Sun 6 Jul 2008
Kamen no Maid Guy 11 and some gender analysis. I kid you not.
Posted by issa-sa under Rambles and Half-lies, Spring 2008, Kamen no Maid Guy
If there’s anyone kids nowadays should be looking up to, it’s Maid Guy.
The only reason I’m making this post is that my last Kamen no Maid Guy post overtook all my Toshokan Sensou posts in terms of views by a mile I’ve not watched enough of the new Summer Season to have much to say about (Thanks to the current glorious internet speed here, I can’t even watch Chi’s Sweet Home now. Chi’s Sweet Home!). As the title may or may not suggest (I don’t think I’ve exacly built up a reputation for being a serious blogger, have I?), I’m going to try to make a serious point in this post somewhere, so bear with the cow tits for as long as you can.
In this episode, Naeka’s boob-club leader (so cleverly named “Ri-Da/Leader/whoever you want to romanize it” by the writers) loses his memory in some dumb mishap (obviously involving chasing Naeka’s boobs), and the only thing he can remember is… Naeka’s boobs. The episode than turns to the summer festival, where on the suggestion of yet another WTF side character in this show (a love doctor), Naeka agrees to go on a date with Ri-Da in the hope that THE POWER OF LOVE (of boobs) jogs his memory back since she feels guilty for indirectly causing his accident. Though reluctant at first, partly due to the meddling efforts of her so-called best friends (their theory: “He likes boobs, she has boobs, they make the perfect couple!”) and one Maid Guy (”kukuku… I did all the work!”), sparks start flying…
Actually for the most part, this is caused by a big change in Ri-Da’s character though, resulting from him forgetting everything aside from Naeka’s boobs (wait, what else was there in that head of his?). How exactly is his character changed if all he cares about are those lovely lady lumps then?
To illustrate, stuff that happened in this episode that I forgot to screencap:
1) Despite the appearance of other busty beauties in the episode, Ri-Da doesn’t even bat an eyelid at them, much to Naeka’s surprise (he supposedly used to be a great conneiseur of racks). His excuse:
Ri-Da (with serious face): “I only love your boobs”
Instead of putting him under some sort of physical torture like she does in the scenes before this one, Naeka actually blushes, and gives him a soft kick, which is decorated as a typical harem moment gone mushy by the gang of spying ‘best friends’, boob club members, and Maid Guy.
2) In another typical harem moment gone mushy, in the classical part of the woods couples go into hiding just as the fireworks begin, Ri-Da tells Naeka that “there is no point if I cannot obtain your boobs “fair and square”. Until the day you tell me “Dozo, have my boobs!“, I will continue to persevere in the most gentlemanly fashion possible to court you” (as much as I want to say I made most of that up, that’s pretty much the gist of what I understood he said)
3) To backup this statement, despite the many chances opened up by Kogarashi for Ri-Da to attack Naeka’s bare chest, Ri-Da actually resists all temptation and refuses to take the bait.
Sorry for testing your patience, I’m trying to make a serious point here.
So WTF is trying to be shown here? That before this, Ri-Da really just treated Naeka merely as the two lumps of flesh on her chest (that she is, really -_-”), but suddenly, for the sake of this episode, he actually sees her as something different - as the carrier of said lumps of flesh.
See the difference? If you don’t, I don’t blame you.
Even in his memory impaired state, what does Ri-Da actually care about? It is made explicit by him that it’s really not actually about her, it’s her boobs (like I’ve said a billion times this post). The fundamental change being that before he would resort to the lowest underhanded methods to obtain even a glimpse of the objects of his desire, now, he’s willing to take the long hard way of doing it like just like all the other hot blooded healthy males out there who just happen to have more tact to voice what they really want.
Because as much as man has evolved to wanting more than just a good child bearing partner and someone to keep the house clean, it doesn’t change the fact that some part of his brain consciously gravitates to the well asseted candidates. Yes, this is totally biased and unfair statement brought on by the ‘fact’ that amongst themselves, when guys will talk about members of the opposite sex, it’s rarely anything about anything other than her looks, proportions etc. (and if Baka-Raptor is right, those who don’t join in that fray will be left to die out by themselves) A characters like Ri-Da is just exagerating and making the message clear for all to see.
Now look at Naeka. Even for (As expected of?) someone whose intelligence is stereotyped by her proportions, she was actually taken in by what she may have seen as a sort of improbable Prince Charming chivalry. Couple this sincere desire to put the effort into the chase with an open (brutal?) honesty about his motives (as much as “I want your boobs” is unflatering in the traditional sense), and can you honestly blame Naeka for being so stupid almost falling badly for the guy (almost, because like all cliche memory loss situations in anime, they don’t last for long)?
So to surmise from the situation before this gets tl;dr (too late), men are sexual creatures who only crave the physical aspects of their partners, but women are willing to overlook this if their emotional wants are fulfilled.
Which is total and utter bullshit. Because in reality, men are really pure hearted misunderstood souls who prioritize the emotional more than anything else, at least as much as their female counterparts do… Yea, that and women have no sexual desires whatsoever.
itsubun/coffee spoons comment really holds the point I think I myself finally see I wanted to address here (as much as I laughed at the setup of this episode - it’s Kamen no freakin Maid Guy! I have to say, something under the surface of me began to bother me), this odd image of the (anime) guy who can openly flap his trap about sex (though they seem more fascinated by specific body parts rather than the act itself, School Days excluded -_-”) despite being lambasted and brutally abused by the other characters of purportably more sense. That and on the other side of the spectrum, the supposed notion of the (anime) girl who really rather be swept off by a Prince Charming to live happily ever after… the thought of said Prince Charming putting it in anywhere never making it on screen (again, School Days excluded)?
So even in anime, its seldom if ever that females are shown to have open sexual desires of their own (unless their crazed lesbian stalkers), since they’re too often prioritizing their own romantic notions. Is it that as 2-D characters, they have none, or a reflecion of the ‘fact’ that ‘women can’t be sluts‘?
And to stray even further from Maid Guy, there actually is a series that comes to mind (which isn’t School Days this time) which represents this notion halfway, and goes against it in as well, and that is (the later part of) Utena. But this I suspect says that old school series were probably more open about the subject, while newer ones nowadays are more towards easy pandering or the mushy stuff. There’s still stuff like NANA of course, but ‘realistic’ shoujo/jousei fare like that will probably stay as a minority (but a strong one nontheless)
So to ammend the previous callous statement, how about: “men are sexual creatures who will crave the physical aspects of their partners to a certain extent. Women know this and are willing to overlook this because they too are sexual creatures and so long as their sexual and/or emotional wants are fulfilled, all’s fair”? Still BS perhaps, but what the heck, I needed to arrive at some conclusion -_-”
If you read all that please do take that with as much salt as you can find. To compensate, here’s some Kogarashi spam:
Sadly, there’s just not enough of him in this show anymore. Oh well, just one more episode to go…
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July 6, 2008 @ 1:40 pm
Let me explain the nature of romance, Baka-Raptor style:
Thousands of years ago, some women craved romance and some didn’t. The women who sought to establish romantic connections before having sex were more likely to keep their partners with them throughout pregnancy. When these pregnant women were incapable of hunting/running from wild predators, their partners fought off the predators and got them food (which explains why women are turned on by receiving chocolate). The women who didn’t establish romantic relationships were all alone and helpless throughout pregnancy and either starved or got eaten. Only the romance-loving women survived, passing the romance-loving genes onto future generations.
Kamen no Maid Guy needs to be subbed faster.
July 6, 2008 @ 4:11 pm
My hump, my hump, my hump (ha), my lovely lady lumps (Check it out) *bumps, grinds*
I laughed my ass off when I was reading your paraphrasing of Ri-Da’s chivalrous pursuit of Naeka’s boobs. I like how the girl is so easily swayed when the dumb-as-fuck guy actually starts putting forth real efforts [into getting some jiggle AXxXion] because surely, SURELY, that must mean it’s TRULUV. But then again, I guess that’s still a step up from the Stone Age logic of Man Wants, Man Beats Into Submission and Drags Back to Cave. I have not watched a single episode of Kamen no Maid Guy, but from what I’ve read in your entry, it sounds like epic lulz. What I got out of it is that the girl is into the CHASE. She likes the idea of being singularly pursued like a hot piece of meat [literally]. Because that differentiates her from all the other girls, meaning that she is the juiciest MuthaMutha of them all. His declaration of future ownership feeds into her ego, marks her as his own, and she’s like, “WOWZA! Lucky me! IZ SO SPESHIUL!”
Honestly, there’s nothing wrong with a guy wanting a nice pair of tits or whatever kind of lumps have you. Because that kind of carnal attraction is built into us as sexual beings. In the same way, I have certain “kinks” in my preferences toward men [read: I'd tap that ass]. The difference is that women’s sexual desires have been culturally sublimated and in effect producing stereotypes that are perpetuated and reinforced through the media of the asexual female only existing to please others with no original desires of her own. Most people don’t even think to consider women’s sexuality in a way that isn’t condemning or derogatory. Which is why there’s that disparity between male sexuality being purely carnal and female sexuality being only limited to the emotional. All of which is bullcrap.
I would LOVE to watch an anime where the female lead isn’t a typecast lesbian [fucking stereotypes], but can still effectively express her sexuality. And she would say something along the lines of, “Hey, you’re a shithead of a guy and you don’t come anywhere near the ideal of Prince Charming. And that’s okay because I don’t have those kinds of expectations for you. But you do have something that I want, and I know I have something that you want. So let’s just skip the chivalrous bullshit and HIT IT.”
July 6, 2008 @ 8:00 pm
@itsubun: I was writing an illustrated fantasy novel that had an Anime-born character created by an Animancer who grew up in a matriarchal country where men are expected to submit to their wives and put out. Her name was Mitsuko Atom and she was a Special Ops Magical Girl. Usually she actively plays the field and has been in many relationships. Rather than be judgmental of guys not from her country and thus not matriarchal in their values, she had the philosophy “he who is without smut cast the first stone”. Sadly because Japan is a completely different society than my fictional matriarchal country of Gawain, something like what Mitsuko is would not exist in Anime.
As for me, I’m happy if a girl even answers my calls, and chances are, they don’t. Which makes me wish there was a girl out there somewhere who would express her sexuality effectively to me, because instead of “I’d tap that” I usually subscribe to the “I’d Hug That” more warm and fuzzy kind of relationship philosophy.
As an Asperger’s guy I’m generally viewed as “retarded” and generally not capable of interesting the ladies, but I just don’t know what I can do to express that I need some lovin’ without seeming creepy.
There’s a flip side to the coin, I’ve been exploited by women on several occasions.
July 6, 2008 @ 9:52 pm
Well, this is the first Maid Guy post which has made me want to watch the show. Unfortunately I don’t have much to contribute as a comment, though: gender is not an area I’m knowledgeable about.
And Jacob, you are the most un-Australian Australian I’ve ever encountered. In the UK, we imagine that all male Australians are oversexed tappers rather than huggers. It must be the way you consistently crush our cricket team.
July 6, 2008 @ 10:20 pm
@IKnight:
Un-Australian? Hugging is what makes this country great, just look at the Koala, one of our most popular native animals and icons. You KNOW you’d want to hug THAT!
July 6, 2008 @ 10:57 pm
drat… they should finish subbing this already.
you’re right though, kogarashi has been appearing less and less since episode 8.
as for ri-da… his love is pure. remember that episode when naeka’s panties were flying all over the place and he declared that he’s only interested on her boobs and didn’t budge? but at least now, he sees her as the carrier. i will so laugh my ass out if there will be any more developments on this… but it’s supposed to be only natural right? everything starts with physical attraction…
July 7, 2008 @ 2:19 pm
You know, I still can’t believe I wrote this post. LOL(?)
@Baka-Raptor: Your theory totally explains why I’m so turned off by the idea of sex before romance (looking at Junjou Romantica of all things) - BRING ME THE CHOCOLATES!!!
@itsubun: We’re all human because we have kinks!
The disparity between how male and female characters in anime are portrayed in displaying their sexuality (assuming they “had any in the first place”) is just so wide sometimes, I’m surprised it took Kamen no Maid Guy of all things to call forth the fact to me when it obviously had no intention of doing so (It’s Kamen no freakin Maid Guy!)
And I think School Days sortof/kindof did what you wanted, though it was just an excuse to set up the Nice Boat end. Utena had to be swept off her feet by a false representation of her Prince Charming before succumbing to teh sex. NANA seemed to have a better representation of female sexuality, though Hachi’s side of the story seems to utilize Baka-Raptor’s theory of why cuteness exists -_-”
@Jacob Martin: Well if your story ever gets published, maybe we’ll see your Mitsuko Atom on screen one day ;P
If anime is to be believed, the less you tell yourself you want to pursue love, the more likely it will happen.
And I want to hug a koala now! (though their claws are rather scary, but I don’t think they use them for self defence, do they?)
@IKnight: Maybe I should start promoting lulz shows as intellectual fodder from now on XD I’ll have to start with deconstructing Animal Yokocho…
@biankita: Physical attraction doesn’t always cover undergarments perhaps XD I suppose Ri-Da is a case of a ‘pure’ love that manifests itself as something that isn’t so ‘pure’?
July 7, 2008 @ 3:58 pm
@issa-sa:
You can actually hold a koala at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, but I doubt you live in Australia so it might be too hard to visit. They don’t really claw you, just don’t be rough with a koala or you might get ownzored by Australian native wildlife.
BTW Dropbears are not real and are a fictional construct designed to scare gullible tourists while the locals have a good laugh at them trying to put Vegemite on their nose.
As for me, I’m not pursuing love, it’s pursuing me like Mad Max in his Interceptor
(how many Australian references can I cram into one comment?)
Kamen no Maid Guy 12: Kogarashi Dies. T_T » Incredible Nothing! said,
July 15, 2008 @ 7:59 pm
[...] want another WTF Maid Guy episode “analysis post“? Conclusion for episode 12: Kogarashi dying for real would kill this series. [...]