Then it’s all tears and drama. Two series with real — and by real here I mean being born to the exact same set of parents and sharing substantial genetic make-up — incest that I know of have all manner of hysteria in their veins. While I haven’t read or seen Angel Sanctuary and are therefore unable to personally vouch for that one, reading Koi Kaze moved me beyond measure for its realistic and uncomfortable portrayal of that six letter word which also happens to be a popular fetish.

Now, before anyone accuses me of being pro-incest, I find my sister as attractive as I do other men (hint: I am straight) and sympathise greatly with those afflicted by it in real life. Neither will you find me separating my future children from each other as they grow up during their formative years due to how the Westermarck effect and genetic sexual attraction provide scientific explanations as to why it happens.

You could say that incest and to a lesser degree, twincest, are as much a part of harem anime as the moe girls and other stock archetypes are. The pseudo-oniichan has been around for ages; I choose to bring this up due to how M;Y has been handling the subject matter this time around, and its subversion of what is an often used and abused trope means that the episode, in addition to resolving two sub-plots, also shone as a result of its excellence.

Or, black holes and revelations, which is my take on how Myself; Yourself is going to resolve itself. Trust Muse to know better. I read three dissenting opinions on M;Y today, and I can’t help but wonder if it’s an inevitable by-product of blurring the boundaries of the genres, which also means it absolves itself of any blame if that’s the case.

This season holds a record for most renai/visual novel/dating sim adaptations not behaving like a typical adaptation of its make should. There’s the excellent and emotive Clannad. The maligned yet deep ef. The vanilla and pristine kimikiss. M;Y differs in that the game will be released soon, making any comparisons to the source impossible. Unlike the other three, M;Y has an advantage for being devoid of any expectations whatsoever; unfortunately, this works for and against it.

Personally, as things stand right now I don’t see it attaining an outright good/bad consensus. Not like that’s a bad thing given how a lot of the best shows out there lack unanimous acclaim, or how lowest common denominators are usually the only means by which an anime attracts the most praise, but it’s not a good thing either. You could call it schizophrenic, indecisive, or bad planning. I prefer to use what might seem to be a misogynistic analogy.

The basis of harem is pretty simple — one guy, a lot of girls, and plenty of rabu-rabu hijinks in-between. This, unfortunately, is as easy as saying that the basis of shounen is this guy who discovers a drill-shaped key his inner powers one day and goes on to pierce through the heavens save the world. Or saying that the basis of shoujo is throwing one girl into the midst of 10 or so pretty guys and having her come off with her one true love, or that the basis of slice of life is that NOTHING HAPPENS.

what Konata said about tsunderes having twintails was true

There’s been more of that “balanced” talk around this season more than any other this year given how the harem/bishoujo shows have a strong showing, and for that reason alone I decided to dedicate a post to four shows in said genre, namely Myself;Yourself, Blue Drop, Kimikiss Pure Rouge, and ef.

My reasons for watching harem are twofold: Firstly, the networking aspect. I’ll never write off entire genres by virtue of common sense and not wanting to be like the other bloggers whom, despite not being entirely sound in their reasoning, I read to keep me grounded in terms of bias, and not wanting to preach to the converted. It also helps me keep in touch with other excellent bits of writing I wouldn’t be able to understand fully otherwise, like harem overlord CCYoshi or super siscon Stripey.

Secondly, it’s a motivation out of academic vested interest. Like how I won’t really be able to appreciate Nanoha for being a mix of the shounen and mahou shoujo genres if I haven’t had prior experience with both, so does harem and bishoujo help me appreciate Shana for being a mix of shounen and harem. While it’s convenient, I don’t think I have to settle for second-best while trying to go about being acquainted with what the genre has to offer, so here’s an initial assessment of what Autumn’s got to offer.