The Japanese portal Myjitsu shared an article pointing out that the growing genre of " slave heroines " has gotten fans of the anime industry in trouble regarding feminist criticism. It turns out that there is not much to defend in this literary genre, and that the criticisms are really valid in this regard.
« A promotional poster announcing a collaboration between the “Mahjong Soul” video game and the “Saki Zenkoku-hen (Saki: The Nationals)” franchise caused controversy recently. In fact, whenever advertising posters using an anime character appear, a similar effect arises on social media involving someone from the political sphere , and this confirms that there is a certain war of ideologies between otakus and feminist women ».
« However, looking at the male-oriented otaku content that has become popular in recent years, it seems that a situation is spreading that cannot be excused even if it is labeled as “sexual exploitation”. The “slave heroine” genre , a hot topic on the novel presentation website “Shousetsuka ni Narou”, has been pointed to as spearheading this trend. The content is what the name of the genre suggests. The main plot revolves around a girl with no relatives who grew up mistreated as a slave, whom the protagonist buys from a slave owner and makes her his partner From her ».
« Popular novels of the same genre, such as “ Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari (The Rising of the Shield Hero)” and “ Isekai Meikyuu de Harem wo (Harem in the Labyrinth of Another World)”, have become such huge hits that they have been adapted to anime. In addition, although it does not go as far as the “slave heroines”, it seems that within the independent novels, genres that combine positions with differences in power , such as maids and employees, with romance have been well received ».
« It is a genre that, without a doubt, cannot be defended very effectively by otakus. “ They describe the desires of unattractive men too honestly. They have no self-confidence so they buy slaves to get women ”; and “ I like it as a genre, but the authors let their desires out so noticeably that it makes me feel a bit grossed out ”, are some of the prominent comments about it ».
« Let's say that the genre in which the protagonist falls in love with a girl over whom there is a difference of power is provisionally called “power romance”. The genre is not limited to standalone novels, but is common in smartphone video games. For example, “ Blue Archive ” shows romantic relationships between a teacher and his female students, while “ Uma Musume: Pretty Derby ” shows a coach taking care of pretty girls ».
« It is not about a culture that started with video games for smartphones, but about a way of representing relationships that developed from the so-called “idol things”. It is a romantic comedy structure with a leading producer and numerous idols in production. Of course, there is never a problem in portraying relationships based on a difference in power positions , they even exist in real life ».
« It's just a matter of taste and freedom of expression is guaranteed. However, that has fallen to a "slave heroine", something quite low that, it was evident, had to attract criticism even from the fans of the anime industry themselves. In case of controversy, it is difficult to defend these types of franchises in a coherent way, since there is not much to defend ».
Fuente: Myjitsu
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