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Sex, Lies, and Geek Girls Part 2

Babs and I go more in-depth on our topic of choice. Today: hentai vs American porno comics!

By gia manry  |  June 18, 2009

Here's part 2 of my conversation with Comic Vine's Babs on rape, female sexuality in comics, and in this particular video, more on hentai versus American porno comics.
  

It occurred to me as I was editing the video another point I completely failed to make: although we've moved leaps and bounds, America still sticks with the general idea that comic books and video games are for kids, which is another reason why sexualization on the same level as a fair amount of manga is so odd and awkward to American eyes. By contrast, manga in Japan has pretty much always been read by adults and children alike.

Japan also has one major difference in its comics culture. Both American comics and Japanese comics grew post-World War II; America's Golden Age of Comics continued through the 40s and Osamu Tezuka debuted in 1946, immediately after the end of WWII. But what the two countries had suffered through the wars simply didn't compare; the idea of hiding dark, scary, adult things from kids who had lived through two a-bomb droppings was simply foreign to the Japanese, where America moved briskly into the 1950s' vision of the perfect nuclear family.

As with before, be sure you hit up Comic Vine's thread on the same topic for more discussion on the other side of the fence!
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6 Comments
lanaswifton June 18, 2009 at 8:05 p.m.
You know, on the last CV post I read through the comments and thought "man, I thought Vice had some dumb commenters. Some of these CV people are REALLY...special..." (like the one that was talking about how all manga are ripoffs of classic American comics or some such nonsense). Not to mention the sheer number of "Babs is hot!!!" posts.

But this time, some of the comments are actually really great. I especially like this one, bad grammar aside:

"This are interesting videos keep em coming. The difference between Japan & the United States is that they don't talk about sex at all yet they have in their comics and anime. Here we use sex or sexyness for so many things, yet its taboo to ahve the actual act in anything. Its funny in a way."

Obviously kind of a generalization, but not entirely incorrect, either.
ethan staff on June 18, 2009 at 8:29 p.m.
I didn't notice anyone comment on what Gia said in the first one.... or at least I think she was saying this... That it is taboo in Japan for women to express sexual desire and that through the struggle the woman often will relent and realize she does want sex.   So I wonder if some authors are using the rape scenario as a metaphor. 
Sonata moderator on June 18, 2009 at 9:14 p.m.
In some cases of Hentai Men can also be victims of rape

**Spoiler Alert**

In Living Sex Toy Delivery A man is drugged at a party by girl, when he comes to he is tied down to the floor surrounded by 5 other women, they victimized him. When they finished with him they put him in a cardboard box and place it on the train tracks hoping for a train to come and finish him off.

There are more examples out there even though its not in the majority of Hentai's, I guess this is Japans way of giving the women out there a measure of payback.
Nerxon June 18, 2009 at 10:06 p.m.
Even tentacle monsters are prone to rape crimes as well , and nothing in Japanese fiction is excluded just to be on the safe side. If one were to peep at the undercover of H-manga/anime you can see a buffet of rape (no kidding)

Different cultures need different viewpoints to understand them and after all it is in the eye of the beholder where the opinion counts

Like i was shocked that some people joke about rape & child abuse , but also surprised that nobody joked about domestic abuse

If anyone thinks that rape is horrible then i dare them to check 'Guro' (not for the kiddies or the feint hearted)
lanaswifton June 18, 2009 at 10:47 p.m.
@Sonata: Men are less inclined to fantasize about being dominated (on average) than women, so it's less common in pornography-- especially, I suspect, in pornography along the lines of hentai, where most of the target market is otaku, who (and this is a gross generalization) are more likely to feel intimidated by women in real life, and therefore more likely to seek scenarios in which women are submissive instead.

(This is also, I expect, the appeal of most moe archetypes...those girls love their men unconditionally, even when they're tsundere. And they "need" the male characters to take care of them/help them/whatever.)
Babs staff on June 19, 2009 at 10:08 a.m.
I feel as though it was a good discussion and a great opportunity to delve into the the reasons why cultural differences so strongly influence Manga/Anime and American comics.  It was good, in my opinion, for the users at Comicvine to be exposed to commentary relating to Anime and Manga and how it differs from Americanized Comic books.  We were also discussing an issue that many, (myself included) did not completely understand. I was happy to have the perspective of Gia. Mind you, that doesn't mean that I feel rape is justified in the way it is displayed in Anime and Manga. It still makes me queesy and uncomfortable, but I'm glad I am open-minded enough to understand where she is coming from. 

Needless to say, in both part 1 AND 2 of the posts; those that only had "Babs is hot" to say were well in the minority. I'm happy to say that for the most part, we managed to stay on topic. 
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