Confidential Confessions

[Aion]

There's a manga with the same title as the thread that very few seem to have read. It's only got 300 votes on MAL (which is low when popular stuff can get over 10,000) and only the contents of Vol. 1 have been put on the internet for e-pirates like myself. This isn't really that shocking when you consider what the series is about and the audience it's aimed at, but it's a shame it, a series Tokyopop have received in English, hasn't received more love when it's a very well-written, very realistic series.

Each volume provides one or two stories that focus on a different set of characters and problems. The main character of each each story is always a high school female. The first story deals with two suicidal high girls who hate living a meaningless, lonley existence; the second is a 50 page story is about a girl who, having left home to live on the streets, selling her body for money, is changed forever by an encounter with somene who sees her as more than just an object to be used; the third story lasts for an entire volume, it being about a girl who has to decide if she should keep quiet about the sexual harrasment of the famous tennis coach that works at her school; the forth is a 150 page story that deals with a girl who, due to the pressure of her father, enters into the world of drugs and becomes addicted to the point of selling herself.

All of these stories could (and, going on the title, might very well be) true stories. There's no mecha action, needless panty shots or anything like that here. It's depressing to read because it's so close to reality, and it's a rare feeling to get from reading something many use to escape reality. The only unrealistic aspect of the stories is how most end on a bright note for the main character, but it's not impossible for bad situations to turn good in the land of the real.

I currently own Vol. 1-3. I've ordered Vol. 4-6 from TBD. If I still think highly of the series after finishing it, I'll pick up the two volume sequel, which differs from the original series: it's one story and not multiple stories mixed together.

 

[Rui]

I'm super busy today so will post again later with more, but I have this series and did find it pretty good (though a bit preachy occasionally). The only warning I'll give is that I hated, hated, hated the sequel series (the two volume Confidential Confessions: Deai) which seemed to throw out all the good parts and replace them with stupidity. So I'd be interested to hear how you find that one.

R

 

[Rui]

I think that with Confidential Confessions being clearly aimed at girls and being quite preachy in tone sometimes too, it shoots itself in the foot with regard to finding a market. The type of person it's aimed at will often not want to hear about the potential depressing outcomes of almost every life decision so it will grate. I don't think it's particularly aimed at me (or you) so perhaps that lets us enjoy it on a slightly different level. I haven't met many people who have read it, let alone talked about it.

I would be interested to see more of this type of series brought across in English in future. It might bore the average manga fan but there's some room for it to appeal to younger girls in particular who aren't keen on fantasy or romance but might be interested in reading some edgier real world drama. And those of us who don't mind something a little different can also dip into it.

Possible thematic spoilers for Deai follow though I haven't mentioned anything specific.

I had been looking forward to the sequel but I think the combination of the storyline they chose and the drawn out melodrama became too much by the end. In the shorter stories things often escalate to the most dramatic possible outcome, but because it's limited to a third or a half of a volume the plug is pulled before it gets annoying. Also because the short stories have to revolve around someone being naïve to work (a girl with a spine generally could avoid a lot of the problems the heroines fall into...but you accept their mistakes as they're young and vulnerable) the length made the main characters' continuing ignorance quite grating.

R

 

[Aion]

Since you don't download anime/manga, I take it you haven't read Bitter Virgin or Deep Love: Ayu, two VERY realistic series that were written/drawn by females? If you haven't, I'm pretty sure they'd be right up your street because, like Confidential Confessions (CC), they're realistic, with no fan service or silliness getting in the way.

The only problem with Deep Love: Ayu is that, unlike CC, it had awful things happen constantly just to get a reaction out of readers, and it didn't have a happy ending like CC stories do. If I recall, the Ayu story was based on real life events...to a certain extent anyway.

I'm at the stage where I want anime/manga to make me feel something emotionally. I'm past the stage where I'd be happy to watch/read a series similar to Naruto that offers little in the way of depth and lots in the way of action. Fictional stories mixed in with real world realism is what I tend to look for nowadays. It's just too bad there aren't many series out there like that, most being very childish and aimed at the sort of people who rate TTGL 10/10 just because it's fun.

I don't view the stories I've read so far as "preachy". It isn't as if the author said, for example, suicide is wrong - all the author did was create two characters who wanted death and painted the world around them. It isn't a lie to say that truly suicidal people go through with it and those who write notes, give hints and talk about it are asking for help. The author tried to stay impartial as much as possible, with only the forth story (the drug one) coming across as one-sided, but you can't blame the author when drugs do ruin lives and the story was about drugs almost ruining the life of a girl under pressure.

I'll have to see how the sequel series compares. I'm not sure what the story is about... Do you want to tell me?

 

[Rui]

I think the preachiness did vary a lot and I'm probably only remembering the "worst" stories now in that respect. Where it seemed worse was where she'd go over and over on a point without moving on for a few too many pages. The shorter stories and the ones where quite a few different things happened to give variety seemed to work best. The story about the "cutter" and the second series bugged me the most.

I'll have to see how the sequel series compares. I'm not sure what the story is about... Do you want to tell me?

It concentrates mostly on the phenomenon of schoolgirls hanging out with men in their free time in exchange for money/presents. I'm sure you can work out from the usual formula that this soon goes wrong, and then from bad to worse. It's an interesting choice of theme because it was a very hot topic in the real world relatively recently in Japan's seedier circles and a female writer seemed perfect to bring a perspective on things. Because it was quite long though I felt it did get a bit silly at points when it could have had just as much impact sticking with more believable problems. I felt frustrated when I could see how easily avoidable some of the escalations were, even accounting for their youth.

If the mangaka wrote anything else after Deai I'd probably still read it to see if she'd learned from that and tightened up her storytelling in a future multi volume series. Short stories definitely seemed suited to her style though.

It's funny you mention Bitter Virgin - I'd heard a lot about that one and had it flagged mentally as something to look into if it appeared in the West as a premeditated blind buy. Deep Love I hadn't heard of before. I used to really enjoy shoujo/shounen manga - and I still do for the most part - but the last few years have found me more interested in "ladies" series and short story collections which examine humanity a bit more (this touches upon some of the things I said in the recent Rumiko Takahashi Anthology mini-discussion here).

I have been accused of being a little bid morbid in my tastes but I don't mind whether this type of story has a bad ending or not at all. Confidential Confessions tends to wrap things up as much as possible with each story; while nice and in CC's case sort of essential not to alienate its audience too much, sometimes seeing things end horribly is powerful though. Seeing desperation pushed to its very extreme is interesting. Even when I read/watch straightforward series now I try to overthink the emotional level to make them more interesting. TTGL is a good example; it dealt with Kamina's death as much as it had to to drive the story but left a lot of the emotional repercussions alone. I wanted more, so I tried to think about how what had happened would affect all of the characters deep inside. I am pretty sure it was meant to be taken at face value in the case of TTGL...but despite my enjoyment of the passionate giant robot antics I'd have been just as happy with seeing a series focusing on how they dealt with the blow too (Simon's little slump doesn't count).

You might want to look into Socrates In Love, the awkwardly named English version of Sekai no Chuushin de, Ai wo Sakebu. I read the manga rather than the novel and quite enjoyed it - a single volume, self-contained story with a lot of very human feeling and frustrations. Of course you might also hate it as it's a little soppy so look into it first. Quite a few of the emotionally charged, short story type of series seem to sell terribly in English and fall out of print quickly without anyone giving them a whirl. It's a shame.

Oops I did the woman-imitator smiley again...

Has nobody else here read Confidential Confessions?!

R

 

[Aion]

The story about the "cutter" and the second series bugged me the most.

The cutter? Are you referring to the first story; the one about the suicidal girls? That's the story that came across as the most impartial to me (as I said above)...

It concentrates mostly on the phenomenon of schoolgirls hanging out with men in their free time in exchange for money/presents.

That seems to be the focus of a lot of these serious manga stories. Deep Love: Ayu also focused on high school girls entering into prostitution, the main character in that (Ayu) happilly selling herself for 40,000 yen in order to feel alive. She doesn't value herself. She also has an overly cheerful friend who sells herself with Ayu in one chapter. The entire story is basically about Ayu starting to value herself, stopping selling her body for money, and then ending up selling herself once again for the sake of someone she loves.

It's an interesting choice of theme because it was a very hot topic in the real world relatively recently in Japan's seedier circles and a female writer seemed perfect to bring a perspective on things.

Reading these types of manga has helped me get a clearer picture of what life in Japan is like for women. I always assumed it would be different simply because the legal age for sex is 13-14 over there, which I'm assuming stops men getting destroyed like they do in countries such as the UK for...well, thinking and doing things with girls under the legal age of consent. But I never thought the views on sexual things with those still in school would differ greatly enough that it isn't uncommon for Japanese school girls to sell themselves and find themselves being molested on trains. The thinking of Japanese people with regards to sexual matters is very different then in most other countries, but I suppose that isn't news when animated porn and pornographic comics have been normal in Japan for a long time.

I'd like to go (not to molest school girls on trains) to Japan at some point. It'd be interesting to see what is almost a different world (and, no, not to also see high school girls in mini-skirts). I'd have fun looking around the anime and manga stores (NO, NOT FOR HENTAI AND DOUJINS!!!).

It's funny you mention Bitter Virgin - I'd heard a lot about that one and had it flagged mentally as something to look into if it appeared in the West as a premeditated blind buy.

If it does get released in English, it's well worth your money.

I'm feeling a bit lazy, so I'm going to link to my review on MAL to give you a better idea about the series. If you don't want to read it fear not; I'm only linking to it to avoid typing a lengthy summary.

Crappy review: http://myanimelist.net/showreview.php?id=8714

In short: It deals with a school girl who is trying to get over her fear of men. She's scared of them because she was abused and raped many times by her stepdad (iirc). A boy at her school helps her come out of her shell bit by bit - he shows her that not all men are evil.

Deep Love I hadn't heard of before. I used to really enjoy shoujo/shounen manga - and I still do for the most part - but the last few years have found me more interested in "ladies" series and short story collections which examine humanity a bit more (this touches upon some of the things I said in the recent Rumiko Takahashi Anthology mini-discussion here).

Going on what I've read so far, men tend not to be great at creating realistic, real world stories. They can't help but put in big boobed characters or throw around panty shots; it's almost as if it's too hard for them to resist using females as objects and not characters. Unless the female author happens to be a lesbian, women don't have that issue, the only issue they do have being the temptation to draw men who are a bit too friendly for my tastes. Maybe it's simply a case of women being more mature than the male half of the human race?

I have been accused of being a little bid morbid in my tastes but I don't mind whether this type of story has a bad ending or not at all.[/spoiler]

With me it's simply a case of me preferring stories that pull on my heart strings. It's hard for stories that feel distant from reality to do that since I'm unable to view the characters as real people in real situations. That's why I keep saying that I prefer stuff grounded in realism. I don't mind some supernatural aspects, but there has to be some parts that I can look at and think of as real for me to fully connect.

You might want to look into Socrates In Love, the awkwardly named English version of Sekai no Chuushin de, Ai wo Sakebu.

I'm pretty sure it's on my MAL 'Plan to read' list. I went through the top rated manga on MAL awhile back, reading the descriptions and adding any that were short and sounded serious to my list. I'll get around to going through al I added to my list...eventually. ;___;

Has nobody else here read Confidential Confessions?!

Not that I've read or watched an extensive amount, but most on here seem to only go with the mainstream stuff because they don't read or watch a lot. And no, I'm not aiming that at an Irish person who has the ability to anger me by simply existing.

 

[Rui]

The cutter? Are you referring to the first story; the one about the suicidal girls? That's the story that came across as the most impartial to me (as I said above)...

I liked most of it (the idea, the conclusion) but there was a point where it seemed to get caught in a loop for a while and go on and on about cutting. I got the point and wanted it to move on and stop trying to drill the concept into my head

But perhaps it's more that I've read about cutting before and the repetition was aimed more at people who didn't believe in that kind of thing?

It could also be that it may have been the translator's fault. The dialogue wasn't particularly well paced; even if it was the same in the original it could have been tightened up a little in the English version without compromising the story's integrity. I'll dig it out sometime and try reading again to pinpoint where I started to feel it was trying to forcefeed me emotions for a while.

Deep Love: Ayu also focused on high school girls entering into prostitution, the main character in that (Ayu) happilly selling herself for 40,000 yen in order to feel alive. She doesn't value herself. She also has an overly cheerful friend who sells herself with Ayu in one chapter. The entire story is basically about Ayu starting to value herself, stopping selling her body for money, and then ending up selling herself once again for the sake of someone she loves.

Another one I'd probably pick up if it came out here, then. The whole spectrum of stories about young girls and the issues this shallow world throws in their faces resonates with me. I remember clearly other girls at school having similar problems - they didn't (as far as I know!) actually sell themselves, but the things they did do to feel valued and alive weren't much better. I felt very sad for them then, and I still do when I see it repeated in others. I seen the same behaviour in adults too but when it's someone younger it feels much worse.

Thanks for the extra words on Bitter Virgin too. Might look out for the JP versions if they don't get published soon enough and my backlog starts shrinking.

Reading these types of manga has helped me get a clearer picture of what life in Japan is like for women.

You should definitely go on a trip there one day. It's a very interesting place to visit no matter what kind of things you're into.

Even England isn't a paradise for girls. I may be a little biased living around London these days (not the greatest part of the country...) but I've had my share of unwanted amorous attention too, and I'm far from as attractive and bouncy as a Japanese schoolgirl. The Japanese "victims" just seem to internalise and put up with these things much more than the majority of our feral youths over here, which in turn lets it happen again to someone else.

This sort of ties into something else I find creepy, which is the "otaku" style disconnected attitude that some men seem to have towards women, that we exist purely for their use. I assume train gropers and other jerks are somehow incapable of understanding that their victims might have feelings of their own, and I've seen a similar attitude in some far-gone geeks who refuse to acknowledge any woman who isn't cute and brainless. It frightens me when I talk to people like that. I like seeing how the perpetrators in manga like Confidential Confessions are portrayed. That was one thing that Deai did focus on quite interestingly at times.

Going on what I've read so far, men tend not to be great at creating realistic, real world stories. They can't help but put in big boobed characters or throw around panty shots; it's almost as if it's too hard for them to resist using females as objects and not characters. Unless the female author happens to be a lesbian, women don't have that issue, the only issue they do have being the temptation to draw men who are a bit too friendly for my tastes. Maybe it's simply a case of women being more mature than the male half of the human race?

I'm not sure it's even that complicated - from what I understand, men are very "visual" in their tastes (in general). They usually like their porn explicit, their girls half naked, and some visual fanservice in their entertainment. Women are arguably just as perverted and immature but their fanservice manifests in different ways. For every explicit half-naked bishounen manga you get a dozen with loads of sex but nothing shown except a crooked finger here and an open mouth there to represent the sordid events unfolding over several pages. Women prefer things left to the imagination, which may come across as being a more mature mindset. Perhaps it is. I'm not an expert...

Confidential Confessions and other series in the same vein are a little different, of course. Somehow they seem to exist in the shoujo/josei sector almost exclusively. I'm not sure that men on the whole couldn't enjoy such a series if one ran in Shounen Sunday - to assume so seems to do men a disservice - yet somehow there seems to be a cultural wall in Japan which extends right the way over here too when it comes to men and seeking out stories of heartfelt real world emotion. Those who find their way over the wall end up reading stuff aimed at girls because there's barely anything else available.

Even with western magazines, you have the guy magazines with cars, gadgets and women as the focus and the girl magazines covered in sex advice, relationship tips and tearjerking "real life stories". Being a [possibly fake] woman IRL I could be wrong, but I don't tend to see many advice columns and "real life stories" in media aimed at men. It's almost seen as shameful for them to ask for advice. So I think that an average guy would have a much harder time convincing themselves to buy a series like Confidential Confessions than a girl. It's a shame because there are certainly plenty of men out there who would benefit from reading something like that when they're struggling with their own problems and coming of age. Though if reading things aimed at girls helps even one guy out there understand girls better and connect, it's a good thing in my book.

With me it's simply a case of me preferring stories that pull on my heart strings. It's hard for stories that feel distant from reality to do that since I'm unable to view the characters as real people in real situations. That's why I keep saying that I prefer stuff grounded in realism. I don't mind some supernatural aspects, but there has to be some parts that I can look at and think of as real for me to fully connect.

That makes a lot of sense. I apply a similar process to music. There's a lot of songs I think have a good beat, or good lyrics; but the ones which I buy and listen to over and over again are the tracks which tear my heart into pieces one way or another. I can taste normal life every day - I want my entertainment to show me the extremes!

I don't mind if there's a fantasy setting or even sci-fi, but the dealbreaker in manga is when the characters don't feel "real" even in the confines of the series' world. The Evangelion characters felt quite real to me despite the wacky setting, whereas I'm currently watching Nuku Nuku Dash and everyone feels like cardboard cut outs acting their parts in comparison. There's no heart.

Not that I've read or watched an extensive amount, but most on here seem to only go with the mainstream stuff because they don't read or watch a lot. And no, I'm not aiming that at an Irish person who has the ability to anger me by simply existing.

Let's keep him out of this. He's just trying to live too.

I often feel as though I don't read/watch enough because I'm not that up to date. But then I look at the titles in my manga room and see that things along the lines of Galaxy Girl, Panda Boy and Tramps Like Us (terrible translated title...) just don't seem to get mentioned as frequently as Bleach and friends. Bah!

R

 

[Lupus]

tl;dr, does it have the following:

Sex, violence, GOOD character development, drama?

I'm willing to read it unless it's something that Aion usually likes which you should all well know.

 

[Otaku-san]

tl;dr, does it have the following:

Sex, violence, GOOD character development, drama?

I'm willing to read it unless it's something that Aion usually likes which you should all well know.

what....little girls

*Oingo Boingo comes to mind*

 

[Rui]

tl;dr, does it have the following:

Sex, violence, GOOD character development, drama?

I'm willing to read it unless it's something that Aion usually likes which you should all well know.

It has at least half of those words you queried written all over the front cover

It's shoujo and looks it. Tons of drama. Violence (mostly threatened) and sex (mostly implied) also occur several times throughout the series. The stories are short and each focuses on a new cast so there's no long term character development. Each individual story has some growth take place and its own resolution though.

No fan service whatsoever - even in the stories which deal with sex it's more traumatic than titillating.

R

 

[chaos]

tl;dr, does it have the following:

Sex, violence, GOOD character development, drama?

I'm willing to read it unless it's something that Aion usually likes which you should all well know.

what....little girls

*Oingo Boingo comes to mind*

Oingo-boingo? and what about lupus and little girls? me don't get it...

 

[Otaku-san]

tl;dr, does it have the following:

Sex, violence, GOOD character development, drama?

I'm willing to read it unless it's something that Aion usually likes which you should all well know.

what....little girls

*Oingo Boingo comes to mind*

Oingo-boingo? and what about lupus and little girls? me don't get it...

lol what are you saying chaos

you not gonna take that are you lupus?

 

[chaos]

tl;dr, does it have the following:

Sex, violence, GOOD character development, drama?

I'm willing to read it unless it's something that Aion usually likes which you should all well know.

what....little girls

*Oingo Boingo comes to mind*

Oingo-boingo? and what about lupus and little girls? me don't get it...

lol what are you saying chaos

you not gonna take that are you lupus?

I've searched Oingo Boingo on youtube and now I get it... I remember this song though:
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/S0TfEcSyJDE&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/S0TfEcSyJDE&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

But I think we derailed Aion's thread enough (for today at least) =)

 

[Rui]

That was a confusing digression.

To add to the "TL;DR" version of the original conversation, the covers of the manga are littered with words over the pictures themselves such as, "rape, suicide, AIDS, drugs". This should give an idea of the open nature of the controversial subject matter. It also makes people look at you funny if you read it on the tube.

R

 

[Otaku-san]

That was a confusing digression.

yes no more new wave from use

sorry rui

 

[Aion]

This forum has really gone down the toilet. Instead of entering the thread with the intention of adding to the discussion or asking serious questions, people come in to mess around and start a daft conversation about something completely irrelevant. It's hard not to feel the need to attack people... I mean, I've tried to create discussion and make decent posts, yet everyone else seems intent on being retarded.

/end of serious business

I'll reply to your post tomorrow Roy/Rui, I don't feel like doing so at 12:30 in the morning when your post goes on for a long time. I'm going to watch the remaining 2 episodes I have of Love Hina on DVD and then go to bed.

 

[Otaku-san]

This forum has really gone down the toilet. Instead of entering the thread with the intention of adding to the discussion or asking serious questions, people come in to mess around and start a daft conversation about something completely irrelevant. It's hard not to feel the need to attack people... I mean, I've tried to create discussion and make decent posts, yet everyone else seems intent on being retarded.

/end of serious business

I'll reply to your post tomorrow Roy/Rui, I don't feel like doing so at 12:30 in the morning when your post goes on for a long time. I'm going to watch the remaining 2 episodes I have of Love Hina on DVD and then go to bed.

the internet serious business

 

[Rui]

I'll reply to your post tomorrow Roy/Rui, I don't feel like doing so at 12:30 in the morning when your post goes on for a long time.

No problem I do tend to ramble a bit.

R

 

[Aion]

You should definitely go on a trip there one day. It's a very interesting place to visit no matter what kind of things you're into.

Does your line of work allow you to travel to Japan frequently? Since you've studied Japanese and seemingly been a number of times, it sounds more like you've worked over there than simply gone on holiday multiple times.

Even England isn't a paradise for girls. I may be a little biased living around London these days (not the greatest part of the country...) but I've had my share of unwanted amorous attention too, and I'm far from as attractive and bouncy as a Japanese schoolgirl. The Japanese "victims" just seem to internalise and put up with these things much more than the majority of our feral youths over here, which in turn lets it happen again to someone else.

No, it's not, but it also isn't Russia - a country where men who rape and sexually harass get away with it - or Japan, a country where it seems to be fairly normal for young girls to be felt up on trains. There's a big difference between the UK and countries like that.

For girls, the age of consent being 2-3 year years higher than Japan and the hate that gets aimed at adults who go near school kids prevents the sort of things that happen in Japan happening over here. Over here I'd fully expect a girl/woman to either punch a groper in the nose or use their special kick move, but in Japan women are different, putting up with it and not fighting back. I'm not on expert on this, but Japanese men valuing innocence/purity and the Japanese laws make it difficult for women over there.

A simple way to see the difference in mentality between us and certain other countries is to look at the pornography released in each country. In both Japan and Russia it's normal for rape pornography (live-action and, in the case of Japan, animated) to get released, that sort of thing not even raising an eyelid. I'm pretty sure I've seen some Japanese eroge game covers that openly advertise that rape is featured. You wouldn't see anything like that in the UK because there's more respect for women...or maybe fear is the better word?

This sort of ties into something else I find creepy, which is the "otaku" style disconnected attitude that some men seem to have towards women, that we exist purely for their use. I assume train gropers and other jerks are somehow incapable of understanding that their victims might have feelings of their own, and I've seen a similar attitude in some far-gone geeks who refuse to acknowledge any woman who isn't cute and brainless. It frightens me when I talk to people like that. I like seeing how the perpetrators in manga like Confidential Confessions are portrayed. That was one thing that Deai did focus on quite interestingly at times.

The bad side of manga/anime is that it makes people disconnect from realty. A lot of people go into manga/anime looking to escape and end up confused over what is and isn't fiction. Doujins (as in the pornographic kind) and hentai were created for people who can't accept how females really are and need fictional women to feel better. After seeing lots of drawn/animated porn involving obediant, faithful and unselfish female characters, it isn't hard to understand why people turn into perverts who can't separate fiction from reality.

I suppose part of maturity (for males) is coming to view females as more than objects for their lust once puberty is over. Seeing the person underneath is difficult when males are naturally more interested in appearances. It's probably fair to say that "otaku" never grow up because they don't get to know real women and only believe the fiction.

I'm not sure it's even that complicated - from what I understand, men are very "visual" in their tastes (in general). They usually like their porn explicit, their girls half naked, and some visual fanservice in their entertainment. Women are arguably just as perverted and immature but their fanservice manifests in different ways. For every explicit half-naked bishounen manga you get a dozen with loads of sex but nothing shown except a crooked finger here and an open mouth there to represent the sordid events unfolding over several pages. Women prefer things left to the imagination, which may come across as being a more mature mindset. Perhaps it is. I'm not an expert...

I can't argue with that when fan service in anime distracts me from the story. The male mind is simple: anything involving boobs and panties switches an imaginary switch that causes logic to be thrown out the window. Imagination isn't needed; just two mounds of flesh and the colour of underwear.

A great imagination means porn isn't needed. Yet, there's a huge amount of porn out there that's aimed at males, and far less aimed at females. Does that prove that men need visual pleasure and women only need thoughts? Not really, but it does give a good indication of how the sexual side of the male brain functions.

yet somehow there seems to be a cultural wall in Japan which extends right the way over here too when it comes to men and seeking out stories of heartfelt real world emotion. Those who find their way over the wall end up reading stuff aimed at girls because there's barely anything else available.

Men are meant to be tough, not cry and protect their other half. Men have to chase after females, showing lots of interest and not getting a lot in return at first. Men can 'spread their seed' and be classed as perfectly normal. Men can't hit women.

Women are allowed to cry, be timid and be protected by males. Women can't show feelings of attraction towards males they don't know very well if they want to be viewed as respectful. Women can't sleep around if they don't want a bad reputation. Women can hit men.

^ That's the' normal' way to think in this world...or, at least I think it is. Whether right or wrong, those invisible laws restrict what can and can't be done by both genders.

If there was a realistic manga series about men, I'd expect the focus to be the physical side much more than the emotional side. Men aren't openly allowed to be emotional, where as women can be as mushy as they wish without fear of humiliation, so it'd be difficult to create stories similar to those in CC for men.

I don't care about things like that. While I still beat myself up over crying in public when I was younger because it showed weakness and made me, as a male, look pathetic, I have no issue reading stories like those in CC that deal with emotions. The way I look at it, we're all human and the 'normal' way of thinking, much like laws that were created by man, aren't right just because people think they are.

 

[Rui]

Does your line of work allow you to travel to Japan frequently? Since you've studied Japanese and seemingly been a number of times, it sounds more like you've worked over there than simply gone on holiday multiple times.

I wish! I'm afraid in my case it's just a combination of being older than average on this kind of forum and deciding long ago it was the only place worth visiting on holidays. Having had high flying parents I hit all the normal holiday destinations in my youth. Now I just go on trips to buy things and drink in the atmosphere.

No, it's not, but it also isn't Russia - a country where men who rape and sexually harass get away with it - or Japan, a country where it seems to be fairly normal for young girls to be felt up on trains. There's a big difference between the UK and countries like that.

That's true. And even those are paradises compared to some places, which barely acknowledge females as humans at all.

For girls, the age of consent being 2-3 year years higher than Japan and the hate that gets aimed at adults who go near school kids prevents the sort of things that happen in Japan happening over here. Over here I'd fully expect a girl/woman to either punch a groper in the nose or use their special kick move, but in Japan women are different, putting up with it and not fighting back. I'm not on expert on this, but Japanese men valuing innocence/purity and the Japanese laws make it difficult for women over there.

That's true. I think Japan is like a more extreme version of here (where it happens still, but is seen as more shocking when it does), and manga depiction is usually an extreme version of that in turn. The Japanese ideal of a "Yamato Nadeshiko" demure lady is at odds with the struggles the average girl faces growing up these days. Quite a few girls nowadays act in a very Western-influenced way and sort things out but there are way too many still enduring miserable situations because they don't feel they should speak up.

A simple way to see the difference in mentality between us and certain other countries is to look at the pornography released in each country. In both Japan and Russia it's normal for rape pornography (live-action and, in the case of Japan, animated) to get released, that sort of thing not even raising an eyelid. I'm pretty sure I've seen some Japanese eroge game covers that openly advertise that rape is featured. You wouldn't see anything like that in the UK because there's more respect for women...or maybe fear is the better word?

Yes, I can't see things like Battle Raper and Rapelay flying off the shelves over here without a bit of a fuss. I can't say I'm familiar with Russian pornography myself but . Here we do have the occasional dodgy Mickey Mouse comic and the furry community continues to explore new ground but it's not quite on the same level.

Topical picture aid below - taken by me in Tokyo on a main street in a district popular with girls (complete with cat petting zoo, crepe stands, a Hello Kitty store and malls). Over here you get the same kind of things, but they're bundled up in the seedy districts and slightly more disguised.

Doujins (as in the pornographic kind) and hentai were created for people who can't accept how females really are and need fictional women to feel better.

I find it very hard to forgive guys who act like that as adults to women (I know there are some vocal minorities in the Yaoi Fangirl maniac community who do it the other way around too - ugh). I have lots of naughty doujinshi myself but the line between fiction and reality is clearly marked in my mind. Some people seem to think they don't have to differentiate and become very unpleasant in the process.

I suppose that's why obviously "moe" characters really annoy me, too. They idealise a type of woman that doesn't exist in this world. It's fine for the fans who are grounded in reality but the idiots seem to use the defenseless damsels as an excuse to hate real women.

If there was a realistic manga series about men, I'd expect the focus to be the physical side much more than the emotional side. Men aren't openly allowed to be emotional, where as women can be as mushy as they wish without fear of humiliation, so it'd be difficult to create stories similar to those in CC for men.

I think the most heartfelt ones I've read for men are actually sports series, depressingly. I can't recommend the works of Mitsuru Adachi enough if you want to some some short stories written about life which work well for both male and female audiences (I think the way he works sports into his plots most of the time helps him plant messages about life there too without turning people off). I suppose to get something even half as message-filled as CC to guys you'd have to put it in a magazine aimed at fairly young boys, and at that point there are so many extremely flashy action series competing for fans that it wouldn't get the proper attention.

Males also seem to find it harder to accept advice (or criticism). In CC you can easily imagine that the main characters are warnings to real girls as well as fictional stories. Still, I'd be interested to see it a) tackled and b) get popular enough that I'd hear about it all the way over here and get to see.

I don't care about things like that. While I still beat myself up over crying in public when I was younger because it showed weakness and made me, as a male, look pathetic, I have no issue reading stories like those in CC that deal with emotions. The way I look at it, we're all human and the 'normal' way of thinking, much like laws that were created by man, aren't right just because people think they are.

One of the things I think is really cool about my husband is his attitude along those lines too. He happily buys shoujo manga because he likes reading about how the different characters react to love and tragedies and doesn't care that it's not what guys are supposed to do. I find he understands me very naturally because he's not ashamed to acknowledge that humans have feelings and to show some emotion himself. I find a lot of guys are very worried about deviating from the accepted male behaviour and end up annoying me by being too confusing to understand. It's a lot more accepted for girls to cross over in behaviour but even so, I was a rather extreme tomboy growing up and still am in many ways. It works though. 'Normal' people are losing out if they think that's the only way to be

R