Incomplete Thoughts on Lolita Culture

How loli is too loli? 

Enju - Black Bullet

Recently, I wrote a fairly scathing review of Black Bullet, primarily basing my dislike on the character Enju, a 10-year old who is used suggestively in marketing for the show and goes beyond an innocent childhood crush in her attempts to start a relationship with her young adult partner.

While Enju fairly clearly crosses the line into "not okay" territory from "they just look younger" territory, it brings up the question of just where exactly that line is.

Characters looking younger than they are is fairly common in anime. Sometimes its the overall art for a series. Other times, a specific character looks younger to accentuate their cuteness or for a plot-specific reason. An example that stands out is ToraDora! , where Aisaka Taiga is very short, flat chested, and could easily be mistaken for being much younger than 18. Even in a flash-forward in a PSP game based on the show, she is shown to keep this childlike demeanor well into her adulthood.

 

Aisaka Taiga - ToraDora!

Personally, this style of character I've never given much thought into as being a potential problem. I watch a lot of animation and in ways have disassociated animated characters with physical people. But I also know others have seen it differently. Some argue that showing a body that appears prepubescent in a mature light, regardless of the characters age, can lead people to temptation towards pedophilia.

As with a lot of things that the Bible doesn't flat out say "okay" or "not okay" on - there's no chapter on how characters should be drawn - whether a young looking adult character makes you uncomfortable or not is very subjective. What's more important than whether or not I think lolita characters are an okay thing is whether or not you feel a temptation to sin when viewing anime with lolita or shota characters in it.

However, since pornography is an all-around no, we can take this question even further: Isn't any character being portrayed in a sexual manner a potential temptation? How much fan-service should we subject ourselves to, period?

If media isn't contributing to your walk for any reason, even a reason other Christians around you think is silly, don't watch it.  Someone you trust may one day recommend something to you that triggers alarms in your soul. I pray hope that no matter who "wins" debates you'll listen to the signals the Holy Spirit gives you when it comes to things the Bible doesn't give a clear "yay" or "nay" on.

Sound Off

What do you think about lolita characters? Is creating an adult who looks childlike asking for temptation, or do you think this blog post is one big overreaction to an artist's drawing style? Sound off in the comments!