people saying this isn't pedophilic believe that only if an adult rapes a child then it's pedophilia...
guys there's several stages to it, not because the guy "hasn't done anything to her yet" doesn't mean that this isn't a dangerous situation for the girl
this is clearly trying to make an adult/child "relationship" seem normal and cute and THAT is what we all are critizising
and this wasn't written centuries ago, it was written in the recent years, so you can't separate the work and the discouse it contains from it's cultural and historical context which is TODAY
if the goal was to portray life in that era, then there most likely wouldn't be anything cute about it, because romantic love is a modern invention and that kind of relationship back then was very different
also what's the point in saying 'if don' t like it then don't read' like, literature and literary and artistic/visual creations are VERY important and influential to reality and society, and we understand that, so if we find anything harmful or contrary to what's best for minors or other groups, then we can and we will criticize it
Very well said. You've stated nothing but facts.
+1 like
You said you don't know the purpose of the manga is, I honestly think that the Mangaka's reason for doing this is because in Japan, there are a lot of people, adult men especially, who has this kind of fetish. Young girls pairing with an adult. It's also why idols who are very very young are popular in Japan among adult men. This manga is most likely aimed to that audience. This topic doesn't spark that much controversy in there as much as internationally especially since in this case, its in manga form which is fictional. But yeah, it is pedophilia. It's in fiction, but it still is pedophilia.
okay so here's the question: Why does the author try so much to stuff it with historical, cultural concepts when they could've just made a loli hentai then? Are japanese pedophile men interested to see the circumstances of Japan from around 100 years ago? there are other characters and they're actually active, not simply put there as background filler.
Well let's be real here, Its not aimed for an international audience. If u do not understand why a Japanese author writes about Japanese historical fiction it's not for them to justify. Secondly this story might just be there to show that the relationships that occurred in the time were not all shitfaced with creepy men. I in no way condone such a young girl in s relationship before anyone says i suPpOrT PeDos or whatever. Just enjoy the story for the fiction it is or just leave it and go. No one needs people to literally keep pointing out the obvious "problematic themes" in the story as though they weren't evident enough.
There is so much wrong with this manga. First of all, neither of the two mc's look their age. The girl is supposedly 12 but looks 8, and the guy is supposedly 18 but looks like a 40 year old meth head. This makes the kissing scenes appear extremely disturbing and cringe worthy. I feel like if the characters actually looked their ages, the manga would appear less creepy and pedophilic. I get that this type of age gap relationship wasn't seen as taboo back then, but nowadays we know it's morally wrong hence the law changes that have been made. With that being said, I feel like what this manga is attempting to do is portray a pedophilic relationship in a positive light under the guise of "history". I say this because there are multiple instances where the dialogue creepily puts emphasis on the fact that the female mc is incredibly young. It's like the mangaka keeps reminding us that this is a little girl in a relationship with a grown man, but we're supposed to view it as completely normal because of the convenient time era. It makes me question for what purpose this manga was even written. If this manga was written for educational/historical purposes, it's lacking detail and does a piss poor job of teaching the audience anything. It hasn't given us any background on the two mc's. The manga hasn't shown how the two met or given any information about the arranged marriage process. It hasn't explained Bunji's military ranking or his involvement. It hasn't explored much of what Japanese culture or society was like during the time era. There are plenty of intriguing things about the time era that could be included in the manga but aren't. The manga is just completely lackluster as a result. This is all just my opinion so go ahead and dislike if you want idgaf. And before someone says "tHeN sToP rEaDinG iT!", don't worry. I don't plan on reading any more of this trash.