Harem MC - Hating or liking them

[shichinanatsu]

@A-kun: i must admit, i have not encountered that particular phrase before.. are you talking about the likes of SYD's aria? i would've done a search, but my dumbphone isn't capable of kana/kanji input, only display..

[ainsoph9]

Sorry. I accidentally put in the wrong kanji. I meant, "王女様."

I am referring to the oujo-sama types, which are the rich, spoiled girls with the annoying laughs, who always try to lord their wealth and position over others.

[Mystes]

Sorry. I accidentally put in the wrong kanji. I meant, "王女様."

I am referring to the oujo-sama types, which are the rich, spoiled girls with the annoying laughs, who always try to lord their wealth and position over others.

If she's cute, then it's ok.

Kay, seriously, I think that they're great when they have a second personality. If not, then...

[ainsoph9]

Many, if not most, of them just lack any dimensions whatsoever though. Even when the series is about them, a good chunk are hard to relate to at the very least.

[shichinanatsu]

.. now that you guys mentioned it, who are prime examples of 王女様? that is, those who aren't already ___dere. the best i could think of are:
Seto no Hanayome's Lunar
Accel World's Kuroyukihime
IS' Cecilia
OreKano's Masuzu..

btw, are we referring to 王女様 in the context of rich and aloof a la Marie Antoinette, or more of a propensity to lure servants in? (something like S queens) maybe even both, though that would confuse things even more..

[ainsoph9]

I am referring to them as the "rich and aloof" type of character, although the "aloof" part I question because a good chunk of them are not exactly "aloof."

[shichinanatsu]

hmm, i can't seem to get a good grasp on the concept. maybe its about the romantic ideal that love ranks higher than money and status? normally its a middle-class MC and an elite 王女様. from the start the idea that the middle class is the happiest between the 3, with both the poor and the rich having their share of misery. you can also factor in the practically walled existence of this type of heroine, say home-schooled or all-girls academy (until story begins), chauffeured in a limo, likely to have an equally aloof (more like jerk) fiance. all this in contrast to MC with quite the decent quantity and quality of friends, living the normal life.

MC's interaction with the 王女様 depicts yet another kind of siege warfare, however, unlike the "Iron Maiden", this one's an "Ivory Tower". take the heroine out into the world, show her the kind of luxury and grandeur riches can borrow from and yet not obtain..

i don't know, i can't picture it so well. maybe its just a question of this stereotype not holding particular appeal to me.. (though i did enjoy Princess Lover!, if sedately)

[ainsoph9]

I can see that you are having some difficulty with this one. I do not blame you because the concept does not really work all that well realistically speaking. It is not like it does not happen or cannot happen; it is just awkward to get it to work by brute force per se.

I do not know about the middle class being the happiest of the three (or more) classes. It occurs to me that many are happy living in their Platonic caves and would rather stay in them, even if they were dragged out of them. I would think that this would hold especially true when dealing with someone who has led an especially sheltered existence to the point of not knowing up or down, if their maids and/or butlers did not tell them. For them, this kind of thing perfectly normal. It is interesting to note that anime series generally portray these types of characters as having some sort of grudge against high society, boredom included. I think that this is practically a prerequisite for this kind of character to interact with the others, including the MC, while risking losing their inheritance and/or status and throwing out their breeding and learning.

[Misogi]

I'll try to revive this thread.

The Harem MC meets a lot of stereotyped girls. What are your favourite female (or male) stereotypes, and what are the bland ones which got old, lame and annoying ?

[shichinanatsu]

bland stereotypes which got old, lame, annoying? how about your cookie-cutter harem mc??

just kidding.. anyway, i'm not too picky of char stereotypes as long as they're well-written. also, i demand variety so that auto-disqualifies niche titles like say, ImoPara

slightly OT but, i've yet to find any Jesus Yamato-type harem MCs since perhaps EVA's Shinji, are there any other worthwhile names/titles out there?

[Misogi]

bland stereotypes which got old, lame, annoying? how about your cookie-cutter harem mc??

just kidding.. anyway, i'm not too picky of char stereotypes as long as they're well-written. also, i demand variety so that auto-disqualifies niche titles like say, ImoPara

slightly OT but, i've yet to find any Jesus Yamato-type harem MCs since perhaps EVA's Shinji, are there any other worthwhile names/titles out there?

Agreed, execution is important, it can make a stereotype likeable or it can make an interesting idea underdevelopped. Variety is also important.

No idea for your question, though.

[ainsoph9]

Well, I will say that Godou from Campione actually has a backbone, although it is still a little on the weak side. He is actually more like your average guy that I could imagine going to high school or college with in a sense. (OT, but why the heck did they skip so much of the LN?! I felt so lost.) Still, it would be nice to see more MC's that have backbones and act like they know what they are doing when it comes to a relationship with the opposite gender.

[Misogi]

Active leads are often better than passive leads. With some exceptions.

[Assassin]

王女様？ Wasn't it supposed to be お嬢様 or something, or are we using that because it has a deeper meaning and doesn't sound like how your average butler/servant calls their ladies?

If anything, I like a sharp MC, and plays dumb because of reasons. As far as I can stomach harem because I think the genre spells funny and fun in general in my head, seeing the MC dense like interpreting an intimate gesture as nothing but just a "between friends" act is getting on my nerves quite often, and everytime they get punched to the ceiling for not noticing anything, I had to say "serves you right" while facepalming.

Sharp as in, "Because I've been in love with you the entire time." MC:"... I knew it." Might be a tension-killer, but I say why not.

Also, special mention goes to the likes of Arata (Trinity Seven) and... what-is-his-name-again MC of Tsuki Tsuki!. I like these two a lot.

However, I'm quite adverse to MCs who are too vocal about their... passion for women. Issei ticks me off a bit, but apart from that he's okay. Basically, MC: "...BOOBIES~!!"

[Mystes]

However, I'm quite adverse to MCs who are too vocal about their... passion for women. Issei ticks me off a bit, but apart from that he's okay. Basically, MC: "...BOOBIES~!!"

DxD and BokuH are examples for this, I s'pose?