Ask John: Why Do Anime Include Love Triangles?

Question:
I just got done watching Vexille last night and noticed how at the end of the movie they threw in a love triangle between the cyborg detective, and two human soldiers, and it reminded me of Inuyasha, which reminded me of harem anime in general like Shuffle! It seems as though that in every anime where there is a love story or a love subplot, there is usually some sort of multiple women vying for one man. So why are there so many love triangles in anime? Is it just to spice things up, or an anime creator’s fantasy, or is there some sort of cultural reference that I am unaware of?

Answer:
There are a number of reasons behind the prevalence of romantic themes in anime, and particularly the idea of love triangles or harem themes. Romance typically surfaces in fiction for a few reasons. Films and TV series are commercial entertainment targeted at viewers. Including themes and material that viewers expect, are used to, and relate to creates a more positive viewer reception and can expand the potential viewing audience. This is fundamentally the concept of “give ‘um what they want.” Furthermore, especially in action and adventure stories, the evolution of attraction feels natural and believable. When placed in strenuous or dangerous situations, or even simply by being together often, people naturally develop relationships, attachments, and feelings of gratitude and trust that can progress into attraction. Fiction stories recognize this tendency and employ it – sometimes with a heavy hand, admittedly. But in many cases action and adventure stories may feel somewhat hollow or unfulfilled if the involved characters don’t develop some sort of bond. This isn’t a uniquely Japanese literary convention. Practically every movie you can think of probably includes the development or progression of some sort of intimate personal relationship.

The trend of depicting two or more women vying for a single man, or alternately multiple men attracted to a single woman, likewise isn’t limited to anime, but does seem to appear more frequently in anime than in other examples of international cinema probably because of the unique audience that anime is targeted at. Japan certainly isn’t alien to intimate personal relationships, but contemporary Japanese society does have a noted shortage of romantic relationships and a culture which doesn’t aggressively foster the development of romantic relationships between young people. As a result, anime exists to provide a virtual, vicarious experience for young Japanese citizens. Particularly anime like Vexille that are most likely to attract cult viewers and anime fans, fulfill the fantasies of their viewers. To put it bluntly, the viewers that watch anime like Vexille probably aren’t the type who are especially socially outgoing and likely to have a lot of comfortable relationships with peers of the opposite sex. The male fantasy of having two possible romantic partners to choose from is an inspiring and gratifying fantasy that enhances the affective impact of the film’s adventure and excitement. Additional relationships also enhance the narrative complexity of the story, creating a more engaging viewing experience.

I don’t want to imply that all Japanese otaku are lonely introverts who need anime to substitute for real interpersonal relationships. Of course that’s a wild over exaggeration. I also don’t want to place undue gravity on the significance of romantic triangles depicted in anime. Such relationships are included to serve the audience as much as the narrative, but they’re composed as entertainment and temporary distraction, not as a substitute for the value of real life personal relationships. The purpose of commercial anime is to earn profit by providing entertainment. So naturally anime frequently include content most likely to attract and satisfy viewers, which includes stylized, exaggerated fantasies like being the center of affectionate attention.