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."