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How do you desensitize yourself to rape in modern anime?

Oh, I'm quite aware of how much of that goes on, as it's something that I comment about regularly in reviews. I'm also quite well aware that a heavy amount of what could be called sexual harassment or sexual assault is actually girl-on-girl behavior; guys are much more commonly portrayed as doing it accidentally. Sugou's behavior towards Asuna is much more the exception than the rule, and he's clearly portrayed as being a complete bastard anyway.

In fact, the more that I think about it, guys who are the perpetrators of such cases are almost invariably portrayed as psychotic villains. The notable exception here is Sasha from Qwaser of Stigmata, and in his case he has non-sexual reasons for doing it.

So I can't desensitize "rape as romance" because that trope is bs, but I do somehow allow it when it's not positive.

ChibiKangaroo wrote:

When I started reading this thread, the very first modern anime that came to mind is BTOOOM! Although the scene in question doesn't result in actual penetration, the girl is definitely sexually assaulted and it comes very close to some kind of penetration.

Yes, this is a clear attempted rape scene - no question about it. It's also definitely not played off casually or like nothing happened; the experience negatively affects Himiko for much of the rest of the series, so it does not support the OP's claims. (The spoiler[actual rapes of her friends that happen in the flashback] also have very decided impacts long after they're shown.)

Although now I feel I ought add that, while there is definitely some purpose here, I think it is tough to deny that BTOOOM is also guilty of being way more graphic
than it needs to be. There's a distinct current of exploitation even if it does some good things here.

ChibiKangaroo, the answer to your question was written by Marquis de Valmont by the hand of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos.
Rape lets woman to have sex without losing their innocence.

1.) That scene from Kannazuki no Miko. It's what that show's infamous for, pretty much. Though it had a purpose: spoiler[Chikane did it to make Himeko hate her so Himeko would kill her since only one of them would get to live.]

Shoujo does go off the deep end sometimes. These are works written by women for women so I have to wonder if some Japanese women also see themselves as things to be dominated?

Here's what also gets to me. People say "it had a purpose" but spoiler[it didn't get Himeko to hate Chikane at all; she was instead CONSUMED by thoughts of her when before she thought she loved someone else, like the series was saying "A girl who is raped WILL fall in love with her rapist!" And yeah, I'd never been so horrified or disgusted by an anime that DARES say such a thing. So what it boils down to is "Chikane raped Himeko because Kaishaku wanted to draw a girl raping another girl and had no better idea on how to get them together because that's just how brilliant at writing they are."
THAT IS ALL.]

Though on another forum, someone had a theory that it was a form of "flattery", like the girl is so beautiful that the man can't control himself.
Ugh, sounds like more bullshit to me. =_=

well, it was supposed to work that way, but Himeko isn't the brightest bulb.

I saw it as "we were lovers in a past life so we must be lovers in this one too!" I consider that to be BS as well so I was unhappy either way.

Rape is the most popular fetish for women in America to the point where they've surveyed that 57% of all women have them, and those are just the ones willing to admit they've had that fantasy so who knows how much bigger the statistic it really is.

Rape is the most popular fetish for women in America to the point where they've surveyed that 57% of all women have them, and those are just the ones willing to admit they've had that fantasy so who knows how much bigger the statistic it really is.

Vaisaga you have this odd and slightly racist perception that rape porn and fantasies are somehow Japanese exclusive and representative of their culture, rather than it being extremely popular in America as well. Rape is the most popular fetish for women in America to the point where they've surveyed that 57% of all women have them, and those are just the ones willing to admit they've had that fantasy so who knows how much bigger the statistic it really is. It's very popular in exploitative American romance novels as well. Women read that stuff because they like it and it's a popular fetish among women. There's entire genres and subgenres of American porn dedicated to raping women, as well as shaming and dominating them. It's hardly some Japanese exclusive thing.

Rape is the most popular fetish for women in America to the point where they've surveyed that 57% of all women have them, and those are just the ones willing to admit they've had that fantasy so who knows how much bigger the statistic it really is.

I just dropped by to point out, since it hasn't been already, that successfully separating fantasy and real life is not the same thing as "desensitizing" to anything like rape, although it might look like it.