Earlier this year, anime Puella Magi Madoka Magica took Japan’s otakudom by storm. Now that the series has finished, it’s time for the vultures to swoop in and make a profit.
Besides the knock-off products, there’s already the inevitable porn parody, which is anything but vanilla.
Premiering in January, Puella Magi Madoka Magica is a magical girl anime that attempted to revive the magical girl genre. Magical girl anime feature, well, magical girls, and the genre is a long established one.
Magical girl anime like Pretty Cure and Sailor Moon were designed to appeal to young Japanese girls; Ultraman and Kamen Rider conversely were designed to appeal to young Japanese boys.
Sunday morning television in Japan shows both types of shows, with the boys’ programming and the girls’ programming typically shown in separate blocks. As an aside, what makes Sailor Moon so interesting is how it took elements from Power Rangers Super Sentai shows and mixed in magical girls.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica, however, is far darker than the typical magical girl anime and is not aimed at young girls. It was created by men for men – something that comes across in Madoka Magica and something that has invited criticism.
The show has been wildly popular among Japanese anime otaku. There is going to be a manga version and a novelization by game developer Nitro+. The inevitable video game spin-offs are bound to follow as Madoka Magica merchandising kicks into high gear.
The anime’s official site has an array of goods available, whether that be cute plush toy, mugs, or t-shirts. One “doujin” group planned to sell a plush toy of the alien critter Kyubey, but was shut down late last week, leaving the group to apologise for its actions.
Japan isn’t alone in this; whenever something is popular anywhere, you are bound to see non-copyright goods trying to make a buck. Likewise, America has been lampooning television shows and movies in explicit fashion for decades.
The fringe of Japan’s porn industry tries to cash in, too. Whether it’s cosplay pornos, which are quickly becoming a dime a dozen, or the far more extreme world of rubberplay and vacuum play, a hit anime or game can quickly penetrate (sorry!) the depths of Japanese dirty movies.
When Haruhi Suzumiya, the popular anime, hit it big, extreme flicks featuring a woman dressed in Haruhi’s iconic uniform being placed in a plastic bag with only one hole for her mouth, and then having a vacuum cleaner slowly suck all the air out. That film didn’t feature kigurumi cosplay, like the one featured in this story. In kigurumi all skin is covered, and anime heads are often worn. In Japan, it’s widely assumed that men do kigurumi cosplay, dressing as female characters. A woman, however, performs kigurumi cosplay in this video, among other things.
This Magica Madoka adult film is making the rounds on countless Japanese forums, game sites and anime sites. The NSFW film is less than 30 minutes and is priced at ¥3500 ($40). It looks cheap, and it stars some no-name actress.
By being so extreme and brazenly parodying this popular show, it’s got people talking. The reactions of Japanese netizens range from baffled to amused, disgusted to delighted. And that was the point.
Culture Smash is a daily dose of things topical, interesting and sometimes even awesome – game related and beyond.
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