Bastard Boyfriend: Difference between revisions

[[File:Black-Bird-V1.jpg|link=Black Bird|frame|They're in love, can't you ''tell?'']]

 

 

A common [[Anime Character Types|Japanese character type]], the '''Bastard Boyfriend''' (in Japanese, ''kichiku'', literally "brutal" or "demonic") character is an [[Always Male]] [[Love Interest]] whose defining trait is that he is cold, cruel, or abusive to his romantic partner, in a manner intended to be [[Fetish Fuel|kinky and appealing to the audience]]. Western versions exist, but are comparatively rare nowadays due to the inherent [[Unfortunate Implications]], except in fanfiction (which lacks the watchful eyes of [[Moral Guardians]]).

 

 

This type is common in [[Boys Love]] (as a standard [[Seme]] type), [[Shoujo]], and, to a lesser extent, [[Josei]] romances, but comparatively rare in works aimed at a male audience, where guys like this are more likely to be the [[Romantic False Lead]] or just [[Stalker with a Crush|a villain]].

 

 

 

 

'''Unconflicted''' (standard): Poised, confident, and perfectly happy with his own behavior, either because he [[It's All About Me|doesn't care what the other party thinks of him]], genuinely believes that abduction and molestation are [[Stalking Is Love|viable ways of showing his affection]], or [[For the Evulz|just is a plain, sadistic bastard]]. The [[Bespectacled Bastard Boyfriend]] (''Kichiku Megane'') subtrope is built on this type.

Both kinds are highly likely to be [[Crazy Jealous Guy|jealous and possessive]]. Expect plots to feature a [[Green-Eyed Epiphany]]—a character realizing their love only via jealousy.

 

 

Mature-rated works that have Kichiku characters are likely to involve [[Mind Game Ship|psychological abuse]], [[Victim Falls For Rapist]], and maybe some [[Bound and Gagged|BDSM]]. PG-rated examples tend to be [[Tall, Dark and Snarky|cold, aloof, or sarcastic]]. In either case, fan reaction tends to be polarized: either they're [[Perverse Sexual Lust|hot and sexy]] and their love affair is [[squee]]able, or they're total [[Jerkass]]es and the relationship is [[squick]]tastic.

** The author wants you to think he's a [[Jerkass]] and she's a saint for putting up with him: [[Domestic Abuser]] meets [[Love Martyr]]

** The author wants you to think he's ''totally hot'' and the relationship [[Corrupt the Cutie|is deliciously kinky]]: This Trope

 

* Kyo in ''[[Black Bird]]'' (page image): wants to marry female lead Misao, who he has been in love with [[Puppy Love|since they were children]], and [[Intimate Healing|licks her erotically]] when she gets attacked by his fellow demons (which is often). Doesn't seem to care that she's not completely on board with either of these ideas. Then she falls in love with him...but the saddest thing is, [[Stockholm Syndrome|he's one of the few reliable allies that she has in the whole Tengu vs. humans deal]], so if she ''did'' fully spurn him, other Tengus would jump at the chance to kill/rape/eat her. [[The Chew Toy|Still sucks to be her.]] In the end, of course, he ''is'' willing to do anything (including killing his own brother) to keep her happy and safe at the expense of his own life, and he ''does'' [[Pet the Dog|show genuine kindness]] [[Friend to All Children|to children]].

* Director Domoto in ''[[Butterflies, Flowers]]'' (but only when in dictatorial-boss mode).

* Shoei Jinnai of ''[[Desire Climax]]''.

* One of the "Love Egoist" [[omake]]s from the ''[[Ouran High School Host Club]]'' manga involves a [[Stepford Smiler]] high school girl learning that the cute, friendly young male teacher who all her classmates admire is secretly as mean and sarcastic as she was on the inside.

* ''[[Akuma de Sourou]]'' has [[Handsome Devil|Takeru]], who blackmails [[Shrinking Violet|Kayano]] into becoming his servant, sabotages her relationship with the guy she likes, and generally emotionally bullies her in the beginning. He seems to think it's only teasing, but considering how shy and emotional Kayano is, it comes off much harsher. Despite the progression in their relationship, he remains cold and distant, which makes her almost perpetually nervous.

* Q-Ta Minamitani from ''[[Honey Hunt]]'' is a [[Manipulative Bastard]] towards Yura, is possessive of her, and shows little genuine interest in learning what Yura truly wants.

* ''[[Revolutionary Girl Utena]]'': Just about all of the main male cast with the exception of Miki. This is, of course, played for epic [[Deconstruction]].

 

* Ryuichi Asami in the ''[[Finder Series]]'' (along with many other Ayano Yamane [[seme]]s): atarts off with rape and BDSM, then develops a romantic side. And so Takaba falls in love with him.

* Nakajima in ''[[Gakuen Heaven]]'', in the manga volume that follows his route in the [[Visual Novel]] (which includes [[Victim Falls For Rapist]]—in the first volume that doesn't follow him at all, there's {{spoiler|attempted rape}}, and he is tremendously rude to Keita throughout, though he points out that if the central love interest does nothing, he'll take Keita for himself). In the anime, he's toned down to a [[Jerkass]], and his sexual harassment is elbow-licking.

* Naruse Fuuta in the yaoi manga ''[[Kawaii Akuma]]'' and its sequel is definitely Unconflicted.

* Averted and possibly parodied in ''[[Kizuna]]'', where [[Seme]] Kei has the [[Tall, Dark and Handsome]] looks and a [[Yakuza]] background that would make him the ''perfect'' Unconflicted type... yet his [[Uke]], Ranmaru, is a violent [[Tsundere]] and can have him ''very'' whipped.

* Shiki from [[Togainu no Chi]] is the Unconflicted type.

* Sou Mizuhashi from ''[[After School Nightmare]]''.

* Gilbert of ''[[Kaze to Ki no Uta]]'' can be like this to Serge. He's definitely a [[Jerkass Woobie|conflicted version]].

 

** His treatment of his ''other'' girlfriend/lieutenant, Kiyomi Takada. It's more or less canon that they ''have'' had sex at least once, he manipulates her almost as much as he uses Misa as well, and ''unlike'' in Misa's case, {{spoiler|he callously disposes of her by using a piece of the Death Note to force Takada to burn herself to death as a part of his plan. Right after the girl had not only killed Mello for him, but was naked and frightened and trapped inside a truck, actually ''begging him to help her'' since she genuinely believes in him. [[Base Breaker|It doesn't matter if you liked her or not]], that '''was''' a [[Moral Event Horizon|horrifyingly cruel move]] from Light.}}

* Kouta from the one-shot manga ''Vitamin'' is like this. He says he loves his girlfriend Sawako and will stick by her, but he forces her into having sex and lies about being with her. Sawako eventually breaks up with him though.

 

* [[Yaoi Fangirl|Some]] [[Most Fanfic Writers Are Girls|fans]] love to turn Canon Characters into this trope, notably:

* Sasuke Uchiha from ''[[Naruto]]'', whether it's Yaoi, or Hetero. Can't be too hard to find.

* Seto Kaiba from ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'': [http://m31ru-ch4n.deviantart.com/art/TPNM-Cover-141912936 example].

** Also, try and find a [[Sharing a Body|Yami Bakura/Ryo Bakura]] fanfic that ''doesn't'' have Yami Bakura mentally or even physically abuse his poor suffering host (and giving him his own body just to make the latter possible). Go on. We'll wait.

* [[Draco in Leather Pants|Draco Malfoy]] in ''[[Harry Potter (novel)|Harry Potter]]'' fanfic.

** Sirius Black seems to get this interpretation as well in some fics, particularly the [[Ho Yay|Sirius/Remus]] ones.

** Although the second book prominently shows that he learned from his mistakes and is Lucy's strongest supporter when she keeps talking about seeing Aslan, the movie version still likes to portray him as [[The Dark Side|dark]] to an extent, due to his [[Deadpan Snarker|snarkiness]] and witty character. They even switched his and Capian's lines from the book, because, while Caspian was supposed to be tempted by evil in the third movie, they gave this role to Edmund and made him look like a jerk again when he fell into temptation for the second time, even though it was for a short period of time. That's why many fans still see him as the [[Anti-Hero|bad one]]. And the Bastard Boyfriend title is easily used when it comes to Edmund Pevensie.

* Craig Tucker from ''[[South Park]]'' is portrayed as this in most fics, particularly the [[Ho Yay|Craig/Tweek]] ones, since he is...let's say, [[Anti-Hero|not quite]] [[Deadpan Snarker|a pleasant]] [[The Stoic|character]]. In most stories, he either acts like a jerkass towards everyone, a bully, a sociopath or he just does anything to obtain what he wants, using methods [[Memetic Molester|like rape or molestation]].

* Ulquiorra Schiffer in ''[[Bleach]]'' is transformed into this in [[Fanon]], particularly in some Ulquiorra/Orihime fics. This is usually featured along with [[Die for Our Ship]], most likely towards Orihime for not expressing romantic feelings towards him in canon. [[Flame War|And let's just leave it at that.]]

 

* The ''[[Wicked Lovely]]'' series has Irial, who is incredibly emotionally abusive to Leslie, but is still hot. One reviewer describes their connection as 'Destructive yet seductive'.

** Don't forget his relationship with Niall in the past, after the whole ultimatum.

* Nagasawa to Hatsumi in ''[[Norwegian Wood]]''. She puts up with him throughout most of the book despite his casual cheating and bad treatment of her.

* The knight Erlend exhibits this behavior to the teenage girl Kristin in the trilogy ''Kristin Lavransdatter'', set in the Middle Ages. Played straight in the first book, where Kristin falls in love with Erlend, breaks her engagement with her [[Nice Guy]] fiance, and defies the will of her father to be with him, all despite his shady past and his none-too-kind treatment of her. Deconstructed in the two later books, set after Erlend and Kristin's marriage, where she has to live with the painful consequences of her decision, all in a highly patriarchial world that offers little support for women.

 

* The lyrics of the song "El duelo" by Chilean group ''La Ley'' seems to be written from the POV of a Bastard Boyfriend.

* "Why Don't You Get A Job?" by [[The Offspring]] gender flips this trope first, and plays it straight in the second half of the song.

 

* Eldoth to Skie in ''[[Baldur's Gate]]''. He's a blatantly sleazy, chauvinistic [[Jerkass]] who embodies the selfish nature of his [[Neutral Evil]] alignment. The only reason he elopes with Skie is so that he can blackmail her father by claiming he kidnapped her. He is only able to get away with this because Skie is just that naive and foolish and thinks he is romantic.

 

* The love/hate routes of the otome game ''[[Under the Moon]]'' plays off this trope. The love interests begin the game on the fence about how to treat the heroine. The player's choices push them in one of two directions: towards "pure love" routes or "love/hate" routes. "Pure love" is [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin]]. In "love/hate", on the other hand, the guys give in to [[Romanticized Abuse|"romantic" abuse]] inclinations that generally include rape.

* Nakajima in ''[[Gakuen Heaven]]'', in his route.

 

 

* [[Ask That Guy With The Glasses]]'s sexual sadism towards [[Depraved Bisexual|everyone]] he meets is very often played for [[Fan Service]].

 

[[Category:Boys Love Tropes]]

[[Category:Turn-On Tropes]]

[[Category:Abuse Tropes]]

[[Category:The Jerk Index]]

[[Category:Alliterative Trope Titles]]