Deviating from Gender Norms - Villain Cover Yuu Miyashita, Flower/Teniwoha
The song “Villain,” by Teniwoha and originally sung by the Vocaloid voice bank Flower, was posted onto Youtube on February 7th, 2020. The video currently has nearly 22,000,000 views, and has been covered several times by Japanese singers online. Most notably, the song has been covered by well known Japanese singer and Youtuber, Yuu Miyashita, who is known for covering many Vocaloid songs.
The song “Villain,” tells the story of a transgender man who likes men, but is seen by society as a “villain,” because of his deviant gender and sexuality. The song “Villain,” perfectly embodies the scrutiny and villainization queer individuals face for not fitting into social norms.
Gender:
While not explicitly stated, we can infer the main character of “Villain,” is most likely a transgender man. This is implied by certain lines in the song, such as, “I wear different clothes and pretend to be a boy in front of you,” and “Keeping my deviated nature (gender) a secret again. Would two stamens only face a dead end?” Here we can confirm that our main character is a person who doesn’t fit into their assigned gender at birth. Our main character’s masculine attire throughout the song, comprised of pants and a hoodie, along with the line about two stamens, the male part of a flower, facing a dead end leans towards our main character viewing and identifying themselves as a transgender man. This is further supported by the chorus and concept of, “Mr. Crazy Villain Villain.” The use of the male title “Mr.” in “Mr. Crazy Villain,” who is also meant to be the main character, supports the idea that they view themselves as a man.
Color:
Throughout the song, the main character’s hair switches between being blue and red. Blue and red is commonly associated with different genders, where red or pink is associated with women and femininity, and blue is associated with men and masculinity. In lines where our main character is doubting himself, such as, “Just holding hands will surely creep them out. I’ll be reported if I quit the “rat race.” It’s not a mutation; it’s just who I am.” his hair is red. In lines where our main character is embracing who he is, such as most notably at the end of the song, we see our protagonist laughing carefree dressed in a male school uniform with blue hair. Further supporting the notion that the main character is a transgender man.
Traffic Lights:
We also see the use of red and blue color being utilized with the depictions of traffic lights throughout the song. In Japan, green traffic lights are actually referred to as blue traffic lights. This is because a long time ago, the Japanese language only consisted of four basic colors: black, white, red and blue. Often times when something was green, it was described as “ao,” meaning blue. Therefore, items that were actually green, such as green apples, green bamboo, and green traffic lights, were referred to as being blue. This was the case in till the actual word for green, “midori,” was created. You can even still find some green items being labelled as blue today in Japan. The shade of traffic lights in Japan are actually a slightly different shade. Japanese traffic lights use the bluest-green shade for their traffic lights, in order to pass international traffic law decrees for there being a green traffic light, while also being blue enough to justify referring to traffic lights as “ao.” We see in “Villain,” when the traffic light blinks red, it signals a person walking symbol. When the traffic light blinks blue, it depicts a person standing stopped, signaling not to cross. Here the walking red signal represents that our main character is only free to advance, roam, and be accepted by society when they hide their true themselves, and conform to being a girl. The blue stopped signal represents that when our main character embraces who they are, their identity as a transgender male, they are no longer allowed to advanced and are instead stopped by society. The symbol of a crossing sign also represents our main character being at a crossroads, where they have to either choose to embrace being their true self at the cost of being rejected by society, or they can be accepted by society, if they neglect and hide their true self.
Homosexuality:
There are references to homosexuality as well throughout “Villain.” We see references in the lines, “Would two stamens only face a dead end?...In the end, artificial flowers will bare fruit, too.” where our main character is asking if a male-on-male relationship could be successful. We also hear references to Ranpo in lines such as, “Hey, Hey, about the writer called Ranpo, called Ranpo. Do you know of him? Import you, import you.” Edogawa Ranpo is a Japanese author and critic who played a major role in the development of Japanese master and thriller fiction. During the 1930s, Ranpo held a competition with his friend Junichi Ivana, who was a historian who spent a lifetime researching homosexuality in Japan, to find the most books about love between two men. These references to Ranpo represent the main character wanting people to inform themselves on understanding homosexuality like Ranpo sought to.
Being Closeted and Being Villainized:
Throughout, “Villain,” we see our main character battling between wanting to fully embrace their gender identity, but fearing public scrutiny. We see this in lines such as, “Nobody knows, I don’t want anyone to know what’s under my skin.” and “Nocturnal petals.” Here we see the main character wanting to stay in the closet and not have anyone know who they truly are, inferred by them not wanting anyone to see what is actually under their skin. The references to nocturnal petals relates to the same premise, as nocturnal flowers are plants that bloom only in the night, as they are averted to bright sunlight. In other words, our main character is similar to nocturnal flowers as they only feel comfortable revealing their true self when none is around to see or scrutinize them, like how a nocturnal flower blooms in the dark invisibility of the night. We know our main protagonist is scrutinized by society because of certain lines, such as, “They spread rumors that I’m “infringing” upon you,” and “To people who don’t even know me I am already a villain.” Here we see that because of our main character’s deviant gender, they are villainized by society and seen as encroaching on others. We see our main character combat this opposition through lines such as, “Do not be afraid, A wide variety of genders.” Here we see that the main character believes their gender identity is natural, and other’s shouldn’t be afraid of them for their gender identity. This concept is supported by the depiction of them holding a fish bowl, as some fish are known to be able to naturally change their sex. We also see references to villains through lines like “Dr. Duran Duran.” Dr. Duran Duran is a mad scientist from the 1968 science fiction film Barbarella. At the end of the song, our main character proclaims, “Dear Dr. Duran Duran (Hahahaha) I am here!” when he embraces his gender identity, and subsequently his role as a villain in society.
Conclusion:
“Villain” by Teniwoha explores new paradigms of desire through its intersectionality between gender identity and sexuality. “Villain” explores consumption practices of queer texts by integrating references to nature and historical figures, such as Edogawa Ranpo, to express the mistreatment queer individuals face, merely for existing as their true themselves. “Villain” explores validation of queer lifestyles via media portrayal by showcasing the injustice and backlash a noncloseted queer individual can face from society. “Villain” explores the construction of sexual identities via pop culture inclusion, through the use of color and depiction of a crossroad, highlighting how social limitations can influence an individual’s journey of understanding and expressing their sexual identity.
