Sexual Harassment and Rape in the Land of Anime

While the original topic prompt was to do with rape fantasies, I wish to expand my scope and examine also the increasingly pervasive sexual harassment and coercion in anime, and manga.

In many ways, the presentations of sexual harassment in anime, et al is more disturbing than the portrayal of rape itself. While rape scenarios are generally confined to particular segments of the hentai market, sexual harassment is found throughout all genres of anime and manga, and is generally presented in a light-hearted manner. A great example of this is the Nintendo DS game for ToLOVE-ru, which basically consists of molesting the pink-haired female lead of that series. And she giggles about it, even though she’s blushing and sort of saying “No~!” It’s passed off as amusing, a good way of passing one’s afternoon. And, it isn’t hentai, so, hey, it’s not that bad, right?

However, while male-to-female sexual harassment is egregious in and of itself, perhaps the worst offender in this field is the homosexual sexual harassment scenario, extending to also include rape. For some reason, same-sex rape is deemed ‘okay’ and even ‘romantic’ by fans who would never dream of viewing an otome rape scene as such. Chikane and Himeko of Kannadzuki no Miko are held up as a “TRU LUV” couple, despite the fact that Chikane rapes Himeko… but we are assured that she did it because she really loves Himeko. Akihiko consistently forces himself on Misaki in Junjou Romantica, but the fangirls keep squealing over how “romantic” and “cute” it all is.

Which actually brings up another point – in the yuri and yaoi genres, rape often comes across more as very heavy-handed sexual coercion, particularly in yaoi. The aforementioned Junjou Romantica scenes depict a Misaki who is extremely resistant at first, but who then gives in, often with a remark about how “good” it feels. The same thing happens with the other two couples of the show. But, y’know, its all TRU LUV so, it’s ok (and don’t even get me started on the corn scene in Boku no Sexual Harassment).
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The most maddening thing about this all is how normalized it has become, and how little of an eyebrow raise it evokes. Sexual harassment is merely par for the course in yuri and yaoi, what with the ever-present boob-grabs and penis-gropings. I myself had gotten so desensitized to it all that it wasn’t until I sat back and thought a little that I realized how rampant it all is. Geez, what’s a girl gotta do around here for some completely consensual BL?

While the yaoi fans squeal about how “romantic” it all is, the yuri fans drool over how “hot” it is (yes, I am well-aware that I am generalizing here). On this side of the ledger, we have things like a Morinaga Milk one-shot in which a girl rapes her friend with a lip gloss wand, so the friend breaks up with her boyfriend to be with the rapist girl (there’s also some unpleasant sexual coercion involving the boyfriend earlier on in the story, but I digress). Similarly, if not as severe, Morinaga has a girl tied to a chair by her senpai in A Kiss, Love, and a Prince for a kissing scene. All of which is depicted so as to be perceived of as “hot” by the intended target audience.

Then there are the non-yuri shows which simply feature female-to-female sexual harassment as either fanservice or joke, depending upon the viewer. Kyou behaves in a bizarrely sexual manner towards Kotomi in Clannad, although it is quite clear that Kyou doesn’t have any such interest in Kotomi. And I doubt I need to go over all the boob-grab gags which litter many a shounen and seinen show. Less common is the male sexual harassment in non-yaoi shows, for whatever reason – off the top of my head, the only instance I can think of is Outlaw Star’s Fred Luo and his actions towards both Gene Starwind, and, more disturbingly, Jim Hawking (who is an eleven year old).

This isn’t, however, to say that sexual harassment and rape cannot have legitimate places in anime. All of what I’ve complained about to this point has been the pointless acts, ones thrown into stories as either fanservice or bad excuses for later plot developments. They are also all alike in that they depict sexual harassment of all sorts as somehow “normal”, even “humorous”. But I can also recognize that rape and sexual harassment can be legitimate and non-exploitative parts of stories.

Mirage of Blaze is a very long light novel series that was later adapted into both a TV series and an OVA. And, yes, it contains elements of BL. During the OVA, Naoe, the elder of our male pair, molests Takaya, and comes very close to raping him. This is depicted as neither normal nor desirable. This scene, used in conjunction with a later scene (which doesn’t involve anything sexual), serves to illustrate what a thoroughly twisted and damaged relationship Naoe and Takaya share, not to mention what messed-up people they are as individuals. To be honest, it is downright unpleasant to watch, but it goes a long way to helping the viewer understand what the relationship dynamics are between the two.

I hate to term this a “good” way to depict sexual harassment, as it sounds wrong to say there is any “good” way to depict such a thing. But my point is that it serves a real purpose in the overall story instead of just existing to titillate or amuse the audience. Another excellent example is Revolutionary Girl Utena, in quite a number of scenes. Sexual politics in general have fairly free reign in Utena, yet none of it comes across as being particularly fanservice-y, including instances of sexual harassment and coercion. The chairman of Ohtori Academy utilizes sexual coercion as a manner of controlling those around him, and is portrayed as a fairly repulsive person. His sexual habits are largely unpleasant, and his sexual coercion and harassment is no different. But, as I said, these do not appear in a vacuum – rather, his actions serve a purpose in the overall story. So, while unpleasant, the sexual coercion and harassment avoids the romanticization and sexualization (in a pornographic sense) so common to anime depictions of such acts, all while advancing the plot.

But, by and large, rape, and sexual harassment and coercion are used crassly to excite the type of viewer I sincerely wish did not exist.

EDIT: Y’know, in looking for a header picture for this post, I was reminded of why I was unable to enjoy Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu – Haurhi herself. Which, in turn, led me to the fact that one of the reasons I couldn’t stand Haurhi was how cruel she was to Mikuru. Haruhi’s actions towards Mikuru struck me as deplorable, and that it was played off as “humorous” just disgusted me. Torturing another person by forcing them to wear fetishistic outfits does not inspire laughter on my part. It’s just more icky sexual harassment.

Just thought I’d throw that out there.

Round-Robin Posts:

• Mechanics of Rape Fantasies
• Rape Fantasies
• The Mechanics of Rape Fantasies
• Blurb on “Rape” Fantasies

Related non-R-R Posts:

• Hedonistic Hegemony
• The Rape Fantasy: A Vestige of Natural Selection?

Other Topic Round-Robin Post:

• Shoujo cliché, the other man
• Between the Asshole and the Ideal
• Good Boy vs. Bad Boy
• The Other Guy in Shojo
• Shoujo Cliché: The OTHER Man – What About Him?

Also, a lot of you brought up some points in your comments that ended up spurring me to write further on this topic, which you can find here.