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therabbitthatpostthings · 3 months

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I hope you all know I cannot for the life of me write fight scenes! OMG this took so long. Anyway....this is continuation of my Giyuu Secret Family AU story (I guess). She/Her Pronouns.

It had been another month since the last encounter with Giyuu’s “no-longer-a-secret” secret family. A bit of normalcy, or what the Hashira consider normal, set back in. That would be if Shinobu and Mitsuri had not just found Tomioka (Y/N) passed out down the road from Butterfly Mansion! They both rushed to her battered and bruised body. Shinobu could feel a full pulse on her neck. (Y/N) was alive, thankfully.

“We should send for Tomioka,” Mitsuri urged, hoisting (Y/N)’s limp body into her arms.

“No…”

“Lady Tomioka, please don’t strain yourself,” Shinobu advised. She ushered the two inside quickly. (Y/N)’s muttering was soon forgotten as the Butterfly Girls were quick to take her off Mitsuri’s hands. Mitsuri stood by, worried, as they started to bandage (Y/N).

Time seemed to move slower as they waited for her to wake up. They were both relieved to see (Y/N) sitting up and eating upon coming back to the room.

“Lady Tomioka! I’m glad you’re okay!” Mitsuri cheered.

“I’m the one that’s grateful you two found me.” She smiled. She gazed down at her bandaged arms. “For a demon so weak it’s blood demon art was no joke.”

“Both your arms have burns on them.” Shinobu said.

“Yeah, all the poison burned off in the sunrise.” She sighed.

“You defeated it this morning?” Shinobu asked.

(Y/N) smiled sheepishly, “It’s no big deal! I promise! My master says I get a little too carried away sometimes.”

It was an awkward position to be in now that’s the big secret is out. (Y/N) felt she should be more casual but how can one be casual with two Hashira in the room? Especially after they found you passed out. “Thank you, again…”

“It’s nothing Lady Tomioka-“

“(Y/N). It’s fine if you call me (Y/N).”

Shinobu smiled, “It’s nothing (Y/N), you’re very strong. I’ll send for Tomioka-”

“No!” (Y/N) yelled to the shock of both women. “Giyuu will worry himself sick if he sees me like this.”

Shinobu gave a sort of skeptical look, “I know he seems cold and hard to understand but Giyuu is the kindest soul I’ve ever met.”

Neither woman could deny her that. After all, he showed mercy to Kamado and his sister. A kindness they could never.

“You sound so in love,” Mitsuri smiled. “What drew you to Tomioka?”

A deep blush crept across (Y/N)’s face as she remembered their younger years, “Nothing at first, he was always kind to me but I started to notice… he was just like me.”

(Y/N) had been found wandering the forest alone and barefoot as a child. She didn’t remember her village or even her family name. She had a thousand yard stare, an emotional and unsettling demeanor for a child so young. It was clear to the swordsman who had found her that this child was the sole survivor of a demon attack and she would never be the same again.

“Our sword masters were both retired Hashira, we had never met though. He bought me dinner after my first big mission.”

—

(Y/N) thought that becoming a demon slayer would make life easier. As in being able to fight back but, you can’t fight against the motherly love of your Master’s wife. Even after giving some food to fellow slayers the bag at her side still did a number on her feet and shoulder. The dull ache did take away from the general anxiety that had plagued her since last night. Your crow, Chiyoko, delivered the news that you would be heading to a village down south to aid in their demon crisis. There was no mention of other slayers accompanying you. You were doing this alone.

It’s a daunting task and a heavy burden but, you were a demon slayer nonetheless. A friend of yours offered to come by once they wrapped up their mission in the next village east to yours. Still, that pit of anxiety wouldn’t leave. At least the heavy shifting of the bag from one shoulder to another gave you momentary relief as you came to a fork in the road.

“Good luck.”

You nearly jumped out of your skin! You quickly swung your sword in front of you ready to face the thing before but, you only saw a man. He looked your age, long dark hair tied back, deep blue eyes and a checkered haori. Something your master mentioned crossed your mind.

“Be on the lookout for Urokodaki’s student. He’s a Hashira…”

“Tomioka…Giyuu?” You say hesitantly, lowering your sword.

“Yes?”

Your face flushed a bright red. You were quick to sheath your sword and apologize to him. “I didn’t notice you this whole time! I’m so sorry!”

“No need.” He replied plainly, turning down the path opposite of yours.

“Um- Good luck!” You called back. He didn’t respond or turn around. That was probably for the best. You had embarrassed yourself enough. Chiyoko swooped back down and landed on your shoulder. “Did you hear any of that girl?”

“You’ll be at the village before nightfall!” She chirped.

“Ah, so it was that bad.”

—

The village was tucked away in the valley and surrounded by a cool mist.The trees swayed almost unnaturally like creeping hands trying to grab you. There had been no birds for a mile now. The forest fell quiet. All life had just stopped, not disappeared, just stopped. Something was there, you could feel it. Entering the village, it was smaller than you thought it would be. There were many people walking around, surely more than a few buildings could hold. The villagers went about their day completely unbothered by your presence. It was often you wouldn’t get recognized or acknowledged but the people here were treating you like you were invisible. Even when they bumped into you, they kept their heads down. The shoddily built houses loomed over you, held together with wooden beams and prayers. Not even the shops had signs hanging above them. You wandered aimlessly around the village or what seemed to remain of it. Just past the main commerce area was the renents of a house. The dirt seemed to be swirled in the giant crater. More were haphazardly littered across down the road towards the forest. You finally found what you thought would be an inn and was met by a young girl with braided pigtails.

“Hello? Do you have a room for the night?” You asked.

She stared at you blankly, examining you. Wordlessly she walked from behind the desk and beckoned you to follow her. The halls were quiet but you felt the peering eyes from behind the closed doors. “It sure is misty outside, is it always like that?”

She stayed silent.

“A-Are your parents not home? Do you run this whole place by yourself?”

“You ask too many questions.” she said plainly. She pulled the door open and ushered you to go inside. “You should leave tomorrow.”

“Why’s that?” you asked.

She sighs with a slight twitch of the eyebrow. She goes to turn back into the hall and you grab onto her arm, “Is there somewhere here you’re afraid of? Someone that can hear you if you say too much?”

She snatched her arm back and hurried back down the hall. You quietly closed the door back and listened for any noise. The inn settled and all was quiet again.

Is it in the Inn? No, there are people here, they are still alive. Is this its resting place during the day? It’s near the destroyed houses…

“Here you go Chiyoko,” you handed her a small note. “Maybe the next village will have something for you to eat. Be back soon.” Watching Chiyoko fly off into the sunset, you resigned yourself to a very eventful night.

Investigating proved to be hellish. No one wanted to talk, not even the children. It was like everyone was trained to be quiet?! Just how strong was this demon? You couldn’t even buy something from the shop without ominous stares and the clerk, all too happy to usher you out. Upon exploring the surrounding forest, the road from the village led deeper out and only welcomed more crater and debris. By the looks of it all, the demon was luring people deeper into the town. At this rate everyone was as good as dead. The forest proved to be just as creepy. The trees stretched abnormally high in the sky, if they had any leaves they would have blocked out the setting sun. The surrounding area lacked any life or color, like after a fire.

Before you could react a jagged tree branch shot out and grabbed your leg. It swung you around violently as she tried to swing your sword at the branch. You were able to slice it and the tree let out a loud hiss and shriveled into a pile of ash. “Show yourself!”

You heard a giggle circle around you. The vine tightened as a figure appeared from the shadows. It had a dark body that stretched as tall as the trees it hid behind. It’s long, spindly arm came out to hold your face, “What a pretty one you are.”

You yanked your head away from its grasp, “I might just let you live if you leave this village now!”

“You little swordsmen don’t scare me.” They laughed. You felt a tug. The ground opened up and the vines started to pull you down into the earth. You thrashed wildly against the vines as they pulled your body underground. The light faded and all you felt was the cold dirt. You could feel the vines pulling you down. You struggled to hold your breath and your sword as the vines began to speed up. You finally caught your breath as you were dropped into an underground cave. You cursed as you coughed up the dirt.

“Another one..” someone whispered. There was a small group of people, dirty and their clothes ripped. They huddled on the other side of the cave. Behind you were decomposing bodies wrapped in vines, their only remains were the black demon slayer uniforms they wore. You stifle a scream and back onto your feet. The people jolted back as you did. The cave wasn’t too big. You were completely surrounded on all sides. The roof was interconnected with vines all converging to the one large hole that the vines came from.

“How long have you all been down here?” You asked.

“A week, at least I think so.” The older man spoke up. “However, that thing has been hunting us for months. It started out slow with someone going missing but then it got stronger.”

“The monster destroyed our homes and took us in our sleep.” A woman said.

So that’s it… You asked, “How often does that hole open up?”

“Every night.” she replied “He brings back whatever he didn’t eat here.”

You drew your sword back, “I don’t have that kind of time.”

You started to hack away at the vines around the body. If he won’t come down here, you will fo to him! You were able to cut one loose and it made the same hissing noise. The vine around the body started to rot and turn to black ash. All that remained were broken bones. The vines still descending from the earth started to retract. You grabbed onto it and wrapped it around your wrist pulling it further and further down. “Come on you coward!”

“Miss please!” a young boy called out. “He’ll eat you!”

“If I don't! He’ll eat all of you!” The vine started to tighten around your wrist but you still kept pulling back. “I will not let this demon terrorize anyone anymore!”

The hole opened up wide and pulled you up through the dirt. Your body was slammed onto the surface. “I hate slayers like yourself, you never know when to lie over and die!”

You got to your feet and took off running towards him, swinging at his arms. The demon’s vines sliced through the air. Trees cracked under the weight of both of your attacks. The tree twisted and bent as it lunged at it and struck the ground. The ground shook and shot up from under you. The trees spiraled around you, crunching at the earth where you stood. You jumped from one to the other and slid down the vines. You could see the demon at the bottom, still attached to the roots. You drew your sword back and swung it towards its head!

The demon let out a wicked cackle as you saw its body reattach itself. “You cannot kill me as easily.”

“I-I…I missed.”

The demon broke out into a fit of laughter, almost doubling over, “You should have stayed down there to die!”

More trees shot into the air and you were quick to slice them all, with a loud hiss. The ash clouded the air and hung heavy in your chest as you landed. The demon stood before you, its feet and arms spread into tree trunks that buried itself into the ground. You coughed, “Spores- really?”

“What will you do, little slayer? I won’t be moved.” he sneered.

Just what the hell does it take to kill this thing! How do you kill a tree!?

The demon swung its arm towards you and knocked you back into another tree. This started to coil around your leg but you quickly cut it off and watched it hiss. The realization set in. The demon had hunched forward with its arms and legs retracting into the ground. Around its body are two lanky trees that twisted and coiled into the air like tentacles. You steadied yourself on the ground in preparation. No matter what happened you knew you couldn’t last until morning, especially since most of these trees seemed to be part of its control and they held up just fine in the sunlight. You couldn’t wait for your friend in the next town over either. These people solely depended on you. You took a deep breath to steady yourself.

“Giving up demon slayer?” he sneered.

I can do this… I can do this!

You pushed yourself off your back foot and took a running start towards the closet decrepit tree and sliced it. Then to another. Another, and another. The demon’s branches swung towards you and coiled around yourself and trees still standing. You raised it towards its body to slice on the lanky tree branches. The other was able to grab you by your leg and while it dragged you towards it you plunged the sword into it. The demon finally let out a loud screech as it turned to reach for you. The incoming vines sliced in two across your blade as you gained distance on the demon still planted firmly in the ground. The demon started to get frantic, sending more vines out to try and slow you down but to no avail. He lost sight of you amongst the tangle of vines. A sharp pain jolted in his lower half as one of his roots was severed from the earth. One after another he tried desperately to call what trees he still controlled to his aid. The one remaining tree was able to coil around your legs and sling you into the air. Before the demon could try to reattach his root your blad came down across its neck. The head rolled a ways away and disappeared into dust, as did the one tree remaining and the roots.

You breathed heavily as adrenaline was still rushing towards you. Your head was ringing, you almost didn’t process the voice calling to you. “(Y/N)! (Y/N) are you okay?!”

Your friend caught you as you almost fell over. “Masato..?”

“Oh (Y/N), I was so worried about you!” She hugged you tightly. “The demon, is it gone?!”

“It is…” You breathed out. “Go alert the villagers please, we need to dig the survivors out.”

“Okay! Please rest!” she said and turned to other slayers you didn’t notice were there either. Out from the sky came a familiar fluttering. Chiyoko nuzzled up against your cheek with worried chirps.

“Did I worry you Chiyoko, I’m sorry. Thank you for coming back for me.”

—

The village erupted in laughter and cries. So many worried families reunited with each other. The villagers couldn’t thank you enough. They showered you with treats and prayers and gratitude. The little inn girl even thanked you for returning her family. It would all be greater if you were so exhausted. Your feet ached on the path back home. You couldn’t wait to be bandaged up and sleep. Masato and the other slayers said their goodbyes as you came upon the split in the road. She smiled, “Get back home safely.”

“I will.” you sighed “Are you sure you don’t need me to tag along?”

“Nah, we’re meeting up with some others later on. You get home and sleep (Y/N).” Masato stated before going off down the road. You kinda just stood there for a moment, taking everything in. Though your shoulders still felt heavy with tiredness You felt lighter somehow. You had a jumping feeling in the pit of your stomach even though you couldn’t bring your feet to move. You saved those people. They looked so happy because you saved them. It felt nice but heavy. That was the best way to explain it, a heavy feeling you knew was good because it helped others but only you got to shoulder it. It will pass. You would fight another demon. It would come back and then pass again. And maybe, hopefully, the good feeling would last a little more.

Your thoughts left you as you heard someone walk towards you. To your shock it was Tomioka! You looked slightly surprised to see you, or at least a little bit interested. Hard to tell with him. “Are you done with your mission?” he asked.

“Y-Yeah, I am.” You started to walk forward with him. “How was your mission?”

“Fine,” he replied blankly, “Yours?”

“It was rough but I pulled through.” You were very unsure how long you should speak. Tomioka didn’t seem like the type to meander on. It was very awkward.

“You’re fast then.”

—

“And that was the extent of our conversation all the way back.” (Y/N) smiled.

“That sounds…so…like him,” Shinobu gave a half playful, half pitiful laugh. Even she had some hope that his spouse had a much more romantic meeting with him. It made way too much sense for him to be that awkward.

(Y/N) giggled, “Well I was only a Kanoe at the time, so I guess finishing at the speed of a Hashira was impressive. By the time we made it back I was starving and I came straight here.”

(Y/N) recounted seeing Giyuu talk outside the Butterfly Mansion with Rengoku. As the Flame Hashira walked away Giyuu bluntly asked if she was hungry. He admitted that Urokodaki has told him to look out for her but he had forgotten for two months and felt bad once he finally saw her. She was in such a bad shape that getting a hot meal from Giyuu calmed her nerves. He told her, “Come to me if you have a problem or want to eat again.”

“We became great friends from that point.”

Mitsuri felt her cheeks burn up as she watched (Y/N) smile. “Aw! You two are just too cute!”

#giyuu tomioka x reader #giyuu x reader #giyuu tomioka #kny x reader #kimetsu no yaiba #demon slayer #tomioka giyu x reader #tomioka giyuu #writing fanfics at 3 am #cringe-#no beta we die like men #Giyuu Secret Family AU #demon slayer oc #kny oc #I suffered for this btw #it isn't even 3am #it's 5AM #shinobu kocho #mitsuri kanroji

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horse-girl-anthy · 8 months

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beneath the cut is an essay I've titled "Ikuhara Fandom, Shoujo Manga, and Eroticism." it discusses potentially upsetting subject matter.

when I first encountered RGU in 2014, I was largely baffled, though I thought the ending was very good. after that, I didn't rewatch more than an episode or two of the show again until 2020. Ikuhara was inaccessible to me as a teenager, but I spent years studying media, so when I returned to RGU, it was like discovering a goldmine. by the end of 2020, I'd watched all of Ikuhara's original shows.

the thing is, I still found Ikuhara challenging. there were things about his works which were seemingly contrary to my value system. I would read interviews of his and he would say things which sounded alarming--to use cliche terminology, he wasn't very politically correct.

if we're being honest, there is a party line in a lot of left-leaning fandom spaces. I used to be a part of that more than I am now; I had rigid ideas of right and wrong. today in the Ikuhara fandom, I often feel like the elephant in the room is that his works aren't the kind of "queer feminist masterpieces" that people portray them as. now, by that, I don't mean that those words don't apply to his works: what I mean is that the way people frame them, the way they discuss their meaning, doesn't bear that much relation to Ikuhara and his oevre.

RGU gets this treatment more than his other works. in fact, certain fans want to claim it as the work which truly aligns with their values, while Penguindrum, YKA, and Sarazanmai actively subvert RGU's message. a lot of other fans just stick with RGU, claiming it as a work without critiquing it. by critique, I don't mean negative criticism: I mean critique as in actual engagement with the text.

I remember that there was a point when I was afraid to engage with more Ikuhara interviews/works, since I thought I would find something out about him that made it so that I couldn't enjoy RGU. after all, when I would hang around in RGU spaces, every so often I'd see someone say that Ikuhara was super problematic. then I realized I was ignoring one of RGU's main themes, facing the truth rather than trying to stay in an idyllic past, so I took the dive. I had my ideas challenged, my values changed, and my entire approach to media shifted by doing so.

it's been strange to be in the English-speaking fandom, where everything is taken very seriously and there's certain universal assumptions about RGU's meaning, when many of the things held as absolutes are simply not so in the Japanese fandom. equally, the creative minds behind RGU are often in conflict with the Western fandom as well. once or twice, I've seen someone point this out and say that RGU is actually problematic/patriarchal, but mostly, it is ignored.

for instance, the character Ruka is massively hated in the western fandom, while as far as I understand, Juri/Ruka is one of the most common Japanese doujin pairings. Mamoru Hosoda, who storyboarded many Juri episodes, claimed that Ruka was in love with Juri. turning to Ikuhara, he often phrases things in a way that could leave you wondering if he's as much of a "feminist ally" as people want to paint him as. of the women's liberation movement, Ikuhara said, "On the one hand you had this social movement, but then in their heads I think almost everyone was thinking: this is lame (laugh), I don't wanna do this (laugh)."

consider this exchange from the same interview for a demonstration of just how differently people in the western fandom approach media compared to Ikuhara and a contemporary of his, art critic Mari Kotani:

Ikuhara: Speaking of sexuality, after Utena I wrote a novel which features lots of hermaphroditic characters. It's a collaborative work, a book called Schell Bullet. Kotani: It is a fantasy world? Ikuhara: It's a future world. Humanity has divided into roughly two groups, Majors and Minors. Because of gene manipulation the Majors are hermaphrodites without male/female sexes, and they have a monopoly on good genetic material. The Minors are humans who have fallen away from the monopolized gene material, they look basically the same are present-day humans, and have two sexes. Kotani: Sounds interesting! Are the Minors kind of like slaves, like in The Human Livestock Yapū?

later:

Ikuhara: The boss is visually female, a Major with a very bold beauty. From the start I wanted the main character's boss to be a hermaphroditic woman. That's because, the way I see it, even the Major women in the real world, that is to say women who are competent workers, seem to have an intense male side.

what I find most interesting in this exchange is how Kotani casually brings up the idea of sexual slavery as a fun angle for Ikuhara's hermaphrodite novel. it's not to say that this kind of attitude is universal in Japan, just as leftist fandom spaces aren't universal here in America. however, there is obviously a huge difference in values between these two worlds.

so, what world is Ikuhara occupying? where did he come from and what are his influences? exploring these questions is what helped me to come to peace with his works, and in the process, I changed my own thinking.

I'm not really qualified to speak in depth on Japan, its history, culture, or values. however, I have looked into specific trends which I know were influences on Ikuhara specifically, so that's what I'll focus on here.

Ikuhara was born in 1964 and became a teenager in the 1970s. it was a period marked by a lot of social movements. he describes in many interviews feeling completely disillusioned when, rather than change society, the movements were crushed or simply collapsed in on themselves. "oh, maybe there's no way to change the world after all." however, one way or another, he seems to have pulled himself out of that despair. his works are all designed to give modern people a way out of the end of history brought on by the failure of radical change and the onset of the neoliberal global order.

as a young creative, he was into the dramatist/director Shuji Terayama and other artists who were pushing boundaries. in the Kotani interview, he stated:

Ikuhara: Terayama's words are interesting too, but what I find the most kitschy and cool is his theatre. Suddenly a completely naked actress would appear, without even a genital cover, and this was in Kinokuniya Hall! The police might barge in saying "Hey, wait a second". I guess this is why they say it's a fine line between a hero and a criminal (laugh), but until then I had never thought that showing your panties or showing your willy could be anything but shamelessness, and now the Asahi Shimbun was treating it as superb culture. I found that gap extremely mysterious and fascinating, and personally I felt a cultural nuance there.

clearly, the libertine values of 20th century countercultures left their mark on him. more than that, he is interested in the conflict between sexual repression and sexual expression, which has only escalated in Japan and in the West up until today.

turning to the anime/manga sphere, I know that RGU has a reputation as being very triggering, but to be honest, compared to its predecessors, RGU is mild and restrained. J.A. Seazer, a musician who Tereyama collaborated with, wrote songs for both RGU and the the 1992 anime film Midori. the story is old, dating back to the beginning of the 20th century, and it's been adapted as recently as 2016. Midori is an exploitation film: full of child rape, set in a freak show, featuring countless horrors in its 40-minute run. I've watched it and would not recommend it unless you're interested in the ero guro genre.

I bring up Midori as an example of the media landscape Ikuhara began his career in. he was working on Sailor Moon, so obviously, there was less heavy content in the world of anime and manga, but Sailor Moon is represents only one side of shoujo. Ikuhara is more aligned with the Year 24 Group, who revolutionized shoujo in the 1970s. the group produced a wide range of works, many of which had obvious influences on Ikuhara.

I know that Ikuhara is often associated with lesbians, but in fact, I would say that shoujo BL is one of his largest anime/manga influences. the early work Kaze to Ki no Uta is an acknowledged influence on RGU, and Ikuhara did an interview with its mangaka, Takemiya Keiko.

many of the early BL mangaka were inspired by western literature. Demian is not only referenced in RGU but also in Kaze to Ki no Uta. most important for BL is the 1912 German novel Death in Venice, as well as its 1971 film adaptation. for those unfamiliar, the novel is about a man in his 50s stalking a young teenage boy, becoming completely obsessed with him and other underage kids. it is a sexual obsession, but there are other angles to it, and the story has been analyzed in various ways. the fascination seen in shoujo and BL with beautiful young boys, as well as pedophilia, can be in part traced back to this story.

taking inspiration from Death in Venice, shoujo's fundamental character dynamic was established, one that can also be seen in a film such as Midori: innocence versus experience. the ever-present theme is corruption, how abuse and exploitation corrode personalities and create societal damage.

how this is handled can vary from work to work. I understand that grotesque depictions of child abuse or failure to condemn pedophilia hard enough make some people not want to engage with these works at all. I will say, whatever one thinks of Death in Venice, Kaze to Ki no Uta, along with the BL manga of Takemiya's contemporary Moto Hagio, are certainly not child porn. I think there is no excuse for CP, and even if there are things in Kaze to Ki no Uta that I question, it is overall a work of artistic merit, beyond holding interest to me as an early work in the genre.

as I've said, RGU is mild compared to much of what came before it, as well as a contemporary manga like A Cruel God Reigns. however, the core of its character dynamics are in line with shoujo/BL. the twist is that the work focuses on relationships between women.

Kotani: ...Watching it, the relationships between women, including the dialogue, were very sexual, very vivid, right? Ikuhara: But I think what it is expressing is simply yaoi. To do that using shōjo "royal road"-like characters, and with two women, is somewhat rare I think.

Utena and Anthy are easy to compare to BL couples who came before them, like Serge and Gilbert or Ash and Eiji. rather than approach gender issues through projection on to pretty boys, Be-Papas chose to use women, creating their own version of a gendered social system. of course, other Year 24 Group members used lesbians or GNC women to explore similar themes, with Rose of Versailles being another major influence on RGU. however, Ikuhara claiming that RGU is essentially yaoi has fascinated me for years.

Anthy and Akio are experience, knowledge, and corruption, while Utena is innocence, youth, and purity. like many predatory shoujo characters, Akio is obsessed with innocence and purity while also seeking to destroy them. the drama centers on Utena's struggle with corruption, as well as Anthy's conflicted feelings towards her friend's naivety, as she both identifies her past self with Utena and resents her for her ignorance. the story also features intense power dynamics, which, over the course of the narrative, are upset. all of these elements are standard for BL and shoujo.

to dig deeper into the value sense behind these works, here is a passage from the Takemiya/Ikuhara interview:

Takemiya: What I wanted to ask is about “crossing the line” for a girl [implicitly losing one's virginity/sexual purity]. I thought Utena crossed it unexpectedly easily. Ikuhara: Ah, I’m not thinking very deeply, right? Actually, I just wanted to suggest that it doesn’t matter. Because a lot of people seem to get caught up in issues of purity, I wanted to show that it didn’t matter. Takemiya: But doesn’t it seem like more kids these days don’t care about those things? Ikuhara: Yes, and that’s another reason I did it. But I think there are still many people who would try to put it in a box and say purity is important because it is an animation. Takemiya: Actually I think it’s more likely a lot of people will try to use the purity as an index of understanding. I guess you are an adult if you can overcome that. Ikuhara: That’s true, there are a lot of people that want to put a line between justice and absolute evil based on purity. I didn’t want them to do that. Whether manga or anime, I think it can become a motivation for the viewers and the readers in real life. I don’t like when people draw lines, out in society, equating absolute evil with impurity - in an animation which is nothing more than fiction, drawing a line between those that are carnally pure and those that are not.

I think we can all agree that Akio was in the wrong for trying to make Utena feel guilty for sleeping with him in episode 38 of RGU. but going further, Ikuhara and Takemiya say that they want to reject purity as an index of understanding altogether. to me, what this means is not jumping to immediate judgments, not treating issues of sexuality as if they are so deep as to sully the soul.

this is NOT to make some kind of excuse for pedophilia or child porn. I know from my own life how harmful those things are. to close out this discussion, I am going to try to explain what I mean by touching on the use of eroticism in art.

years ago, I was watching Naoki Urasawa's Manben, a show which gives space to mangaka to show off their process. Junji Ito went on it, and I was troubled by the following moment from the episode:

before I got into Ikuhara, I didn't have a grasp on the erotic. when I watched this, my thought was, why are they talking about a toddler being erotic?

after having gained an appreciation for eros's place in art, I understand what they were saying here. eros is hard to define, but it relates to sensuality: a way of interacting with the world which is beyond the intellect. the erotic is not pornographic: it is evocative, a way to make any work of art touch its audience on a deeper level. it is related to sexuality but is not the same thing as it. for Ito, exaggerating the erotic aspect of this character helps him to create even greater horror. the point is not to make a toddler sexy.

RGU relies heavily on this kind of eroticism for different purposes, both within the series and in the promotional art. whenever I see someone trying to ban a specific kind of fan art, I roll my eyes for this very reason. it's not as if there's any significant numbers of people making RGU exploitation porn or anything; most of it is in line with the show itself. for instance:

official art of characters all 13 and younger

Anthy having sex with her brother in the series proper (episode 31)

I have seen RGU called exploitative and fetishized, though not as often as I've seen the same criticism leveled at later Ikuhara works. however, more often than not, the disturbing eroticism of RGU is left uncommented on.

to come full circle, the reason that I now have a lot of admiration for Ikuhara is that I've come to see that the "problematic" aspects of his work help him to tell meaningful stories. all of his anime are designed to spark self-revelation/self-transformation in their audiences. additionally, I now appreciate erotics for what they are, feeling them on the sensual level rather than intellectualizing about them. viewing the above images, various readings can be drawn, arguments made about the impact of their eroticism on the themes they express. however, there is a more primal appeal to them, something which draws the eye. that aesthetic quality, by itself, deserves to be defended. those who dislike it should probably not engage with Ikuhara works. from RGU commentary, episode 38:

Hideki Mori: Are you always trying to work in this type of erotic undertone? Ikuhara: Yes, well... if it doesn't have that kind of stuff... it's not very interesting! Either I'm doing it to make it interesting or maybe I just wanted to see that.

I will finish with two final points. firstly, I think that letting go of one's automatic response of moral judgment is essential when approaching Ikuhara anime. this is not the same thing as advocating for a laissez-faire, anything-goes approach; it is simply saying, before applying preconcieved notions, let the work's textual, aesthetic, erotic, and sensual levels wash over you. if you give the work time and find some aspect of it offensive, that's one thing, but I am glad that I didn't let my kneejerk reactions turn me off of Ikuhara. along with that, don't immediately apply some kind of feminist, queer, or leftist lens to explain everything either. just let the work breathe.

lastly, I want to share Ikuhara's words on what affect he thought RGU had on its audience:

Ikuhara: I didn’t want 'Utena' to become a nice story. A story can be pretty, but it feels like a lie. From the beginning, the story was going to be about saving a friend, so in that sense that was the goal, but it can easily become a nice story, so to break away from that I made sure that it was a foolish story. I think it’s this foolishness that makes ‘Utena’ so popular with adults. Not in a sexual way, but more that watching it at that point makes it more relatable.

to re-emphasize, my point with this discussion was that much of Ikuhara's artistry is ignored because his approach and influences are considered problematic. that being said, it was never his intention to make a work about "sexy teenagers" who adult viewers can masturbate over. none of his works are that: they feature students because anime often features students, and because he has an interest in the threshold between childhood and adulthood. although I am now 26, I can see myself in all of his casts, and the eroticization of the art makes me more invested in the story and themes, not titillated.

#ikuhara #commentary #it's 5am #ive been writing this for 4+ hours lol

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