NGL, some have a point. I mean how many harems have you read where the central figure keeps getting a new love intrest every few chapters.
Don't get me wrong, I like a little verity when it comes to sidedishes, but in a semi-serous drama or action manga it just becomes a chore to keep them all straight.
And then there is the constant infighting, cockblocking, blueballing, and general demeaning attitude twords these one dimensional characters that profess their undying love for a character that show next to no emotion other then kind indifference...
So yeah... Some of my favorite manga are are battle harem or erotica, but there are some truely deeply flawed stories out there as well. YMMV, and all that jazz.
O I ain't saying there isn't shit writing in harem... but that goes for any genre if we're being honest here.
I'm purely talking about those who hate harem full stop. Yet they read shit with multiple LIs...
And potentially because they read that as well, we get shitty endings where it's just one girl instead of an actual harem ending. (I don't know which came first tho, is possibly a chick and the egg scenario).
When for a lot of these stories, not having harem makes zero sense.
And I'm not talking the school wimp who magically gets all these girls falling for him, those stories I find just as dumb as the people who hate on harem but always seem to read harem.
I'm talking a capable MC that actually has the qualities where it makes sense. What's equally stupid to those who hate harem but always read harem, is harem-bait, where they have such a character, and even have it normal in that setting... but don't. Literally written for no one.