Forum - View topicREVIEW: Call Girl in Another World GN 1
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Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
Forums Superstar  Posts: 16963 |
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I enjoy stories that deal with more adult themes, and show more adult material. I often compare a title like this to the difference between a normal cable tv show, and an HBO series. There's room for more adult material in them. Sometimes I want something lighter, sometimes something a bit more graphic or that has more adult sexual encounters. This title is masquerading as that.
While this manga may spin the MC being a sex worker in a more positive light, my issue is that it's basically all about the sex. I say that in the context of if you're going to be primarily about the sexual aspects, then don't water it down or stop at that invisible line before becoming a straight up hentai manga/show. It's like watching or reading a skinamax title. Just....no. That's my issue with this one and JK Haru, and also IR. Though honestly I had less of a problem with the IR anime as it seemed to lean more into the actual core aspect of the story. I just feel like if you're simply looking for titillation and sex then just go read a straight up hentai manga from Fakku or J-Novel. These "in-between" manga just don't work. There's not enough of a plot to have it be anything more then just about the sexual aspects, but yet they don't go into enough detail with the sexual aspects to really satisfy you if that's what you want, if that makes any sense.
I would agree on that part. For one thing the MC there was not a sex worker before the whole isekai aspect happened. The problem with JK Haru, beyond my above mentioned point, is there is starting to be an increasing amount of forced sexual encounters, and abuse. I was already on the fence with that title, but when that started ramping up (and one particular chapter or 2) I had to put that one down and say no more. It was already falling into that weird middle ground I mentioned, but with that increase in forced encounters it was time to drop it. I suppose if this one is more goofy sexy fun that might give it something of a reason to give it a shot. |
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Covnam
 Posts: 3827 |
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I didn't realize this got picked up. I read the first few chapters and found it amusing, so I might pick it up.
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Blanchimont
 Posts: 3567 Location: Finland |
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J-Novel doesn't have hentai, neither novels nor manga. At best some licenses may have some risque or suggestive content, but nothing you wouldn't find at any of the other major publishers(Seven Seas, Yen Press etc...) |
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maximilianjenus
Posts: 2905 |
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for the general reader. one of the reason these borderline shows exists is economics, the regular hentai magazines and the super service but not hentai magazines are sold in different channels, have different pay tiers, etc...
that is why the the "censor" laws hit some authors that bad, now their ecchi series had to be sold in the adult only corner, assuming. the particular bookstore has such a corner. so, some hentai authors prefer to work for the seinen market and the seinen market 8s content in having them , i have read some things that feels bit outrageous, like hentai authors taking breaks from their serialized magazine work to get some stuff ready to sell in comiket, as that is more profitable. |
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Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
Forums Superstar Posts: 16963 |
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Sorry, I meant J18. I'm just much more used to J-Novel so my brain automatically had me type them. |
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P€|\||§_|\/|ast@
 Posts: 3498 Location: IN your nightmares |
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Blanchimont
Posts: 3567 Location: Finland |
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'Forced' advances have been a part of shoujo manga for who knows how long. Shoujo has never fallen too much on my tastes, but that aspect of the raunchier side of shoujo is definitely one half of why I don't particularly like it or read it, even for those series that get translated to my native language and find themselves on the shelves of stores here... |
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Princess_Irene
ANN Associate Editor
 Posts: 2655 Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City |
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It's an interesting theory, and actually something that's very relevant in Western romance literature. If you look at romance novels published in the 1970s and 80s, you'll see a lot more of that "forced" element - Shanna is one of the most common examples - and a lot of romance readers now refer to that style of writing as "old school." What's even more interesting to me is that if you look at romance novels for an adult audience today, the emphasis is much more on enthusiastic consent, whereas in romance novels for a young adult audience a lot of the old school tropes still remain. Meanwhile I do see shoujo making positive changes in the last twenty-odd years when it comes to force. Cheeky Brat or Defying Kurosaki-kun are still cringey on that front, but they're worlds away from earlier Mayu Shinjo titles like Hao Airen or virtually anything written by Osakabe Mashin back in the early 2000s. So all of this could be a question of the time it takes things to change. |
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samuelp
Industry Insider
Posts: 2248 Location: San Antonio, USA |
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In regards to JK Haru in particular, perhaps because redbeard didn't actually read past the beginning, they didn't realize what the book is going for, but avoiding spoilers the non-consensual sex is crucial to the plot and "thesis" of the book. I would still not recommend reading the rest of it if the beginning made you uncomfortable, because the end will cause you actual distress.... It's not really fair to compare something like JK Haru to romance novels or shoujo, as it's very distinctly NOT that. I would say it's fair to claim that JK is actually _about_ sexual violence and its depiction in Japanese media. |
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Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
Forums Superstar Posts: 16963 |
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That last point is so prevalent in YA urban fantasy and PNR novels. I love the genres as a whole myself, but man do the YA versions continue to suffer from those tropes badly. Now don't get me wrong, so do many of the "adult" versions (by that I mean not YA themed or aimed at tweens/young adults). At least with those however you can really see a difference between titles from the 90's and early 2000's and stuff from say 2015 and up. Beyond smutty erotic fiction many normal romance (as in not fantasy/sci-fi in genre) novels have moved to that more mutual consent idea. And yes, I read some romance novels. For example, my December and January booklist is filled with cheesy Hallmark level holiday romance novels currently.
I actually did read past the beginning. I am up to where spoiler[the one nice soldier (forget the name) and his crew comes back as real asshats with that new commander who is a giant POS and that whole situation of forcing the girl to give him a blowjob right there at the table after abusing her.] So yea, I didn't simply stop at the beginning. If the manga's thesis is about trying to make a point regarding sexual violence and forced sexual encounters then congratulations it wins. The problem is that title seems to revel a bit too much in that violence and forced sexual encounters. It doesn't need to go to the lengths it does to make the same point. For me it crosses that line from being some sort of expose' or spotlight on the topic, or how women are seen period, and just being distasteful. Perhaps it is genuinely trying to make a valid point via it's story, but how it's getting there leaves a lot to be desired. How you get to the end result can matter as much as the end result itself. Seeing as how Call Girl in Another World seems to bypass that whole distasteful element altogether, I'd certainly give it more praise (even given my previous point of being stuck in this sort of middle ground area) then JK Haru. |
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Princess_Irene
ANN Associate Editor
Posts: 2655 Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City |
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It's one of the things I admire about you. 
We spend a lot of time discussing the toxicity in YA romance in my children's lit classes, so hopefully my creative writing students will help end the trend in the future. I had hoped that the rise of New Adult would help, but it doesn't appear to have. (And I'm not sold on it as a demographic.)
This is going to sound nitpicky, but are you reading the manga or the original LN of JK Haru? I've read the LN but not the manga, and I'm wondering if the manga exacerbated the issue. The stuff is there in the LN, too, but I've found manga adaptations tend to lean in to that sort of thing and I wouldn't be at all surprised if that happened here. (Not that it's fun to read about in any form.) |
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Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
Forums Superstar Posts: 16963 |
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Heh, thanks. Every December and January I throw my librarians through a loop. They see the normal fantasy (urban or traditional/high), sci-fi, and horror/thriller suggestions for most of the year. Then suddenly it's a romance and hallmark explosion. It confuses them lol. My old librarians (before I recently moved) knew my family and often thought I was picking thing up for my mother or gf. Nope lol. I finally broke them in, and now I gotta do it again with a new bunch. In fact the first batch of the holiday books is arriving as we speak. Though after just 5 1/2 months 2 of them already know me as the "manga guy" as I borrow a ton via Marina and through the state/county systems. Most actually come from 2 other counties in my state and not my own. They too thought at first it was for my kids or something and gave me a flyer for their anime/manga club. For teens. Yea...I think I might raise eyebrows showing up. Oh are you a new chaperone or parents? Nope, I'm a member. Then I'm on the news and that would just ruin the holidays. I digress.
It's the manga version, and I have not read the LN's. I would not be surprised if the manga version leaned into it a bit more for the shock value or to "make a point" or whatever the reason is. It certainly would not be the first time that has happened. I do admit the manga visually depicting such scenes might be more distasteful for me than the LN's would be. I've read plenty of darker high fantasy novels and such over the years. Having that visual aspect does give it all a bit of a bigger impact. For me anyways. At least in the manga there's just too many instances where there was this "line" of sorts. The point could have been made quite well without needing to cross that line and add in that extra oomph to it. Those few extra panels just make it that much more distasteful, and come across as going into gratuitous territory and getting close to almost reveling in it a bit. |
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Princess_Irene
ANN Associate Editor
Posts: 2655 Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City |
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I keep my librarians perpetually off-balance. In the pile I'm returning today we've got a range that includes a middle grade graphic novel, the Creepy Cat manga, a book about historic female murderesses, and a book about that time the co-creator of Superman drew porn. 
I'm with you there. Seeing such scenes with images is much more difficult. For me sound is often the final factor - I can read many more things than I can comfortably watch. It does sound as if the manga takes it farther, although thinking about it, any addition of pictures could push the book over the edge in some chapters. |
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SenpaiDuckie
ANN Community Manager
 Posts: 523 Location: PH |
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Based from what I have studied and researched so far for my multiple papers on this, I would say yes, there is a cultural difference when it comes to the depiction of roles in shoujo manga, as it also reflects old Japan and a bit of real world Japan. To start, Japan is more on the feminine and masculinity themes, so that means the concept of gender (such as gay, lesbian, etc) isn't existent to them, especially during the pre-war... As such, Japan never discriminated samurais who would prefer young men over women either, as they believe even that young men can perform well in such areas. Unlike the West, they had that notion it was bad, and it was only during the American Occupation that they started to also push more the notion that man-man is bad... However, going back, this feminine and masculine elements in Japan is intertwined with the social roles people have, dependent of their social status. Shoujo manga is one of the main themes of manga and had a boom on manga on the 1960-70s. It is under this tier that mangas such as doujinshi, yuri, yaoi, etc. were born. The reason it became acceptable, like as Redbeard mentioned, is because it is in-between. One big element that such manga can be allowed in the main circulation is the censorship (such as blurring or erasing private parts of anime characters). The aggressiveness part, this is where it becomes tricky. It was derived from the 'duty comes first' in social roles of old Japan. The best way I can explain it is from the outside mask of the individual, it's okay because duty comes first but inside, the individual doesn't want to at all. (An example scenario I can give is an arranged marriage. Woman or the feminine individual doesn't want to, but has to do it because of duty. That's why she will just show that she's okay with it, but inside no, no matter how rough or aggressive it is) That aggressiveness feature was derived from the outside and inside face of a Japanese individual (soto-naka/shita-ura trope)... hence, the cultural difference. However please take note as well that how it is drawn can be emphasized more, this aggressiveness. In reality, Japanese are a passive society, in a sense that they emphasize poise, discipline, and softness. So... yeah. Oh and lastly, the roleplays? Let's just say, the audience of the shoujo manga (inclusion of the doujinshi manga readers and all) wanted to see something more that is out of the traditional; hence the mangakas spiced things up. The reason why they wanted 'to see something more', is because they were deprived of change. They got tired of the traditional social roles that they have. I hope this information helps, and if this sounds like soapboxing -- I apologize, will definitely do necessary edits if anyone finds it so. I just realized how long I just replied to this! 
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Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
Forums Superstar Posts: 16963 |
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Co-creator of Superman drawing porn? That's...interesting lol. A bit of a jump in material for the artist. My current pile is left over horror/thriller remnants from my "spooky marathon" in October and November, a crap ton of manga, and a fantasy meets Victorian England novel with female wizards. Picked up my first holiday hallmark batch today and they were surprised. Most are typical hallmark holiday romance books. One is a bit different. It's a mix it seems of fantasy, holidays, and mystery. Greenglass House by Kate Milford. One of the holiday hallmark books I read every December. This is like year 4 I think? Hope at Christmas by Nancy Naigle. Not too overly sappy, and one of the main focal points of the story is a used bookstore. How can you not love that?
I agree with sound being the final factor as well. It terms of material being too off putting for me it does go books, manga/comics/visual media, and then movies or tv which combines the audio and visual. The audio aspect just puts even more oomph into the material for me just as visual does the same over simply words. I know several people who can read plenty of horror novels for example, but can't do horror movies. Again, the sense of it reveling in the material is what crossed that line for me with JK Haru. It's sort of like comparing gory horror movies for me, and whether the title seems to revel in the gore for the sake of the gore or not. Like comparing the early Saw movies to later ones, or to the Hostel movies. I might check out the LN just to see the difference for myself. If my library has Call Girl I might check it out as it seems much lighter in tone. Sort of like Interspecies Reviewers. I didn't mind that manga, or the anime, as it seemed to me to take a more overall positive look at the sex workers, and the tone was lighter in nature. |
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