Nymphet [Kodomo no Jikan]

[Kaioshin Sama]

Originally Posted by Vexx

Here’s the way the so-called “age 13 is age of consent” works:
The age of consent in Japan is 13 years old under the Japanese national criminal law code. However, all municipalities and prefectures have their own particular laws such as Tokyo’s “Youth Protection Law” which prohibit adults from having sex with youths who are under 17 years old. Because the age of consent in Japan ranges from 13 to 17, depending on jurisdiction, many enjo kyosai clients cannot be charged with statutory rape. See the website: Japan — Age of Consent
As an added note, even though the age of consent in Japan can be 13, the age of majority is 20 for voting. The age of adulthood is considered 20 and driving age in 20. There were also some recent laws passed in the last couple of sessions that make it murkier.

Spoiler for Law for Punishing Acts Related to Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, and for Protecting Children.:

This is a temporary translated version of the New Law adopted by the Japanese Diet, in April 1999 related to Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Sexual Abuse of Children committed by Japanese nationals abroad.
Article 1 - Objective

The objective of this Law is to protect the rights of children by prescribing punishment for acts related to child prostitution and child pornography, and by establishing measures including the giving of appropriate protection to children who have suffered physically and/or mentally from the said acts, in light of the fact that sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children seriously infringe

I. Ages for legal purposes Article 2 - Definitions

For the purpose of this Law, a 'child' means a person under the age of 18 years.

Age of majority

The Article 3 of the Japanese Civil Code states that the age of majority is twenty (20) years old.

Age of consent for sexual activity

The Article 177 of the Penal Code puts the age of consent for sexual actitvity at thirteen (13) years.

Age of consent for marriage

Articles 731 and 737 of the Civil Code provides that the age of consent for marriage is eighteen (18) years for men, and sixteen (16) for women.
But when a minor wants to get married, he or she needs the consent of his or her parents.

So there's rules against non-consensual or coerced behavior... and notice the wierdness of 'age-of-consent' for sex versus marriage.


I don't know of any prefecture rules that establish age-of-consent below 13 yrs of age (Canada's age-of-consent is 14, amongst other locales).

Except when it's 12, which is only when the age difference is within 4 years. So if one person is older than 16-17 then the age is 14. Despite this Canada is one of the most proactive countries when it comes to busting up child pornography rings and anything that constitues exploitation. We'd have Reiji in a jail cell faster than you can even say Kodomo No Jikan.

[Vexx]

Aye, this appears to be really tough for some USians to wrap their brains around but sex simply *doesn't* have the same connotations and baggage in other cultures that the US does. For that matter, Europe and Canada have different perspectives that weight concepts in different ways (visit a Scandinavian park in the summertime...).

Hopefully this doesn't sound off-topic but this series trods specifically into areas that *usually* end up on late-night drama in the USA (though portrayed in some hyper-anxious angsty situation that manages to depress and yet not illuminate at the same time).

[Anh_Minh]

But Reiji hasn't done anything yet.

I'm not sure he's even a lolicon, really. What he wants is Aki. He's hoping that as Rin grows up, she'll look more and more like her mom. And "belong" to him, which is pretty sick.

[Mef]

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

I'm not sure he's even a lolicon, really. What he wants is Aki.

well of course he could be ( anyone remember lucky star? ) ALSO a lolicon, but not exclusively (like me) , because he loved rin's mom

but i personally think he isn't one because his behaviour towards rin (and I don't mean any sexual things ) would be different if he was (this is also true for aoki)

[2H-Dragon]

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

But Reiji hasn't done anything yet.

I'm not sure he's even a lolicon, really. What he wants is Aki. He's hoping that as Rin grows up, she'll look more and more like her mom. And "belong" to him, which is pretty sick.

Yeah I doubt he gets off kids or anything, but still he's someone that deserves to get shot.



If where talking realistically just jail him. >.<"""" Let him in there to think long enough to think trough what he did wrong tbh. I think he already did enough to get jailed in Japan.

Spoiler for chap 31:

I think he already did enough to get jailed in Japan. Or is it normal when you bath with kids that you daughter/sister or w/e sits in that position? I can understand that you help her shower or wash her head when your out of the tub. o-O

[Dark Wing]

Originally Posted by 2H-Dragon

Spoiler for chap 31:

I think he already did enough to get jailed in Japan. Or is it normal when you bath with kids that you daughter/sister or w/e sits in that position? I can understand that you help her shower or wash her head when your out of the tub. o-O

Actually it kind of is...You see in Japan bathing is a like daily ritual and also becomes a family affair so it really isn't that uncommon for a child to sit close his or her Parent/Siblings while they wash each other...

[Vexx]

@2H-Dragon: Google is your friend... bathing and "skinship" are long established communal activities in Japan and with japanese .... I'll say it plainly: nudity has different cultural meanings in different countries and context. In Japan, family bathing is completely normal and even public mixed bathing is routine in a few areas.
Even my japanese-american wife's and her parents routinely bathed together until she was 9. Pragmatically, it is an efficient use of heated water to soak in and helps to ensure the children are supervised in a potentially dangerous situation (tubs, slips, drowning).

If you're ever in a public bath in Japan, don't be surprised if someone offers to scrub your back while at the shower before getting into the soaking tub. It doesn't mean they're making a pass and they're going to assume you'll return the favor.

------------------
It was not tooo long ago (a few decades) that bathing together wasn't unusual for American and European families --- but the witchburning-like nature of the "pedo under every corner" crowd (wow, they must have some serious personal demons) has coerced western society into different 'standards' recently. Most of what Reiji has done in caring for and being around Rin - up to the current chapter was not that unusual until 20 years ago in the West.

What Reiji is doing (subconsciously->consciously) that might be considered wrong is growing himself a replacement for his departed beloved (six more years, eh?) ... problem is that Rin is a human being with her own goals and objectives. The result is going to be a lot of drama (which is what makes a story tick) and trauma for both of them.

[ZODDGUTS]

Hoping that since now Rin is opening up to Aoki she'll tell him something is not right with Reiji. It looks to me that his the only one that would be able to save her.

[NaweG]

Originally Posted by Kona-Kona

I cant wait for chapter 32...

So how often are chapters released? Once a month?

[Dark Wing]

Originally Posted by NaweG

So how often are chapters released? Once a month?

Yea next one comes out on 11/22/08...*waits for chapter*...Anyway it's hard to say exactly where this is going, but it looks like Rin is reaching out to Aoki for love and affection in the only way she knows how. The irony here is the person she wants to be like a father thinks of her as his future girlfriend, while the person she wants as her boyfriend thinks of her like a daughter.

[Vexx]

That last sentence is worth a cookie

[Kona-Kona]

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

But Reiji hasn't done anything yet.

I'm not sure he's even a lolicon, really. What he wants is Aki. He's hoping that as Rin grows up, she'll look more and more like her mom. And "belong" to him, which is pretty sick.

This last sentence made me rolfmao
Talking about the next release, do you know when is the next ep coming?

[Lunar Archivist]

Been following this thread for a while now and just wanted to add my two cents...

I'll admit to being extremely annoyed by the negative comments about this series, so much so that I edited the Wikipedia article to remove an unsubstantiated statement about Rin being sexually abused by Reiji in his character profile and added an entire section deconstructing the "rampant child molestation and pedophilia" claims by citing numerous sources from the manga itself as well as one online essay:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodomo_no_Jikan

Kind of wordy and excessive, but I figure the only way to beat the Wikipedia censors and their incessant demands for citations as well as the witchhunters is to back it up with a much evidence as possible. If I've made any horrendously incorrect statements, feel free to tell me and I'll edit it.

The Lunar Archivist

[Kona-Kona]

Originally Posted by Lunar Archivist

Been following this thread for a while now and just wanted to add my two cents...

I'll admit to being extremely annoyed by the negative comments about this series, so much so that I edited the Wikipedia article to remove an unsubstantiated statement about Rin being sexually abused by Reiji in his character profile and added an entire section deconstructing the "rampant child molestation and pedophilia" claims by citing numerous sources from the manga itself as well as one online essay:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodomo_no_Jikan

Kind of wordy and excessive, but I figure the only way to beat the Wikipedia censors and their incessant demands for citations as well as the witchhunters is to back it up with a much evidence as possible. If I've made any horrendously incorrect statements, feel free to tell me and I'll edit it.

The Lunar Archivist

Thanks a lot for editing it. That article in wiki bothered me along time and I wanted to someone to edit it since Im not that skilled in english to do it ;__;

[Vexx]

well done... we'll see if the "witchburners" and uninformed try to muck with it.

[2H-Dragon]

Well if the ANN community finds out. It will die. I am really wondering if they even tried the series. >.> Anyhow gl, since it will probably be like talking to a wall.

[Alexandrite]

Honestly, when I first heard of the title and some of the controversy surrounding it, I thought badly of it as well. Shame on me. Since then, I've actually sat down and read the thing, and I'm glad I was wrong. This is actually a pretty good story, and the fact that people won't keep an open mind long enough to see what it's about before they slander it saddens me. It also pains me to see that America's so paranoid about conveying the proper message to people that they kill something like this from being licensed based on image alone. So on that note, thanks, Lunar Archivist, for taking time out to edit the Wiki article on it to try and help alleviate some of that false information.

I suppose I'll be keeping up on this manga as well and checking back on this thread from now on. So for now, I'll just toss in an obligatory "Reiji and his agenda are creepy" and be on my way.

[Vexx]

And since we're viewing much of this from Aoki's point-of-view, Reiji is *supposed* to be 'worrisome' (or creepy . We'll have to keep watching to see if he rises to the challenge or follows one of several paths into darkness.

[Kona-Kona]

Originally Posted by Alexandrite

"Reiji and his agenda are creepy"

Amen to that !!!!

[Deathkillz]

seen as i had some free time, i thought about catching up ^^

chap 29

hmm i guess this is where the story gets deeper? aoki is still questioning how he really feels about rin, and it seems he is still having "fantasies" or rather, he is thinking too much about rin...that plum scene where he thinks that she is on her cycle is just weird...normal people just wouldnt think something like that if they didnt have "feelings" of one sort or another. rin is sick...but kuro thinks that aoki isnt the cure - we know that kuro is probably the girl who knows most about rin she is only trying to be protective...but what if aoki is the cure? this is getting really complex. what is love to aoki? he really doesnt have a clue either.

(btw didnt kuro's mask look like the one rika had in the OP of S1? )

chap 30

haha! funny start to the chapter with mimi getting messed around XD
the news being filled with a recent case of pedophilia doesnt help but looking at aoki's point of view i begin to wonder...while cases are more uncommon irl teachers can actually end up in the same position as aoki...scary
anyway here we see more aoki protection at work. he really is a kind (but blundersome) man. she wants to keep mimi "pure" but is that really fair to the others? rin feels like she is soo much more than just a 4th grader but aoki just cant understand that...to him she is still a kid but this in turn causes her to want to prove herself. her line on herself being "dark" is interesting...on one hand i get the feeling that she wants attention but on the other it feels like it means much more. she needs someone to "love" properly (apparently reiji is strictly a father figure).

but the irony here is that it seems that aoki has made up his mind as to what position he is going to take. he will act and feel like a father figure which rin needs soo much. things can only get better from here

on a side note...just what are 4th graders reading nowadays talk about taking an extreme case where kids have access to porn books lying around...i blame the adults for leaving such things lying around >.>

chap 31

WTFBBQZOMGBURN!

that better be a mosquito bite mark otherwise im calling the cops ~~~



now this is the chapter which sets the whole scene...any doubts on reiji being remotely sane is crushed

rin's birthday, great! and aoki is dragged along though im surprised that it was kuro's idea. the story just continues to be deeper as we see how both mimi and kuro understand rin's "forced" condition. she is hiding a much darker and truamatised side to her personality.
i just get the feeling that the loss of her mother has just been too great for this little hear to bare. kuro wants to save rin and perhaps aoki is really the cure (and now i sense a hidden message...rin better not get the same cancer that knocked off her mother later on otherwise there will be HELL! >.<)

anyway aoki still thinks that he is being a "father" - his blushing is obviously betraying him ^^

the flashback is a huge hint on her condition but what was with that last panel with the smoking chimmley and huge "aki san!" scream...hmm...

then there was the end with reiji's inner thoughts showing...

"just 6 more years"
"i cant wait"

he is seriously off his block...but im sure there must be something in his defense...we will just have to wait and see...