When done right, a love triangle can be an entertaining plot device. It has the potential for romance, comedy, and drama all at once. There are all sorts of ways to mix and match pairs in fun, believable ways that make the audience curious to know how it will all end. Done poorly, however, a love triangle won't yield any of these intended results.
Some love triangles can turn out pretty bad for one reason or another. Sometimes, it's because they're poorly written; the romanced is rushed, the comedy is generic, the plot is ill-conceived or the drama simply unnecessary. Other times, there are in-story reasons why the triangle is bound to be an awful time for those involved and probably shouldn't exist in the first place. This is all to say nothing of triangles where it's obvious who will end up with whom. Here are some anime that exemplify what it means to have a bad love triangle going.
Shidō, Tōka, and Origami-- Date A Live (2013)
This love triangle has a hard enough time without the premise of the series shooting it in the foot. In Date A Live, it's up to Itsuka Shidō to make dangerously powerful spirits fall in love with him so he can seal their powers with a kiss. It's then his responsibility to maintain their happiness so they don't break their seals and wreak havoc again. In other words, it's his job to be unfaithful to any one girl.
Despite this premise of infidelity, there are two girls who seem to have particularly strong feelings for him. The first is Yatogami Tōka, the first spirit he ever seduced. Despite understanding Shidō's duty, she still gets jealous when she sees him with other girls. The second is Tobiichi Origami; no matter what Shidō says or does to make this human girl want to break up with him, she remains obsessed with him.
Deku, Ochako, and Toga-- My Hero Academia (2016)
MHA's love triangle isn't poorly done, but it is somewhat messed up for in-universe reasons. Deku and Ochako are both Heroes-in-training who attend UA High hoping to someday become pros. Himiko Toga is a psychopathic member of the League of Villains who wants to see the people she loves bloody and beaten. She falls in love with the injured Deku and takes a liking to Ochako as a fellow maiden in love.
What's really tragic about this "relationship" is that Toga can't help her psychopathic tendencies. Toga's Quirk is all about ingesting the blood of others to transform into them. Therefore, she constantly thirsts for blood, making it difficult for her to conform to societal norms. Deku and Ochako treat her like they would any other villain, but if they really want to help out, they'll have to learn to acknowledge her feelings and reach a mutual understanding with her.
Kazuya, Chizuru, and Ruka-- Rent-a-Girlfriend (2020)
The Rent-a-Girlfriend love triangle doesn’t quite make fans ask who will get the guy like other series do. It seems readily obvious that the two main characters, Kazuya and Chizuru, will end up together. Ruka doesn’t really have a reason to be with him besides how he makes her heart race. The other girls aren’t really contenders, either; Sumi is too nervous to make an important move and Mami shows few signs of wanting Kazuya back.
The real problem, however, is that neither of the main characters can commit to anything. Despite Kazuya and Chizuru both showing feelings for each other, neither of them ever says anything. Any time it seems like one of them is about to make some sort of confession, they backtrack on it almost immediately. This lazy method of perpetuating the tensionless triangle lasts well into the manga’s run and has aggravated fans to no end.
Kirito, Asuna and Suguha-- Sword Art Online (2012)
Sword Art Online's early-season love triangle has received much criticism from fans. In the "Fairy Dance" Arc, Kazuto Kirigaya had to find a way to save his girlfriend Asuna from Alfheim Online. New to the game, he needed somebody to help guide him through the game, which led him to Leafa, who turned out to be his cousin Suguha in real life. There's just one problem with this-- Suguha harbors romantic feelings for Kazuto.
What's really sad about this one is that Suguha actually tried to love somebody else. Realizing she and Kazuto could never be, she took an interest in Kirito in ALO, not knowing it was Kazuto's avatar. When she found out the truth, she got her heart broken all over again and it was Kazuto's job to make things right between them. Besides the cousin-on-cousin implications, this would never have worked because of Kirito's undying love for Asuna.
Korra, Mako and Bolin-- The Legend of Korra Book One: Air (2012)
A major issue with the love triangle in Book One is that the circumstances are simply awful. First of all, Korra had to force both a confession and a kiss out of Mako. This ended up happening right in front of Bolin, the guy who actually liked Korra. Then there's Asami, whom Mako had already started dating by this point. It's a bad time for everybody involved.
Book One's romance is also bad for how rushed it is. With everything that was happening in this season, especially the main Equalist storyline, 12 episodes wasn't enough time to include a well-developed love triangle. Not only was the effort made anyway, but they even tried to fit a kiss into it. Even Katara and Aang couldn't have their first natural-feeling kiss before the 20-episode mark of The Last Airbender. LoK's romance should have been either kept to a minimum or omitted entirely.
