Mukodono 2003, Episode 2

 The Actors
Rape-Huggist: Nagase Tomoya ♂
Rape-Huggee: Hoshino Mari ♀







The Context
This rape-hug actually has no context. By which I mean, it is almost a meta-rape-hug. Mukodono 2003 is a dorama about an actor who tries to live a normal personal life, and on occasion we see him on TV or billboards, or in this case - acting a single scene from a dorama he is in. And sure enough, the one scene they chose to represent is of an isolated rape-hug. I love that the directors and writers decided to run with this. Stick with what you know, right?


The Result
Nothing resulted from this, apart from a queasy feeling in my stomach. You see, this would have been a perfect opportunity to comment on the status of the rape-hug in Japanese TV. Several of the other episodes in this dorama make really stinging observations on the ridiculousness of celebrity status and on Japanese media. Sure, it is mostly a stupid dorama, but a few times I was thinking "can they do this?" And then they just let this rape-hug slide by.

The Depiction



The filmography is perfectly stereotypical for this dorama inside a dorama scene. Sweeping shots and closeups of their faces. The actual impact isn't shown, however, opting instead for a series of quick cuts (similar to an overproduced music video during a difficult dance move that the lead singer can't actually do). And this includes the upper-arm grab. You see this occasionally in Japan - not even just on TV. Seriously, I have seen couples walk down the street with the male almost dragging his girl down the street by her forearm as if she was a child who just drew on the walls with crayon. I wouldn't think women would like this kind of treatment. But then, what do I know about women?
I also appreciate the closeup of her face where it looks like she has died inside. See, shouldn't it be a hint that no rape-hugee is ever visibly happy during the rape-hug?


Awkwardometor ☆☆☆
It's difficult to rate this one, however, the awkwardness is in the fact that everybody treats it so normal. I sometimes feel like a schitzo who sees horrible murders all over the place but noone else seems to notice. Am I going crazy? Does noone else see this? Rape-hugs are driving me towards insanity. 


Video
Watch the entire over-preoduced scene, and after the scene ends observe the pan-out which shows all the people working on the dorama sitting around - not one of whom seems plussed.

 

Guilty, Episode 9

The Actors

Rape-Huggist: Tamaki Hiroshi ♂
Rape-Huggee: Kanno Miho ♀



The Context
This is a repeat rape-hug between these two characters, who were spotted rape-hugging in episode 4. (Note that Tamaki Hiroshi is the patron saint of J-Dorama Rape-Hugs for the most frequent and the most disturbing rape-hugs in all of Japanese Dorama-hood.) While the first rape-hug was when he professed his love for her, and there was a kind-of relationship between them, nothing really happened, except for that she - a psycho serial killer - kills a few more people, and he - a detective - fails to stop any of the killings. In this rape-hug, I guess he is reaffirming his love for her, in his own special way. This time, he finally finds out beyond reasonable doubt that she is going around passively murdering people, but instead of arresting her, he tries to tear down her apartment which is full of pictures of people she has and is still planning to kill.




The Result
Again, the result is negligible - they are kind of together, but then again they never get together. What I mean by this is, the drama ends with her killing herself by drinking poison, and he discovers her and defiles her dead body by French rape-kissing her corpse, thereby allowing them to be dead together.







Man I hate any dorama with Tamaki Hiroshi in it.

The Depiction
This rape-hug begins with quite a lengthy fight-scene, him trying to destroy the room, her getting in his way, and him thinking that is the best possible opportunity to make his move. I mean, they've been dating for several episodes now, and as far as I can tell he's still on first base. 

During his freak-out he grabs her by the shoulders, which is usually what a man does when a woman is freaking out. Then he says that he loves her in his over-dramatic manner with his violently contorting face, she starts crying (an acceptable reaction), and then he closes the deal. Then he continues the torture by whispering things in her ear.




Yes - the translation actually uses the words "I've caught you". How come no-one has ever picked up on the rape-hug epidemic in Japanese TV?


Awkwardometor ☆☆☆☆☆
This easily gains the full five stars for awkwardness. Any time that there is a fight-scene where the woman is not a martial artist or somehow incredibly good at fighting because it is one of those stupid comedy dramas for teenage girls, then things have gone horribly, horribly wrong. There is also the long pause beforehand, the "I've caught you" line, and the creepy whispering in her ear. Sure, you could give any rape-hug by Tamaki a five-star just on reputation, but he keeps outdoing himself.

Video
Watch the incredibly disturbing fight-scene turn into the above rape-hug. 
 

Tiger and Dragon, Episode 4

The Actors
Rape-Huggist: Ito Misaki ♀
Rape-Huggee: Odaka Junichi ♂


The Context
The above GIF says about everything that needs to be said. He's simply not confident enough to make a move on the girl he likes to the point where he avoids her, and then the girl he likescomes out of nowhere to attack him from behind. You can see the instant where his face changes from "Loser" to "Mojo"

↓

Oh how quickly a male temperament can change with femular attention. 

An extra bit of context can be provided by the previous episode where she rape-hugs another guy simply because she tought it was cute he was a virgin. We may have our first female serial rape-huggist (with different victims) on J-Dorama Rape-hugs.


The Result
They end up together, although it becomes a running joke that they don't consumate despite the fact she is a notoriously loose woman. It's funny how rape-hugs can actually be funny when it's perpetrated by a female.

The Depiction
Here we see a sponateous from-behind attack. Also note how she tries to be too cute by burrowing her face into his shoulder-blade, even though he can't see it. This also hides her face, allowing us to focus on the pinnacle of this portrayal - his change of expression. Usually rape-hug expressions go like this:
1) Shock
2) Staying still
3) Acceptance

(*Note: this is pretty much the same reaction you would expect by someone being mauled by a grizzly bear during mating season)

However, the portrayal of rape-hug in Tiger And Dragon is perfectly executed and perfectly acted-out. This is one of the reasons that Tiger And Dragon is one of the few Japanese Doramas that is genuinely funny from beginning to end. 







Awkwardometor ☆
This is a very unawkward rape-hug because of his expression that almost says "Oh yeah, I planned this all along." even though he obviously didn't.

Video
See, you can joke about rape-hugs!