Author Archives: mikos

Ryan Abrew

Emily Silveira Andrade

Haochen Huang

Miko Suzuki

Hayes Smith

Gender and Language in Nisekoi: False Love

Preface

In order to better understand the usage of gendered features in fictional Japanese literature and entertainment, we decided to study how these features are utilized by two characters in the animated show Nisekoi: False Love. Specifically, we transcribed dialogue uttered by the two characters Seishirou Tsugumi and Marika Tachibana. We choose the characters based on the tropes they exhibited and then looked towards the gendered expressions used by the authors to indicate the character’s identity. After transcribing and finding all the examples of gendered language used, we put this data into graphs and selected specific examples that give more insight into how gendered language can be indexed to exhibit identity and personality. Moreover, we discuss how these characters use gendered expressions to show their affective stances towards those they interact with. This data will be fully discussed in the following report.

 Introduction

 Raku Ichijou, a first-year student at Bonyari High School, is the sole heir to an intimidating yakuza family. Ten years ago, Raku made a promise to his childhood friend. Now, all he has to go on is a pendant with a lock, which can only be unlocked with a key which the girl took with her when they parted. Now, years later, Raku has grown into a typical teenager, and all he wants is to remain as uninvolved in his yakuza background as possible while spending his school days alongside his middle school crush Kosaki Onodera. However, when the American Bee Hive Gang invades his family’s turf, Raku’s idyllic romantic dreams are sent for a toss as he is dragged into a frustrating conflict: Raku is to pretend that he is in a romantic relationship with Chitoge Kirisaki, the beautiful daughter of the Bee Hive’s chief, so as to reduce the friction between the two groups. Unfortunately, reality could not farther from this whopping lie – Raku and Chitoge fall in hate at first sight, as the girl is convinced he is a pathetic pushover, and in Raku’s eyes, Chitoge is about as attractive as a savage gorilla.

Tachibana Marika: Marika transfers to Raku’s class and is introduced as Raku’s fiancee; she bears a key that she thinks will unlock Raku’s pendant, and is most vocal about expressing her love for Raku. She is the daughter of the police chief and has been in love with Raku for the past ten years. She does not get along with Chitoge; she states she hates girls with long hair despite the fact that she also has long hair. She has a frail constitution; ten years prior, she was frequently visited by a young Raku, who brought her gifts and sparked a friendship with her. She used to speak in a rather vulgar manner but has attempted to correct her language after Raku had told her he likes girly girls with long hair. However, when flustered, she reverts to her old speaking habits.

Seishiro Tsugumi: Tsugumi is a hitwoman who was raised and trained by Claude of the Bee Hive Gangsters. Tsugumi is originally introduced as a guy who transfers to Chitoge’s class and has orders to protect her from Raku, whom she thinks forced Chitoge into the relationship. She and Chitoge are childhood friends; she tries to keep a ten-year-old promise of becoming strong to protect Chitoge. However, after Raku treats her nicely, she begins to develop some feelings for him, even though she is too stubborn and embarrassed to admit to it. In America, her assassin code name is “Black Tiger,” who had a rivalry with “White Fang.” She does well academically, having ranked next to Chitoge on a yearly exam.

Data

 Table 1

Tsugumi’s Gendered Features

Figure 1.1. Tsugumi’s gendered features as used during a fight scene.

Figure 1.2. Tsugumi’s total gender features used.

Table 2

Tachibana’s Gendered Features

Figure 1. Tachibana’s gendered features when speaking to Raku vs. Kirisaki. Raku is a boy she’s in love with while Kirisaki is a girl she views as a rival.

Analysis

In order to truly address the question of if expressions are used to portray assertiveness rather than gender qualities, one must understand that Japan is undoubtedly a highly gender-segregated country. Ranging from job opportunities to human rights, Japan has always integrated gender as their prime aspect in forming their beliefs and identities. Nisekoi is a Japanese T.V show that exemplifies how masculinity and femininity are defined in modern Japan (as the show is fairly new), through the character’s usage of gendered expressions and the connotation that accompanies it.

Seishiro Tsugumi is a masculine character. The audience is able to identify as such because she has a job based on violence (hitwoman), strong, and displays dominant characteristics. Men are viewed as stronger and more dominant than women in Japan, hence why these traits are associated with male characteristics. Furthermore, Tsugumi is shown to use more masculine expressions when she is acting aggressive or is in a full-on battle with someone: “いつでも銃口け 向けるぞ。覚悟してお嬢に尽くせ。”. The association cannot be more clear as her usage of masculine words have a positive linear correlation with her doing masculine actions.

Take, for example, if Tsugumi was simply being assertive in her language, and didn’t use だな or しろ and other traditional masculine words in her expressions. She still will be associated with masculinity, due to the cultural connotation that assertiveness parallels with masculinity anyways. Thus to say that gender is less relevant than affective stances is to state that Japan is a gender-blind country, which is far from the truth.

After watching this show, we also realized that the female characters would use masculine features, especially during/after fights to show the dominance over the other characters. That is common for females are seen as the less dominant gender in Japan, and by using male expressions it gives them power and displays their aggressive side. This is shown in Graph 1.2  by the character Tsugumi. The character is portrayed as a tomboy, frequently confused with a boy due to her androgynous looks. She has no problem being misunderstood as a boy, and as a hitwoman, she frequently uses masculine expressions to portray her strength as well as her identity as a masculine woman.

Now on the opposite side of the spectrum is a character named Tachibana Marika. Her usage of classic feminine expressions such as わたくし and ですわ is adjacent to her characterization as an elegant and physically weak character. She is in love with a male character in the show and wants to impress him by showing her gentlewomanly side. According to the graph, she exerts her femininity more around her love interest and much less around her rival (who is a female). Marika is a symbolic gender stereotype that is common in Japan. The stereotype being that femininity that resembles elegance and weakness is thought to be more desirable according to both men and women. However, she shows assertive qualities in her speech: “私の要領の悪さを甘く見ないでほしいですわ。”. But her assertiveness alines with the perception of female aggression in Japan, which is passive aggressiveness. Furthermore, she uses the same particle in an utterance directed at Raku (the boy she likes): “私ちょっと分かった  気がしますわ。”. It seems to not index any passive aggression but instead her feminine identity.

In conclusion, in Nisekoi there is clear usage of gendered features that exemplify stereotypes in Japan that surround masculinity and femininity. After analyzing the gendered features the characters used, it can be seen that Tsugumi is clearly characterized as masculine, and Tachibana as feminine.