Hana Yori Dango Season II, Episode 1

The Actors


Rape-Huggist: Ikuta Toma ♂
Rape-Huggee: Inoue Mao ♀


The Context
It is the start of the 2nd Season of this very successful dorama. She has gone up a school year and her boyfriend has gone overseas. So the problem is, how do you introduce some conflict into the dorama? That's right: a rape-hug!
Junpei is a new character who is actually a world-famous male model, but at school nobody recognises him because he wears glasses. How is this possible, you ask? Well, this is a dorama intended for silly teenage girls, is why. They have a couple of random meetings and it seems like they could become good friends, or perhaps more. However, afraid of her current relationship, she says it would be better if they don't be friends anymore. He starts crying, she says "well, we can still be friends...", and then he is so overjoyed that he rape-hugs her and doesn't even hear her saying "Stop it."

The Result
The rape-hug is cut short when she spots a friend eavesdropping on them, and she is the one who appears to feel guilty. What are we living in the Middle East now, where rape-hug victims are the ones to blame?

Spoiler Alert: It turns out that Junpei was actually a mortal enemy of her boyfriend and was planning all along to take revenge on him by stealing his girl, or kidnapping him, or something that only a teenage girl could suspend their belief enough for.

The Depiction








This scene is usual for it's spare use of cuts. It consists mainly of a long-shot containing horrifically terrible overacting, and it progresses to a mid-shot where he grabs her by her jacket sleeves as she is trying to escape, and the rape-hug occurs in the same scene. I can only hope that they needed only one take, and judging by the quality of acting, I think that was the case. There is also a crappy piano tune playing which stops suddenly when a door is heard opening. During the struggle, there is another cut to close in and show us her facial expression as she realises she has been caught in the act. Her face is quite similar to an O-face.


Awkwardometor ☆☆☆☆
This is a high-degree of awkwardness, based partly on her terribly overacted facial expressions. In the screen-grab we see her pouting like a fish, and then her face turns into an inappropriate expression of carnal desire as she realises she has been caught in the act. Perhaps that's what gets her off. 
Also, you can't avoid the fact that she is screaming for him to stop - which he doesn't until another male disturbs them.
 
But the most awkward part to me is when the music screeches to a stop. The hotel-lobby-like piano music continues along to provide a nice background during the rape-hug and screeches to a halt only when someone else interrupts it. It isn't the physical assualt, but the fact that someone else saw it. Think about that. 



Video
Enjoy the terrible acting which extends across language barriers,  and pay particular attention to the moment that the music stops.

 

 

Mitsu no Aji, Episode 4 (no1)

The Actors

Rape-Huggist: Kanno Miho ♀
Rape-Huggee: ARATA ♂


The Context

This is the 2nd rape-hug between these two characters in this dorama. In the first, she was feeling insecure about her relationship with her fiancee and she grabbed him from behind while was busy in the kitchen. It was only slightly odd, mainly because this was her way of saying "let's get married".


Two episodes later, he realises that he has just married a psychotically jealous bitch and is already making preparations to leave her. That's when she commits one of the most disgusting rape-hugs you will ever witness as a last ditch attempt to keep her man from leaving.


The Result
This relationship did not end well.


The Depiction

The rape-hug begins with a spousal fight and as he fights her off and turns to leave, she tackles him to the ground and clings on for dear life. The next 60 seconds (or about 1.3% of the entire episode) shows the two of them writhing around on the floor. She is crying. She tries to make out with him. He is crying. She places her hands around his throat, but you aren't scared for his life because he is twice her size (and a bad actor). It's also notable that he is obviously considering whether he leave right now, or that he takes this opportunity for some breakup sex. I mean, that is the only reason that a female-on male rape-hug could continue on for so long. And yes, she obviously would put out to keep him, and sure, she's pretty smoking hot.


But all that writhing... That's what stays burned into my memory. It reminds me of a game the kids sometimes play at sleepover parties called "wormies". It's when everyone zips up their sleeping bag completely and act out an orgy.


Also the acting is terrible, which is normal.


Awkwardometor ☆☆☆☆☆
We did it! Finally a female-on-male rape-hug with a 100% awkward rating! This is a major success for the gender inquality in Japan. And add on the increased difficulty of the fact that the two characters are married. Now that is super-awkard. Congratulations!

Also note that Kanno Miho is putting together one hell of a rape-hug resume as both a victim and ... "victor"?


Video
See how long you can watch this clip without turning away. This is the rape-hug equivalent of 2 Girls One Cup.

Great Teacher Onizuka, Episode 1

The Actors
Rape-Huggist: Kirari ♀
Rape-Huggee: Sorimachi Takashi ♂


The Context
He is the new teacher of a very naughty class, and this is the first attempt by the students to get him fired. In this first plot he finds one of his female students crying at his doorstep saying that she doesn't want to go home. He lets her in, and she quickly undresses and makes her advances.
As soon as she hugs him, two classmates jump out of the closet flashing their cameras.

 
The Result
The boys think that they have photographic proof with which they can get the teacher fired, or blackmail him. It sort of works, but not really. She quickly gets up and puts her school uniform back on looking really proud of herself, which I find a little odd. Because sure, she may have succeeded in her little plan, but she also just showed her tits to three men. No shame or modesty at all?

Note: From the angle of where the photo is taken, because he his sitting down cross-legged, and she can only be seen from behind as she hugs his stomach, it would seem that the photo would A) look like she is giving him a BJ, and B) that her face wouldn't appear in the photo, so it wouldn't really be an incriminating photo at all. Well, I guess if a photo of a teacher appearing to get a BJ was floating around school that would cause some problems, but still, that wasn't the plan.


The Depiction





As noted above, this a relatively rare seated rape-hug, which often results in the point of contact being a little bit too close to the crotch. It also shows only his facial reaction, which is of confusion (presumably her's is an expression of vindictive teenage whore-ism).
It also differs because the event lasts for only a few moments. See, that's one of the most bothersome elements of Japanese rape-hugs - they last forever, or at least far longer than human nature would dictate. Even if they can't say the word "no" because they are Japanese, presumablyquite often they would still struggle immediately. 

 
Awkwardometor N/A
This is obviously supposed to be an awkward moment for Sorimachi's character, but as a rape-hug this is how they should be portrayed: as a bad thing! It's not an expression of uncontrollable desire, or of claiming another human being as your own personal posession. Here the act of rape-hug is evil and malicious. I doubt that this is an indictment of rape-hugs as a cultural Japanese phenomenom, but it does show them for what they often are - unsolicited and unwanted hugs.

This is perhaps not a reason why GTO is probably the greatest Japanese Dorama that will ever be made, but I don't think it is a coincidence.


Video
Watch the entire sequence of schoolgirl in her underwear lunge at her teacher, and then two guys jump out of the closet with their cameras out. Also bewonder how casually she gets up and puts her clothes back on, because this is the rare rape-hug where the rape-huggist should be the one feeling dirty afterwards.  

 

Manhattan Love Story, Episode 2

The Actors
Rape-Huggist: Bruiser Brody ♂
Rape-Huggee: Sakai Wakana ♀

The Context
This dorama centres around several characters involved in the TV industry, and in this scene some characters are watching Sakai's character - who is a TV presenteress - give some kind of report on live TV. They are casually watching and commenting on the events on TV while she is screaming "help" and trying to escape a giant Professional Wrestler who is shouting things like "I'm going to eat you".

Note: This is Bruiser Brody's only appearance in the entire dorama. So there truly is no context to speak of. 

The Result
There are no consequences of this action, presumably because everybody thinks that both the professional wrestler and the TV presenter are faking it. In fact, the man watching TV is commenting on how cute she is as she is literally being assaulted on live TV.

On the one hand, I would like to think that this is a meta-commentary on Japanese television and the inequal gender relationships that make such shocking abuse seem so normal in Japanese society, but on the other hand, this is so disturbing - and there are many other rape-hugs in this dorama that I no longer think it is likely. It's a shame because Manhattan Love Story does a good job of pointing out the sillyness of Japanese TV on many occasions. However, this is probably intended simply as some comic relief, because you know how hilarious a giant foreign man pillaging an innocent Japanese lady is.


The Depiction
 

Everything about this rape-hug is so completely overboard. Come on, he is running towards her from behind while screaming how he is "going to get her".

Awkwardometor ☆☆☆☆☆
This is easily a 5-star quality rape-hug. There is the attack from the rear - but not because she isn't expecting it -- but precisely because she is and she is so terrified and is screaming for help. Also, the fact that he is an enormous professional wrestler who also happens to be white - it's probably the most terrifying prospect for any Japanese woman. 

Video
To truly appreciate the wrongness of this scene, watch it in real-time and see how non-chalant the men watching the TV are. Also observe the terrible acting of the Pro-wrestler - he makes the Japanese dorama actors look amazing.

Mukodono 2003, Episode 2

 The Actors
Rape-Huggist: Nagase Tomoya ♂
Rape-Huggee: Hoshino Mari ♀







The Context
This rape-hug actually has no context. By which I mean, it is almost a meta-rape-hug. Mukodono 2003 is a dorama about an actor who tries to live a normal personal life, and on occasion we see him on TV or billboards, or in this case - acting a single scene from a dorama he is in. And sure enough, the one scene they chose to represent is of an isolated rape-hug. I love that the directors and writers decided to run with this. Stick with what you know, right?


The Result
Nothing resulted from this, apart from a queasy feeling in my stomach. You see, this would have been a perfect opportunity to comment on the status of the rape-hug in Japanese TV. Several of the other episodes in this dorama make really stinging observations on the ridiculousness of celebrity status and on Japanese media. Sure, it is mostly a stupid dorama, but a few times I was thinking "can they do this?" And then they just let this rape-hug slide by.

The Depiction



The filmography is perfectly stereotypical for this dorama inside a dorama scene. Sweeping shots and closeups of their faces. The actual impact isn't shown, however, opting instead for a series of quick cuts (similar to an overproduced music video during a difficult dance move that the lead singer can't actually do). And this includes the upper-arm grab. You see this occasionally in Japan - not even just on TV. Seriously, I have seen couples walk down the street with the male almost dragging his girl down the street by her forearm as if she was a child who just drew on the walls with crayon. I wouldn't think women would like this kind of treatment. But then, what do I know about women?
I also appreciate the closeup of her face where it looks like she has died inside. See, shouldn't it be a hint that no rape-hugee is ever visibly happy during the rape-hug?


Awkwardometor ☆☆☆
It's difficult to rate this one, however, the awkwardness is in the fact that everybody treats it so normal. I sometimes feel like a schitzo who sees horrible murders all over the place but noone else seems to notice. Am I going crazy? Does noone else see this? Rape-hugs are driving me towards insanity. 


Video
Watch the entire over-preoduced scene, and after the scene ends observe the pan-out which shows all the people working on the dorama sitting around - not one of whom seems plussed.

 

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. 
 

Tiger and Dragon, Episode 4

The Actors
Rape-Huggist: Ito Misaki ♀
Rape-Huggee: Odaka Junichi ♂


The Context
The above GIF says about everything that needs to be said. He's simply not confident enough to make a move on the girl he likes to the point where he avoids her, and then the girl he likescomes out of nowhere to attack him from behind. You can see the instant where his face changes from "Loser" to "Mojo"

↓

Oh how quickly a male temperament can change with femular attention. 

An extra bit of context can be provided by the previous episode where she rape-hugs another guy simply because she tought it was cute he was a virgin. We may have our first female serial rape-huggist (with different victims) on J-Dorama Rape-hugs.


The Result
They end up together, although it becomes a running joke that they don't consumate despite the fact she is a notoriously loose woman. It's funny how rape-hugs can actually be funny when it's perpetrated by a female.

The Depiction
Here we see a sponateous from-behind attack. Also note how she tries to be too cute by burrowing her face into his shoulder-blade, even though he can't see it. This also hides her face, allowing us to focus on the pinnacle of this portrayal - his change of expression. Usually rape-hug expressions go like this:
1) Shock
2) Staying still
3) Acceptance

(*Note: this is pretty much the same reaction you would expect by someone being mauled by a grizzly bear during mating season)

However, the portrayal of rape-hug in Tiger And Dragon is perfectly executed and perfectly acted-out. This is one of the reasons that Tiger And Dragon is one of the few Japanese Doramas that is genuinely funny from beginning to end. 







Awkwardometor ☆
This is a very unawkward rape-hug because of his expression that almost says "Oh yeah, I planned this all along." even though he obviously didn't.

Video
See, you can joke about rape-hugs!