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[gapmoechan]

I really like the analysis you did for star lovers and i was wondering if you would do more for ichikawa's other works, especially houseki no kuni?

Thank you for your kind compliment! If I have the time, I would like to do more analyses, especially Houseki no Kuni. Star Lover is a short work, but Houseki is much more expansive. It would definitely take quite a bit of time, unfortunately, so I'm not sure I can complete it in the near future.But a strong maybe!

[gapmoechan]

Part 3: The true meaning of “Star Lover” by Haruko Ichikawa (Houseki no Kuni)

Spoiler warning: The call out post is still wrong.

Thanks for everyone who read the first two parts. This third and final part will be shorter than the last post and be a take-away for people who do not wish to read the manga itself.

Part 1 and 2 of this analysis can be found here, but is not required to understand this post. This part will also have reduced trigger words and can be read by all ages.

In addition to telling the bulk of her story through imagery rather than words, Haruko Ichikawa writes with a focus on ideals. The ideal nature of all her works contrasts sharply with the shocking destructive nature of her art; but to suggest that Ichikawa would take a step away from her now well-known idealistic messaging in order to write a work simply for titillation is illogical, at best. 

Who does the uncle represent?

The sole adult character in this piece is also the least responsible. His lack of responsibility is important in his character development, as he changes from someone who does nothing to raise the children or care for the house to someone who takes an active parenting (or gardening) role at the end of the story.

He represents the consumers or creators of abusive works of media, including ones that involve children. One large argument why these works can continue to exist in public space is, in summary, “Fiction is not reality. Adults that partake in such media and are aware that it is not real. Just because they read or watch it does not mean that they actively partake in such actions in real life.” (This argument was also used as rebuttals to the call out, amusingly.)

Such an argument is actually removing the responsibility of the persistence and ubiquity of this kind of media away from the consumers and creators. And surprise, Ichikawa actually is suggesting that lack of responsibility is wrong.

The uncle, who knows of the children’s true nature, sees a difference between the “fake” children and real humans. The uncle had never seen the female character Tsutsuji as a human; he also did not raise her properly (i.e. not teaching her to introduce herself and how to interact with people). She also does not attend school, even though Satsuki does.

The ideals of “Star Lover”

The major ideals of the story are that (1) family should be kind, and (2) children are blessings.

The children are shown to be incarnations of Kannon, a Buddhist diety who helps the suffering. Still, a child of a diety can become delusional and be abused without the support of their family. This “family” is also not restricted to blood relatives. The important clue is in the uncle’s backstory, who was ostracized from his own family but found that his brother-in-law, Satsuki’s father, treated him with more kindness than his own family. (Satsuki strongly resembles his father.)

Family should be kind: They should not abuse the innocence of children.

The meaning

Although in English, we use the word “grooming,” such as grooming a plant, grooming is not a part of this story. Lack of responsibility is the uncle’s major trait. Him finally taking responsibility is the most important part of the story’s conclusion. Likewise, the consumers and creators of abusive material should also look at themselves in the mirror and think what it would mean if the children in their media were real if not their own children.

I want to now note that Ichikawa attended Buddhist school. The basis of Buddhist thinking is The Four Noble Truths. In summary, these truths are

life is suffering;

the source of suffering is attachment to desires;

suffering ceases if the attachment to desires ceases; and

freedom from suffering is possible by following a path to enlightenment.

Although not necessarily only a Buddhist ideal, Ichikawa also works this way of thinking into her story. At the beginning, of course Tsutsuji is suffering. The uncle is suffering, as well, and often drinks. The uncle has attachment to desires for a mother and a lover. Tsutsuji, likewise, has gained attachments to these roles in response, as a product of how she was raised to be codependent on the uncle for her own identity. Satsuki’s suffering begins when he desires to be together with Tsutsuji.

Symbolically, Tsutsuji cuts off her attachment to Satsuki in the climax of this story. The two male characters respond to this action by also realizing their own desires and their unhealthy attachment to them, if not after calling out each other for their transgressions. Satsuki stops being selfish about Tsutsuji and begins to think of her as a person separate from himself. The uncle no longer desires Tsutsuji to fulfil the roles of mother or lover. Instead, he raises her as a daughter. He teaches her to introduce herself, and now, Tsutsuji has his family name, as the uncle finally accepts Tsutsuji as a daughter. He also shows a stronger interest in her education (i.e. singing lessons), something he simply mused about before.

Conclusion

It can be easily seen that “Star Lover” is actually against abusive relationships involving children and/or relatives, with its main message directed at how these relationships in our media should be looked at more critically. I find it endlessly amusing that the call out post writer didn’t realize the “most egregious” work of the lot was actually the one that coincides the most with her ideals.

Final note:

Again, I cannot iterate enough that there is no imagery showing abuse or over-sexualization in this story. Not one frame in this story could be used by a predator. Additionally, there is nothing normal about this story. This story does not normalize abuse, and in fact shows that it should not be considered “normal.” Ichikawa took great care with this story to respect the characters she created, and I think it is a valuable work in regards to the subject brought up in the call out.

Science fiction is usually introspective, and Ichikawa’s works are no exception. If you look just a little past the highly stylistic art, you can see the greater meaning in her works.

[gapmoechan]

On “Star Lover” by Ichikawa Haruko (author, Houseki no Kuni)

Okay, I am writing this in my empty sideblog, because I don’t want to bring drama to my main blog (that has been on semi-hiatus for a couple years now anyway). Also, I am nervous about being ostracized, honestly. Maybe I’ll start making more analyses over here and make this a thing.

I’m not really writing this to bring people back who think that Ichikawa is some kind of pedophile or tries to profit off of pedophilia and incest. I think many have already jumped ship, and I’m not writing this for them. I don’t really want to debate with them either.

I feel quite bad for the author, due to this libel. Some have described it as an “exaggeration,” but I believe the original post is simply defamation. After actually reading the collection myself, I concluded that the original call out post was untrue. I would be more apt to believe Ichikawa intimately understands about being a victim of abuse rather than being a pedophile herself. Also, to the fans who are not jumping to conclusions, I hope you can find this post helpful.

I actually wrote a ten-page analysis of “Star Lover” (the “problematic” one) in order to organize my thoughts, but this a shortened version with a response to the call out post and a summary of the story’s analysis.

Notes:

I find active pedophilia (and hebephilia) and incest to be morally bankrupt. I am not defending pedophilia and incest. I do, however, know that both exist in real life and are commonly portrayed in both Western and Eastern media for “titillation.”

The mere existence of pedophilia in a work does not mean that it is meant for fetishisized consumption. This story is neither erotic nor pornographic in any way.

If you are not an adult, please don’t read this. Of course children and teenagers should know pedophilia and incest are wrong, but the original work is seinen. If you are underage but want to have a serious talk about pedophilia or incest as it exists in our society, please go discuss it with a professional or an adult you trust.

Part 1: About the call out post from @loopholenexus

If you don’t care what I think about the call out, just skip to Part 2: Analysis.

I read the call out post in its entirety here. I found a few small parts disqualifying, among many others that have been called to the OP’s attention in asks or commented by others.

The call out seems too convenient, because most people (myself included) don’t jump on the first link to pedo-ville to read the stories, and then OP doesn’t seem to need to answer any naysayers due to the fact that there is, indeed, pedophilia. Nonetheless, I read it after reading a lovely rational response to OP by @molntuss,  which helped me contextualize the story. (Thank you for your wonderfulness.) 

The volume is actually called Mushi to Uta: Ichikawa Haruko Sakuhinshuu. Sakuhinshuu means “collection of works” (i.e. Insects and Songs: A Collection of Works by Haruko Ichikawa). I bring this up, because the OP seems to imply that the fourth story “Mushi to Uta” qualifies to win an award because of the mere fact that it contains no pedophilia. Sorry, even the parts with pedophilia got the awarded too. In fact, the work as a whole got a bigger award than the story “Mushi to Uta” alone, if we’re splitting hairs.

The award is the Osamu Tezuka award for a New Artist. Osamu Tezuka famously created Astro Boy and Kimba the White Lion and many other celebrated works. The award is both mainstream and relatively prestigious. In fact, this award would be considered Ichikawa’s big break. After winning the award, she became a serialized mangaka with Houseki no Kuni. This collection sits next to Houseki no Kuni on shelves in bookstores all across Japan, so it’s no dark secret that this is her work.

These are in fact her best one-shots, not “best” with quotes. The fourth story, “Mushi to Uta” won a separate publisher’s award in 2006, which allowed her to publish her debut story “Star Lover.” Yes, “Star Lover” is her debut work, and they even kept letting her write manga after that. Surprisingly, all this information was available in the interview that OP linked us to at the end of their post.

The “proof” OP uses to show that “Star Lover” contains pedophilia is the quote, “In the morning I’m your mother, during the day I’m your daughter, and at night I’m your lover.” I also found this quote to be alarming, but when you even look at the quote by itself, it is (1) in the voice of the abused, delusions and all, and (2) it is not explicitly erotic at all (i.e. for fetishized consumption). Also, it is in context of the story. I will write more on this in the analysis summary later.

The better “proof” that pedophilia is in the story would be the frame in which Satsuki (the main character) actually CALLS OUT his uncle for being a pedophile, but I suppose that would undermine the OP, because that means that the manga is self-aware and also understands pedophilia as a negative concept. Also, that means that OP wouldn’t have had to discover all the clues and reveal them to us.

You cannot assume the uncle is having sexual relations with the girl after she has reverted back to being a child who has zero memory of her former life. In fact, based on the frames the OP showed, it seems to tell a different story in which the girl became infected and had to be “trimmed,” thus shedding her roles of mother and lover, leaving behind only daughter, the only role she should have to fill. (More on this in Part 2.)

Part 2: Analysis Summary

What “Star Lover” is

It is an allegorical coming-of-age story that combines surreal elements with realism.

The story deals with abuse, neglect, abandonment, and other childhood traumas .

The story’s attitude on pedophilia, in particular, is similar to society’s attitude on pedophilia: generally negative but unfortunately accepting of its existence.

It is not erotic or pornographic. It is not “cute fetish-y” either. The pedophilia is not off-handedly added to the story as fanservice. It is an integral part to the story and to the development of the character of Tsutsuji, the young girl. 

It is a story about family.

About the abuser (the uncle)

We don’t see much from the uncle’s perspective, unlike the critically acclaimed novel Lolita (Nabokov, 1955), or the critically acclaimed film American Beauty (1999), or.... others.

Contrary to many other works, the abuser is neither dehumanized (i.e. deplorable shit of the earth) nor seen as a character to empathize with (as in Lolita or American Beauty).

In fact, the abuser is devoid of individualism. We almost never clearly see his face with his eyes open until the end of the manga. (This is important.) We are not meant to empathize with him. This is not just a stylistic choice. We see the two children’s faces very clearly throughout.

His most notable traits is he tries to cover up his secrets (about the children being plants), and that he sometimes dehumanizes the children by looking at them as experiments.

He manages to fulfil the role of parent, extended family member, and teacher, which are all common authoritative figures in a child’s life.

This is also emphasized by him shaving his head, resembling Buddhist monks, who shave their heads to symbolize ridding themselves of attachment. Hair itself is a source of vanity in addition to providing a sense of individualism to a person. However, since he “started shaving it recently,” it is possible that he is already trying to change. (Aside: the fact that Sensei in Houseki no Kuni resembles him, might actually be more connected to his existential change rather than his pedophilia.) 

There are markers that the uncle will change in the end

We finally see his face, as he is urging Satsuki to care for the arm of Tsutsuji. After Tsutsuji has returned to being a small child, his face is totally different, often expressing concern and caring.

Obviously, Tsutsuji is not doing housework anymore, so the role of mother has been erased, but what of lover? I think it is possible, and probable, she is no longer a lover either, as we only see him talking about giving her singing lessons, a normal suggestion from an unabusive father. This imagery, combined with the overexposed film, suggests the uncle has changed and will erase the mistakes of the past.

The uncle refers to the Parable of the Prodigal Son from the Bible, as he tells Tsutsuji, the “rule of family is that you have to welcome them when they come by.” This translation is a little clunky although pretty accurate, but the Japanese might be closer to, “If you’re family, you go out to greet them.” In the story of the prodigal son, the son lives a life of debauchery before returning to his family and is newly dedicated to live a righteous life. His father goes out to greet him, hugs him, and celebrates the son’s return. The prodigal son is also referenced when Satsuki returns at the end of the story. It should come no surprise, although the uncle has ample “scientific” dialog and exposition, this very short phrase (in Japanese) is also his most powerful.

It should be noted that then, the pedo-tagged quote from Tsutsuji in the next frame is an answer to this dialog, as she asserts how she fits into his family. Again, this is the perspective of an abused child, delusions and all, and hammers in the reality that Tsutsuji is fulfilling many roles she was never supposed to fill. She can only identify herself in her relation to her dad. By Satsuki wishing to impose on that identity, Tsutsuji feels conflicted and tries to cling to the identity she has.

Coming of age: Satsuki and Tsutsuji

Tsutsuji was born from Satsuki’s cut off finger and is an embodiment of his desire to please an adult. (So much meaningful metaphor!)

The children are in reference to creation stories, most notable to Western audiences, Adam and Eve. God creates Adam in his image. The uncle makes Satsuki a human boy. Eve is born from a rib of Adam, but is a different being from Adam. Without getting too theological, Adam and Eve should be together as lovers under the rules of God; however, Tsutsuji’s responsibility as multiple family members to the uncle restrain her from being a lover to Satsuki.

Satsuki and Tsutsuji have a deep psychological connection. It is probable Tsutsuji knows Satsuki’s possessive thoughts about her before he even confesses to her.

Satsuki is a young boy and probably doesn’t fully understand that feeling either, be it possessive love or sexual attraction (but it is never stated that he wants to have sexual relations with Tsutsuji). The possessiveness is largely explained by their psychological connection leading him to believe they should be together again. Though, from Tsutsuji’s perspective, she is the lover of the uncle, so she cannot love Satsuki. In the end, Tsutsuji’s wish is they can be a family of three.

Satsuki doesn’t even start to be possessive, until after Tsutsuji calls him “brother” (Japanese: onii-sama), because he is rejecting the role of brother to Tsutsuji. He does not want to be her brother.

By the end of the story, Satsuki does indeed have his “coming of age”: he has let go of his possessive thoughts, even to the point of wanting to give up the arm Tsutsuji gave him. He accepts his role of helping guide Tsutsuji as a family member by helping her sing. 

He has a generally immature way of talking throughout the story, but at the end, he shows more maturity and composure, as he will take care of Tsutsuji’s arm as it grows.

Tsutsuji, on the other hand, does not come of age: she reverts to a small child after having to trim off parts of herself that had become infected. If this infection can be interpreted in many ways, including trauma and heartache, etc. In her child form, she can shed her roles of mother and lover, and the family of three she wished for can finally exist. She also lost all her memories and her psychological connection with Satsuki. The hope at the end of the story is that this new family will do right by Tsutsuji.

Most notably, before her transformation, Tsutsuji was always concerning herself with the abuser: dad this, and dad that. After she becomes a small child again, she can be more concerned with just herself, introducing herself as Aiba Tsutsuji. At the beginning of the story, she never introduced herself. She could only identify herself in relation to Satsuki or her abuser, due to codependency.

This isn’t grooming; this is Tsutsuji being reborn. Oh look, knees.

A couple more references I want to note: 

Hans Christian Andersen’s original The Little Mermaid is also a coming of age tale of a 15-year-old mermaid. The children in “Star Lover” are “fake humans” and actually originate from the sea. The little mermaid sacrifices a part of herself in order to have her dream come true. The little mermaid also suffers with every step she takes. This is referenced in regards to Satsuki when he stands barefoot on the rocky beach.

Satsuki gives up a part of his finger when in hopes of pleasing his uncle. From this, Tsutsuji is born as a “aid to suffering” as shown by the Buddhist diety Kannon, the Goddess of Mercy, in the manga. Kannon also split herself in order to provide as much help as possible to as many suffering people as possible.

Tsutsuji also gives up her arm so that she can also heal Satsuki; but, as with the little mermaid, she ends up sacrificing a lot more than that. Nonetheless, because of her deep desire to be a healing force, Tsutsuji is rewarded with the family she desired.

That’s all for the analysis. I hope you can find this helpful in understanding “Star Lover,” a very difficult piece to read. It isn’t meant to be read quickly or casually. 

Final notes.

The focus is very much on the abused and does not take away their humanity (making them look pitiful).

It is pedophilia, blatantly pedophilia. This work does not hide that fact.

There is so much more you can unpack with this story (I alone wrote 10 pages). I wanted to focus on the main topics of pedophilia and coming of age, due to the original call out and the main concerns of the work.

I wrote this at 4 am. I’m sorry for typos and babbling.

This is a very meaningful work. The lesson shows that the only way to truly save a child of sexual abuse is to revert to a time before the abuse. Please tell me you’re not saying that a work with this strong of a message without any explicit imagery should be expunged from the public because it has a whiff of pedo in it. If that is truly your position, please stop yelling about it and go talk to some experts and see if they yell about it.