]. On the minor characters' side, there's Melania, and possibly Soneto and Mariana have a crush on him as well. |
| 161 | * Link is a victim of this in just about every ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' game. There are multiple stories, videos and pieces of fan art with Link and the most well-known female characters. |
| 162 | * In ''VisualNovel/Lucid9'', Yama's harem consists of Rui (childhood friend who he's insure of whether he has feelings for), Misaki (other childhood friend he's just happy to have around again), Elizabeth (snarky classmate he barely tries to be civil towards for most of the game, and only ends up in his harem because he once blackmailed her to help him), Akira (quirky friend of Rui, who Yama is friendly with, but shows little beyond that [[spoiler:- in fact, it is hinted that she had feelings for Yama but did not tell anyone]] ), and Airi (strange girl who rarely speaks and is shockingly good at a number of things, and seems to be tied to the events of the game in some unseen way). It can be assumed that this harem is very unwanted, especially since Yama would rather keep the status quo for just about everything. |
| 163 | * Tomohiro of ''Magical Dears'' gets one, due to being the only boy in his WizardingSchool. |
| 164 | * From ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', Mordin [[CoolOldGuy of]] [[BadassBookworm all]] [[DeadlyDoctor people]] claims to have had one of these, or at the very least many come-ons from different species, and he is able to rationalize why each species would find him attractive. |
| 165 | ** And the reason he even ''tells'' you all this is because ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4Fwa-OQ1ao he thinks you're making a pass at him]].'' |
| 166 | --->'''Mordin:''' Different species react differently to stress. Aware you have come by a great deal. Have had other species become attracted to me before. Awkward. Not interested. |
| 167 | --->'''Shepard:''' You've had members of other species make a pass at you? |
| 168 | --->'''Mordin:''' ''Constantly.'' Very awkward. Skin tone apparently attractive by turian standards. Subset of krogan deviants enjoys salarian flexibility. More cartilage than skeletal structure. Asari offers...intriguing, actually. Wonder why. Trans-species pheromones unlikely to work. ''[inhales]'' Must be neurochemical. |
| 169 | --->'''Shepard:''' ''[tongue-in-cheek]'' I appreciate you letting me down easy. |
| 170 | --->'''Mordin:''' No offense intended. Salarian reproduction different. [[UsefulNotes/{{Asexuality}} Very little sex drive. If intended to try human, would try you.]] |
| 171 | ** Shepard also gets this. No matter what species you are, chances are you will want to bang Shepard. |
| 172 | ** Best shown in Grunt's loyalty mission, where after defeating a Tresher Maw, ''on-foot'', the first to do so since Wrex over a thousand years previously, also no matter what Shepard's gender, EDI calls and informs you; |
| 173 | --> '''EDI''': There are also several breeding requests for Grunt. And one for ''Shepard.'' |
| 174 | ** In the Citadel DLC for ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', if the genophage is cured and Wrex is alive, he will complain that ever since his people became fertile again, every female krogan has lined-up to have their firstborn from him. He even had to sneak out his own bathroom window, and still got cornered by interested females. |
| 175 | ---> '''Wrex:''' And Bakara's no help at all. She ''encourages'' it! |
| 176 | %% Takeru gains one in ''VisualNovel/MuvLuvExtra''. ZERO CONTEXT EXAMPLE |
| 177 | * The way the dialogue in ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'' is written, a male player expressing interest in Elanee is reacting to Neeshka as if this trope is in play. |
| 178 | ** The dialogue in question is probably an artifact from when Neeshka was going to be a possible love interest for the male PC. |
| 179 | * In ''VisualNovel/OtometekiKoiKakumeiLoveRevo'', Kennosuke, Ren and Souta each have one. |
| 180 | * [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]] is also quite a ladies' man. This is more prominent in the ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' series, especially with Flurrie, [[ClassyCatBurglar Ms. Mowz]], and [[BlackMagicianGirl Vivian]]. |
| 181 | * ''VideoGame/Persona3'' plays this trope straight with Akihiko: he has a harem, but he [[ObliviousToLove doesn't pay attention to it]]. He doesn't even know the names of the girls involved. |
| 182 | ** In a meta sense, you can be this depending on how you feel about the fact that [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness there isn’t an option to friendzone any of the potential love interests.]] |
| 183 | ** A large amount of your male social links (and Aigis) show some interest in you if you play as the female protagonist. Humorously, the most notable exception is Junpei, who's social link involves him putting an to someone stalking you. If you try to initiate a romance with Junpei he'll be flattered but politely reject you. [[spoiler:He was initially planned to have a romance, but it was cut due to the developers finding the idea of two of Junpei's girlfriends dying within the span of a single year a bit too cruel.]] |
| 184 | * Ogami of ''VideoGame/SakuraWars'' gains one, and is one of the earliest originators of the "Harem Hero" archetype. |
| 185 | * Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog has one of these, though most of the girls are never shown. |
| 186 | * In ''VideoGame/WhenYanderesCry'', Nishiki has to deal with a {{Yandere}} variety of this. [[spoiler:[[TheHeroDies It goes about as well as you think it would]].]] |
| 187 | * In ''VideoGame/YggdraUnion'', there's the [[{{Bishonen}} lovely]] [[SugarAndIcePersonality Roswell]]. [[OldMaid Mistel, Eudy]], [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Pamela]], [[BlackComedyRape Ortega]], [[CannotStandThemCannotLiveWithoutThem Ros]][[{{Tsundere}} ary]], [[MeetCute Ygg]][[RescueRomance dra]], and [[LoveRedeems Nessiah]] all seem to want to get into his pants, but the poor guy isn't interested in ''any'' of them. [[ShipTease ...except maybe Yggdra]]. ''Maybe.'' |
| 188 | [[/folder]] |
| 189 | |
| 190 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 191 | * Marten from ''Webcomic/QuestionableContent,'' following [[WhamEpisode a series of events between strips 500 and 700]], [[spoiler:lives with a woman in whom he was once interested, while dating her boss, the owner of a coffee shop with an all-female staff, and spending most of his free time with the obsessive-compulsive neighbor girl, all while working at the Smith College library]]. Although this doesn't meet the common definition since only two of these women have ''ever'' been more than his friends, he once quipped to his mother ([[spoiler:before he started dating his roommate's boss]]) that he wanted to "build a harem of unattainable women," after which his mother takes to calling his female friends his "harem." |
| 192 | * Lampshaded in ''Webcomic/TsunamiChannel'' [[http://www.tsunamichannel.com/index.php?date=2003-04-24&comic=ExCoKo here]] |
| 193 | * Piro from ''Webcomic/{{Megatokyo}}'' is a geek and harem anime fan, yet he views his own with an increasing level of bemusement and disbelief, completely unable to communicate his feelings (mostly fear and confusion) to any of them. |
| 194 | ** In all fairness, there was only ever a chance of him dating two of the four: One of the others is a robot that [[JustAMachine Piro clearly doesn't realize has feelings]], and the other is underage. Then of the two he ''might'' have had a chance with, one was always more interested in his friend, and saw him as pathetic ([[TheWoobie and not in the good way]]) from the start. |
| 195 | * In ''Webcomic/TooMuchInformation2005'', Ace (despite [[TheAce his name]], more of an UnluckyEverydude) has as [[BettyAndVeronica his primary contenders]] a [[MsFanservice stripper/nurse]] and his boss's granddaughter, a local police officer, a ghost haunting the house, and her great-granddaughter, and ShipTease moments with his ButchLesbian roommate, and the one ex-girlfriend who ''isn't'' [[EveryoneIsBi bisexual]]. |
| 196 | * A rather unusual case in ''Webcomic/{{Misfile}}'', [[GenderBender boy turned girl]] Ash has [[{{Tsundere}} Emily]], [[ManicPixieDreamGirl Missi]], [[JerkAss Cassiel]] who is only tempting Ash to get at Rumisiel, [[CasanovaWannabe Colin the counter guy]], [[CanNotTellALie Vashiel]], [[UnluckyChildhoodFriend James]] but ''not'' Rumisiel, who all but a rare few know as Ash's boyfriend, but who knows that Ash is in reality a straight boy. |
| 197 | * Cassie in ''Webcomic/TheWotch'' ends up accidentally building up one of these in her attempts to get Robin to drink a love potion, instead attracting [[NinjaBrat Robin's younger brother Kirk]], [[ThoseTwoGuys Xander]], and finally [[CargoShip a plant.]] And now it's starting to look like Robin and Cassie might start going out anyway. |
| 198 | * Keith from ''Webcomic/TwoKinds'' gets one of these in the Basitan Island Arc, between Natani, Laura, Maddie and maybe [[AmbiguouslyGay Alaric]]. [[spoiler:Laura and Alaric die, Maddie is revealed to be a teenager and thus too young for Keith, and Natani becomes Keith's official LoveInterest.]] |
| 199 | * Mye of ''Webcomic/CharbyTheVampirate'' appears to have admirers wherever she goes, although she describes herself as not all that pretty. Eventually [[spoiler:this is revealed to be, unknown to her, the effect of a spell that draws men to her.]] |
| 200 | * David from ''Webcomic/OwMySanity'' has one made entirely of {{Eldritch Abomination}}s who can take the form of {{Cute Monster Girl}}s and find that HumanityIsInfectious. |
| 201 | * Played with in ''Webcomic/DubiousCompany''. Elator is repulsed by most of his harem. [[ClingyJealousGirl Mary]] has [[ManicPixieDreamGirl personality]] [[WallOfBlather issues]] that he finds grating. [[ChivalrousPervert Marty]] is not a GayOption, so much as he has yet to realize that Elator is a [[UnsettlingGenderReveal dude that looks like a lady]]. [[CreatorCameo Tria]] is a matter of [[StealthHiBye blink]] and you’ll miss her. [[BeastMan Raque'Falicoona]] is a case of {{Yandere}} mixed with [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes his fear of Raccoons]]. |
| 202 | * ''Webcomic/KarateBears'' love women, [[http://www.karatebears.com/2012/01/still-not-happy.html?spref=fb but not one woman inparticular.]] |
| 203 | * ''Webcomic/ElectricWonderland'' had a [[ValentinesDayEpisodes Valentine's Day Comic]] in which a random man walks into the protagonists' workplace, and unwittingly becomes an object of attention for Trawn, Shroomy, and Aerynn. |
| 204 | * ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'': It seems that all of Jake English's friends secretly harbor romantic feelings for him. This includes [[HoYay Dirk]] [[StraightGay Strider]]. He is of course mostly oblivious to this. |
| 205 | * In ''Webcomic/{{Rain|2010}}'', it appears that every kid in the school with a compatible sexual orientation gets a crush on the titular character. The attention terrifies her especially since she's UsefulNotes/{{transgender}}. |
| 206 | * Gary in ''Webcomic/MenageA3'' gains one, though as this comic is cheerfully NotSafeForWork, and Gary is desperate and chronically lacking in willpower, he ''does'' end up in bed with some of these women, making this something of an aversion of the full trope. (The comic can be seen partly as a good-natured western parody of the HaremGenre.) For those who want details: |
| 207 | ** Early on, after being friend-zoned by Zii and intimidated by [=DiDi=], he seems to want to focus on Yuki, insofar as he has any opinions at all. |
| 208 | ** Yuki returns his interest but has ''issues''. |
| 209 | ** Zii sends Sonya after him. |
| 210 | ** Amber discovers his unique sexual talents, and later decides that he needs rescuing from Yuki (with some reason). |
| 211 | ** Senna wants to CorruptTheCutie next time she's in town. |
| 212 | ** Kiley [[spoiler:deflowers him for stress relief, decides that she likes him, but soon]] backs off for ethical reasons. |
| 213 | ** Sonya pays him less attention for a while after realizing she loves Zii, but meanwhile [=DiDi=] has become interested in him. |
| 214 | ** Amber is induced to back off a bit and then disappears to [[Webcomic/StickyDillyBuns another title]]. |
| 215 | ** Yuki hands him off to Sonya while she attempts to address her problems. |
| 216 | ** Sonya drops him due to incompatibility. |
| 217 | ** Zii tries to throw [=DiDi=] at him the same night that Sonya tries to do the same with new character Peggy. |
| 218 | ** However, by then, Gary is [[spoiler:on another continent. He joins the MileHighClub with Senna and survives the attempts of deranged {{dominatrix}} Tatiana to determine whether he is "the perfect sub"]]. |
| 219 | ** This side-trip continues. [[spoiler:Gary spends some teaching Sandra about geek culture, mostly in [[Webcomic/SandraOnTheRocks her own comic]]; this is mostly platonic, but by the time Gary leaves, Sandra is wondering if he might be interesting]]. |
| 220 | ** He gets home, goes out to watch a rock gig where he flirts with [=DiDi=] and Yuki and admires Zii on stage, and then gets home to find Amber on his doorstep, asking for a bed for the night.[[spoiler:His bed.]] |
| 221 | ** [[LoveDodecahedron It's complicated. Ye gods, it's complicated.]] |
| 222 | ** And that's without even mentioning his ''male'' admirers. |
| 223 | * In ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' because Colette is the daughter of the Master of Paris and prime fodder for a marriage for power, she has quite an unwanted following. |
| 224 | * Happens to Song Jae Gu in ''Webcomic/GirlsOfTheWild''. |
| 225 | * ''Webcomic/KarinDou4koma'' starts with Shizuki already in love with Tamaryu. Ran falls in love with Tamaryu no longer after her introduction and agrees to form a threesome with Shizuki, ignoring Tamaryu's desperate protests. And then Tamaryu accidentally seduces Catherine (dog youkai) into becoming--as Catherine herself puts it--Tamaryu's bitch. ''No one'' is happy with ''that'' development. |
| 226 | * In ''Webcomic/DangerouslyChloe'', Teddy accumulates several attractive young women, both nonhuman and human. |
| 227 | * Cadugan from ''Webcomic/YetAnotherFantasyGamerComic'' is a young half-elf who attracts the interest of a slightly deranged dryad, a foxmaiden who shapeshifts into a beautiful elven girl to gain his attention, an AxCrazy [[AbhorrentAdmirer half-orc girl]] and an elf bard girl who entices him with a magic song. None of them seem to get that Cadugan is simply [[IncompatibleOrientation not interested in women]]. Then there was a male barbarian warrior who [[UnsettlingGenderReveal mistook Cadugan for a pretty girl]], but he was an unwanted admirer, too, as at this time Cadugan was in a relationship. |
| 228 | * In ''Webcomic/CupidsChocolateing'', OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Haoyi Jiang accidentally serves magically enchanted chocolate cake to a club room full of girls, which causes them all to see him as their lover and try to win his heart. |
| 229 | [[/folder]] |
| 230 | |
| 231 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 232 | * ''WebAnimation/{{Anon|Machinima}}'': Chelsea's supposed to be a textbook nerd, yet somehow has a whole hoard of guys chasing her around. Tucker has it even worse, given that not only does he have a new girl chasing after him almost every season, but one of them even went as far as to stalk and kidnap him and his family... twice. |
| 233 | * ''Literature/AHerosWar'': |
| 234 | ** Morey is assigned an all-female party of skilled and attractive mages, with the intention that if he falls for any (or all) of them, he'll be more closely tied to Inath and thus his loyalty will be better secured. He recognises that that's what's happening and just finds it exasperating, but that doesn't make him immune to a pretty girl, who genuinely admires him, wanting to spend time with him and hear about his problems. |
| 235 | ** Chaka herself has a lot of people after her. More than a few are female. |
| 236 | * ''Literature/TheImpossibleMan'' subverts this trope. Michael Garcia either hires a woman or his mother hires one and he accepts their application to work for his store. |
| 237 | * In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eq8xbX87UY this]] Pokémon the Abridged Series, Gary got his harem by giving up his scholarship to Harvard so they could go receive an education, and they wouldn't stop following him. |
| 238 | * Happens in ''{{Literature/Sapphire}}''. Admittedly, it's not actually ''Alec's'' harem, but he still refuses to fall for their advances. |
| 239 | * This is the perhaps {{Kayfabe}} schtick of ''Vedal'' as a VirtualYoutuber, starting out as merely the manager/programmer of ''WebVideo/NeuroSama'' and getting dragged into the antics of various female vtubers in the process. |
| 240 | * Thunderbird of the Literature/WhateleyUniverse has a harem of five girls (at a minimum), and he's been utterly oblivious that four of them have been pursuing him (in their own quirky ways) for almost a year. Since he's a SupermanSubstitute down to the 'boy scout' behavior and astonishing good looks, it's easy to see why girls want him. Things have come to a head now that Chaka has claimed him as her boyfriend. |
| 241 | [[/folder]] |
| 242 | |
| 243 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 244 | * ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'': A couple of episodes demonstrate that Finn is very popular with the princesses of Ooo [[RescueRomance he's always rescuing]], sometimes to his detriment. For example, in "To Cut a Woman's Hair" Finn is extorted into trying to get a lock of beautiful hair for a balding witch, but all the princesses he tries to get hair from think he's looking for TheLadysFavor and get all flirty. |
| 245 | * ''WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse'' attempts one for Ben due to the writers deciding to drop the Ben and Julie relationship which many fans saw as a RomanticPlotTumor in ''WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce'' and ''WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien''. Her one appearance in ''WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse'' not only broke the relationship up (though this was mostly Ben's fault ironically), but gave Julie a new boyfriend. To compensate, there's now a RunningGag where female guest stars (particularly, [[http://flavorsavior.deviantart.com/art/Ben-10-The-Harem-Anime-365480313 those of other alien races]]) fall in love with Ben; even winding up in an AccidentalMarriage with an alien princess who could kick a Sherman tank into the next county. |
| 246 | * ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'': |
| 247 | ** Edd has unintentionally gained the affections of pretty much every girl in the series; StalkerWithACrush Marie Kanker, a PrecociousCrush from Sarah, DudeMagnet Nazz, and even Marie's sisters from time to time (May specifically in the ValentinesDayEpisode special). It helps that he's one of the nicer characters in the series, as well as cute in a dorky way. Despite this, he almost never pursues any of them, being [[ShrinkingViolet often too shy]] [[CannotTalkToWomen to talk to girls]]. |
| 248 | ** Gender-reversed with Nazz in "Boys Will Be Eds". The entire episode has Ed, Edd, Eddy, Kevin, and Jonny fighting over her, who eventually becomes unable to cope with the pressure[[note]]Ed has her face painted on his tum, Double D offers her beauty care products, Eddy offers her a bike--which actually belongs to Kevin, who has her name shaved on one of Rolf's sheep (only for her to think she shares names with the animal).[[/note]]. At the end she runs away screaming. |
| 249 | * ''WesternAnimation/CampLazlo'': Samson briefly gains one of these from the Squirrel Scouts after they believe he is the hamster heartthrob featured on the cover of a magazine. |
| 250 | %% * In ''WesternAnimation/BeverlyHillsTeens'', every girl is this to Troy, since he already HAS a girlfriend (Larke). |
| 251 | * In the ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'' episode "[[Recap/RickAndMortyS1E6RickPotionNumber9 Rick Potion #9]]", [[Characters/RickAndMortyMortySmith Morty Smith's]] attempt to use a LovePotion on Jessica backfires, resulting in everyone on the planet that isn't biologically related to him falling in love with him. It gets worse when mantis DNA is added to the mix - the world's population mutates into monstrous mantis-people who want to kill Morty after they mate with him. [[spoiler:[[DownerEnding They're unable to fix it or reverse any of the damage; only causing the entire population to further mutate into disfigured, humanoid monsters that Rick dubs "Cronenbergs."]] The duo have to leap into another timeline in which they ''did'' fix the problem but got killed immediately afterward, enabling them to replace themselves (they even take the time to bury their deceased counterparts) in this alternate universe. They do revisit the one they came from occasionally, but everything has gone to complete hell in a handbasket by the time they come back.]] |
| 252 | * Beast Boy, of all people, gets one in ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansTroubleInTokyo''. At first he's happy about it, but changes his mind when it becomes apparent they're all {{Clingy Jealous Girl}}s. |
| 253 | * [[Characters/MiraculousLadybugAdrienAgreste Adrien Agreste]] has one in ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug,'' by virtue of being a popular teen model. It's not really an exaggeration to say every girl in Paris (and possibly [[EvenTheGuysWantHim some of the boys]]) is in love with him, but as for named, recurring characters, we've got: protagonist Marinette (and of course, her alter ego Ladybug), [[AlphaBitch Chloe Bourgeois]], [[CompulsiveLiar Lila Rossi]], Kagami, and probably [[HoYay Wayem]]. When Chloe shows a group of girls an autographed poster claiming Adrien loves her and only her, some of them break down in ''tears.'' |
| 254 | [[/folder]] |
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