So another new idea came to mind, heavily based on Hentai tropes. Chief among them is the MC having the option of gaining a harem. But I'm wanting to make it...somewhat more realistic? Assuming I have about 20 or so female characters for readers to go through as far as potential sexual/romantic partners, then I want there to be more development into getting as many of them as the reader wants into a harem besides “you bedded them, now they all agree you need to sleep with more women!” I'm trying to work out the variables, which I still have some trouble readily understanding since my last post relating to them near the beginning of the year. But as far as a basic concept goes, readers are basically supposed to woo one lady at a time. I'm not outright banning their ability to have relationships with other women, but getting caught by the one the MC is “officially” dating should naturally have serious consequences. The main intent, however, is that regardless of how well or poorly the MC's relationship starts with a romance option, it is not just possible to have a relationship with them, but also get them to accept the MC having additional romantic/sexual relationships with others. Perhaps as a result though, it is a bit more difficult to develop such a relationship with every other woman besides the first (to some degree, though some are probably more forgiving as they are bisexual or interested in threesomes, etc). Any tips or suggestions would be appreciated as I'm still not at a point where I'm anything remotely resembling competent with the variable system.
I think you might be overdoing it with 20 girls personally but that is because I would never take on writing so many characters myself as many would be just one shot sex scenes and not a true harem. The more girls you add the less harem like it will become. I would maybe cut it down to twelve or seven. one for each day of the week, if not fewer. That is not to say there couldn't be some on the side action but the girls wouldn't be part of the harem. One of the main rules of a harem anime is the girls all meet or know each other and form some kind of bond around the hero and to some degree each other. It all depends on how much time you plan on taking to develop each girl, her relationship with the hero, and her relationship to the first girl if there is one.
20 was basically just a number I threw out as an example. Assuming I do have around that number of girls (or more, heaven forbid) the overall idea is for readers to have some variety with the harem: they don't have to choose ALL of them.
It might be good to break down what things you want to track. E.g. - Relationship with the MC - Acceptance of non-exclusivity - Caught the MC with another woman - Progress of sexual escalation - ...
What other motivations, besides romance, might motivate a potential harem member to gravitate towards the main character? Does the snooty rich girl have a business deal to close that requires his cooperation? Does one share an outside interest that gives them mutual respect for each other? Give them a solid non romantic reason to spend time with your protagonist and chemistry and romance will develop organically.
I would say anything more than six or seven and you start to dilute the formula. Honestly I think that after that point it gets harder for the reader to differentiate between them.
The tv show big love popped into my head. He has three wives and tries to take on a forth that doesn't end well. He has a schedule so he spends certain days at a certain household which doesn't always work and actually has to ask for a day off to rest. He is shown to be having problems keeping up sexually and has to take Viagra. It all depends on the story lay out and how close the MC gets to each girl and how close they are to one another I suppose.
I think you'll just need to forgo realism if you're trying to pursue an unrealistic theme. I doubt a harem with a true, loving and equal relationship between all members, especially beyond 5 members, has ever been achieved in the real world. In some stories, the existing lovers do not like the MC getting new lovers, but accept it as his natural trait and tolerate it. They understand that the MC does not intend to be unfaithful and simply just has too big of a heart. Another option would be the power fantasy story where the MC gains a troupe of largely subservient women, usually by saving them from a terrible fate. I personally do not like this formula as it feels very chauvinistic. You could also have the MC be more passive, like in many Japanese harem stories. There, the girls vie for the MC's affection, and sometimes settle that the only way to make everyone happy is to share him between all parties.
It doesn't have to be that. Hierarchies are inevitable in even small groups, whether formal or informal. It's typical for the one man to be in charge overall, but being the protagonist, he probably has better things to do than to settle every little disagreement within the women. Historically, someone else would be in charge in the man's absence, to take care of the day to day business. A eunuch was a common choice, because he wouldn't be able to take (sexual) advantage of the position, but (most of...) your readers will not enjoy being constantly reminded that hey, this guy's balls have been cut off. One of the women in the harem is probably a better choice (historically this was either the (main) wife or mother of the man), and as an added bonus, that's one of the features you can use to distinguish the women from each other. Maybe she's the man's favourite, setting the stage for the women to vie with each other for the man's affections. Maybe she's just the best candidate, being the most ruthless or capable or cunning of the women, and thus not nearly as dependent on the man's whims. Maybe the arrangement between the man and her is purely business, "Fine, I'll be in your harem, but only if I get to use the others for my own pleasure", or something along those lines.
Very good points. Personally I do not enjoy harem stories outside of being a convenient porn plot to have constant orgies. The narrative usually has to bend over backwards to justify why everyone under the sun falls for the MC, and when the harem grows too big, often sidelines characters once their story arc is completed and they just become trophies sitting on a dusty shelf.
