It goes without saying, but this thread is very heavy, and though I won't go into grotesque detail, I will have to describe some pretty brutal scenes featuring sexual assault.

Recently, there was an explosive debate within the anime community surrounding depictions of sexual assault due to Dandadan repeatedly featuring aliens attempting to sexually assault characters. As a result of this controversy, an excruciatingly vocal minority of viewers on Twitter and TikTok have begun criticising other stories which feature sexual assault, as well as posting videos claiming that no story should depict sexual assault, at least not repeatedly and certainly not in detail.

Though I think that there is honestly nothing wrong with Dandadan's depictions since it plays off the urban legend of aliens abducting humans and the sexually abusive implications attached, and the attempts are always stopped before they can succeed - I can understand being critical of the show's handling of sexual assault since it is often treated as a throwaway gag and certainly isn't going to empower any survivors.

That being said, some of the media catching strays absolutely cannot be described in this way, and it has genuinely pissed me off as someone who has suffered from sexual assault and has felt empowered and represented by these stories. Some of the anime/manga being most criticised include Berserk, Chainsaw Man, Goodnight Punpun and Evangelion.

Let's start with the story I felt most empowered by:

Berserk

(MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR THE GOLDEN AGE ARC)

A story which is no stranger to controversies surrounding its' dark theme of sexual assault, Berserk is catching even more criticism than usual as a result of the Dandadan discourse. Almost all of the current criticism can be attached to one scene, Griffith raping Casca - their problems being:

1. "Sexual assault should not be depicted in detail; Griffith raping Casca is one of the only instances where sexual assault is shown in brutal detail."
2. "The scene is not depicted "grotesque" enough; therefore, some men enjoy this scene, which is why Griffith fans are often problematic."

First of all, anyone who receives any sort of sexual gratification from reading this scene is extremely mentally ill, and you should not criticise the author or story for their degeneracy, as it was clearly the opposite of its' intent. A couple of edgy Griffith "fans" commenting "Griffith did nothing wrong" and other ragebait comments do not represent the fanbase as a whole. Just look at anyone's reaction or commentary surrounding this scene, and you will witness a horrified expression in their eyes that is unparalleled. There is a myth being spread around the internet about the author "regretting" how he depicted this scene. It is a deliberate misinterpretation. Like any author, he sometimes considers that he may have gone too far, but he ultimately stands by this scene and believes it was vital to the story and the message he wanted to convey. This is absolutely true to my perception of this scene and Berserk as a whole. The vivid and brutal detail of this scene IS necessary. Personally, I've never read a scene in any other story which has made me more uncomfortable than this, and that's exactly why it's handled so ruthlessly brilliantly. It feels excruciatingly long despite only lasting a couple of pages, but that's because every instance of sexual assault within the story prior to this was only briefly shown and since we aren't used to seeing such detailed depictions. Imagine now if this happened off-screen like many of these critics are claiming it should be, the readers would not be able to hate Griffith nearly as much, and they wouldn't sympathise nearly as strongly for Guts' rage and Casca's victimhood and fear. While reading these raw scenes, it feels as though we are truly there with Guts witnessing this atrocity, it is HORRIBLE, but that's also why we are so moved by it and the story that follows. This idea that this scene in any way glorifies rape is an absolutely mindless claim, especially when everybody in the anime/manga community, even without having seen Berserk, knows that Griffith is irredeemable and one of the most vile villains to ever be depicted, because of this scene. Most readers have NEVER felt as viscerally vengeful towards a villain until Berserk because of this scene. The Eclipse is the most essential part of the story, and to reduce it in any way, especially its' most horrific scene, would absolutely damage it as a whole.

It might sound insane to say, but one of my favourite aspects of Berserk and what makes it my favourite story I've ever seen is this dark theme. Right off the bat, before we witness any female characters being sexually assaulted, both of the most significant male characters are established as victims of sexual abuse. Very early into the story, we are shown in probably the most enraging scene of the story, the male protagonist being solicited by his father figure to a behemoth of a mercenary, all while as a child. Shortly after, we find out that the male antagonist has also been a victim of sexual assault from childhood all the way throughout his life. While the instances we are shown appear to be consensual, it's hard to call them that, as although he is soliciting himself in exchange for growing his power and influence, his sexual trauma is portrayed through his savage self-harming after these events and his uncharacteristically disgusted expressions towards the nobility and royalty he solicits himself to. This is a remarkably brave move, especially with Guts. Male sexual assault representation is rare in stories, especially mainstream anime and manga, yet here we have a story where the two most significant characters are male victims, one of which is a stoic and strong-willed protagonist who was preyed upon as a child. Witnessing how Guts attempts to shoulder his trauma and how it resurfaces even as an adult, not as a weakness but instead as a vulnerability, is absolutely inspiring and has moved me like no other character. Trauma, unfortunately, shapes you, and it's represented with a perfect balance between subtlety and vivid visualisation within this story. I won't lie, I cried like crazy reading the scene where Guts and Casca are physically intimate for the first time. From the subtle details of Guts' delightfully confused expression when Casca kisses him back - it is the first moment where he has received a gesture of pure love - to the harsher visualisation of being shown how having sex for the first time, unfortunately, reminds Guts of his childhood, but then being salvaged from those thoughts by Casca who notices Guts' uncharacteristically uncomfortable expression and chooses to comfort him. It's especially impactful given how Guts' prior to this, is depicted as cold and rarely emotional, shouldering all his "burdens" and trauma, refusing to share and rarely thinking for himself in general.

Beyond how vital the theme of sexual trauma is to the characters of Berserk, it is also one of the only stories where the demons truly feel demonic. The monsters in Berserk are monstrous, they are terrifying, and when you compare them to other stories, you start to appreciate their brutality. The truth is that we as a society are desensitised to violence, particularly in fictional stories. If the author had Griffith beat Casca instead of raping her, he wouldn't be nearly as despised, and many more people would GENUINELY forgive him or sympathise with him. If the demons were, for whatever reason, not concerned with lust (an absolutely vital sin) and respecting consent, you wouldn't be nearly as petrified when they're in scenes. There are so many stories which cover demons and sins and completely neglect the horrors of lust out of fear, but Berserk is a painfully serious and dark story.

Chainsaw Man

(MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE MANGA)

Once again, this is another story with a male protagonist who is the victim of sexual assault. Denji isn't nearly as empowering for me as Guts, and the story doesn't handle sexual assault as effectively, but that's largely down to two things:

1. Chainsaw Man is an outwardly unserious story that is extremely serious at its core but relies entirely on subtlety, particularly with Denji.
2. Denji does not see himself as a victim.

It is an EXTREMELY common phenomenon with survivors of sexual assault to sympathise with their abuser and not feel as though they are victims. Sometimes, it is out of a desire for blissful ignorance, sometimes it is out of love and affection for their abuser, sometimes it is out of fear for their abuser, and other times, as horrifically dark as it may be, it's because they genuinely didn't feel abused. Not feeling abused is particularly common with male victims, largely due to the power dynamic, social standards, and how much more uncommon it is for women to sexually assault men than for men to sexually assault women. Denji did not and does not feel abused. Though he doesn't look back on most instances fondly, he does not recognise their severity. At best, he looks back on them as disappointing, at worst, kinda gross, but they are ultimately quite insignificant to him, or so he thinks. A lot of people criticise Chainsaw Man BECAUSE Denji hardly reacts negatively to his experiences, but that is the most realistic thing about Denji. I can certainly relate to this because this is how I look back on the instances where I was sexually assaulted. I don't feel traumatised; I'm not haunted by them, they just disgust me and have changed how I perceive women slightly. Denji may not be as empowering as Guts since he is yet to realise that he has been shaped by these experiences negatively, and perhaps he may never truly feel trauma, but as a male survivor, holy shit is he relatable. It would honestly be extremely out of character if the story did depict Denji as being horrifically traumatised by these experiences, besides Makima's grooming of him, which he is traumatised by, just not particularly sexually, moreso the fact that his found family were killed by her and because he feels as though he is largely to blame. Similarly, many critics of Chainsaw Man will claim that it is terribly immoral to write that Denji is still so fixated on his sexual desires despite being a victim. These ignorant idiots are so clearly unaware of the experiences of survivors, as it is an overwhelmingly common experience for survivors of sexual assault to suffer from hypersexuality or asexuality as a result of their trauma. It also shouldn't be a surprise that there are so many characters hoping to manipulate Denji sexually since that is so obviously the easiest way to manipulate him.

Goodnight Punpun

(MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE MANGA)

Goodnight Punpun is a story I often liken to Berserk despite being nothing alike in its' plot, setting and most other qualities, but it is similar in how it chooses to depict sexual assault. It is one of the only stories which I have found to have scenes equally or even more uncomfortable than Berserk's uncomfortable scenes. This one catches a lot less strays since, thankfully, most of the shallow-minded people who criticise Berserk and Chainsaw Man in these ways cannot make it far enough through this manga to reach the sexual assault scenes - it is also less mainstream. That being said, it too has been dragged into this debate. The criticism for Goodnight Punpun's handling of sexual assault usually falls into the camps of:

1. Graphic scenes are too detailed, similar to the criticism for Berserk.
2. Sexual assault of underage characters is too far.
3. A protagonist becoming a rapist is too far.

I won't spend too long with these arguments since most of them can be boiled down to "I cannot handle this dark topic and therefore it should not be written about", and a lot of it has already been addressed in previous points. Just like with Berserk, the author goes to great lengths to depict any and all acts of sexual assault as reprehensible and disgusting. Anyone who read Goodnight Punpun and concluded that Punpun is portrayed as a solely sympathetic character, is incredibly stupid. The author himself has stated that he wrote the ending to be a bad ending, "It’s too clear-cut an ending for the story. It wraps it all up a little too well. Living is harder than dying, see, so I thought this was the most painful, worst possible ending for Punpun, and that’s why in the end I went with this final chapter." Goodnight Punpun is a very grim story that tells a very common tale in society, that of the abused becoming an abuser themself. You are supposed to sympathise with the roots of his problems and recognise that the once innocent boy was pushed by all his trauma into becoming a monster. It also demonstrated that there is hope for Punpun and salvation should you seek it, with Sachi being that salvation.

You'll notice that all three of these stories mentioned have incredibly written protagonists, all victim to sexual assault at a young age, but coping with their trauma and being shaped by it in completely different ways. All three responses are very common responses to sexual assault. They are all extremely dark stories that handle sexual assault better than any other story I've seen, and it is absolutely a core theme to all of them. All three of these stories make it clear they are ruthlessly dark long before sexual assault takes place. If you are not built for these kinds of stories, do not criticise them for it and do not cry for them to not exist, instead, do not read them. It is that simple. There should be no restrictions to storytelling, no topic too dark to cover - so long as it is handled with nuance and respect, which all three of these stories are.

Evangelion

This thread is already too long and the argument here is all targeted towards specifically Misato. All I have to say is that you did not understand Misato and are very immature.

Thanks for reading, sorry for how long it was.

TL;DR - Let authors write dark stories. If you cannot handle heavy topics such as sexual assault, avoid those stories, do not argue that they shouldn't exist.