So, I had a pretty apathetic day recently where I didn’t feel like doing anything (productive). I don’t have these often, so I usually just go with it and take the day off if I can. I ended up flipping through Hulu to look at all the shows on our watchlist and came across Brothers Conflict. Since I wanted something light and fluffy, I thought a reverse harem was a pretty good choice. However, after trying (and failing) to enjoy other reverse harems, (Amnesia, Diabolik Lovers, and Hiiro no Kakera are the ones I can remember) I probably should have gone with something else. I ended up watching Brothers Conflict not for the entertainment/enjoyment value, but rather just to find out “how bad is this going to get?” I suppose that is a *kind* of entertainment, but likely not the sort the creators intended.
This got me thinking: what is with my hatred of reverse harems? Most reverse harems are also shoujo, intended for the young (18 and under) female demographic. While I’m 20 years past this market, I can still remember what it was like to be a shy, awkward teenager awash in too many hormones. I should be able to relate on some level, right?
*sigh* Apparently, no.
I’ve decided that my biggest problem with reverse harems is the characters such a plot breeds. Maintaining multiple guys going after the same girl for an extended period of time has certain requirements. Let me break it down for you.
Reverse Harem Heroine Traits:
- She must be pure and beautiful. Yes, she must be virginal and innocent, overwhelmed by all this male attention. Oh, and she can’t know she’s beautiful because that would make her vain.
- She must be indecisive. She can’t decide who she wants to be with or what type of relationship she wants with them, or the reverse harem would fall apart.
- She must be the silent victim. She can’t actively encourage the boys to pursue her because that would taint her pure image. The guys must do the pursuing, sometimes roughly, sometimes inappropriately, and she cannot protest this treatment because then the pursuit (and the show) would end.
- She must want to “love everyone.” Her main goal is to maintain the current group dynamic and status quo (and, therefore, the show).
Reverse Harem Hero Traits:
- He must be hot, but not like his rivals. Yes, all RH heroes must have their own brand of hotness. In order for convenience (because how much screen time are they going to get when they are competing against a dozen other dudes, right?), their personalities are usually structured around one physical trait (hair color, glasses, height, peculiar way of dress) and then sometimes one personality trait (tsundere, shy, etc.).
- He must be aggressive. Yep, that’s right boys. If your defining personality trait is shyness, you don’t stand a real chance and all the girls know it. If you aren’t willing to push the heroine up against walls, kiss her into silence when she might protest, and punch out your rivals when they pay attention to her, it’s just not gonna work out.
- He must be selfish and ignore the heroine’s wish to maintain the status quo. His main goal is to finally win the “prize” and beat his rivals. He will never be satisfied as “just friends” (or step-siblings, as in the case of Brothers Conflict). He will continue the pursuit (and, therefore, the show) even after she’s finally managed to say no.
Looking at it like this, do these people sound like individuals you’d want to spend your time with? I can’t say I find them particularly appealing.
Now I’m going to get spoilery, so if you want to watch Brothers Conflict without spoilers you should skip out now.
Brothers Conflict follows all of the above guidelines. Chii, our heroine, moves into a house full of 13 (apparently hard up and very horny) stepbrothers after her father marries their mother. Chii somehow becomes the center of the world for these brothers, and conflicts over her break out everywhere (thus, the title). Some of the pursuers, including a set of triplets and a famous idol, are fairly aggressive. Their actions include constantly getting in Chii’s personal space and making her obviously uncomfortable, pushing her up against walls/trees and kissing her, pushing her down onto the couch and kissing her, pulling her into a dark classroom and biting her. The idol even snuck into her room and started to undress her while she was sleeping before he had a change of heart. Though she blushed, stammered, and looked extremely uncomfortable, Chii never vocally protested these actions. She never told anyone about them, not even her loving father (who was noticeably absent throughout the entirety of the show) or one of the older brothers who at least kept their pervy thoughts about her to themselves. She just treated their behavior as if it were normal. When she finally, AFTER 12 EPISODES, worked up the nerve to tell the more aggressive ones that she wanted to be a normal family and that she loved them like brothers, they refused to accept this. Seriously, flat out refused to respect her wishes. Why? Because if they’d done the right thing and accepted this, all hope for season 2 would be gone.
Ergh.
I must note that there is one exception to my reverse harem antipathy. I’ve seen Ouran High School Host Club called a reverse harem, though it breaks the above rules at every turn. The focus of the show isn’t the push/pull of Get the Girl versus Maintain the Group. Ouran’s plot focuses on growing up, friendships, how those ties can change us and sometimes even make us better people, liberally spiced up with some freaking hilarious stuff like poking fun at manga/anime tropes and other random awesomeness.
So, how do you feel about reverse harems? Have you watched/read any good ones that I should check out?
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