Ask John: Why is Incest Common in Anime?

Question:
I picked up a copy of Angel Sanctuary at a local video store because the plot seemed interesting and the style of animation was different than what I was used to. I was shocked to find incest as one of the major themes in the story line. (Let’s just say it was really unexpected as that was never mentioned in the synopsis.) A friend then told me that incest is often a theme in anime. Is this true, and if so, why?

Answer:
Relative to the total amount of anime available, I would not say that incest is a common theme in anime. However, that’s not to say that incest is unheard of in anime. There are a few mainstream anime titles, Angel Sanctuary, Aika and Utena among them, that contain obvious, unmistakable incestuous relationships. There are also mainstream series such as Utena, Card Captor Sakura, Love Hina (OAVs) and Kokoro Toshokan which include brothers or sisters that are unusually protective over and jealous of their opposite sex sibling. And, of course, there are countless hentai OAVs and manga that center on incestuous relationships of every variation imaginable.

The explanation for this occasional theme in anime is rooted in a pair of characteristics of Japanese culture. The foremost reason for the occasional use of an incest theme lies in the conventions of contemporary Japanese society. In the busy, goal oriented and demanding world of young people in Japan, there’s little time for dating or interaction with the opposite sex outside of school, studying for school entrance exams, and extracurricular club activities. It’s only natural to assume that siblings would develop strong bonds when their fathers, especially, are often away from home working long hours, and they find themselves together more often than with outside friends. In examples like Card Captor Sakura and Angel Sanctuary, the older brother becomes a surrogate father figure to replace the real father who’s too busy with work. And a sister without much experience with boys develops an unusually strong bond with her brother, and the brother, likewise, becomes very attached to his sister.

Examples of incest in Japanese society, while not directly related to anime, do exist and doubtlessly have had some degree of influence on the manga and anime industry. The Japanese newspaper Mainichi Daily News published a report early last month revealing that the urban legend of “kyooiku mama” or “education mama” is still very much an actual reality. Since at least the early 1980s there have been reports of Japanese mothers so concerned with keeping their sons at home and studying to pass the entrance exams of prestigious schools that the mothers themselves either personally relieve their son’s sexual frustrations or use sex to reward their sons for stellar academic performance. This story has not appeared in anime, to the extent of my knowledge, but it is a story that’s probably familiar to anime and manga creators.

Incest is no more socially acceptable in Japan than it is in any other first world nation, but Japan is generally more liberal with matters of sexuality than many Western nations, meaning that the theme of incest in anime and manga is not regarded as something immoral or disgusting, but merely as a fictional plot device within a fictional story. It exists in anime and manga because it is a reflection of Japanese society- not actuality, per se, but a response to constrictive social conventions. Incest in manga and anime may seem totally foreign and out of place to Americans, but for a Japanese viewer it wouldn’t be nearly as shocking or unconventional. That’s not to say acceptable, but it’s likely that Japanese viewers would be much more quick to accept and recognize incest in anime as a tool for fictional character and story development than a typical American viewer whose first impulsive reaction would probably be shock or revulsion.