Because of the popularity of anime and manga, certain aspects of Japan’s popular culture have spread across the globe, and I could travel to countries like Russia or South Africa or Peru and find like-minded fans with whom I could discuss my favorite character designers or doujinshi artists. However, it might surprise you to learn that many of the themes and memes in anime aren’t new at all. Due to the popularity of certain hentai videos in the 1990s more than a few people might think of Tentacle Grape style “naughty tentacles” when they think of modern Japan, but this particular fantasy is much older, being based on an illustration called The Dream of the Fishman’s Wife by Hokusai, pretty much the most famous ukiyoe artist ever, created in 1814. The next time you hear an anime fan complain that every show these days is a “harem” anime, with a lucky male main character surrounded by multiple cute girls fawning over him, you can smile. It turns out that the “harem” tradition goes way back, to the 1000-year-old Tale of Genji, the story of a playboy prince during the Heian Period who has more romantic encounters than Makoto from School Days.
Harem anime series are part of a 1000 year old tradition.
