Page - 51 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 03/01

Rampant Lechers, Chaste Heroes | 51www.jrfm.eu 2017, 3/1, 45–57 and limit him in his heroic exploits,14 which is usually demonstrated in films or TV series by the trope of having the villain abduct the hero’s woman before she is spectacularly rescued by her paramour. interestingly, this scenario also occurs if the hero actually has sex with his girlfriend in a manner quite obvious to the spectator, as for example in Deadpool (2016). the Western hero is part of the narrative of the damsel in distress, yet he is characterised even more by a total lack of sexualised violence. the nexus between sex and violence is, at most, negative, i.e. the systematic use of violence keeps the hero from engaging in a close sexual and emotional relationship; yet his potential for violence – which is thematised, sometimes drastically so15 – would never exert influence on his erotic relationship. the heroes of Marvel and DC comics conform to the West- ern narrative of sexuality as part of a romantic attachment, which may include emotional dependence – the reason why the hero often hesitates to engage with it – but is always consensual and non-violent. When we turn to Japanese manga adapted either as anime or live-action movies, a considerably more differentiated situation presents itself: while, de- pending on the genre, the narrative of the hero’s romantic desire is indeed pre- sent occasionally, we much more frequently encounter fundamentally positive- ly connoted protagonists who – other than where explicitly underage heroes and their association with the shoujo genre16 are concerned – exhibit both a sexuality that may appear promiscuous to Western spectators’ eyes and openly expressed desire without previous or accompanying emotional ties. however, one factor that likewise applies to these characters is their sexual partners’ will- ingness. A positively connoted protagonist does not rape or coerce – he can get women anyway. The situation is different for villains. Similar to the Western tradition of cin- ematic adaptations of Marvel and DC comics, in Japanese manga one basic trait of baddies lies in their excessive nature, their unfettered desire for whatever it is they hunger for. some villains despise sexuality, regarding it merely as a necessary means to attain their goal, i.e. to satisfy their lust for power, such as Light yagami from Death Note (JP 2006–2007),17 a character also relatively well-known in the West, who emotionally subjugates the love-struck pop starlet Misa Amane for purely tactical reasons. however, this section will look more closely at two examples where sexualised or sexual violence is staged as the ultimate expression of the destructive power of evil. the former, i.e. sexualised violence, can be found paradigmatically in a scene from Psycho Pass (Katsuy- 14 Cf. heimerl 2016, 189f. 15 Cf. Daredevil (2015–) and Christopher Nolan’s Batman Trilogy (2005, 2008, 2012). 16 that is, manga and anime for girls and young women. 17 Death Note: Konami 2003–2006, Tsugumi Ōba/Takeshi Obata; Death Note. Anime tV series (37 epi- sodes, JPN 2006–2007)