First Love, Episode 1

The Actors

Rape-Huggist:  Fukuda Kyoko ♀
Rape-Huggee: Watanabe Atsuro ♂


The Context

As you can see in the above GIF, she is in school uniform and he is not. The reason he isn't in school uniform is because he is the teacher. 

This scene is a flashback from several years earlier which moves the entire dorama. She is a quiet student who falls in love with her teacher and this is the moment that she makes her move. They are in a secluded part of school presumably at lunchtime (I presume that it is exam season because the gymnasium is deserted).

The Result

He reciprocates the rape-hug and kisses her back, which would be awesome if he wasn't her teacher. Another student witnesses the event and because he is such a popular teacher she attempts to commit suicide which forces the teacher to "take responsibility" and hand in his letter of resignation and disappear out of her life without saying goodbye.

For those scoring at home, there are several extremely Japanese things about the above paragraph:

1. A relationship between a student and teacher - a disturbingly popular theme in J-doramas.
2. Someone attempting to commit suicide
3. Someone else claiming responsibility simply by leaving their job
4. Someone breaking off a relationship simply by leaving
            - this is heightened by a 'running alongside the train' scene, which is completely ridiculous in a country where a train leaves every 8 minutes.
5. The rape-hug

The dorama continues on several years later when he reappears in her life as the fiancee of her sister.

The Depiction

The rape-hug is definitely in the 'Praying Mantis Style' where the aggressor remains very still until she lunges.  This is where it gets weird. He - and remember - he is a teacher who should immediately bat off any advances from students, instead embraces that awkard moment. He gives a face as if he just creamed his breifs, moves his hand creepily onto her bra-strap-area, puts his hands stiffly on her shoulders like a boxing trainer between the 11th and 12th rounds and leans in for a pathetic closed-mouth kiss. I mean, if you're going to break the law and lose you job, you may as well make it worth your while.

Awkwardometor ☆☆☆☆

This is a strange situation where the fact that both parties are willing participants it does not mitigate the awkwardness of the situation. The dorama tries to present this event (shown in flashback form in most episodes) as a blossoming of first love, when in reality it is about the childish female crush-turned-obsession and a morally weak man. That, and the very long-drawn out scene makes this an easy 4-star rape-hug.

It's such a shame, but Fukuda Kyoko is seemily always cast as someone with extremely unhealthy or depraved sexual attractions. Here she macks onto her teacher, in Strawberry on the Shortcake she falls in love with her step-brother, in Kamisama Mou Sukoshi Dake she is a fan of a 40-year-old music producer and sleeps with him despite being 17 (and having AIDS and getting pregnant), and in Friends she commits the biggest relationship sin a Japanese person could do: fall in love with a Korean.
[I kid. Actually, Friends is probably the best romance Japanese Dorama I have seen - possibly because it is half made by Korean directors/actors/etc.]

Video
As the entire scene was too long for the one GIF, you may want to see the scene in all it's entirety including the reciprocal kiss - you know, in the interest of journalistic integrity.

Ikebukuro West Park Gate, Episode 1

The Actors

Rape-Huggist: Kato Ai ♀
Rape-Huggee: Nagase Tomoya ♂

The Context

This is that all-too-familiar situation where you have your eye on someone but their best friend is throwing themself at you. In this situation, he likes her best friend who is much prettier (at least in the world of J-doramas) and has just called his cellphone. Feeling that her opportunity is slipping Kato Ai grabs away his phone and makes a close-range hug-attack followed by a sloppy kiss.

The Result

As seen in the GIF, he momentarily engages her before throwing her off in a manner similar to when your older brother tosses his dirty laundry on your face.However, later on in the series they do end up together.

Also - and this is definitely a spoiler although I stupidly wasn't aware at the time - her best friend ends up being killed later on in this episode. Yeah, that's the difference between men and women. When two guys like the same girl one will step down honorably, but when two girls like the same man it's a fight to the death.

The Depiction

The moment of impact is only shown for an instant as the shot quickly changes to her attempt to kiss him. Both of their faces are highlighted although there is absolutely no expression in either of their face - primarily because Japanese people still haven't learnt about the open-mouth kiss. A nice touch is when he throws her off, it is shown from a low angle to make him look brooding and tough. Yeah, he doesn't take any crap from anyone even if that crap is a girl hopelessly and completely throwing herself at him.

Awkwardometor ☆☆
A large part of the awkwardness of a rape-hug is the reaction of the victim, and this guy is simply too tough to care. And in fact, their relationship over the next few episodes is relatively normal as they search for the murderer, and they do begin dating. So, I guess her strategy worked?


Video
Watch the above scene followed by him scolding her for her misbehaviour, and for all her talk of sex and giving him presents. I'm starting to think that this character isn't a very realistic portrayal of a male human being, or perhaps due to seeing so many rape-hugs I have lost all faith in humanity.
 

Haikei, Chichiue-sama, Episode 9

The Actors

Rape-Huggist: Morikami Chie ♀
Rape-Huggee: Ninomiya Kazunari ♂


The Context

 

They are coworkers at a Japanese style restaurant. He is a junior chef and she is a waitress who is at least 15 years his senior and has a child. After a round of post-work heavy drinking, she is completely drunk and he is left to take her home. He finally gets her home, drags her inside and tries to put her to bed. Now, this is a classic rookie mistake - or perhaps a reality only seen on television. Once you get someone home who is that drunk, you'd probably take them into the bathroom first, or dump them ontop of the bed and try to feed them a glass of water. You don't pull up the sheets. Because, I guess that was her cue to rape-hug'n kiss him. But really this is basically the depiction of attempted rape - and he says so in a voiceover as he leaves the apartment.

The Result

He feels very dirty about it, but there is no mention of the event between them when they show up at work the next day, and the event is soon forgotten about.

The Depiction

As mentioned above, there is such a fine-line here between rape-hug and legitimate rape. The ordeal is papered-over quickly enough, but could you imagine how disturbing this would be if the gender roles were reversed?

Awkwardometor ☆
This is - no doubt - an extremely awkward scene. Although not explicitly mentioned, he seems to be a 22-year old virgin who is completely smitten with another girl, so although douchebag males would probably joke that they would love for this to happen to then, to him this was not a welcome surprise. But the portrayal of rape-hug in Haikei Chichiuesama is surprisingly self-aware for a Japanese dorama, and that is all we strive for at JDRH. 



Video
From the GIF, it may be difficult to ascertain who is attacking who especially since he is the one who lifts up the bedsheets, but the video clears leaves any trace of doubt behind.

Yume no California, Episode 2

The Actors

Rape-Huggist: Kaito Ken ♂
Rape-Huggee: Shibasaki Kou ♀

The Context

They are a couple who have been dating for quite some time, and it is quickly established that the reason they are dating is only because he has money and she doesn't... have a personality. Before and during the rape-hug he talks trash about her friends, but because he is from a good university he does it in a way that kind-of makes sense to a weak-willed female who is a model and makes it clear that she isn't very smart. Because from the outside, this is the perfect Japanese relationship: A rich, older, jealous man and a dumb, younger beautiful woman. This scene comes when she is starting to make other friends - one of whom owns a penis - so he becomes extremely posessive and forbids her from seeing them again, and suggests that she stops working so she never has to go out into society again. You know, "love".

The presence of a rape-hug in this particular dorama could have been fortold by glancing at the title of this episode which is 「君を抱きしめたい」 "Kimi wo dakishimetai / I want to hug you". That's a red-flag right there. Actually, I think this establishes prior intent.

The Result

They soon break up. Good. However, as profiled in episode 7, she rape-hugs another character. See, it's a vicious cycle like bullying where the victims then become the assailants. We must break this cycle.

The Depiction

 

 

This rape-hug is structurally extremely similar to the previous entry in J-Dorama Rape-hugs (Sleeping Forest Episode 7). They are both of jealous men who are trying to prevent their partner from leaving them. They are at home at nighttime. Their victims are both emotionally-dead and they approach them from behind while saying very creepy things. Compare and contrast the two.

Again, it is very difficult to really get a grasp on domestic rape-hugs, but I do know one thing for certain. That, if you are hugging an emotionless person from behind while saying anything, it will sound very creepy. Come on "Work with me and I'll encourage you?" Sure, that's an awkward translation by a fan-subber, but context is everything. He could be singing the Lion King sountrack and it would sound creepy.

Awkwardometor ☆☆
This gains one star more than the Sleeping Forest episode 7, based on the motives of the males. In Sleeping Forest, he is trying to hide the fact that he murdered her entire family before her eyes when she was 11 years old. In Yume no California he is trying to make her withdraw from society so she will be entirely his. Okay, when I put it like this, it almost sounds like I'm trying to make an argument that subjugating women is worse than multiple homocide. But in terms of the actual contact, in the first rape-hug they are both hysterical, where in the second he is complete, douchebag male tarnishing the good name of the hug.

Video
There's not much to see that wasn't in the GIF, but try watch this video and read the subtitles without thinking "Wow, this guy is a total psychopathic douche-nozzle."

Nemureru Mori, Episode 7

The Actors

Rape-Huggist: Nakamura Toru ♂
Rape-Huggee: Nakayama Miho ♀


The Context

 

The two of them are engaged to be married within a few months, and they start hitting troubled times when she gets flashbacks of her childhood. She is having thoughts that she killed her entire family as an 11-year-old and wants to call off the wedding incase she is a cold-blooded killer. Yes, the storyline is as convoluted and ultimately silly as it sounds. Being the man, he takes matters into his own hands and strides over for an uninvited hug. 

The Result

She doesn't return any pressure, but I guess the rape-hug was successful as the wedding goes ahead as planned. But [spoiler alert] it turns out, obviously, that he was in fact the killer all along! Oh the plot twists!

The Depiction

The filmography is quite typical for an interior rape-hug - namely a long shot as the rape-huggee strides/runs to the victim, and then an extended shot of their expressions. Here, the attack is from behind, and then they rock like a pirate-ship as he whispers really weird things into his ear.

Awkwardometor ☆
Domestic rape-hugs are often difficult to judge, especially true in this scene. His intentions are seemingly pure in trying to assuage her fears, but her expression and the fact that he suddenly comes in from the rear makes it all decidedly less romantic.
I have a theory that most rape-hugs in Japanese doramas between people that are already a couple is a desperate attempt to make up for a total lack of chemistry. Whenever these two are on-screen together, they seem to be controlled by dyslectic puppeteers. They never share a smile, or a look, never have any physical contact, and they are always sad. Sure, this is supposed to be a dark/mysterious dorama, but I feel that people should still act like people. Perhaps this is deliberate to forshadow that he is actually the murderer of her entire family, but more likely is that they are both poor actors. (Having seen both in other doramas, I vote for the latter.)

Video
Sometimes the animate GIF doesn't allow you to fully appreciate the speed of approach and the impact upon contact. Also, the fansubs show some of the excellent dialogue that do not make the rape-hug any less odd.   

IS, Episode 3

The Actors

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

The Context
This dorama centres around Fukuda Saki's character who is an intersexual - as in s/he has no defined gender. At first I thought this would be a very serious dorama about a very difficult topic -- especially in Japan. However, it quickly devolved into pretty much every crappy dorama full of bad acting, stilted dialogue, predctable plot-twists and the occasional rape-hug. In this scene - Fukuda's character (who feels like a boy but has been forced to go to her school as a girl) is at a boy's house. They had gone to a football (soccer) match and afterwards went to his house to watch more football videos. Until now they had been hanging out as friends, but after an awkward topic was breached, the camera zooms into his face. Yes, a rape-hug was inevitable. 

The Result
As you see in the GIF above, she/he did not accept the rape-hug, and immediately after runs away. He runs after her (probably not the most non-rapey option) and confronts her. They then agree it was a mistake and decide to simply be friends. 

The Depiction

The sequence begins with a very creepy slowmotion zoom-in shot of his face as he decides to rape-hug her/him from behind while s/he is looking through the box of VHS's. The impact is shown a couple of times from different angles in slow motion with fade-cuts, along with closeups of both their faces. It is a relatively long drawn-out sequence. Then, the slowmotion stops and contrasts with the sudden burst out of the rape-grapple.

Awkwardometor ☆☆☆☆
I hesitate to award this a full 5-stars based solely on the fact that they are both minors and it would be difficult to convict the perp. However, we have to congratulate I.S. for combining several of the awkward markers:

• The reverse attack
• The incredibly creepy closeup as he pre-determines his rape-huggy actions
• The sitting-down position which just looks wrong 

Then of course add to it the fact that he has no idea that the person he is compelled to hug is actually a he-she. See, we could all learn from this that our actions have consequences.


Video
To truly appreciate the sheer unwatchability of this scene, here is the video with the excruciating slow motion and mockingly romantic music.