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A relatively recent development in modern Japan has been the appearance of the practice of ''enjo kosai'', translated as "subsidized dating", "compensated dating", or "dating for assistance". Japanese girls, often still in high school or even junior high, make arrangements with older men who pay them for dates. The arrangements are usually made through ''telekura'' (telephone clubs) or ''merukura'' (email clubs).
While the arrangement is not explicitly for sexual services, the nature of the activity is such that such activities are known to occur with some regularity. Up until very recently, the low age of consent in many areas of Japan and the restricted legal definition of what constitutes prostitution has protected the participants from legal repercussions. Even with new laws, ''enjo kosai'' is still a widespread and controversial activity. To non
The high value in Japanese culture for youth, along with the incompatibility of Japanese consumer culture with the lowered economic prospects of the average family since the boom of the 80s collapsed, have been cited as driving forces. ''Enjo kosai'' has also been strongly identified in the public eye with the ''kogal'' subculture.
It is no surprise, then, that recent{{when}} anime have begun to portray ''enjo kosai,'' particularly if it is trying to be a youth series, or [[Ripped from the Headlines|socially relevant]]. The practice itself is rarely given a positive light, but the portrayal of the participants varies widely. A young girl is usually a sympathetic [[Hooker with a Heart of Gold]] variant, dealing with financial problems, emotional turmoil, or peer pressure. Ironically, if the young girl is shown to be in control or enjoying the situation, it's a sure bet she'll be marked with the proverbial scarlet letter and [[Delinquents|written off as irredeemable]].
{{noreallife|All The Tropes is not a gossip site.}}
{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* ''[[Great Teacher Onizuka]]'' had two episodes where Onizuka was persuaded to try ''enjo kosai,'' but was surprised by who shows up...
* ''[[Super GALS!]]'' had one of the main characters, Aya, introduced as a perfect student engaging in ''enjo kosai'' in order to escape a high-pressure home and academic life. At the end on the first episode, Ran helps her see her own self-worth before she "goes too far".
* There was an episode of ''[[Mariasama ga Miteru]]'' where one of the girls was suspected of engaging in ''enjo kosai''. {{spoiler|She was getting clothes and money from her father and brothers to spend time with them, because they missed her while she was living at an all girls school.}}
* In ''[[My-HiME]]'', Nao Yuuki seems a delinquent type is alluded to engage in this. Later we find out she uses it as a hook to ''mug'' men, who cannot report the crime for obvious reasons. {{spoiler|It's actually a sort-of revenge she takes on men, since a bunch of thugs killed her father and injured her mother.}}
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* ''[[Ranma ½]]''
** In a unique variation, Nabiki Tendo will often accept date offers and invitations from classmates who don't know any better, will then fleece them for all they're worth during the date, and then she blackmails them with their own love letters to her. As it is, she's feared by all who have dated her, and she comes out much, much richer from the experience.
::In an anime
::In one truly bizarre instance, Nabiki met someone who was just as selfish, manipulating and greedy as she was. They agreed to a challenge where they would go on a date, and the first to actually spend money was the loser. The entire event was them constantly foisting bills on each other and skipping out on paying out for themselves.
** Ranma does this to a lesser degree; one time in the anime he accepted a date for free eats and a boat ride, Akane came up behind him (technically her) and hit him on the head with a mallet. He also does this to acquire things like information or items from people like Tatewaki.
* ''[[Princess Nine]]'': When [[Huge Schoolgirl]] / [[Delinquent]] Seira Morimura is recruited for the baseball team, she mistakes the seedy-looking coach's offer of "recruitment" for [[Enjo Kosai]]. . When she relizes the truth she is half relived and half livid. "I thought I was... Well
* ''[[Hell Teacher Nube]]'': "[[wikipedia:Itako|Itako-girl]]" Izuna Hazuki. Nube himself mistakes her for a ''kogal'' at first sight. Unusual in that, instead of indulging in compensated dating, she sells her services as an oracle and general spiritualist but she's not above taking risqué pictures of herself and selling them.
* Anzu was suspected to be one of these in the original version of ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]''. It turned out that it wasn't exactly what they were expecting to be.
* In ''[[Chu-Bra]]'' Given Nayu's tendency to wear panties totally unlike most girls her age and her frequent conversations with an older man (actually her stepbrother), this is what she was accused of.
== [[Film]] ==
* ''[[Samaritan Girl]]'' shows that the phenomenon isn't limited to Japan, and also exists in South Korea.
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* In Hideaki Anno's 1998 movie ''Love & Pop'', the main character, a 16-year-old high school girl named Hiromi, goes on subsidized dates in order to purchase a ring she adores.
* In Shunji Iwai's film ''All About Lily Chou Chou'', Shiori Tsuda, a female classmate, is blackmailed by Shusuke Hoshino into enjo-kōsai.
* ''[[Breakfast at Tiffany's]]'': [[Audrey Hepburn]] [[Older Than They Think|did it first]]. This was her occupation. Though how much was censorship and how much was [[Getting Crap Past the Radar]] is left as an exercise for the reader.
== [[Literature]] ==
* In Shusaku Endo's ''Scandal'', the main character befriends a thirteen year old girl who has taken up compensated dating and tries to get her out of it; he discovers, however, that a doppelganger of himself may be taking advantage of the girl.
== [[Live
*
* In the Japanese dorama ''God, Please Give Me More Time'', a young woman engages in the activity and suffers social and physical costs. In the end, however, the heroine is able to turn her life around and seems to project a positive image for youth.
== [[Video Games]] ==
* Rare male example: In ''[[Gungrave]]'', [[Manipulative Bastard|suave]], handsome Harry MacDowell is shown, as a teenager, taking money for dates from rich boarding-school girls.
* Speculation has it that Aerith from ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]'' [[You Should Know This Already|participated]] in this.
==
* ''[[Megatokyo]]'': Junko from has been observed engaged in apparent ''enjo kosai,'' taking money from an older man after a dinner. However, since Fred Gallagher is American, this is given a rather neutral light.
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