A lot of people were calling Nisekoi both the first resurgence of harem anime and the end of harem anime as well.
It has definitely take a back seat compared to the 90’s era where things were a lot more loose and slapstick.
Would LoveHina survive in today’s era? I doubt it. Around the time the first Negima anime came out is when roughly
the cultural shift sort of said, we’ve had enough.
I’ve always identified as a DualFan first and a Tenchi fan a few spots removed. Part of that was the over the topness of Tenchi
and it taking things too far. Dual while yes would qualify as a harem anime, was a lot more subdued. Like LoveHina there was really only 1 or 2 characters acting as a love interest while everyone else was a distraction or comic relief.
Likewise I think that formula worked for Universe. The only serious competitors were Ayeka and Ryoko from the get go. Sure we had time and space adventures where each of the girls had their fantasy, but it’s just not on the same level. Move again to TMiL2, same thing. Kiyone and Mihoshi, and by extension Sasami are all backup.
Compare that to the direction the OVA has gone… Tenchi screws everything with 2 or more legs, while being a oblivious shut in with no soul… and yeah you do basically have a boring ass H-game. The only thing moving anything along is Juraian politics… which if my rip of the last few lines is right… Jurai decreed that Tenchi should have a child.
My advice though is that we knew the OVA was in a downward spiral since years back with GXP and OVA 3, this is nothing new. You don’t jump out of a plane without a parachute or some conveyance and expect to land perfectly A-OK. Likewise no surprise here. There’s still plenty of novels, other materials to look at. This isn’t new, and the Tenchi community survived 3/4ths of the english speaking fandom washing their hands of it – last time this happened.
Kajishima’s going to do what Kajishima is going to do, we have no say in it. Just wait for someone else to pickup the license or AIC to finally die. Either way, times have changed, don’t expect anything to look like it did in the 90’s. You’ll be happier just accepting everything as spin offs.
