Death by Harem

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My entry for the RIUVA contest.

I've always been fascinated as to how the etymology of the Arabic root of "harem" has meanings of the forbidden and the sacred; in contrast, when "harem" is used in English, it often connotes sexual licentiousness and epicurean excess.

It would also be interesting to track when the word was first applied to anime series with a male lead being surrounded by girls who are all hawt for him. This genre is quite a venerable one (e.g. Ranma 1/2) but I can't seem to recall the term being widely applied to series prior to Love Hina. The use of the term also creates its own sub-vocabulary such as "male harem lead" who is usually a loser who can't decide on choosing one girl among the many - thus raising accusations of how harem anime series are essentially vehicles for otaku wish fulfillment.

Harem anime series certainly enjoy a certain degree of popularity because the sheer variety of heroine types will appeal to fans across a wide demographic. Besides being able to "pick your favourite", interest is maintained through rival camps forming and then slugging it out against each other in forums, blogs and other electronic community media. Such extended interaction is even more plausible when the series has an ambiguous ending where there is no clear "winner" - though why would the girl be a winner if the male harem lead is a loser? It's like being told that you've just won the lottery and the prize is life imprisonment and hard labour. Besides, who's to say that how these harems will turn out in the medium to long term?