Persona 4: Kanji's "Other Self"
In an article for Gamasutra, Samatha Xu tackles some of the issues raised by Kanji Tatsumi's alter-ego in Atlus's Persona 4. Warning, if you haven't played the game, there may be some spoilers littered about.
Xu traces the path of Kanji from anti-social, combative teenager to a more self assured and confident young man after he confronts his his other self in the game's world: a flamboyant, lispy caricature of a gay man. After that, the game officially leaves it up to the player to decide whether or not Kanji is gay, bisexual, or just conflicted. The article also explains a little bit how the Japanese concept of homosexuality differs from more western ideas:
Because there is no legislation relating to homosexual sex, it's not a hot-button social or moral issue in Japan like it is in America. Many Japanese gay men resist the Western notion of "gay rights" because sexuality is not thought of in terms of what is right or wrong, but rather as play or something people may choose to engage in if they wish.
While the concept of "choosing" sexuality instinctively rankles me, I can see how a country that wasn't founded by puritans might handle it slightly better than Americans do. The article doesn't hold Japan up as some great bastion of sexual freedom however, pointing out that upholding tradition and avoiding "unorthodox" behavior is still important to many Japanese people, and Kanji having a relationship as an openly gay man would upend those ideals.
The article contains of number of quotes from a few familiar names, including game designer and journalist Brenda Brathwaite and Destructoid editor and multiple Gaygamer.net podcast guest Colette Bennett. Even if you don't necessarily agree with every conclusion, it's a thoughtful article about a subject that tends to get buried in mainstream game journalism. For those of you who played the game, what did you think of Kanji? A step in the right direction and a positive sign for the future, or just a token gay character, afraid to fully come out of the closet?
Opinion: Sexuality and Homophobia in Persona 4 [Gamasutra]
[via: GameSetWatch]
Dawdle
Posted to Hot Stuff, Video Games on 1 February 2009
· Comments (19)
Other stuff like this: atlus, gay gay gay, persona 4, ps2, sexuality
When Persona 4 was first announced for an American release, I read a wikipedia article about Kanji's alleged gayness.
I'm thinking he's gay, but considering they're all supposed to be teenagers, they'd rather portray him as "confused" or "unsure", as many adolescents are around that age. I think it's totally true to life.
Hasn't every game in the Persona series had a token gay party member?
Persona 3 didn't have one. Yes, there is subtext and wishful thinking and whatnot (I wanted to be able to date Junpei or Akihiko, dangit!) but nothing blatantly out there.
Quite an interesting read. When I played the game, I was ticked, because I felt like they chose a cheap, cop-out answer to Kanji's sexuality, and wouldn't just admit that he was gay.
Spoilers: when you rescue Kanji from the TV world he pretty much says "nah, I'm not like that. That was just a result of my feeling of nonacceptance". It's still fairly ambiguous, but then the guy Kanji was attracted to turns out to be a girl. Furthermore, you see instances where Kanji is attracted to girls, like during the camping trip when he gets a nose bleed after seeing Yokiko and Chie in bikinis. I don't see how that could be misinterpreted.
The article makes a decent argument for why in Japanese culture, there is less of a 'line' you cross, and that homosexuals come out less frequently. However, I am unconvinced Kanji was gay, even when the people at Atlus say so. I would love to see the original text concerning Kanji's orientation.
This really annoys me, not because the game does not outright say he is gay (as the teenage years for many is a time of coming to terms), but when Atlus usa was asked they said it's for us to make decide. NO IT'S NOT, he is either gay or he is not, and their is clearly intent one was or another and I find it a weak responce for us to decide. You either intended for him to be gay or not, have the balls to say either way.
wait wait wait, what?? Japan is completely in denial about homosexuals existing in their country.
women are not allowed into gay bars for men. apparently, there is a fear of being seen there.
while my friend was teaching over there, she tried to explain that I had a boyfriend and was flat out told that "oh, we don't have that here!"
Japan is dare I say more repressed about matters of sexuality than the US. they just lack legislating @$$holes.
Japan is very sexually repressed. Any kind of crazy sexual behavior is OK as long as you never, ever discuss it.
Basically, the whole entire country is in the closet - straight, gay, bisexual, and every variation between.
Mind you, it didn't used to be this way. Pre-Fuedal Japan was the most sexually liberal culture of the time. Maybe ANY time. It made the 1960's look prudish.
Ya know, I can totally see being irritated at Persona 4 for being ambiguous about Kanji's orientation. But let's stay away from the broad generalizations about Japan. You lose all credibility when you use slander like "the whole country is in the closet", and it detracts from the argument others here are trying to make.
I dunno, I think it's okay if there is room for interpretation (not just Kanji's sexuality, but for other elements left unsaid). It's not necessarily a copout if the game doesn't explicitly state things. They are supposed to be teenagers. And as the article explained via Mark McClelland and Antonia Levi (both great scholars on GLBT communities and media in Japan), these issues are more blurred (or I suppose the social rules are different) in Japan than they are here. Besides, it's nice enough that our (even possible) gay guy in a video game isn't the effeminate bishounen, but a fairly normal guy.
If we have to give our speculation, I'd give Kanji a 4 on the Kinsey Scale.
I assert, however, that Yosuke is so far in the closet he can see Narnia. And can someone explain to me what was up with Daisuke and Kou? They look like they've been ripped from last month's Be*Boy and we get nothing? Sad.
Also, while you can't date any of the male characters (sad), it is worth noting you can play along the same lines as Kanji, which is interesting in itself.
It doesn't really matter to me either way. I love Kanji's character; he managed to take Junpei's place as my favorite Persona character, which I consider a feat in itself. Why does it matter so much if he's completely straight/completely gay or if he's somewhere in between? As Ron White says, "We're all gay. It's just a question of how much."
Japan is, like a lot of Eastern countries, a great big paradox. It's not just on gay issues that this is true, but also women's rights, racism, xenophobia... basically, the logic for the gay side goes like this.
1: Sexuality is less something you are and more something you do, thus the country is more open to sexuality as a whole. This shows itself in myriad ways, from yaoi (gay male relationships) and yuri (lesbian relationships) fiction being seen as innocent and romantic and most often sought by young-to-teenage girls, to the prevalence of "lolicon" and "shotacon," I.E. the sexualization of young children, as well as all the other dark, deviant things the internet has laid bare.
2: Deviance in any way is not tolerated. The society is so order-bound and rule-driven that ANY deviation from prim, proper behavior is seen as distasteful. Thus the shunning of those who participate in what is considered "deviant behavior," which unfortunately includes homosexuality.
So, in other words, homosexuality is allowed, as long as it's not with someone of the same sex. :-P It's this very type of societal paradox that makes the East so alien to those of us who grew up in the West.
Kanji was questioning. Himself and tring to figure out who he was. I dont think he is gay. By all mean if i could date the hot trouble make with the bulging biceps i would. But alas it was not met to be. He just fell in to society sterotypes. Knitting and being artsy. So that make you gay? Not alot of the readers or this forum bases. He not really attacted to a at all in the game. Naota is Naota. So lets here it for the Transgenders in the world being represented in the world. That you can not rebuke. There was going to be a surgery!!!
I like that the game touches on the complexities of teenagers questioning their sexual orientations, but am somewhat off put by the unwillingness of the story to make a decision about it. Granted, I can connect to not knowing fully how I felt about my orientation when I was in high school. To be fair, Kanji's relationship history isn't written in stone. I think its good that there are games leading to this dialouge in the first place, instead of presenting a world where heterosexuality is so normative there aren't any reperesntive alternatives.
A bit late to chime in I guess, but I just wish to put out there what I think. The question is supposedly simple, a 'yes' or 'no', a simple 'is he gay'? To look only at the presence of his other self, and trying to understand him from that without a look at his past.
Kanji's interest are the root of the issue, I think. He enjoys the 'female' arts and probably was excluded for it, did not care for sports perhaps? Rejected by girls for not being manly enough? Is it not likely that is why he joined a biker gang, to cover his nature and be seen as more 'manly'?
He set himself to be isolated, appear different then he is, but the first 'relationship' he finds himself in, or wanting to be, however you like to think of it, is with Naoto, a female who speaks and dresses as male, yet with her own venerability.
His other self is just SO stereo typical and over the top, I mean more so then others. He probably finds himself wondering is that how he should act? Needs to act? Can he be gay and still be himself? (Is the rough guy even himself?)
I think, after years without female companionship, and suffering from them, he probably thinks males would be easier to deal with. However, he is still physically attracted to females. Maybe his attraction to females ends at physical, but he can form deeper connections to males.
In the end, the best I could say, is he needs to learn more of himself, and figure his own feelings and emotions out with his friends (of both genders), instead of simply looking at what he thinks he needs to be because of his interests. We cannot say he is or is not gay, until he can understand his own feelings. No matter how we might hope for him one way, or the other.
I haven't played P4, but I've read detailed, academic studies about homosexualiy in Japan, and:
In the Japanese mainstream conscious, people think that gay guys are guys who cross dress and act REALLY girly... so perhaps when this guy was acting like that, in a Japanese mind, he really was "gay" for that period of time.
By the way, the whole "gay = girly" thing is completely not true and kinda really pisses me off -_-
Didn't Kanji ask at one point whether Yukiko was outed *too*? I think that kinda says it all.
I was disappointed because the game treated it so ambiguously. (Yes, but no, but yes.) But, I don't think they were trying to make a statement, just tell a story. And, well, disregarding societal norms and GLBT issues, (that weren't intrinsic to the story)it was actually really good. Kanji was confused, and in the end all he really wanted was to be accepted.
As for me, I think Kanji fits somewhere in between. And Yosuke is really raising alarms with all his fits of denial. But that's just me.
MAXED OUT KANJI TODAY!!! We are going to start our own Doll store. Kanji's Kawaii Kewpees!
When I first heard about the dispute concerning Kanji's sexuality, man I got really excited because I'm all up for a good is he or isn't he dispute however, seeing the story line... I just can't say that Kanji is gay. Sure his other self was a flamboyant mofo who held male symbols... I nearly died laughing btw, but he just says flat out that he thought he was the type to not like girls but then he quickly takes it back. I don't know guys, I feel Atlus could have went one way or the other and made it more clear on their stance rather then telling us to decide for ourselves. They copped out a bit with the overly-gay persona and then telling us "Nah I'm just lonely" But then the Max Social Link....
For a long post, I'm almost positive I've contributed nothing different to the conversation haha.