Last Christmas, Episode 11

Apologies for the belated finale of Rape-hugMas. Incidentally, this year there happened to be another busy holiday that got in the way. But I think you will agree that the wait will have been worth it - this is a true Christmas classic Rape-hug that everyone (i.e. noone) will enjoy. 

The Actors

Rape-Huggist: Tamaki Hiroshi ♂
Rape-Huggee: Katase Ritsuko ♀


The Context

This is a repeat rape-hug between these same two characters, and this time Tamaki is far more assertive. That's the thing with rape-hugs: it's like cocaine in that you push the limits of humanity further each time. Although these characters are not the leading pair, their romantic storyline - if it can be called that (it can't) - is a running thread and it will now be finally resolved. 

The Result

She docilely accepts the advance, people watching swoon at the romantic gesture (?) and most importantly the dorama ends and I never have to pretend to care about these two again.

The Depiction

The event takes place in a lobby in front of a giant white Christmas tree, in plain sight of many people. She is actually prepared to finally break up with him, but that is bullshit, I mean, who breaks up with someone in front of a giant albino Christmas tree? So she turns to walk away when he tells her to stop. Yes, he "tells" her to stop, barking the command, but really, she is a smart woman who knows his rape-hugging history and is playing Jedi mind tricks on him. 

Plucked up with confidence, Tamaki starts trutting around saying incredibly douchebaggy things like:

"I hate women like you"

"You are bothering me" and

"There are women everywhere"

Then he is so overcome with blind rape-hug rage that he cuts himself off mid-sentence and lunges at her, like he is some sick fuck who gets off on scaring women.

Then, in an insult to all women's taste in men, all of the females in the vicinity pout and swoon in despair when they see Hiroshi finally commit himself to a single woman and suddenly be taken off the marketplace. Do Japanese women actually think he is a good catch? What am I missing? It's scenes like this that make me despair at the state of humanity.

Awkwardometor ☆☆☆☆
The elements for a five-star rape-hug are in place, with the repeat offender Tamaki Hiroshi doing some of his best work so far on J-Dorama Rape-hugs. There is threatening pre-offence speech, the jumping-spider-like attack and the wide-open space with so many people looking on and thinking that this is not only okay, but desireable. However, as mentioned above, she obviously wanted this to happen (if not orchestrate the whole event). She basically covered herself with lamb's blood and walked into the lion enclosure at the zoo. Still, that far from nullifies the legitimacy or awkwardness of this atrocious scene. We believe here that eliminating rape-hugs from doramas includes more than just name-and-shaming tactics, but education and empowerment of possible victims. Namely, we all need to spread the word that "not no does not mean yes". And that is my only thing on my Rape-hugMas wishlist this year.




Video
Watch the entire sequence with his douchebaggy false confident walk and innane and repulsive speech. Hiroshi is the worst.

Have a happy and safe 2013 everyone!

Love Shuffle, Episode 10 (number 1 of 2)

We continue Rape-hugMas with yet another spectacular performance by our favorite repeat offender.

The Actors

Rape-Huggist: Tamaki "Heavyweight Rape-hug Champion of the world" Hiroshi ♂
Rape-Huggee: Kanjiya Shihori ♀

The Context

These two characters have a history of rapehuggery, outlined in a previous post about the first episode. And after separating and "shuffling lovers" for the middle eight episodes, Tamaki decides after all that she is the only person he wants to rape-hug. He's such a romantic.

The Result

This is the resolution for their relationship, which is that she is the lucky lady to have been selected by this fine gentlman. See that's the thing I hate about Tamaki Hiroshi - every character he plays is a successful man who is incredibly popular with women, but he posesses zero charm and always has to resort to rape-hug to seal the deal. This just doesn't quite fit with the personality of someone who is supposed to be successful and popular with women and he keeps trying to force the issue - in several different ways.

The Depiction

Often Christmas rape-hugs come in the Fall broadcasting season, making the finale close to actual Christmas (which, remember, in Japan is not a time spent with family, but is the most romantic time of the year for couples who go and watch Christmas illuminations.) However, Love Shuffle was in the Winter season making this a March airing, and not specifically during Christmas. Still, someone has forgotten to take down the illuminations, giving the viewers something interesting to look at while two bland characters share a miserable happiest moment of their lives. 

Awkwardometor ☆☆

This is relatively low on the awkwardometor scale - as she is sobbing and some may think that all she needs is a hug. Also, Hiroshi does not precede this rape-hug with a menacing glare or threatening words as he usually does. However, as we have discussed, there is a precedent here and we of the Rape-hug Community watch must stay vigilant when serial rape-huggists are about. If you make yourself a reputation, you're going to have to live with it.

Video
There's nothing much else to see here people. Move along.

Last Christmas, Episode 3 (no.1 of 2)

'Tis the Christmas season, so for the entire month will be Christmas-themed rape hugs! We start Rape-hugMas month with the obvious dorama.

The Actors

Rape-Huggist: Tamaki "Captain Rape-hug" Hiroshi ♂
Rape-Huggee: Katase Ritsuko ♀


The Context

The two involvees are dating, but since this is a family dorama their relationship is purely for narrative purposes only. However, Tamaki is a piece of shit who doesn't know how to treat a female. Also, the character he plays is a piece of shit who doesn't know how to treat a female, so the other characters are telling him to finally make a move on the girl he is basically already dating.

The Result

With several people looking on, Tamaki, in his usual creepy and aggressive rape-hug manner, cuts off her conversation with a surprise frontal attack. Everyone on the dancefloor notices this 'hot steamy action' and stops, because apparently this is a junior dance filled with awkward 13-year olds who are otherwise too shy to talk to the opposite gender.

These two eventually sort-of start dating, going long distance and breaking up and all that, but just know that this is only the third episode of the series and Tamaki has plenty more rape-huggery in him. Even more amazing is that he isn't even a lead actor in this dorama - where does he get all this energy for rape-hugging?

The Depiction

Most of the action is shot in profile to highlight the distance between the couple that has suddenly been eliminated. I quite enjoy how the aftermath shows the people on the dancefloor suddenly stop dancing. The only thing that shot was missing was the sound of a broken record.

Awkwardometor ☆☆☆
She is obviously very feeling the awk, replying to his so-called gesture by saying "Everyone is looking at us...", which if you know how to translate Female into Male would mean "stop it". But subtlely don't work on a serial rape-huggist like Tamaki who assures her by saying: "I don't care."

However, on the awkward scale I can't in good conscience rate this higher than a three simply because he was peer-pressured into doing it.
 
Video
Watch the sequence play out from the time a female colleage eggs him on until the awkward aftermath and the DJ trying to capitolise on this 'romantic moment' by finding a slow song.

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. 
 

Love Shuffle, Episode 1

The Actors
Rape-Huggist: Tamaki Hiroshi  ♂
Rape-Huggee: Kanjiya Shihori ♀

The Context:
 He is dating a girl with zero personality, and in a last ditch attempt to prevent her from leaving, he goes in for the kill.

The Result
As would be expected of a rape-hug in the first episode, this misguided display of affection was not received as he would have liked, thus setting up the premise of the dorama to have several people switch partners over several weeks.

The Depiction
Tamaki Hiroshi is a true professional at Rape-hugs - and it's amazing that he is still only 32 years old! He has still to his his rape-hugging prime. We here at J-dorama Rape-hugs.com expect great things from him in the future. Here, he is in top form.
First, he completely misreads the situation where a girl is trying to distance herself from him.
Then, he stands there motionless, staring at her like he has been lobotomised.
He runs up to her and attacks her from behind, which is all the more amazing since he approached from the side.
Then he doubles down and professes his love into her ear while he has her encased in an unwanted hug.

What annoys me the most is how he couldn't quite get the arm motion right. I appreciate that he was carefully trying to avoid touching her boobs. Speaking from experience, it's always difficult for a taller man to hug a girl from behind without at least brushing her breasts. Instinct tells you to go above the breasts, but in reality your arms could slip down a few centimetres into the erogenous zone. In reality below the breasts there is less chance of inappropriate contact, but in that case you definitely need to be sure that the hug is consentual.

Here, we see Tamaki Hiroshi straddling that no-fly zone, as if the script doesn't specify whether the rape-hug should be above or below her boobies (or perhaps doesn't even specify that it needs to be from behind). This makes me think that we are probably witnessing a method-acting rape-hug here. Usually we could entrust Tamaki to the task, but there is that split second before impact where he thinks he might be going too low to the boobies, so he recalibrates his arms and grabs the safe areas of her shoulders, ending up in a hug that is far too high, almost an atttempt at strangulation.





Awkwardometor ☆☆☆☆
This is a startingly awkward rape-hug for one in the first episode. It is from behind, he has the crazy eyes, and nothing about the situation suggests that a hug would be approriate.

Video
See the crazy eyes, the speed of approach and the slight hesitation of the arm placement. So much going on in such a short amount of time. 

Guilty Akuma to Keiyakushita Onna, Episode 4

The Actors


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



The Context
This is a dorama about a seemingly gentle woman who basically goes around passively killing people, and a detective who obviously falls in love with her. However, as the actor playing this detective is Tamaki Hiroshi (a frequent appearee to J-Dorama Rape Hugs), he has a strange way of expressing these feelings. The rape-hug is committed during a heartfelt soliloquy by her about how miserable her life has been, and immediately after the words: "Leave me alone". Thus Tamaki is following the two main rules for the aspiring rape-huggist:

1. Hear what you want to hear.
2. Get them when they're down.

The Result
The result is negligable. Sure, she kind of runs away, but then they awkardly have dates in which there is less chemistry than the recipie for play-dough. They certainly fail the test of success, which is if their genitals touch. But I guess either way, it put her in a difficult situation - the rapehuggist is a policeman!  And this is why we need a better comminity rape-hug watch.

The Depiction

The rape-hug can be seen coming from more than a minute before the actual event. While she is talking and staring out to sea, his head turns towards her like a dog that has just heard its name. I wouldn't be surprised if he stopped listening to what she was saying at this point. His eyes get crazier, and then he grabs her wrist as she tries to escape. She gives the final words of "leave me alone", which he thinks is the perfect moment to commit rape-hug. Then we get closeups of Tamaki with his angry furrowed brow, and her terrified face as if she is on a crowded train full of sumo wrestlers.




Awkwardometor ☆☆☆☆
This is a particularly awkward rapehug because of how incredibly bad he is (or the writers of the show) at reading the situation. Sure, Tamaki is a serial rapist and you know that one is coming, but that doesn't reduce the awkwardness. It's like watching a drunk walk the tightrope - it's more torturous before he falls, and almost a relief when he finally does. However, this is no consolation to the victim of the rape-hug. Furthermore, this is a nightscene, which helps increase the rapyness.


Video
If you're feeling like torturing yourself, watch the extremely long rape-hug foreplay accompained by the sounds of waves lapping against the shore. 

Nodame Cantablie, Episode 11

 The Actors
Rape-Huggist: Tamaki Hiroshi ♂
Rape-Huggee: Ueno Jiri ♀







*Remember the name Tamaki Hiroshi. By my own anecdotal evidence, he is by far the rape-huggiest J-actor around. Every dorama I've seen of his, he commits rape-hug, and often this includes some of the most violent and inappropriate ones. This certainly is a great introduction to his body of work. 

The Context
They are both music students, and she has been chasing him like a pack of rabid dogs after a terrified 6-year old carrying a bag of dead kittens. She even rape-kissed him earlier on, but he couldn't take a hint - all the way until this - the last episode. Like many final episodes of Japanese doramas, the girl gives up on the guy and goes to her hometown. In this case, it is in Kyushu - the very bottom island of Japan. While she is there, he realises that he likes her and takes the bullet-train, local train and taxi all the way from Tokyo. This is a very long trip and prohibitively expensive so it cannot possibly be spontaneous. Then, from the taxi he gets a phonecall from her, and the taxi passes her walking alongside the river. He gets out of the taxi without her knowledge and just watches from afar. If he were wearing a rubber mask, this would have changed the context completely. Then, he begins a confident stride and rape-hugs the crapp out of her.

The Result
She is shocked, and he doesn't help the situation by making thinly veiled threats ("If you reject me again..."). After about 90 seconds, she touches his arm to make the rape-hug legal. Then he is introduced to the family, and you'd think everything is fine between them. But no, they never really get together - at least not until the 2nd special episode.

However, the biggest apparent result of this rape-hug is thousands of girls wetting themselves at this special moment. Seriously, there are message boards talking about how "suteki" and romantic this moment was. All I have to say is: Really women? Really? Really? And that is why I began this website.

The Depiction



We have a dramatic sunset backdrop, and a series of sweeping shots. Also, the point of impact is so violent that it reminds me of this nature video. But visually this rape-hug is most notable for the range of facial expressions. You can clearly see his expression when he decides he's going for it. Then his face truly gets scary.  Tamaki at his rape-huggy finest.
As great as his face is, I can't get enough of her sheer state of shell-shock. I mean, she has been rape-hugged in the behind from a guy who has literally travelled half the length of Japan to commit this act.
Then, after they stand there for a long time, a boat goes by with her father on it.



Awkwardometor ☆☆☆☆☆
This rape-hug gains the full 5-stars for awkwardness. In fact, it was this very rape-hug that sowed the seed for J-Dorama Rape-Hugs. For the full awkwardness and sheer-dragged-out-ness, do check out the video below. 


Video

Bonus: 

Like many dorama's Nodame Cantabile is a remake of a manga and anime. Either way, here is a cartoon version of the same incident. Some may say that this dorama was merely being true to the original, but that doesn't make it any less rape-huggy. Yes, it is very faithful. Faithfully hug-rapey.

Discuss: Is a rape-hug better or worse when it is in animated form?