Again, the idea of violent revenge for sexual violence appears in an even more disturbing way, this time with women perpetuating systems of violence against other women (rather than, say, her male oppressors). She is the priestess of a cult whose second-in-command locks her away and allows the male members of the cult to frequently rape her.Īfter capturing Yuno, Tsubaki orders the male members of the cult to rape Yuno in order to draw Yuki out of hiding. Tsubaki, the Sixth diary holder, also suffers brutal sexual violence. It focuses on his guilt rather than her suffering in order to give him character development. The flashback exists, not as a way to create depth and a greater understanding of Ai, but to dramatize their origin story and make Marco look noble. He then decides to take his own life, effectively eliminating all witnesses to the crimes committed against Ai and leaving her with no one to go to for help. He first takes on an act of vigilante justice, instead of immediately attending to the medical needs of his friend. While Marco’s rage is justified, his solution to this terrible event is far from productive. After this, Marco nearly kills himself out of guilt for not being able to save Ai from this fate, but she stops him. Her close friend Marco flew into a rage upon discovering this, brutally beating her attackers and killing one of them. The Seventh diary holders met at a young age and became a couple shortly after Ai was raped by her classmates. A recurring theme is the use of violent revenge as a solution for sexual violence. Most troubling of all are the depictions of sexual violence. While many of the relationships in the series end in tragedy, Future Diary seems to go out of its way to ensure that the two heterosexual protagonists end up together and have a happy ending, while the gay romances are torn apart or were hopeless from the start. In contrast, the heterosexual relationships are given backstories and more intricate details. Mao’s obsession is overwhelmingly focused on physical attraction, while Akise’s crush is given minimal development to make it seem more like a twist. The real problem with Future Diary’s depictions of same-sex relationships, though, is that they are in no way given the depth of the heterosexual ones. Not only is his love unrequited, but he suffers a brutal death at the hands of Yuno as retribution after she sees him kiss Yuki. Meanwhile, the male character Akise is not sexualized in his love for Yuki, but he plays out the role of The Tragic Gay. ![]() Her affection is played as ridiculous, and both characters die senseless deaths at Yuki’s hands. She takes pictures of Hinata at inappropriate moments and writes in her diary about her breast size. While lesbian Mao is a very sweet and likable girl, her crush on her best friend Hinata centers around a fascination with Hinata’s breasts. And even then, her willingness to kill is a fantasy of obsessive devotion colored by her “perfect girlfriend” status-in other words, she fits the basic appeal of the yandere archetype.įuture Diary’s depiction of LGBTQ+ characters also leaves much to be desired. ![]() It is not until much, much later in the series that Yuki is able to love Yuno for her true personality. She is cute, sweet, and a damsel-in-distress. In this moment, Yuno is depicted as a dream girlfriend in Yuki and the male viewers’ eyes. When Yuki and Yuno must go to the amusement park together and act like normal teenagers, Yuki notes that Yuno is “cute like this,” noticing that she gets scared in haunted houses and checking out her bikini when they enter the water park. There’s also an element of idealized fantasy to her. ![]() Yuno in particular usually wears revealing dresses, a T-shirt and underwear, or swimsuits. He is at Yuno’s mercy and in a humiliating state, but there is no special focus on Yuki’s body or emphasis on eroticizing features like sweat, revealed flesh, or sexualized humiliation.Įven when the series isn’t specifically showcasing nudity, the female body is still on display by way of fanservice. When Yuno takes Yuki hostage, she strips him down to boxers and an undershirt. Men suffer in this series, but their vulnerabilities do not center around images of their bodies or sexual abuse. In fact, female suffering and vulnerability are intricately tied to titillating nudity in Future Diary.
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