IS, episode 4

 

 

The Actors

Rape-Huggist:  Inoue Masahiro♂
Rape-Huggee: Fukada Saki♀♂


The Context

This is the 2nd rape-hug between these two characters (where she is actually an intersexual), the first being the episode before where he creepily rape-hugged her/him from behind while watching videos at his house. He/she ran away from him, so you can't really get any more definitive rejection than that. Right? Well, no, he didn't learn from his mistake. This time, at the very end of this next episode they are playing soccer together and for no real reason she falls over. She's supposed to be a very good soccer player, so I don't know how she could simply topple over like that. It's a stretch. Then he offers his hand to help her up. He 'accidentally' pulls too hard, and it magically turns into a rape-hug.

 

The Result

 

She tries struggling, at which point he doubles up and wraps her up tighter. She submits. Then they start sort-of dating from the next episode. Also, it wouldn't be a crappy dorama if there wasn't somebody who accidentally sees the rape-hug. So, as they stand there in the middle of the field embracing, there is one of those horror movie angles when someone watching from behind the trees. Who could it be? Then she has a voiceover where she says how confused she is and end credits roll along with the compulsory shitty J-pop song.

The Depiction

 

We get a visual feast of creepiness here. Slow motion high angle as he helps her up, low angle as she gets flung up, a close-up of his face as he realises he has a chance to steal a hug, a close-up of her as she realises and starts struggling, and then a close-up of his hands going from the small of her back to the back of her head, her finally sort-of putting her hands around his back, and an over-acted surprised close-up of his face. Everything about this gives me douche-chills. Teenage boys are so fucking stupid.  

Awkwardometor ☆☆☆☆☆


Being a teenager is rough. There is so much awkwardness as it is, but this, this is just too much. His expressions border on psychotic, and the whole premise of initiating the hug is so opportunistic and forced. And then there is part where he quells her struggling by gripping tighter. Add to that the previous episode's rape-hug and the aftermath and we have a quality 5-star rape-hug (and I'm not even taking into the account that she's an intersexual). I know some creeps out there are saying "but she actually liked him but couldn't bring herself to open up to him because of insecurity about her gender", but if that were a real reason then the whole world would become a rape-hug free-for-all, and that's a world that I don't want to live in.


Video

Enjoy the well-produced scene with equally terrible acting. Pay close attention to the way she falls over. Also, take note of the orchestral music that tries to suggest that this is a romantic moment, and then finally the "serial killer" angle from behind the trees.

Kamisama Mou Sukoshi dake, Episode 5

The Actors

Rape-Huggist: Nakama Yukie ♀
Rape-Huggee: Kaneshiro Takeshi ♂


The Context

 

He is a famous songwriter and she is his top popstar. She was friends with his deceased wife and he has since gone into a deep writer's block. Nakama Yukie's character has fallen in love with him and is jealous when he starts banging a 17-year old girl with AIDS. Yeah, it's a pretty heavy dorama in the "Dying girl" genre, but it's a shame that statutory rape aspect is mostly overlooked - probably because he has great hair.It's so wavy!

So as a last desperate attempt to steal him while he is freaking out and tearing up some paper with failed lyrics on it, Nakama makes a running rape-hug.

 

The Result
Sadly, on so many levels, he choses to keep banging the 17-year-old AIDS girl.

 

The Depiction

 

We are treated to some really dramatic action-pack closeups. First he tears up the paper and his face, and then we see her rage face as she runs towards him like Braveheart in the final battle. Just before contact we get a long shot, just as she almost slips over on the paper scattered over the floor. I'm convinced that this wasn't intentional, but this dorama was from the late 90's when it was probably too much effort (or too costly) to re-shoot a scene. I love Yukie Nakama as much as any heterosexual, but honestly, she isn't a great actress. Or at least, she is always cast as a hardass and good at everything when she quite clearly isn't. She is much convincing as in Kamisama Mou Sukoshi Dake as a shallow pop-star and I truly love the fact that in this scene she stuggles with a primary form of human locomotion.

Look at Nakama with her legs akimbo, rescuing her balance with the rape-hug.

Awkwardometor ☆☆

For some reason I don't find this scene very awkward, despite the whole statutory decision and the AIDS girls thing. Maybe it's the lack of balance that brought in some unintentional comedy, or maybe it's the fact that the victim is a guy. Or it could be that being rape-hugged by Yukie Nakama - probably the sexiest woman in Japan for a solid decade - doesn't seem like such a bad deal. What I'm saying is, for so many reasons, he made the wrong decision, this should have been a regular hug and the drama could have ended right here.



Video

Papa to Musume no Nanokakan, Episode 6

The Actors

Rape-Huggist: Kato Shigeaki ♂
Rape-Huggee: Aragaki Yui ♀


The Context

This is a body-switch drama where a father who works at a marketing company who gets a contract for a teenage girl's fragrance line is out of touch with his teenage daughter. Then they eat magical peaches and they switch bodies, because that's what happens when you eat magical peaches, duh! oh what hilarity. Surprisingly she is able to navigate the corporate world and make the marketing campaign a success, and he is exposed to the fact his daughter is of dating age and in the end they learn many things about each other. That's where this rape-hug comes in - the boy that she has liked for a long time finally summons the courage to make physical contact with her. The only problem is: she is actually her father! Oh, humour directed at tweenage girls is always the best. Only except the exact opposite. What I am trying to say is that this entire drama is a terribly bad and unfunny version of the remake of Freaky Friday, which is already a terribly bad and unfunny movie that I once watched back in the days when airplanes only had one movie to choose from.

The Result

 

The horny teenage boy imposes his will upon her, who is actually her father, and after a few seconds of accepting the embrace (which is actually kind of gay statutory kinky when you think about it) she/he fights him off with a biblical "thou shalt not pass" - type pose. He takes this rejection very hard and turns and walks away. Has the father ruined the relationship of his daughter? We'll have to wait until the next and final episode. (P.S. thank the sweet lord this dorama wasn't a full 10 or 12 episodes...)

The Depiction

 

This rape-hug follows a similar formula to what we have seen before. It takes place in a quiet park, he makes a small speech and suddenly lunges in taking her by surprise. We know that she is surprised because look at the size of those whites of her eyes. It's amazing what a simple surgery can do. Then he grasps her by the upper arms to look at her to guage her reaction. Then she does a Moses and parts those seas, the drama heightened by a low angle.

Awkwardometor ☆☆☆

I 'm inclined to rate this higher based on the fact that she is playing 15 year-old, however Aragaki was actually 19 when this dorama was filmed. But it is still slightly disturbing that he, a high-school aged boy rape hugs her and when she flinches, instead of being apologetic, he runs away offended as if she is a slut. I'm not 100% sure, but I think this sends out the wrong message to the teenage girl audience that this dorama was absolutely geared to. Seriously people, this is a problem that every year affects younger and younger people.

Video

Get the full experience of the wide eyes and highly over-acted rejecting the hug. Also, pay attention to his disgusted expression right before he walks away.  

Long Love Letter, Episode 9

The Actors

Rape-Huggist: Kubozuka Yosuke ♂
Rape-Huggee: Tokiwa Takako ♀


The Context

 

They are two of the remaining 30 or so people in a post apocalyptic world, and since the others are all students at the high school or old staff, the task of repopulating the world is basically up to them. Despite this, it takes nine whole episodes before her boobies touch his man-breasts ("moobies"). Finally, after walking hours away and seeing a desolate landscape before them, he turns towards her with lust in his eyes and passionately asks permission to hug her.

The Result

 

Obviously it is oxymoronical to "passionately ask permission". If there was ever a time and place to passionately ravage a female it would be millions of years in the future where humanity is on the brink of survival. But no, these are Japanese actors and it states somewhere in their contracts that their romance must begin with a rape-hug. And yes, despite him asking permission to hug her, and her saying "okay", they still manage to turn it into a rape-hug. Usually if you'd ask someone for a hug, there'd be an expectation that you'd mutally meet in the centre. But no, after she consents, she stands up and closes her eyes to let this one remaining male in the world have his way with her. This is so disappointing in every single way. I just hope that if there ever is a scenario where humanity depends on two sexually mature people to repopulate the world, that they aren't Japanese. It's not that I don't want the only people in the world to be Japanese, but I'd have a fear that five years into post apocalpytic life they'd still be calling each other by their last names.

The Depiction

It's quite a generic depiction of rape-huggery, with so much awkwardness before, during and after - which again makes no sense as it's made clear that they like each other and everybody they know and love are long dead. The main difference here is the blue-screened image of a desert behind them.

Awkwardometor ☆☆

While it is an amazing feat to even have a consentual rape-hug, and it is extremely awkward, on some levels this is not actually a "rape" hug. Still, even if you have consent and the other party isn't seeming to enjoy themselves you might want to be careful. But even then we can see her smile so at least we know everything is okay. But what if by "Hold you in my arms" he meant 'to have sex'? Where does that consent end? It's a fuzzy line, which again, doesn't really matter in a world where humans are wiped out, but isn't that the point of Science Fiction: to question and tests the limits of morality by removing irrelevant factors?




Video

Watch the video and hear the stilted dialogue where he asks for and she gives consent to hold her.