(AfroGamers.com) Not too long ago, it was written in a previous post how Korean manhwa classified in the romance genre type have lately shown an increase in their male leads exhibiting toxic male traits, as well as how readers of these manhwas are deeply invested and intrigued by these characters when they honestly shouldn’t be. We looked at how Bjorn and Joo Jaekyung were obviously bad guys but the writers of their respective manhwas made them out to be redeemable. So, in the hypocritical sense, this article will talk about how some male leads known as yanderes, as seen in Japanese manga, aren’t as bad as the label suggests. The article specifically looks at the anthology series, Yandere Kikoushi no Omosugiru Ai de Shiawase ni Narimasu! – which long-windedly translates to, After I Handed Over My Fiancé to My Little Sister, I Was Met with the Obsession of the Reclusive Duke.
First of all, What is a Yandere?
A yandere refers to a person who introduces themselves as loving, gentle and kind when they in fact become mentally unstable when it comes to their romantic interest or other object of their affection. Yandere is derived from Japanese words ‘yanderu’, meaning ‘to be sick’, and ‘deredere’ meaning ‘love-struck’. Most of them are possessive and obsessive over their romantic interest, are exceptionally jealous, emotionally aggressive and brutally violent. The term is typically used in anime, manga and light novels to refer to a character archetype or as a fictional trope. Although yanderes tend to always be assumed as female, male versions do exist and they aren’t any different from their feminine counterparts.
1: Noel Gautier
In the first instalment of the anthology, Noel is the male lead who is shown as a rather timid, quiet and ‘soft’ character. He does not express his thoughts outwardly but when he does, it is through his actions and not always his words. In one panel, he offers to use his hobby – cooking – to express his affection towards his romantic interest, Alicia.
Throughout the short story, Noel doesn’t do anything remotely like a yandere would. The only taste of a yandere we get are two or three panels where his facial expression shifts from shy and cute to unsettling. Another example was how he helped Alicia’s sister steal her fiancé so he could have Alicia for himself. Even then, that didn’t feel like he was acting out as an unstable, love-struck man but as someone taking advantage of a situation in order to shoot his shot with the girl he has always liked. There are yandere characters out there who hide their true feelings behind the shy act – just like Yuri from Doki Doki Literature Club – but unlike her, Noel doesn’t cross over to an obsessive or possessive extreme.
2: Alber Jeniess Zeckelm
The second anthology story is somewhat mediocre, so a proper, strong opinion can’t be given about the characters – even so, Alber is not much of a yandere. He met Lucia when they were both children and almost immediately, he offered to kill her family before mumbling about wanting to kidnap her. Which, to be fair, does qualify as a mental issue for a literal child to say that – whether it was because he fell for her at first sight or not is uncertain.
Unfortunately, that idea falls apart after the characters are older. Alber no longer speaks the way he did when he was a child – threatening murder and all – and actually chooses to maturely propose marriage to Lucia in order to remove her from her abusive family’s custody. After that Alber punishes Lucia’s family for abusing her with, lawful, imprisonment with Lèse-majesté (the crime for insulting royalty) as an additional charge for insulting the prince – him. In the end, Alber gets to be with the woman he loves and Lucia gets to escape abuse and live a comfortable, loving life. Not sure where the violence and insanity is when the story sounded suspiciously like a retelling of Cinderella.
3: Cedric
Out of all three of the so-called yandere, Cedric from the third anthology story made the most sense to be classified as a one.
The short story takes place in 20th century France where the commoner people will use any chance to abuse a noble. And that is what happens to the female lead, Noella, who has been forced to work as a maid after her noble family lost all their wealth. It is in the mansion she works at that she meets the male lead, Cedric, who disguised himself as a servant to keep an eye on her. On top of that, he even had people spy on her and report everything she had said and done throughout the day to him, whilst acting like a secret admirer and sending her flowers and letters every week.
At first, Cedric seems like the overprotective, gentlemanly type. But the more you read the story, an eery feeling slowly creeps up. And lo and behold, we find out that Cedric fell in love with Noella when she was around 13 years old whilst he was around 17 – based off a flashback panel where a younger her is seated on an older him’s lap.
Now what all these short anthology stories have in common is how they have the romantic interests play off the yandere male lead like his actions meant nothing. Which seems to make sense since the male leads really aren’t doing anything extreme and violent enough to classify them as yanderes and warrant the ladies or those around them to be worried or scared. Another strong give away is how the title of the anthology series clearly states, “obsessive” duke and not “yandere” duke, but those who have read the series have broadcasted the misconception that the men are in fact yandere.
Cedric is a slightly different story, but even he can be brushed off by some readers with a “Based on the story’s era and setting, it makes sense why he is the kind of man he is”. Nonetheless, these men honestly aren’t that bad; they are only drawn with scary facial expressions and say creepy statements that they later in the story don’t actually act on, making them NOT yandere at all… at least not in the conventional sense of the term.
Staff Writer; Fadzai Nyamande
A South African who brings her love for fiction, manga, and storytelling into every piece she creates. Her writing is shaped by imagination, curiosity, and a true appreciation for the worlds stories can build.
Feel free to drop a note at; FadzaiN@AfroGamers.com.