Beocat

Hmm, I didn't get pictures with that link. Any way you could more explitly state the issue? The way you've worded this has me a bit confused.

I'll be honest. After nearly 30 years of watching anime...I still sometimes have to look these Japanese words up. >_> So, by Shojo you mean young girl, innocent, pure and endearing main heroine that brings out the best in people and may focus on character development type right? Not straight up romance but could have it, but mostly innocent or bright? I'd say...Petite Princess Yucie or Fate/Kaleid. I liked Petite Princess Yucie because it is so pure and because it shows true sacrifice as well. She struggles with her own messed up life, with making friends, and with the aftermath of it all as well. In my opinion, it was expertly written with just the right amount of sass and humor mixed in with drama and tragedy. Well done all over and Yucie remains a beacon in the night. I liked Fate/Kaleid because the two main heroines are so pure and innocent. They wear their emotions on their sleeves and the humor on the side helps to keep the anime from being pulled down into the darkness of the Fate series.

The original was alright and enjoyable...it may not have withstood the test of time. Live action type movies are rarely good in my opinion...that one seemed to cover season one of Rouroni Kenshin. I remember watching the CG Harlock movie. I went in with low expectations so it wasn't too bad. I guess the key is to lower your expectations appropriately then be pleasantly surprised when they pull it off.

So, anyone who has ever watched a Harem anime (or one with Harem elements), this might be familiar to you. This is a personal list of six of the Harem Tropes that personally irritates me to no end…some worse than others. So let’s start! I actually trimmed it down from 10 Tropes just to make it more concise. Anyone agree or disagree with me here? What are your thoughts on the tropes? This is not an all-inclusive list (that would take months as many as there are to fully flesh out) but feel free to list your own top gag-worthy harem tropes you'd like to see discontinued! And which are the worst offenders? For me, Familiar of Zero, the Tenchi Muyo franchise (and related shows), and Lord Marksman and Vanadis are by far the worst offenders overall. Disclaimer: I had planned on canning this post but a few people commented that they actually wanted to read it, so here goes.... By the way, some of you may become offended by some of what I say down there...tough. 6. And the wind rises……I’m not sure that’s what Ghibli was intending with that title but it describes it perfectly….that skirt straight up. The Marilyn Monroe look is very popular in anime. This is exacerbated by the dress code of Japanese schools (which insist on short skirts in most anime). Apparently, seeing a woman wearing her panties is very, very intimate…I mean, you can look at lingerie models in the department store catalogue and get essentially the same thing, so it must be life-altering to see them, right? Common examples include Negima with Negi’s sneezing wind, Your Lie in April’s Kousei meeting Koari scene (as he times it just right to get a photo of her panties…inadvertently of course!) and yes, Your Lie in April is a Harem (Kousei has at least three girls who are in love with him), and so many more… I personally think anyone who wears a short dress or skirt is taking chances there so the normal reaction of “I’m gonna smash his face for looking” reaction you get nearly every single time in anime is kind of uncalled for. This is really an unnecessary trope. I just wish they’d stop using it. I roll my eyes every time it happens and like a psychic I know what will happen directly after... 5. Let’s have a sleep-over! Now what harem anime has not done this? Short of pillow fights, it’s a staple of the genre. Sometimes the MC is living alone (his parents died or moved away….never mind that it’s illegal for a minor in Japan to live alone like that), occasionally he has just a single parent watching over him. Always the girls see an opening to play house! Common examples include Tenchi’s harem of alien girlfriends who live at his remote home with him and his perverted father who acts as a creep the entire time, Kanon where one of the girls moves in randomly and another is his cousin who already lives there…Familiar of Zero in the later seasons (I have so many issues with this one. How did this anime sneak its way into my heart? Must have been Louise and that whip of hers….), Log Horizon….really, I would have more difficulty finding a harem that did not employ this tactic on at least one girl. I seriously am trying to think of one that I could exclude…maybe Your Lie in April? That’s the closest I get to No Sleep Overs. He still suffers from the lack of a proper guardian, so I can't really give him a free pass. 4. Boobs…. Big or small….apples or melons? Maybe just paper and melons? Anyways, every harem (or nearly every one…I would suppose some hentai harems are exclusively triple G sized in the breast department) has at least one big busted girl and one flat chested one. I suppose they are foils…at least character foils for breast development…because no character development will ever take place there. Typically, these girls are at odds with one another. Big boobs constantly pointing out and demeaning flat chest for not having any…flat chest constantly feeling self-conscious and upset for not bouncing or busting out of their clothing. Honestly, some guys don’t even care about boobs! Let’s just get over it and move on. No one wants to watch two women argue and demean one another over the size of their organs. No one compares them. We get the picture because…well anime is made of a bunch of picture frames essentially. We can see it without the argument. Not to mention it generally serves as an excuse for a close up on the breasts...not what I want to see. In my collection, the worst offenders are Dusk Maiden of Amnesia, Tenchi Muyo, and…Familiar of Zero (FoZ is becoming a broken record here…) 3. May I squeeze them apples? The inevitable boob squeeze, copping a feel down below and other forms of groping women. Not just for train rides anymore! Sometimes even the women ask for it and other times…well…creeps be creeps I suppose. This is an unfortunate addition to most anime out there, especially mainstream ones, harem or not (Seven Deadly Sins for example). I have to admit that the Japanese society has a lot of fondling and rapes that occur on their trains/subways that doesn’t seem to occur in the rest of the world. While I do not believe that violent video games cause violent people, I do think that the widespread fondling in anime might contribute to a relative acceptance of such actions by impressionable individuals. It’s in most anime that come out and Japan watches more anime than the rest of the world. If it’s okay for the MC to do it and everyone loves him for it, why not Creeper67 on the last subway car too? I just think that if Japan really wants to stop the poor life choices of some individuals who take the train to work and back, the least they can do is take a personal stance against it in their own artwork. That is my own personal opinion anyways. Now, I know every single one of you can name an anime where the MC reached out and squeezed a boob (usually followed by a blush and a squeal of delight, maybe even drool…which is downright ridiculous.). Some particularly bad ones that come to mind are Lord Marksman and Vanadis and Familiar of Zero. Now, Lord Marksman or Tigre, he’s pretty handsy. One of the Vanadis actually only has one scene in the anime where she teleports to his room at night and he gropes her breast while half-asleep. Yeah…that was all her character meant apparently. That is just one example of many from that anime. Familiar of Zero…when is Saito not copping a feel on the Princess or the Maid or really any female character other than Louise?! He deserved every lashing he got! It didn’t help that they were all trying to get him to do it. Us women just can’t squeeze our own apparently. Now, a sister trope to this trope is the “Oops…..” trope. Oops, I tripped and landed in a compromising position on top of you! Oops, I reached for the door and accidently fondled your breasts instead! Oops! Somehow something went all wrong and you ended up sitting on my face! Yeah…an accident… lots of accidents happen in Harems. If an accident like that happened to me, I certainly wouldn’t be pursuing him as a romantic interest. Let’s leave it at that. I already mentioned the Oops moment from Your Lie in April, then of course, Familiar of Zero had it…and Tenchi… Oops is usually followed by someone being angry and someone being embarrassed (and sometimes it’s both at the same time for the same person). 2. There are only three kinds of harem focal points. The first kind is a womanizing pervert who just wants to squeeze things…boobs, butt cheeks…you name it, he’s probably squeezed it before. You can throw in the accidental perverts in there too…you know, the kind that have done pervy things…by accident of course! Then there is the second type of guy who is just very average. He excels at nothing (or pretty much nothing until the women show up, then he excels at something) and yet girls are obsessed with him, picking him out of a crowd even as interesting even though they know nothing about him. Usually, these types find the girls to be a hindrance or a distraction. Then there’s the third kind of guy. The third guy is the kind that has no real reaction to girls. Usually, he’s the type not to notice that they like him (Kousei from Your Lie in April is a perfect example of this. He’s utterly clueless!). Guess that’s part of the romantic tension. The guy who actually likes one of the girls and actively pursues her at the expense of another’s attention is pretty rare. Then again, would the harem still exist or would it be a rom-com then? Hmmm….I might need to consider that. No other tantalizing men exist in the world of anime, at least, not any that are sought after by so many women at once. Remember, if you want women to chase after you, be one of those guys. Don't be interesting, observant, or chivalrous. 1. And the number one biggest eyesore and vomit-worthy harem trope on my list is…. Become a whore! So, it is very likely if you have seen enough harem anime that you would have come across this particularly distasteful trope. Typically, this trope takes a shy, demure, proper woman (or girl) who has little real interest in the MC and suddenly pastes on the Major Slut personality and discards every single piece of her original personality for this new sex-crazed one. It gives off the vibe of I’m so desperate for a man, I’ll literally do anything and…oftentimes in anime they will go to insane lengths. The biggest and worse offender of them all that comes straight to my mind is the Maid character from Familiar of Zero (I disliked her so much I never bothered to remember her name). Starting out in the first season, she was very proper and respectful, fully clothed, and had reasonable reactions to Saito’s lecherous behavior. Then season two comes around and she drops her entire personality to become a desperate slut, even going to the lengths of climbing in Saito’s bed between him and Louise, usually with barely any clothes on at all. At one point, she essentially serves him wearing nothing but a tiny apron in a blatant attempt to tempt him into ravishing her. She went from being a pretty good character in my book to being downright loathed by me. The whole debacle was demeaning to what she had been…and honestly demeaning to women everywhere. Then again, that show was prone to nearly every harem trope I list, so it isn’t surprising that the Princess experienced a similar devolvement as well. I guess the take away point here is that if a man refuses you and pursues someone else, you should take off your clothes and try again anyways. ~gags~

Welcome to the forums!

So...you were Haruhi from Ouran then? I'm so sorry! Perhaps tonight I shall make that post. I wrote it last night but never posted it. It needs polishing badly lol... I might cut my list from top ten to top five seeing as otherwise my post might go on forever...

Ok...I remember my last trip to Atlanta to see the whale sharks at the aquarium but....I could do a weekend with hotel and food there for less. That is insane! Shop around buddy. I always get a hotel room around 20 minutes away from the con. I live too far from the one I go to commute and I like the place I stay at. I spend maybe 300-400 dollars on the hotel depending on my check in date (not bad for 4 days), probably between 300 and 800 dollars on anime. I go in with a budget and rarely break it. Food wise....probably 200 bucks for my husband and me. The anime budget is where I spend the most. Are you staying at the Ritz?

Is it imagination or is it parroting what I've seen? Well, maybe I'll make a Harem Tropes thread tonight if no one beats me to it LOL I used to complain about the tropes at length though now that I have spent a good few years out of the harem circle for the most part, I think I can talk about it without giving myself a headache. Maybe I'll make a few shots before I write it anyways. Can't hurt to be a little less sour when I write about it lol.... The fingers flow faster and lighter with a little bit of Alkyhol to lubricate the joints haha The pervy boy is definitely one of the tropes. And yes, DxD is definitely a harem. Please do not mistake the Japanese dream for reality. Vulgarity, crudeness, and lecherous behavior rarely won the hearts of maidens fair.... I will say, for all my distaste of Harems, I really do enjoy Reverse Harems. There is far less pervyness in them in general and far less fan service. It's just more character and story based than anything else.

And then you'd be all like "geez...these girls are so annoying" or "why can't we all just get along" or even "you girls are always just in the way!" because you have essentially zero interest in them, even though they are trying to climb into your bed at night. Keep pushing them out and remain pure Part_timer! LOL Japanese teen's dream.

Hey, welcome to the forums

~gasp~ Actually, I'm not surprised you asked. Lots of people don't really know. So, a HAREM is a single male who is surrounded by female romantic interests (whether he is interested in them or not doesn't matter, they usually are interested in him to some degree). You see this in the wild with Walruses and Lions and you see it in Anime frequently (I can only surmise that this is the Japanese male's teenage dream). Oftentimes, when it is not the sole purpose of an anime, you will still frequently see "harem elements" being used. Usually, it requires at least 3 romantic interests vying for affection. Examples: Kanon, Air, Tenchi Muyo, Familiar of Zero, etc So, a REVERSE HAREM is a single female who is surrounded by male romantic interests (whether she is interested in them or not doesn't matter, they are typically interested or have inferred interest in her to some degree). This is rarely seen in the wild (one shark species however does practice this as "rape gangs" on lone females...it is pretty horrific to watch, thanks National Geographic for that) and unfortunately, it is far more uncommon in anime than HAREMS. Examples: Brothers Conflict, Uta no Prince-sama, Fruits Basket, Diabolic Lovers, Yona of the Dawn etc. I actually have a very very long list I could go through, but I think that's a diverse enough list to start anyone out on (though be warned Diabolic Lovers is....a special kind of reverse harem and definitely not for everyone). Now, obviously people love pairings and harems provide people with lots of potential pairings! Many harem and reverse harem anime will also have video games that are essentially dating sims as part of their franchising. Many times the endings are left open so that the audience can imagine who they'd want the pairing to be (this can be frustrating to me personally but eh...)

Haha, the twist. Have you ever watched Snow White with the Red Hair or Hiiro no Kakera? Both are reverse harems (or reverse harem esque) and fairly good. I'm currently watching Ceres Celestial Legend (I don't recommend anyone watch this unless they have earplugs lol - it suffers from a bad dub back in the day) and it is pretty weird in some places. Sup @Roxeg ~waves~ Join in

Vampire Knight....that's a reverse harem. I still need to get around to collecting it. So you started around 2 years ago? That's not bad. When I started...my options for watching were fairly limited. So what did you like about Vampire Knight?

Haha, how about you tell me a little bit more about yourself first and I'll give you a rundown on me. Hmm....I'm in my thirties, been watching anime since I was probably around 8 or 9 years old.... I enjoy a wide variety of anime but my favorite genres are Space Opera, Reverse Harem, Trapped in a Video Game esque (widens it to similar styles), and Magical Girls. I watch so much more, but those are my major followings (and romance and comedy tends to be pretty much in nearly everything already anyways so...). I have been playing video games since I was around 4 or 5 years old. Started with the Atari and just kept going from there. My folks thought I'd grow out of it hahaha.....they thought that about anime too. My favorite game genres are RPGS, Adventure, Horror, and Flight Action. Been playing Horizon Zero Dawn lately....didn't have time before. This game is huge and I'm loving it I also scuba dive, enjoy boating, biking, stargazing (once I get a new job....halfway there now...I'm going to invest in a refracting telescope. Saving my money now lol I cleaned my reflecting telescope recently...still need to collimate it,), listening to the birds (I have my windows open right now and it is so peaceful ~sighs~).... I'm not really into music at all. I enjoy some music, but I could live without it. I am not representative of my generation in that. I have a huge video game collection and anime collection. And I love Diet Dr Pepper

Hey Glitter, I'm up for chatting. What did you want to chat about?

Welcome to the forums D&B.

Welcome to the forums!

Welcome to the forums. I think with that list you might be interested in Is It Wrong To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon? To me, it doesn't matter what got you into anime. You're here now so welcome And congrats on not dying on your way up the mountain. I once did the "hanging ladder", a climb down the side of a canyon, dropped my phone down the side of the cliff twice and almost watched as a coworker nearly fell to her doom (she said, I can use the handholds in the rock, I don't need a rope...I was under the overhang, she was right above me. All I heard was her scream and the rocks sliding down the canyon face and felt the horror of anticipation of her freefalling in front of me. Thankfully, she grabbed the rope and hung there instead lol). Will never do anything like that again. Skydiving, not a problem. Climbing down sheer rock...probably not the best thing for clumsy ol' me.

Welcome to the forums JP and Leo. I hope you enjoy your stay here.

Welcome to the forums Nisa! No such thing as useless anime knowledge around here

Welcome to the forums Dan. That is quite the list; I recognize several mainstream titles so far on it. I think you should check out Psycho-PASS sometime. It might be right up your alley. If you need any suggestions, let us know. It's nice to see that you are doing some research on your own time. I find lots of good anime that way myself. What video games are you into as well? We have quite a following here. I've got most of the consoles (I do exclusively console gaming these days. I don't believe in throwing out money on a shiny computer that won't last) and play a lot of RPGs, Adventures, Horror, and Flight Action games myself.

Arjuna (or Earth Maiden Arjuna) ~ This is an older anime...very interesting...with a Captain Planet vibe (but in a Japanese style). I think it would be a borderline Magical Girl anime. I would classify it as one, but others might not. I'm linking it here since I imagine it to be a fairly less known anime. I tracked down a copy of the complete series at an anime convention. It's a love or hate series for sure. [mal type=anime id=812] Cardcaptor Sakura (original series and movies) ~ I discovered this in my youth and still love it today. I finally broke down and watched the first 12 episodes of Clear Card (such memories it brought flooding back up, I had planned on binging it when it was fully released) so I'm partway through that one. Fate Kaleid Prisma Illya ~ A different twist on the Fate series. I really enjoy it. It is very sweet and kind of interesting....and very funny at times too. I have yet to watch the 2wei (though I have it) and so on, but that is more a lack of time issue than lack of interest. Magic Knight Rayearth ~ I managed to get halfway through this one before time got away from me again. It's pretty good...I plan on eventually returning to it. My-HIME ~ I ALMOST got to the end of this one. I do personally consider it a magical girl series (as they technically have summoning powers) but my copy has a bad disk towards the end and it froze in a very bad spot that just rubbed me all wrong. Never went back to finish it... I think of this one as being borderline magical girl.... My Z-HIME My OTOME ~ This I watched the entire way through, movies included. It is an okay series and it too is borderline Magical Girl...probably less Magical Girl than My-HIME. Where I'd say My-HIME is magical girl...I am not sure I could make a good argument for this one, even though they are related. Pretear ~ This one is unique in that it is a reverse harem...that also is kind of Magical Girl as well. I watched most of this before I was distracted. Plan to go back and finish it eventually. [mal type=anime id=100] Puella Magi Madoka Magica ~ Watched the original series on hulu or Netflix...don't remember. Working on collecting the movies currently. Selector infected WIXOSS and Selector spread WIXOSS ~ I believe this one to be a magical girl series, though some might debate me on that. I greatly enjoyed it, and it is extremely different from other Magical Girl series. [mal type=anime id=22273] Sailor Moon ~ I have watched all of the original series except for the Sailor Stars series...watched Crystal up until Dark Lady showed up. I have some distinct problems with the series that is more difficult to forgive the older I get (for example, Mamoru's guardians refusing to be revived as more than pieces of rocks...supposedly this is because the name of the series is Sailor Moon and them being in existence would put more importance on the Sailor Senshi. I don't know if that's true, but living as a advising rock is stupid and cruel to the Senshi. Make amends in person for crying out loud.). I try my best not to be harsh on the series as it is a good introductory series for people so I take it in small doses these days.

Sailor Moon was a favorite of my sister and the only anime series that she and I have ever watched together. She....thinks very little of anime. Somehow, I have no idea how, she has fallen into the trap of thinking that all anime is violent and bloody and bad for people. Sailor Moon is the only anime she has ever appreciated. Some day I hope to introduce my nieces, her daughters, to Cardcaptor Sakura. I don't want them to fall into that same trap that she did. I love Homura too ^_^ Homura and Madoka. She is my best friend's favorite character too. Part of it is that you see how she completely changed (from a timid, uncertain girl to a determined, independent one) and part I think is her undying loyalty to Madoka. I have not yet watched the Rebellion movie...I'm slowly collecting them as my budget allows and I plan to watch them when I have everything together in one spot. Whoa...I hadn't heard of that one. I just looked it up. I might have to check it out eventually. Truthfully, I can't say that I've watched that many either in comparison to the rest of my collection. I wonder how many magical girl series actually make it outside of Japan.

How else would one describe the constructs of society?

Depends.... if I'm related to them, I disown them and cut them from my life. Easy. The rest of my close family has realized the utility in this in the past 5 years and started to do the same. Good for them. If it is someone at work, I will keep quiet and confide in friends. I used to be good at detaching...not so much these days. I find that my tolerance has waned over the years due to stress. Writing helps. And knowing one day I'll be dancing on their Graves helps too I firmly believe in karma. I just have to wait and all their negativity and horridness will turn 180 degrees and hurt them 10 times worse. So far, I've been able to see it in action every time. It helps to keep that in mind too. Patience....their time will come.