Teenage heroes and evil deviants: sexuality and history in JRPGs

Abstract

Video games often incorporate discourses, ideologies, and social relationships found in the social contexts in which these media forms are produced. This article explores the specific connections between the historical forms of understanding masculinity and male sexuality in Japan and the representation of male same-sex desire and homosocial relations in Japanese Role Playing Games (JRPGs). In doing so, this paper offers an analysis of Japanese male gender and sexual norms to then show how JRPGs tend to construct their narratives and characters, both heroes and villains, around these norms.

Notes

1. At this point, many readers may ask themselves ‘Why only male sexuality?’ I have done research on both female and male sexuality in Japan. However, female sexuality has its own history that, while interrelated to its male counterpart, deserves its own space and undivided attention. Having the limited space I have here, this time I will only cover male sexuality. My Ph.D. dissertation, which is available online, could act a rough guide for readers who want an introduction to female sexuality in Japan. Susan J. Napier’s work (Napier 2005) focuses on anime, but it is an essential reference for those desiring to know more about female sexuality and its representation in Japanese popular culture.

2. For a detailed study of female characters in anime and their relations with female gender norms in Japan see Napier’s (2005) Anime from Akira to Howl’s Moving Castle: Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation.

3. At the beginning of the game Cloud introduces himself as a former first-class soldier under Sephiroth. As the game progresses, however, it is discovered that Cloud was a mere low-rank security soldier who was experimented on only after Sephiroth went mad.

4. Source: http://kotaku.com/the-real-problem-with-that-controversial-sexy-video-ga-478120280, last visited 10 June 2017.