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.

 

{{examples}}

=== [[Shoujo]]/[[Josei]] examples ===

* 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]].

* 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.

* 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 sheik from ''[[The Sheik]]'': causing an entire generation of girls to swoon at the thought of being kidnapped and raped by a hot Arabian prince. (That [[Fetish Fuel]] was the intention is made transparent by the book's final pages, in which, {{spoiler|in a fit of conscience, he decides to send her away so he won't hurt her anymore, and the heroine threatens to kill herself}}. The fact that [[The Film of the Book]] starred [[Rudolph Valentino]] helped.

* 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.

* "Under My Thumb" by [[The Rolling Stones]] comes off as a celebration of this, highlighted in its use in ''[[Scott Pilgrim Versus the World]]''.

 

* 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.

* Damien has at least significant shades of the conflicted version in ''[[Magical Diary: Horse Hall]]'', considering that he jerks you around for most of the year, culminating in breaking your heart {{spoiler|and trying to kill you by way of stealing your soul}}. The ''only'' way to get any of his endings - not even just the good one - is to tell him that you love him no matter what and then forgive him for what he did when he shows up again. Your roomies, however, ''will'' call you out on being a [[Love Martyr]] if they find out that you've taken him back, though. {{spoiler|And by using Spirit Echoes and Empathy, you can find out that he has genuinely fallen in love with you and really does want to reform. But if you haven't been working on White magic, you might be left wondering how long it will be before he turns on you again.}}

* Lahmu from ''[[Shin Megami Tensei|Shin Megami Tensei V]]'' acts like one of these to Sahori. While he leads Sahori to believe that he loves her, in reality he doesn’t see her as her own person., and aside from possessing her body in order to gain greater power, he wishes to corrupt Sahori into more or less being a demon like himself.

 

* 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]].