Old Souls: Constructions of Erotic Realities and Hot And Steamy vol. 1 (NSFW)

Note: This post discusses explicit sex in an explicitly sexual work, and includes images which are not safe for work.

It ought be fairly clear that most pornography is not an accurate reflection of reality. But perhaps more interestingly, different pornographic works inhabit realities which are vastly different from each other. When they divorce themselves from real-world sexual mores, erotic texts are often freed to reinvent sexual morality from scratch.

This is true to all fictional works up to a point, but the dissonance between how strongly sexuality is highlighted in pornography and how often guarded or shameful it is in reality makes the departure consistently, explicitly more noticeable. That said, so long as the author inhabits the real world and real sexual mores, their departure from those mores is clearly marked as a departure.

Sowing the Seeds: The Flowers of Evil, volumes 1-2

source: pixiv

When you’re following an angel
Does it mean you have to throw your body off a building?
Somewhere they’re meeting on a pinhead
Calling you an angel, calling you the nicest things.

-She’s an Angel, They Might Be Giants

Colloquium: Literary and Religious Allusions in Shin Sekai Yori up to Episode 5

“With his new, heightened feelings, he was overwhelmed by sadness at the way the others had laughed and shouted, playing at war. But he knew that they could not understand why, without the memories. He felt such love for Asher and for Fiona. But they could not feel it back, without the memories. And he could not give them those.”

-The Giver, Lois Lowry

ajthefourth: One cannot go through life, as much as it may pain one’s perfectionist heart to admit, without being inferior to others in various ways. The inverse is also the case and, when comparing one’s self to others, one will always find something that they can best another in. Cliché though it may be, it is our differences that allow us to function as a society. It is the conflicts that arise from these differences that allow growth and eventual prosperity. Dystopian fiction is nothing new, and often aims to depict a state of humanity that has failed to navigate the treacherous balance between prosperity and self-indulgence through the presentation of a controlled, formulaic society. Shin Sekai Yori adds its own spice through the introduction of psychokinetic powers as the next step granted humans in their evolutionary process. Of course, this brings about its own bloody consequences, where select “PK users” abuse their powers, eventually resulting in the destruction and inevitable reconstruction of the current society that the series introduces its audience to.

Porn, Nice Guys, Problems

A ninja (Tenzo) wearing a hat and a red scarf is being hugged by a woman with blonde hair in a white shirt and blue pants. Steam is coming from his head and his scarf is standing straight out.

It’s likely I wasn’t the only one struck by the awkward inner monologue that Tenzo carried out when wandering around London with his lovely “Dame Scarred” in Horizon on the Middle of Nowhere episode six. The show had been building to this point piece by piece from her introduction as a mysterious cloaked figure way back in the first episode. As Tenzo Crossunite learns more about her, he slowly falls for her, leading to his desire to break the Testament starting with episode eight.

But let’s focus on the scene in the Tower of London. As “Dame” prattles on about the history of England and her place in it, Tenzo finds himself continually distracted by her body. The show, of course, gives a helping hand by ensuring that she gets in all manner of suggestive poses in the course of the interview (this is Horizon, after all). Anyone with a pair of eyes can see that this is typical pandering directed at the audience. But here, what’s more interesting is Tenzo’s reactions, because the show positions him in a way that we can blame this problem on how boys look at sex. Thanks to porn.

Horizon on the Middle of Something Big

And just like that, in walked trouble. “Vuc, I need a favor.”

Day is not the type of dame one can refuse so easily. She’s more of a self-contained force of nature barreling down wherever she pleases. Knowing this, I set my rather significant textbook down and try to proceed as cautiously as possible. “I don’t know if I can help you, but I can sure listen to you.”

“Something’s happening. I can’t go into details, but I need you to tail someone for me.”

I didn’t like the sound of that at all.

“The thing is, I came across a tidbit and I need you to help me out. I had a few others on this, but honestly they weren’t able to make any sense out of it. You see this girl, Horizon? She’s in the middle of something big.”

A Contrast in Cultures: Sex Positivity in Ero-Manga

It’s no well-kept secret that the bulk of Japanese erotic manga (ero-manga), being a subset of pornography, has some serious, wrong-headed ideas about sexuality and gender. Among works marketed to both men and women, rape is practically normalized. From stories marked “vanilla”—despite “no” not actually meaning “no”—to fetishistic works which go beyond the pale in depriving characters of agency over their own bodies, sex is inflicted on characters, particularly women, as an act of violence with disturbing frequency. In a feminist reading, the term that comes to mind is sex-negative.

Note: while this post is essentially safe-for-work, it contains frank and explicit discussion of sex and sexuality.

Mysterious Girlfriend X Episode 1

In this world there's nothing I would rather do, 'cause I'm happy just to dance with you.

I quite honestly wasn’t sure what to expect from the anime adaptation of Mysterious Girlfriend X (Nazo no Kanojo X), even though I had read the original manga. Just what do you get when you combine a studio that’s only produced shows about breasts, a director that’s only worked on kids’ shows (this season, he’s also helming Space Brothers), and a lead actress who’s only acted in live-action works, all working on a show about, of all things, tasting drool?

Fortunately, the answer is a show that surprisingly has a lot to say! So strap in, boys and girls, it’s time to get mysterious! (Episode spoilers after the break.)

Colloquium: Lupin III – The Woman Called Fujiko Mine Episode 1 (NSFW)

“Now, stop what you’re doing. And look upon me as your heart beats fast.”

ajthefourth: Warning! This post will contain NSFW images. If you are at work, you probably shouldn’t read this post. Why?

Because, if one thing could be said about this series, it’s that Lupin III: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine is sexy.

Sexy in a way that one rarely sees; in a dangerous manner that is as provocative as it is alluring. This series isn’t meant to make you comfortable, just as the promise of intercourse, at first blush, is hardly something comforting. It’s meant to make your toes curl, your knees quiver, your breath catch, and your heart rate quicken instinctively when you see something like this:

Colloquium: Mawaru Penguindrum Episode 14

"I wonder, I wonder, do you know what I wonder? Multiple choice. Which of the following three things is eternal? 1. A diary. 2. Momoka Oginome. 3. Canned peaches."

“The next day, she’d come out of the coffin, and there was something about the look in her eyes…however, I thought for sure that he must have shown her something eternal.”

-Kyouichi Saionji, Revolutionary Girl Utena

ajthefourth: What exactly in our lives is eternal?  With such a fleeting, time-bound existence, it’s no wonder that humanity constantly seeks for eternity.  The concept itself is a bit daunting to wrap one’s head around, since all one has to go on are their own limited experiences.  If something eternal does exist, then surely it would be outside of the worldly parameters of time and space as we know them.  In other words, surely, it would be God-like.

Colloquium: Mawaru Penguindrum Episode 11

"Who would've thought the curse from 16 years ago would take this form? What drama, what a fate!" -Masako Natsume

ajthefourth:  Okay, now we’re going to need everyone to take a deep breath, scream, do whatever you need to in order to get over that “HOLY SHIT IKUHARA ACTUALLY WENT THERE ASDGHJKL#*#$^@!!” feeling.  We’ll wait, we had to get over it ourselves after all.