Tiger and Dragon, Episode 6

The Actors

Rape-Huggists: Nagase Tomoya et al ♂
Rape-Huggee: Nameless extras ♀


The Context

The boys are on a night out in the town, and are looking to get some femular attention. Being Japan, there is always a snack bar/cabaret nearby where annoying girls are always ready to provide inane conversation, overpriced drinks and perhaps a handjob for the right price. So they are in the bar when Nagase's character gets an important phonecall. Being the leader of the group, everyone is waiting on him, and when he hangs up, all hell breaks loose.

The Result

This is the only gang rape-hug I have ever seen in a Japanese (or any other) dorama, and I hope it is the last. It significantly does not result in anything (a lawsuit comes to mind), as the scene immediately cuts to the advertisements. I somehow doubt that Coca Cola would be pleased with being the first thing people see after a violent group rape-hug.

The Depiction

It begins with Tomoya hanging up his phone, standing on the sofa and throwing off his blazer as he yells his battle cry to the men "Sorry to keep you waiting [for group rape-huggery]". Then the camera pans out as the men attack in formation around the six waitresses, form a human chain and start thrusting their pelvises towards the centre in a sychronised fashion. Note how all the women are cowering in fear. 

The entire sequence is very animalistic and reminds one of the age-old battle in nature of fish and dolphins. The females here are the fish, who when threatened form a bait ball as a last ditch defensive measure as individuals are more likely to be attacked than groups. However, the dolphin has evolved hunting techniques to exploit this behaviour by circling the prey so they form a tighter ball making for easy pickings. 

Note that the entire sequence is filmed in one shot. I just hope that this means they needed only one attempt at this scene.

Awkwardometor ☆☆☆☆☆


Tiger and Dragon has previously been feaured twice before on J-Dorama Rape-hugs, and both times they were actually used in a fashion that had some geniune humour to it. It is a very difficult line to tread, and in this case they failed horribly. This above scene is so horrific that I will never forget where I was when I saw it first. Overall Tiger and Dragon is a very good dorama, and this was very-much out of character. It was not, however, out of character with Nagase Tomoya who seems to be quite comfortable with rape-huggery. Every dorama I have seen with him in it he offends, which leads me to think that perhaps it is stated somewhere in his contract.


Video

Watch the carnage of the scene, the battle cries, and the cutaway to the commercials. Still feel like having a refreshing Coca Cola? 

Tiger And Dragon, Episode 3

The Actors

Rape-Huggist: Ito Misaki ♀
Rape-Huggee: Arakawa Yoshiyoshi ♂

The Context
Misaki's character is that she is a ditz, and he is one of the students living in the house who are studying the art of 'rakugo' (Japanese sit-down comedy). They are not involved - in fact she is dating the son of the master, and has slept twice with a different student. Anyway, at this point in the dorama it comes to light that he is a virgin. He then says how his only love is the theatre, which is her cue to say "Aww, how cute" and rape hug the virgin from behind.


The Result
Negligible. There is never any romantic or aggressive intent between the two characters, and her reaction is almost dehumanising him into a teddy-bear-like figure, as in "virgins still exist?"

The Depiction
The depiction is actually quite shocking, combining some of the most sinister rape-hug elements in quick succession: she runs out from behind the bookshelf on the left to rape-hug him from behind mid-sentence while six people simply look on and do nothing. This is a prime example of the bystander effect.




Awkwardometor ☆
Having once been a virgin myself, I know how incredibly awkward situation this must be for the male victim. The last thing his confidence needs right after exposing to everyone that he is a virgin is an attractive female fe-man-handling him out of any emotion other than lust, especially in a roomful of people he knows. However, the overall awkwardness of this rape-hug rates low because:

• Rape-hugs are nearly always less awkward when the female is the perp.
• There is obviously no malice intended by this action.
• Tiger and Dragon is a genuinely funny comedy, largely because it creates these awkward moments.

So basically what I have just said is that this rape-hug is less awkward because it is awkward. This makes sense when you remember that the awkwardometor is a gague of the awkwardness the viewer, not the characters. So basically, I might be implicity condoning rape-hugs - or willing to turn a blind eye - if the intent is only to embarrass male virgins.


Video
"How cute! Lets violate it!"