Japanese Discuss Modern Romcom Protagonists Without Sexual Desire

What do you think about reading a romance story where the protagonist simply shows no sexual desire toward the girls? Acting completely indifferent or as if he doesn’t want the girl at all? An illustration from the latest volume of Makeine led Japanese fans to criticize how many modern romcom protagonists seem to show no sexual desire despite being surrounded by several attractive female characters.

For some fans, this behavior makes the characters feel “unreal” and even comparable to people with no libido, which has caused confusion among many Japanese fans who believe that, in a real-life situation, the boy would naturally feel attracted to the girls.

Japanese Discuss Modern Romcom Protagonists Without Sexual Desire

Below you can see the artwork that started the entire debate. For those unfamiliar, this illustration is part of the latest volume of the Makeine light novel, which also received a very good anime adaptation.

In the illustration, the protagonist Nukumizu is at a karaoke room with Yanami, and judging by his expression, he doesn’t seem to care about her at all. This is what started the discussion. One person saw the artwork and said:

“I haven’t read the original work, so I don’t know, but how can this guy make a ‘fed up protagonist’ face while being alone in a karaoke room with a busty beauty like this?”

You can check the original tweet here, and from there people started discussing this type of protagonist who seems to have some kind of barrier against women. Many people think these desireless protagonists feel very “artificial.” Some even brought up protagonists like Ataru as examples of main characters who openly show desire.

Some reactions:

• “Indeed, I think most male protagonists in romcoms are like eunuchs or something similar. If it were Ichikawa Kyotaro, he would have done it that day and, a month later, remembered it while hating himself and praying.”
• “It is obvious that Hachiman Hikigaya, who calls himself the embodiment of rationality and clearly has sexual desires but constantly suppresses them, is truly remarkable.”
• “This is the real reason for the declining birth rate.”
• “Male protagonists with this trait have existed before, but many people don’t like them lol.”
• “That’s why Denji is great, fully embodying what a male protagonist should be.”

• “That said, if the male protagonist were at the level of ‘Kanojo Okarishimasu,’ I would be disgusted and drop the series.”
• “I should learn from Sakuta Azusagawa.”
• The protagonist of 100 Girlfriends is so straightforward.

Part of the Japanese audience argues that this trend may be linked to cultural changes and attempts to prevent protagonists from being seen as “perverts” or unpleasant.

In the end, people explained the context of the scene to him. Basically, Nukumizu had arranged a karaoke date with someone else and arrived early. However, Yanami unexpectedly showed up, entered the room where he was supposed to meet the other girl, started eating, and that’s why he made that face.

Anyway, do you think modern protagonists are too neutered nowadays?