Page - 53 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 03/01

Rampant Lechers, Chaste Heroes | 53www.jrfm.eu 2017, 3/1, 45–57 attempt in this way to deprive the hero of his heroic status, reducing him to a victim or at least to an ambivalent character – which in fact does happen both in the manga and in the anime tV series released in 2016.21 the above-described scene of sexual violence is also the villain’s first action after his transformation into a supernatural being. it should be emphasised that Berserk (2013) is no niche production but a widely known, long-lived manga and anime with a cor- respondingly ample merchandising background. these few examples show clearly that the big bad villains in the screen ver- sions of Marvel and DC comics are without exception veritable saints when compared with the evil antagonists of manga adaptations. Aspects only hinted at by Marvel and DC – i.e. the pure lust for destruction, not only of the world (which is obviously shown in opulent CGi), but also of the villain’s human antag- onist at both the psychological and physical levels – are acted out and shown in screen adaptations of manga. More specifically, this level also comprises sexual integrity in connection with women. however, it should be evident by now that the villains of screen adaptations both of Marvel and DC comics and of manga are not merely rampant lechers lacking inhibitory control. rather, sexual desire is a sub-aspect of the desire for destructive power that is a defining trait of all these characters. yet whether and how strongly this sub-aspect is acted out is hugely dependent on the respective tradition. Conversely, only in the Western tradition are heroes relatively chaste. seX, GeNDer, ViOLeNCe As a rule, the gender of sexual or sexualised violence in comic book screen adaptations is male, and male only. But are there exceptions? Does a sexually connoted violence exercised by women over men exist? A rather common nar- rative concerns the sexually harassed, degraded or even raped woman who, once she has transformed into a heroine, takes revenge on her tormentors. We encounter this motif in Marvel and DC comics – most recently in Jessica Jones (Us 2015)22 – as well as in screen versions of various manga. yet this revenge, while physically violent, is not sexualised and, at most, sexually connoted in- asmuch as the man is deprived of his pride and masculinity in the social sense, and hence humiliated and publicly vilified. The motif is also well known outside comic book screen adaptations as the “rape-revenge motif”.23 film versions of manga, too, are practically devoid of truly sexualised or sexual violence ex- 21 Berserk. Anime tV series (12 episodes, JPN 2016). 22 Jessica Jones: Marvel 2001–, Brian Michael Bendis/Michael Gaydos; Jessica Jones. tV series (13 epi- sodes, Us 2015) 23 see read 2000, in particular 103–124 and 155–204.