26 replies to this topic

[swordquill]

All right, I know that the point of a harem manga is to keep on going and going and going . . .

But what if it had to be all wrapped up, and Rito can't wind up with all the girls at the end of the series? (He claims to believe in monogamy.) How do you pair everybody up so that it ends happily? Bearing in mind that there are more girls than boys, and that some will be left out.

Here's my partial solution, to be thought of as taking place once the principals all graduate high school, although I can be argued out of it and it doesn't cover everything.

First: Lala + Zastin. Zastin is the only character who has selflessly shown consistent dedication to Lala's well-being. He's also the only one who is really qualified to succeed Gid Deviluke as ruler of the Galaxy.

Second: Risa + Motemitsu. True, we haven't seen him in Darkness at all, but like Risa his primary purpose is ecchi comic relief, and like her he has a tendency to go over the top. Working against him is the fact that he's a wannabe over-the-top womanizer and Risa regards players as scum. But maybe he acts that way out of insecurity. Risa's intended seduction of Rito indicates that she's the same way . . . she pretended it was a game, but at the end, it was strongly suggested that she's very lonely. If they found each other, maybe they can be happy.

Third: Haruna + Kotegawa Yuu. Since the original premise of the first manga was the conflict Rito endures by liking both Lala and Haruna, it seems unfair that he she should triumph over Lala. Yuu already has a crush on Haruna's sister, Sairenji Akiho, who is just playing around with him. Although Yui thinks he's a ladies' man, he has shown his mettle as a decent guy when he rescued Rito. He's only three years older than Haruna.

Fourth: Yami and Black. (In Black Cat, Eve (Yami) had a rather tsundere relationship with Train Heartnet (Black).) They are both reformed assassins and can thus understand each other.

Fifth: Momo + Ren (now that Ren and Run are separate entities). Ren has been in love with Lala since they were kids, so it's only natural that he should turn his affections to the next sexiest sister. Also, it puts Momo conveniently out of play.

Last: Rito + Yui. Like Rito, Yui's main concerns are for others, although she expresses it in a much harsher manner---but her motives are essentially good. She wants things to be orderly and calm. It has also been shown that her tough exterior masks a deeply sentimental and loving nature---consider "The Midnight Date", the book she gives to Rito, which is a romance whose main character is a cat. Her fantasies are decidedly domestic, and it's obvious that she would be a faithful wife. Physically, she's almost exactly halfway between Lala and Haruna.

I may comment later on other characters, but that's it for now.

[Serafita]

While most harem stories tend to go to final pairings near or at the end, To Love-ru is unique in that it is attempting to finish with a HAREM END.

When I see your 'convenient pairings'... it kinda feels like I'm reading a bad fanfic, haha.

[swordquill]

I'll bet it doesn't end with the harem being realized. That would leave too many problems left unsolved, not least of which is that Momo's real motivation in promoting the harem is self interest and not really resolving the status quo. My guess is that Darkness will continue as long as it can and develop in unexpected ways and include completely new arcs, especially since the original To Love-Ru was shut down prematurely. I don't expect that any of my proposed "convenient pairings" will actually happen, especially not Rito/Yui---what made me think of that one is that alone among the girls, Yui's fantasy is not exclusively erotic but also domestic. The pairings were not intended as anything like fan fic, though, being simply musings. I was kind of hoping that other fans would put forward their own ideas, but I guess not.

[oliverwashere]

I'll bet it ends with a harem while setting up another more action oriented sequel. It's probably just wishful thinking on my part for hoping that King Deviluke and Zastin's old comrades will play a big part in the plot. Momo's harem plan does seem plausible though. Especially with Darkness acting as though Lala is a given win.

[Graeystone]

Haruna getting a 'happy ending'? Depends on how forgiving Yabuki is toward his ex-wife at that point-
http://aoindonesia.net/showthread.php?t=6621
Surprised Yabuki didn't write her completely out of Darkness after continuing TLR with Darkness and the dust from the divorce settled.

[Soran Lioncore]

I doubt Haruna will get bad ending despite the thing with Yabuki's ex-wife.
Haruna is Rito's first love and rito still love her (in the same time Rito admit he also loves Lala).
giving her a bad ending will be weird unless the author can successfully get rid her by some kind of plot like:
-Rito choose to only have one wife and married one of the girl ( maybe Lala or Yui)

if Rito choose to follow the harem plan, Haruna will be likely to be part of the harem, unless she doesn't want to share Rito and decide to leave him
( or other kind of possibility that will eliminate her from the harem),
Haruna's bad ending has a very faint chance to occur. Not impossible, but the possibility is really small.
After all, the author is professional and he will do his work professionally.

***** I definitely support Rito x Yui********************

[Ncf]

I support the harem ending everyone happy

[wii800]

like NCF said the harem ending is the only route this will take

Edited by wii800, 19 October 2012 - 06:26 PM.

[svines85]

oh yeah, total harem ending.......whatever Rito thinks about it he's really got no choice in the matter does he?

[TaruBoss]

i think this will never really end.. i mean, some day the author (or the readers) wil become tired of the serie and throw out a finale like the previous one.

[MasterFnarg]

It will end like season 1. But with more girls in the misunderstanding.

[ultimumknight]

Im pretty sure it will end up in polygamy(harem) since it is possible in Rito's case and the whole reason for this manga is to make Rito's harem.

[zlood]

Seeing that I never got the chance to see a personally-satisfying harem ending manga, I'd say "Go for the Harem!!".

[Noname Otakugami]

Sci-fi media tends to forget about pointless customs and use logic and reason.
The best thing one can do is always the one that does the most good and brings the most hapiness to the most people, while doing less harms and bringing less sadness to the least people.
That's only logical.

To-Love-Ru may be a Love Comedy, but it also has recurrent sci-fi and action themes.

There's already a case of a Sci-Fi harem love comedy with a harem ending: DearS.
I've also seen other cases.

So it's completely possible to have a Harem Ending. And I think the author is aiming for it, since step by step everything is moving towards that (like Ren and Run splitting), and none of the girls would want to make the others sad, and at least some of them would rather share than leave, and Rito himself would rather not make any of them sad, although he still has his reservations and Haruna as his main love interest.

Unfortunately, Harem Endings are also often Open Endings, without some "X years later" chapter explaining what happened to everyone, or just with hints by showing the daily life of a supporting role character several years later, so readers can only guess.
If the author tries that kind of finale, it may be hard for them to come up with an ending, and end up choosing a girl, which would be a shame after all of Nana's hard work.

I'm rooting for Nana's plan. And I hope they can come up with a way to make everyone happy. We can rarely do that in real life, and so that's what fiction is for.

Edited by Noname Otakugami, 03 December 2012 - 03:20 AM.

[Nihonomaruh]

If the author tries that kind of finale, it may be hard for them to come up with an ending, and end up choosing a girl, which would be a shame after all of Nana's hard work.

I'm rooting for Nana's plan. And I hope they can come up with a way to make everyone happy. We can rarely do that in real life, and so that's what fiction is for.

Ok wait... Nana's plan? hmmm... i think Nana's plan is to get her boobs bigger lols... it should be "Momo's Plan" lols... i think u still dont know the characters xD... oh well we are both human beings so we are bound to make a mistake... xD

[tvesrb]

well if this follows that unwritten rule of manga romance that states: the new heroin shall always beat out the long standing crush
then I'd say Lala. if not, who knows?? unlike most harems, just about all the candidates stand a good chance. personally, I'm rooting for a Harem ending. it'd be a shame to dump the rest when a dozen or so likable girls have all become so close to Rito.

Edited by tvesrb, 03 February 2013 - 09:25 AM.

[swordquill]

After seeing Magical Kyouko now fall in love with Rito, I concede that the harem ending is a lot more likely . . . there really isn't anybody to pair her off with except Ren, and he's in love with Lala.

[ello]

I dont think that Rito would end up with 1 person. That would mean that he would have have to turn all the others down, what would make this manga "too serious and too much of a romance manga". So far this was more like a harem romantic comedy (genre doesnt exist though ).
Personally I am rooting for a harem ending as well, not just an "open" harem end, where everyone is true to there feelings but noone gets Rito but a real harem end where everyone shares Rito and where he himself accepts the harem.
So yeah, good luck Momo, make it real

[Nihonomaruh]

Lets just say "Harem Ending where Rito finally became the King of the Universe where he can marry all of the girls who are part in the Harem list." then Alls Well Ends Well... xD

[wii800]

like most harems this will also have a harem end which im cool with i just want too see more lala she dsnt appear enough