Jun 24 2008
[Round-Robin] Mechanics of Rape Fantasies
I skipped the otaku topic because I feel like I hit the nail on the head before so I decided to jump on this one. This week we actually have 2 topics, one of which I covered 2 weeks ago (in regards to the shoujo cliche.) So this week I’m covering the whole rape topic. Do women like to get raped? Japan likes to think so!
The whole idea was brought on to me the moment I played my first otome game. It seemed like a cute and sweet game about a girl who gets to end up with one of 5 bishies. Everything was going well and then I decided to get the secret character, cause let’s face it, there has to be a good reason he’s secret right? Well if rape is a good reason - wait, why is rape a good reason?
The
entire time this faggot would force himself on her, rape her multiple times and at the end he revealed his tragic past so suddenly all was forgiven. Is there something wrong with this picture? So within the next couple years I played more otome games. The ones after were ok, no forced rape etc. Then I played a game by the same creators and guess what? More rape. I guess this must have been a selling point because apparently the game did really well - well enough to make the creators do ANOTHER game that was 100% rape!
The funniest thing is, obviously the Japanese creators know that rape is wrong. Since they know it’s wrong they don’t make it out to be something glorious. They still undertone it as a negative thing, but seem to sell their game on it. For example, in Love Drops, Kanata went out alone at night multiple times to get Mr. Rapist. How DARE she walk alone at night without a man accompanying her! That’s what she gets!
In Under the Moon, similarly it had a good girl and bad girl route. If you did all that the boy told you, you would surely be rewarded and he’d be the sweetest gentleman you’ve ever known. However, if you DARE to play with his poor bishounen heart, he will rape you over and over but you better LIKE it or BAD end for you! Similarly a more recent otome game that I played had a similar pattern. If you DARED to enjoy a guy hitting on you, you get RAPED. But if you successfully evaded all your “oniisama’s” attempts at booty, you would get romanticized sex and he would be a gentleman etc.
So I’m seeing a theme here. If you DARE rise above your station you will be PUNISHED with RAPE! However if you’re a sweet obedient girl who does as she’s told…YOU WILL ALSO BE REWARDED WITH RAPE! Wait so umm what exactly are you supposed to do NOT to get raped in these otome games? Or is Sugar Beans a bunch of women hating faggots who just wanna draw them raped? This also brings us back to the whole romance novel thing.
So back in the Fabio romance novels all the ladies wanted to was be swept away by a hunky bishie and taken to some love shack facing the ocean tide. I don’t know if that’s where the inspiration came from, but from what I understand in those novels the women are more than willing to be swept away by Fabio.
In these games, they don’t look too happy to be getting raped in 3 different scenes. Also on the shoujo horizon is the “forced grab and kiss” scene. Let’s admit it, those scenes are hot. To me forced kissing does not equal rape. I think that’s as far as “my fantasy” will go. In Tanemura Arina works she often has the main heroine be “swept” away in a kiss by the main bishounen. I’m fine with that. He isn’t sticking his cock into orifices of her body so it’s not as if she can get preggo or STDs from kissing him. With rape it’s like a whole new beast here. You cross that line of “I can shake it off, ain’t no thang.” to “I’m gonna cut your balls off you son of a whore!”
Also from what I understand most rape crime in Japan goes unreported. In Japan it’s a lot more shameful to have the “rape” stigma on you, than to quietly shake it off and pretend it never happened. When waching the drama Stand Up!! this was the case, and frankly if I was in her situation I think I woulda grabbed the nearest flower vase and smacked him over the head if he tried anything. Unfortunately being a poor unpopular Japanese girl who had a crush on the faggot, she let him have her way with her and later became emotionally unstable. Despite this she actually was able to once again fall in love and lead a somewhat normal life.
Here in America if a rape happens you got lawsuits everywhere. Especially if the one getting raped is a minor. But Japan? Oh it’s just part of life and if you speak up everyone will shame your family. “Oh look it’s the mother of the girl who got raped.” “Oh look it’s that girl who got raped, I bet she wanted it, what a whore.” Etc. Perhaps it’s the cultural views that are different but I still stand the same on my view of it: All rapists need to get raped with a club fulla rusty nails, have their dicks cut off and then burned at the stake. That would be a very satisfying conclusion - but the best I’ll get is them getting raped by Bubbah in a local prison. 
So do fujoshi in Japan who play otome games like to get raped? Apparently so. JP thinks it’s because they never get laid they’ll take what they can get. 
I mean if rape is the selling point, SOMEONE has to be buying these games - unless the ones buying the games are actually men. 
Update: Just saw THIS news article today. Wait wut? Cruel and unusual punishment? Raping a child isn’t also cruel and unusual punishment? Faggots. I bet if it was their kids getting raped they wouldn’t be so against it, fucking shitholes. 
Tags: discussion, fangirl rage, oh japan, reader opinion
Bra-fucking-vo! Kick ass entry. Kudos on your ball-cutting bluntness.
Wouldn’t it be interesting if the majority of the customers who do buy otome games are actually otakus? @_@ We do live in a strange, strange, world after all.
PS - nice cropping skillz XD
Well of course they’re otakus, its just a matter of whether theyre male or female ones
YES.
I LOVE how weeaboos try to brag about the low rape rate in Japan and how it’s soooo much better than AMERIKKKA. I guess the fact that women are shamed into hiding their abuse rather than reporting it makes Japan far superior to America. Yeah, let’s get real, at least there isn’t any kind of significant market in this country, to my knowledge, of games where the objective is to rape women. Repeatedly, and as a perfectly acceptable act.
I fucking hate Japan.
3 words: Luke and Laura.
It was well before my time, but is on of the highest rated US TV ratings ever when the 2 General Hospital (a soap opera) characters got married.
What made them so special? When they met, Luke raped Laura in a disco, and she romanticize it into a love affair. He later cries and apologizes and they created TV history.
Luke & Laura was like the OJ Simpson trial, Bill & Monica, the Moon landing, and Paris Hilton all rolled into one.
My mother was in college and her class, which had about 40 students was only attended by herself, 2 males, and the teacher. Even the female assistant to the teacher and most of the university skipped class just to watch the marriage take place.
The show was so big Elizabeth Taylor appeared on it.
I’ve read too many romance novels that contain the same fantasy, and I’ve never enjoyed it at all. It’s disturbing, but in psychology, we discussed how some women fantasize about rape because it takes away the guilt of being slutty. If it’s forced on them, it’s simply a guilty pleasure and not a lack of character.
I don’t get it at all, but that is the most common belief. As for the majority of people who purchase this stuff (Men); those who like watching women being violated, usually don’t really like women.
Most anime rapes I’ve seen always involve tentacles, but it’s a disturbing trend in all forms of Japanese entertainment. Even the obsession with bondage. Even tying things like their Ipods in a bondage style manner.
I don’t get it, and I don’t know why it’s so popular. It’s gross and demeaning. That’s why I try to avoid it. But they’ll slip it in to the must unassuming products. Looking at the link you provided to the 100% rape one, I would have never guessed the content by the character design. The preview photos either. I just looked skanky, not violent.
I played one game like that, and it was enough for me.
Yikes.
Did someone say surprise sex?
http://gothamist.com/2008/06/24/brutal_rapist_found_guilty.php
Why is there a picture of Fabio next to Sasuke? Are they wearing some kind of uniform? Smells like spoilers to me…
I’ve never played one of these games, so how exactly are you supposed to avoid non-consensual s3xxor? Could there be some kind of mini-game?
I think in the USA it’s rape if its not with consent - and that includes kissing!
Yeah, but, like, I agree with this.
Although the former of the two sentences is still interesting…I wonder if that signifies anything?
To be honest with you, most Asian and African cultures are like that :/ Shameful to be raped, and if you were raped, it’s ALWAYS YOUR FAULT.
*le sigh*
Good entry!
I wonder if this is at all related to the way that Japan seems to believe that girls should always cry during sex, which has always slightly disturbed me.
That’s so stupid, the victim’s at fault? I would’ve hunt him down and kill him with his whole family. Since you’re already shamed at least have a good reason to be! *seethes*
I know anime and games and manga are all drawings, aka fantasy. I disassociate them from reality, so even though I’m watching a rape or tentacle anime I can find it pretty hot. It may disturb some people, but I can watch loads of animated things (gore, s&m, tent) that I couldn’t if they were live action (SAW completely disgusted me, and I find live s&m weird). The same goes with, for example, yaoi or loli. It’s all about knowing what’s real and what’s not.
I could go on and on about the pervasive rape culture in Japan but I’m not.
I’ll just say that we also have our own homegrown rape culture here in the West that rears its ugly head in the most unlikely of places: the romance novel!
When I was a teenager, my mother would rag on me about reading those “fantasy books” that weren’t real and was giving me an unrealistic view of the world.
Then I decided to pick up some of the trashy romance novels she used to read voraciously and guess what? Rape, rape and more rape!
After confronting her about this I sarcastically remarked that if the raper (usually the bad-boy of the novel or the good boy at a very dark or angry moment) says the magical L word anytime before the assault then that’s ok!
Her rebuttal: Of course. That’s not rape, that’s romance!
To this day I don’t know if she was joking. However, deep in heart of hearts I’m almost positive that she wasn’t.
I don’t get. I will never get. It’s vile, loathsome and despicable and the sad thing is that it will never go away.
You something I never got is one in some games/hentai/doujin a girl gets raped and the guy is so good that the girl forgives him.
This is why I avoid otome games - there are just too many that involve rape =( I really don’t understand why these are supposed to be aimed at girls. Actually, I don’t really understand why these games are even made, they’re so inherently vile. They send such a horrible message.
Wow great response
A Day> Maybe that’s why not too many get licensed and translated for the US market…..
Maigo> I did mention romance novels but never having read one, I didn’t realize it was basically the same thing but in book form
LOL @ your mom 
yaku> I think when it comes to loli characters I dissociate them from reality as well (like come on little kids dont look like that in real life anyway) but for stuff like rape I can’t help but think of all the news incidents & reality and stuff. I guess its a preferential thing? Tentacles are just silly to me lol.
NegativeZero> I honestly don’t get the deal with that. It’s like in every hentai image the girl is ALWAYS crying. Like why can’t she smile for once. It’s like the only time she smiles is if she’s some slutty milf character lol
Kabitzin> XD Sasuke’s been training with Fabio while he was gone for 2 years. Unfortunately in otome games only a few have an actual ROMANCE route…stuff like ijiwaru my master is like all rape from what I heard no matter what you do. also otome games dont have minigames like some eroge do.
sabrina> I think that was like before I was even in America haha. And when everyone was talking about GH I was busy watching good and clean shows like Saved by the Bell
Marmot> I dont know of any either but i imagine that there’s some man game out there with rape in it. They dont make female games in the USA with rape in them that’s for sure.
“I know anime and games and manga are all drawings, aka fantasy. I disassociate them from reality, so even though I’m watching a rape or tentacle anime I can find it pretty hot. It may disturb some people, but I can watch loads of animated things (gore, s&m, tent) that I couldn’t if they were live action (SAW completely disgusted me, and I find live s&m weird). The same goes with, for example, yaoi or loli. It’s all about knowing what’s real and what’s not.”
Rape is a real thing. It’s based on real emotions and real pain. It’s very, very real.
Know what, I think these raep otome games might have more chances of selling well when licensed, considering the number of SugarBeans followers atm (and/or those who are attracted to the smut stuff, but can’t play the game coz it’s Japanese). It’s just gonna be reallyy controversial (like the Kodomo no Jikan issue?)… or not, if people see them as the game counterpart of those “romance novels” and are ok with it
Most, if not all, R-18 otome games have rape stuff… so if you don’t want that, you can always go for the all-ages games instead.
The sad part is the non R-18 games have such crappy art!!!
But yea the game I have on hold has pretty art and no reipu so it’s something I’m looking forward to playing
GOD I love your post. LOL at “That would be a very satisfying conclusion - but the best I’ll get is them getting raped by Bubbah in a local prison.”
Unfortunately, I’m really ignorant on the subject of rape in Japan, so I don’t know if I should touch this RR topic. However, I like the info and beliefs (and humor) you presented in this post. Awesome~
Does anyone of an organization that tracks not-officially-reported rape cases in Japan as a whole? Or a (relatively) reliable source for estimated real rape cases in Japan? I wouldn’t like to call an entire society secret rapists with very little data on it.
This is definitely my favorite type of post from you.
I really don’t see why anyone would wish for rape… but I have to admit I have several (ex-) gay male friends who have said it was their dream to be raped. Maybe they were just overly horny and not getting any? Ironically it turns out one of them raped a poor drunk Asian boy when he left for college…
But I know of no girls who want rape. I know I sure don’t. Stolen kisses can be sweet though, as long as the dude isn’t… a creep/absolutely fugly.
[...] Related Posts: Mechanics of Rape Fantasies [...]
Amazing entry Hinano. I totally agree with you. I mean this is some male chauvinism
shit. In the states and PR we have female liberation. It seems that it’s not the same over Japan and Asia. 
humm.. i dont really like thos rape scence.. but somehow.. most of my male friends like it.. they say its their greatest fantasy to rape a beautiful/sexy/cute girl without getting into trouble…
guys will be guys… hentai fetish… 
wait!! im a guy too!! 
if u do remember… most start out as getting raped… but somewhere in the mid of the process the girl seems to mostly like it… or i rather say they enjoy it in the end… 
but still..
i would wanna ask you girls 1 question.. if a super duper hot guy try to force himself on u… will you :
1) scream like hell and deny him.
2) struggle abit but give in to him in the end.
3) juz do it with him cause he’s the hottest guy in the world.
no offence to any1
@Lelangir: In the US, rape requires penetration; otherwise the act is categorized as a lesser offense, such as sexual assault. Some jurisdictions require force from the attacker or resistance from the victim, but many no longer do. In these jurisdictions, penetration absent an affirmative verbal “yes” is sufficient to convict someone of rape.
Statutory rape only requires penetration. It’s a strict liability crime, which means that the law permits no excuse for the act, no matter what excuse you may have. If a girl shows you a fake ID, that’s no excuse. If you call up city hall, ask for her birth records, and they pull up the wrong file, too bad. If you met her in a 21+ club, no excuse. If she looks like she’s 50 and has osteoporosis…you get the idea.
@Hinano: Tragically, rape is one of the most underreported crimes in the US. Despite the introduction of rape shield laws to lessen the burden of reporting rape, many women who go to trial feel they’ve been raped twice: once by the attacker and once by the court. Let’s not forget that men can be raped too. The few men who are courageous enough to report rape get laughed out of court. Some of you probably laughed just reading that sentence.
Despite the underreporting of rape, rape is one of the most likely to be fabricated crimes in the US. Once an accusation comes forward, men are practically powerless to defend themselves. Even if they’re found not guilty, the stigma sticks for life. If you’re familiar with the Duke Lacrosse case, you know that the evidence of fabrication was overwhelming. Evidence from phone records was enough to prove that the rape never occurred. There was even a video of one of the accused players at an ATM miles away when the rape supposedly occurred. That didn’t stop the media from calling for their throats. 80 Duke professors signed a letter implicitly denouncing the players. The case was eventually thrown out, but these guys were ruined for life. Many people still think they’re guilty. None of the professors apologized. Rape isn’t a fantasy — innocent until proven guilty is.
Long story short, rape sickens me. Most of these people with rape fantasies probably don’t know anything about rape in real life.
Marmot > of course rape is real, if it wasn’t there wouldn’t be any point for Hinano’s post. What I’m stating is that fiction is that, fiction. Like everything is based on real events and just like I can’t accept real s&m I can’t accept real rape. What I DO is understand is that there is real life, and then there’s games (or any other kind of fiction). Whether one can keep in mind this difference depends on the individual.
sort of related
http://img34.picoodle.com/img/img34/4/6/23/f_DCgirlverm_b664d74.png
da capo otome game?
baka raptor> Great comment btw. I totally forgot about the Duke case. I guess in comparison to Japan it’s still not nearly as bad as the girls who claim they got their asses groped on a packed train just to get money from the salary mans.
padfoot> I’d kick him the balls so hard they’d be blue for a month
Baka-Raptor is right even in the west rape is an under reported crime, though the environment is made more friendly for its victims. It is a crime that is more hateful than any other with notable exception to child molesters. Fact it once conviction occurs a rapist will have a very tough time in jail. Male rape is not necessarily done by a female, it can be done by males to other males. The fatal assumption that many have about rape is that it is a crime of passion. It most certainly is not, but it is about power.
I am empowered to deliver justice where ever I see it lacking. I have the gift of authority to judge, in the name of Uncle Sam, on the field of combat. So yeah lust let these bastards walk into a combat zone…
It is a rather odd, silly, and stupid thing to have rape fantasies, but I suppose that such fools do meet their ends in due course, I just make it my mission to ensure that such and end is as miserable as possible for those who dare act on such base desires.
hello> Yep, it’s real. Bento posted that image in my last Da Capo post. I can tell the snooty guy with the glasses is the kichiku megane type who will be rude gruff and potentially rape the heroine if she doesn’t kiss his ass.
Crusader> Yea i know it’s about power, I think we learned that in one of my psychology classes. I personally feel that any girl who like lets the guy grab her boobs and stick his hand down her pants, has no right so scream rape right before he’s about to jam it in. Seriously, you know it was coming, stop acting like you suddenly don’t want it. In those kind of cases I really do feel sorry for the male. I recall a while back there was a case where some girl was doing some guy and then like 5 min later shes like “stop” and he had to like carefully take out his wang so he wouldn’t hurt her and because he didn’t do it in like 2 seconds she accused him of rape. Damn I hope that bitch gets raped for real then she’ll know what its like.
@ padfoot - I’d kick him in the balls and run off. I don’t care how hot he is, if he’s forcing himself on me, he’s clearly a rotten person and I want absolutely nothing to do with him.
@Padfoot: To answer your question, I would use my thumbnail, which is the strongest, to gouge out his eyeball. And when he freaks, I’d use my free hand to take the other eyeball. After that it gets too violent to continue.
BALL CHOPPING BRIGADE AHOY!
What the fuck man?
I’m sorry Japan but here’s a news flash: RAPE ISN’T FUN! Maybe everyone there likes to be pulled into dark alleys and be violated by a freaky guy who couldn’t get any, but here, not so much. We tend to smash peoples heads in for that and call the cops. Interesting approach, huh?
GO HINANO! This was so cool to read. And I never noticed the Sauske/Fabio connection!
And, yes, the forceful kiss is quite nice thank you very much. -winkwink-
Makes you wanna swoon, really…
Where does Chikane raping Himeko with a tanto lie? >_>
You should only ever sexx0r with love!
Men just need to be castrated.
rape is one of those taboos that plagues any society… even here in america the whole issue was not talk about it in the past… at least not tried to be understood… maybe with time once people reallise how shattering and painful is to the victims they may actually think about it… unfortunally it will only depend on the invidual…
…and as for the fantasy part… i always think of fantasy as a way to fulfill ones desires without hurting anyone… so long as they have a distinction between fantasy and reality… just because i like shooter games or violent games doesnt mean i am that person…
and as for rapis, maybe if they knew how it felt to be raped by a huge big muscle man named sisi they will actually get it…
I’m thinking the non-H games with crappy artwork you’re referring to are those by QuinRose? coz if so, I have the same sentiments as you, but these games with crappy artwork turned out to be real gems in terms of plot and characters (especially Heart no Kuni no Alice) XD
Other than that, there are still lots of great non-H PC games, perhaps you’re just not searching hard enough? hehe. The good non-H PC games I know includes Siesta(quite an old game, released before Pet Detective Y’s), Full House Kiss (recently ported to PC, but I can’t seem to find it), Love Revo (not sure if you’ll like this one, since the dieting simulation part might bore you), Hoshi no Oujyo: Uchuu Ishiki ni Mezameta Yoshitsune (this is for all ages, but you can play with this extra disk for the r-18 version, but of course I wouldn’t recommend that because of the raep stuff). There’s also an upcoming PC game which I’m keeping an eye on (graphics are reallyy good, and it’s non-H). Lots of games, so little time sigh.
…and how can I forget, there’s also Palais de Reine and Princess Nightmare @_@
well, lets be true otaku’s are really handicapped to get partner, regardless of sex. thats one reason to buy games…
Interesting parts about Japanese culture like you (Hinano) mentioned and some commenters elaborated on…I don’t think anyone mentioned though that it probably has to do with how “good” Japanese girls are supposed to always be meek, passive, and pure. It would definitely be bad manners to be aggressive, say what you want, or *gasp* show sexual interest in a guy.
So first things are complicated b/c the girl isn’t supposed to “want it” it’s only the guy that should. Also in this set of social rules the girl thnks she isn’t supposed to show interest in a guy, and would be too embarrassed. Sabrina-fair mentioned that rape absolves the girl of guilt for wanting sex- so if girls are actually the ones buying otome games with rape as a feature, it is probably b/c society has ruled out female interest in sex, so rape becomes a “legitimate” avenue of sexual expression since the girl isn’t supposed to say yes anyway. And a girl who actually means NO when she says it gets very wrongly overshadowed by with the girl who means “YES” but for shame or embarrassment, also says NO.
jen> I had downloaded hoshi no oujo but then deleted it because Purelover Flavor which had similar art bored me to tears lol. I haven’t been keeping up with any otome game stuff (cause im busy drawing awful CGs for your route
) but I have a piqued interesti in this one http://www.getchu.com/soft.phtml?id=456185 
I think you guys are suddenly no fun anymore when you mix real rape with fake rape. I suppose it is important to get that idea across: yes rape is bad don’t do it. [/end of public service announcement]
It is definitely not a laughing matter, but the significance is in its cultural relevance and the psychological consequences of enjoying rape in fiction either as the rapist or the victim.
And by the way, it is in trashy romance novels as well, and I suspect otome games are similar to them in a lot of respects. Just guessing here.
The last thing I’ll say is that rape in these games are actually much like murder and violence you see in some fantasy games and shoot’em ups. There’s definitely a degree of wish fulfillment, but it isn’t like you want to be directly in the situation as portrayed in the game.
I remember watching Wings of Honneamise. Everything was fine and dandy, a good movie that was entertaining. But then Shiro decides to rape Riquinni. I found this appalling as a man. What real man would do that? Sure, he stops when he feels ashamed of himself, but that’s no reason to start it in the first place.
Granted, the way it turned out in Wings of Honneamise isn’t nearly as bad as Perfect Blue. I would rather watch *that scene* in WOH a hundred times than watch Perfect Blue again, because Perfect Blue is even worse.
Why can’t guys realise the value of good, old fashioned, consentual kissy-cuddly sex? It annoys me how men these days see the term “pimp” as a compliment.
[...] coincidence? - as we saw the theme subtly tucked in the blankets of Kure-nai. Hinano was recently she-roaring about how rape sucks. Well, yeah, ok, we’ve established that much, and also how rape goes [...]
I never actually saw Perfect Blue but after hearing that it was fulla gore blood and rape I steered clear.
The first time I happened over your blog, I believe it was the time you blogged about your first otome game. My first impression, based on the content of the game was that you would be a guy.
I think I’d like to play such a game, but generally girls here play SIMS or … um… other girly games
So if rape is such a big selling point of these games I’m inclined to think that it’s mostly guys who buy them. Unless of course a vast percentage of Japan’s female population is masochistic. I’d like to think that that is not the case… or do I need to change my “rose tinted glasses”?
Great article; you nicely articulated some of the reasoning behind this rather disturbing trend.
If you haven’t read it already, you might enjoy reading http://www.sleepisfortheweak.org/articles/shoujodangers.html ,
which addresses some of the points that you made, as well as the concept of why “the other guy” seems to garner the female lead’s attention in a lot of shoujo manga.
escaru I’ve actually read that article before, it’s really good and I like how it really tells people that hot gimmick and anything by shinjo mayu is a ridiculous and not even close to realisitic view of a female’s role in a relationship
Actually, my mother and I both like Perfect Blue very much. It’s not a rape fantasy/love story in the slightest. The attempted rape is portrayed as a very negative thing as is the “rape” drama scene, and they’re both pretty powerful psychological moments for the character instead of just gratuitious ero scenes, imo. It’s a psychological thriller/mystery with more twists to the story than I’ll give here, as I’m limiting my comments to the use of the “rape” scenes in the movie.
Spoiler….
Mima plays one rape scene in a drama, which becomes a very traumatic experience, and the managers who should have her best interests at heart are instead setting her up for sleazy pictorials to boot. She has to deal with the guilt of betraying her values in her pursuit of fame–as well as learning to take control of her life instead of letting everyone else push her into situations that make her uncomfortable. The psychological character developments and struggle with cultural ideals stem directly from that very disturbing “rape” scene that even her managers are appalled to watch.
When her stalker tries to rape and kill her, she bashes his head in with a hammer. She doesn’t lie back and take it or romanticize it. She fuckin’ kills the bastard! More power to her, and to Satoshi Kon for animating a woman who fights back.
The show is extremely grizly and violent, but after watching Mima grow a spine during the course of events… she’s actually an anime character I can respect more than 99% of anime heroines out there. By the end of the show I just don’t feel like she’s the same weak, whiney girl who will let people take advantage of her. Defintely not a show for everyone (others might find the nudity and violence gratuitious), but even with the very disturbing content I wouldn’t say it romanticizes rape in the slightest… does the exact opposite, imo. Mima’s empowerment as a woman is very much the center of the tale.
/Spoiler
And for Hinano’s information she can watch it on 35mm this weekend when Satoshi Kon makes his round in NYC…
I think Perfect Blue is a very good look at how rape in popular culture works both as a psychological device and how it works in telling a story. Certainly it is not often that you see a show within a show, which purpose is to deflower the main character… and the consequent psychological problems it can cause viewers and characters alike.
[...] of yet for The Mechanics of Rape Fantasy are A Day Without Me and Hinano. Wow, just two (so far)? Too bad I don’t have the time for this [...]
omo> This weekend I’m going to get a yukata at Uniqlo!
OMG girl, it’s as if you read my mind.
Sigh…
Is it that bad that someone sees some thing in a different way then you are?
So there in no way any of you would consider a more neutral, less critical view? Not to hurry and judge other cultures by your own radical conservative views?
Not surprising considering the fact that amerikka force her moral upon the entire world.
I also think it’s girls who buy these games. Guys have enough for themselfs, and as far as I know the focus in sex scenes in otome games is on the boys, not something that the guys would want.
LDC, there are lots of posts from non-Americans in this blog making critical remarks about the prevalance of rape fantasies in these games. Do you just particularly hate Americans that you have to lay all your criticism at us? There are posts here from Ireland, Romania, Malaysia, Australia, Poland, Canada, Puerto Rico, etc. Rape isn’t just a cultural bias, it’s a complex problem that affects women all over the world.
I don’t personally think all rape fantasy is the ultimate ebil. I do think it is way too prevalent in otome games/manga for girls. I also think it sends a screwed up message to young boys, who don’t necessarily understand the difference between the fantasy and the reality. And I think it’s abhorrent when shame suppresses someone from coming forward to press charges. It’s also disturbing how infrequently women are depicted as fighting back or speaking out in mainstream Japanese programs dealing with rape. Those are the issues that have been discussed here.
For the record, I once roomed with a girl whose highschool boyfriend raped her with a knife… and I don’t mean he raped her at knifepoint. He used the blade. She was still going through the medical visits when I met her, and I can’t even remember the number of stitches she had.
It is a very touchy subject when people are trying to reconcile realities such as the above incident with the types of fantasies and ideals portrayed in these games, anime, manga, etc. I’d suggest you think carefully about the subject before passing judgements and blanket criticisms yourself.
For anyone who has ever read My Secret Garden by Nancy Friday, there is some interesting insights into rape fantasy spread thoughout the book. It includes a couple of women who experienced rapes or near rapes and formed a fantasy, which they seemed very disturbed by themselves, as well as women who had rape fantasies with no such experiences (and they would never want to really be raped). Some had kinks for pain. Some wanted to blamelessly experience sex with multiple male partners via such a fantasy. For some there was an element of catharsis or the thrill of being out of control. It really runs the gamut, unlike the formula that seems to be presented by otome games/manga. However, the book contains many fantasies that are potentially disturbing including accounts of incest, beastiality, and child abuse. So be warned, if you are easily offended or disturbed.
[...] Others have also mentioned otome games, which are aimed at females (apparently) and feature rape. I can’t comment on these because I’ve never played one, but there you have yet another connection to female rape fantasies. [...]
fyi women can rape men also >.> canada is such a wonderful place
To the ppl going “OH JAPAN”. . .Unfortunately, the stigma of being raped isn’t alien to American culture either. While there may be more lawsuits brought forth in the U.S. compared to Japan, the percentage of cases with successful convictions is actually pretty low. I remember reading one case where a gang of high school boys were acquitted for the rape of a fellow classmate because 1) the girl was “asking for it” by hanging out with them alone and 2) “boys will be boys,” according to opinions surrounding the case.
+++
I know girls who are into rape fantasy material, and some of them have been victims of forced sexual activity. The thin line that prevents sex under forced consent from being called “rape” also prevents girls from acknowledging themselves as victims. Consequently, one friend has a guilt complex about being a “whore,” and rape doujin allows her to remove the guilt and stigma while imagining herself as “pure” again.
Another friend is into them because she is the typical successful, man-eating American powerhouse who’ll outdrinks her one-night-stands, then gets up early to check stock quotes and listings for Marc Jacobs sample sales. She’s into rape fantasy stuff because sometimes she gets tired of the gender politics game and just wants to be free from control and indulge in feeling less manly than her partner. Rape satisfies this because it’s an extreme form of relinquishing control and stereotypical “brute” masculinity.
The fantasy part of it- being a literary work, illustration, or whatever- is what enables her to derive pleasure since it provides the safeguard of being just that, fantasy. It has no connection at all to being actually raped, and if any guy tried it, she’d probably cut off his good and stuff them down his throat.
TLDR; it’s not all just one big chauvinist conspiracy, and some girls are genuinely into it outside of being brain-washed by antiquated patriarchal values. Just sayin’ not to argue, but offer anecdotal variety of perspective.
[...] of yet for The Mechanics of Rape Fantasy are A Day Without Me and Hinano. Wow, just two (so far)? Too bad I don’t have the time for this [...]
Hinano> w00t! Love Revo
but just a word of warning about that game, I heard it takes a looongg time to finish it compared with others, because of the dieting simulation part. But other than that it’s real fun. And the characters are all… shiny 
Yeah I was wondering about that for a while now and just though
*shrug*” Japanese culture must think it is ok.”
Because a number of smutty manga are like that.. Too give an example.. An author you are 100% sure of getting a rape from is “Mayu Shinjo”
Every single manga she does is rape..Which is why I got the impression that it must be a good thing in Japan for every manga she writes too be about rape in some form or fashion…and like you said “The guy has some twisted past or want which suddenly makes his reason for doing soo correct”…And don’t let the reason be hes hunk….I don’t see why it should be condoned at all…. but thats just from my view point
I at least feel very heartened by the amount of male anime fans who have commented on this post saying that they, too, do not understand why people would want to see something with rape portrayed positively in it (I say specifically males since this post deals with male-to-female rape portrayals as opposed to male-to-female or homosexual ones).
rape is such a heavy word, lets use “surprise sex” lol
@B: I agree, the point is that it’s just fantasy for loosing up. What’s the deal with raging about everything which isn’t part the western view of normal? Why to hunt down everyone who has a different taste then yours, when they don’t even offend anyone?
To me it’s very sad, especially when it comes from a society who see itself as enlightened and open-minded.
[...] All-Girls Round-Robin (and a dude) recently took on the topic of rape fantasies. I’ve already given my [...]
@LDC: I think the comments prior to yours pretty much proves that rape themes offend quite a few people. Also, your alleged “American open-mindedness” value only goes so far, which I believe is a fact that most conscious Americans are aware of. Strict open-mindedness is impossible without hypocrisy, unless the strict open-minded person is also a blank slate who is incapable of forming any opinions or judgments. How can we have laws against rape, teachings against rape, and moral denunciation of rape without also being “close-minded” to the act of rape, whether in fact or fiction?
I also think that the real question that has yet to be answered is whether girls in Japan are actually influenced by the rape theme. But that, of course, is likely a question without an open answer.
@LDC: I would agree that the games provide a fantasy/niche for people with desires like that but it’s only healthy as long as they restrict it to their video games. If they turn on their wife, girlfriend, or a stranger for rape, then it’s a problem. I think the concern here is that the growing prevalence of these materials to the public would be a signal of encouragement. If rape were suddenly acceptable to a society, that would be a degradation, not an enlightenment.
@Hinana: Interesting article. I wonder what the statistics are, particularly for husband-wife rape.
Very nice. Damn rape (well it’s far enjoyable if you’re the one watching or reading it), but it depends. Some games and series just insert the rape scenes for well, enjoyment (and some watchers really seem to enjoy this parts so they just fast forward it and get on with the rape) and does not really contribute to the storyline. That’s why I took up my courage to finish Beat Blades Haruka.
Few things piss me off more than the idea that all entertainment must be sending some kind of “message” and that full grown adults are too mentally fragile to be able to enjoy fantasy as fantasy and must be protected from “evil influences.” It’s insulting.
The entire damn point of these base-instinct fetish wish-fulfillment fantasy games to enjoy reactions from your brain that are impractical or inappropriate to experience in real life. It’s not some reaffirmation of your real-life morals, sheesh.
# kei JAPAN on 25 Jun 2008 at 7:54 pm
>:idea: Rotten girls’ sexual desire is abnormal !!!!
It’s not the rotten girls who are wrong, but rather the world!!
間違ってるのは腐女子じゃない、世界のほうだ！！
Well I don’t consider 18 year olds to be full grown adults btw. And I think most of these otome games are 18+ so yes if you’re 18 you can play it…although I highly doubt with all the pirating that only those over 18 play these games. Also with shoujo manga by Shinjo Mayu which is obviously read by all sorts of teenage girls, it sends the message that “rape is ok, you have to be innocent and docile and some hunk will stick it in.”
So no this isn’t about adults who can’t deal with rape, it’s about the fact that a lot of materials in Japan aimed at teenage girls makes it seem that rape is in fact OK and a “part of life” rather than ever showing a girl who like stands up against the rapist and kicks his ass. (Ironically that only happens in Shounen HMM…)
[...] Mechanics of Rape Fantasies [...]