ill be so into a manga and the Japanese just cant help but throw some exploitative, non-consensual fetishistic “romance” sex stuff, usually with immediate family members or children/teens, in it to ruin the plot and experience of reading the story. and then have the nerve to always present it as an inevitably romantic situation, too.
the way it be coming outta left field for some of these manga, i cant help but think some mangaka are being forced to include these whack ass tropes into their stories by their most likely older, male Japanese editors bc they don’t believe a manga can sell without it, when in all actuality. it’s all these old perverts grooming newer generations with their own personal tastes via the tropes they choose to normalize within the medium.
also the trope of nerfing the OP female characters in a shonen with literally giving them the mental capabilities of a pre-pubescent child or some other ham fisted use of mental disability as a plot device? just to make them love interests for the MC as well? omggggg please dead that shit, bro.
moe culture is killing female characterization in manga across demographics, shoujo and shounen. the idea that women and girls are only lovable when they are stupid, weak, & “make you want to protect them” is so toxic. i will say i noticed western media has this problem too, given the rise of conservatism in the past decade or so. so much fanfic and romantasy with female leads will nerf their own main characters in the same way in order to set up the male love interest as desirable to readers. makes my stomach hurt fr.
