Run a search for “soushoku danshi,” and chances are that you’ll run into this piece from Slate. The article (with the help of a rather bad illustration) describes a new social phenomenon in Japan: Men who forsake the corporate ladder-climbing and aggression of their predecessors, choosing instead to live quiet lives of domesticity. These so-called “grass-eating men” care more about their hobbies and personal appearance than about conquering the workplace or the bedroom, which seems to worry some traditionalists.
Well then, how about this? Male otaku (which I’ll use as a catch-all term for convenience) are rarely considered manly. They fit the profile. Are they part of the grass-eating movement, too?
The answer seems to be no. The Slate article dedicates a grand total of two sentences to the possibility, which I think is a crying shame. The masculinity of otaku is a subject with surprising depth: Even if you discount the fact that many otaku are dateless social misfits, it’s still difficult to be seen as a man when one’s hobbies boil down to watching cartoons and collecting pretty dolls. And yet, there they are. There’s a lot of unspoken anxiety in otaku culture about this, which I believe comes out in the things we watch.
Take the romantic comedy Toradora!, which was the surprise hit of last year. The main character, Ryuuji, could be considered one of the soushoku danshi: He cooks, cleans and enjoys sales at the supermarket. But because of his fearsome expression, Ryuuji has to cope with people expecting him to be a thug. Of course, everything changes when he meets Taiga: People loosen up, he makes some friends, life is good.
And then in the last few episodes, Ryuuji’s future after high school becomes a central issue: Does he go to college and pursue a big-time career, even if that isn’t the life he really wants? Some might cry foul on the plot for introducing unnecessary drama at this point, and perhaps it was. But it’s also quite meaningful in context of Ryuuji’s original problem and the problem of all the men watching this show. If your life just doesn’t fit into the “program,” as a man or as a citizen, then what the hell are you supposed to be doing?
For Ryuuji, the answer is to have faith in his unlikely soulmate. He might be a bit lost and bewildered on his own, but together with her, hopefully, there’s a tomorrow to look forward to. If you play visual novels (or watch anime adaptations of visual novels, whichever), you’ll find that this is often the answer to the dilemma of masculinity. You are a man not when you have the right job or the appropriate pastimes, but when you believe, unconditionally, that you have found the love of your life.
For some of us, that still poses a problem. But hey, it’s a start.
On a side note, Nanako (in blue) deserved way more screen time than she got. I’m such a sucker for lovely voices.
July 17, 2009 at 8:02 am
I whole heartedly agree. As anyone can tell from that picture Nanako SHOULD have had more screen time ;D
July 17, 2009 at 10:05 pm
[...] some of us, that still poses a problem. But hey, it’s a start. For the full article please click here, and if you believe you have something worthy of a Fanatic Friday, then make sure to e-mail us at [...]
July 21, 2009 at 4:41 am
Wow, I really disliked Toradora because of the way Taiga was slowly broken down into a moeblob, but you pointed out an angle on Ryuuji’s choices that I honestly didn’t consider. But while at first Ryuuji’s relationship with Taiga leads him to run, in the end it actually just encourages him to “get with the program” rather than make his own way. It isn’t explained whether or not he ends up going to college, but he does reunite with Yasuko and the rest of his family and decide to delay his marriage until he can get Taiga’s parents’ approval. Not that the show wouldn’t have been more interesting with a less conformist moral, but I’m pretty sure the message was not that love could free you from obligations to society, just that it might encourage you to fulfill them.
Either way though your take on the show was insightful. Cool blog!
July 22, 2009 at 1:46 am
Nice, I really like how you can relate anime like Toradora! to current events in Japanese culture. I think that’s one reason people are so drawn to anime; the characters prosper because they don’t follow what society or authority dictates, but rather what they themselves feel is true and right according to their feelings and the ones they care about. Fans can’t help but take comfort in this deviation from the harshness of real life.
August 13, 2009 at 2:12 am
Interesting read. In my own take on Toradora [->] I didn’t pay attention on the ‘masculinity’ issues of Ryuuji. Now that I think about it, the juxtaposition of his feminine qualities with his contextually fearsome male visage is worth exploring further.
I truly did not know this (as a theme of visual novels, etc.). So it is by surrendering the ‘trappings’ of masculinity and surrendering to a more (traditionally) feminine behavior, one becomes a ‘man?’
Is it still useful to use pronouns in this case?
September 6, 2009 at 1:18 pm
[...] but male otaku seem to be pretty ‘girly,’ if you think about it. Going back to what 2DT said about masculinity and otakus, our hobbies naturally preclude us from ever being the alpha male. We enjoy watching and discussing [...]
September 15, 2009 at 12:47 pm
[...] Musuko is fascinating for much the same reason. I’ve mentioned before that masculinity is an evolving subject in Japan. Young men have unprecedented freedom to fuss over themselves in a way that, to western eyes, just [...]
January 21, 2010 at 11:37 am
[...] (“Revisiting the Post-Apocalypse: Kara no Kyoukai’s Magic Dystopia”) and non-conformity (“Toradora! and the Dilemma of Masculinity”), but I believe it bears mentioning again: The new generation is not happy with its lot, and things [...]
April 9, 2010 at 12:16 pm
[...] Toradora and the Dilemma of Masculinity [...]
July 30, 2010 at 7:38 am
[...] men, when warriors fought with sword and fist in the name of justice—the diametrical opposite of the soushoku danshi. Mixed with the heady, BL-friendly appeal of beautiful men being violent and [...]
October 23, 2010 at 12:26 am
Wow. It never occurred to me to question the masculinity of male anime geeks. Back in the 80′s I think I might have disregarded this post all together because of the emphasis on blood and tits in anime, but in the late 90′s heroes started to become pathetic, cowardly, often perverted blobs who happily let girls defend them. I wonder what effect this had on the fanscene?
October 23, 2010 at 10:56 pm
Interesting to have the word “blobs” applied to the men for once.
I don’t know if the changing characters affected the scene, so much as the scene changed the demand for certain characters.
Thanks for reading!
January 22, 2011 at 10:31 pm
The interesting thing I find about that Slate piece is that, from what I’ve noticed (I’m probably wrong), it’s something only the Japanese are personally afraid of; you would never see something as specific or neurotic as the article suggested here in the United States, unless someone in the field of psychology or sorts is involved in an article (until something like what the Japanese is going through happens to us sooner, then it’s a whole other story). Sure, we have our ideas of masculinity and femininity too, but the more feminine males are portrayed much differently than what the Japanese see as feminine. Makes me wonder if it’s a culture difference or something, and if not, one has to wonder on why it’s an issue in Japan but not really in the U.S.A.
In terms of how masculinity v.s femininity deal with anime though, yeah, that is a problem, and it is a shame the Slate piece didn’t mention them. You know it’s bad when some anime directors saw it as a problem before this whole “herbivores” idea began.