Trap, Reverse Trap and Yuri Trap
I was ambivalent about picking up Maria+Holic but Kabitzin's animated gifs were just too enticing. The main hook, for me, was the contrast between Mariya's sweet facade and his grin o' evil mischief in the second gif. Totali was nearly trapped too. LOL
My initial reluctance originated along the lines of: 'Oh dear, an OtoBoku clone?' But that was just me being lazy. OtoBoku has the protagonist as the cross-dresser, he collects his harem who are in on his secret. Yuri anime this was not. Except for the brief period when Takako realized she was falling for Mizuho but hadn't found out that she was a he yet.
I always find my suspension of disbelief sorely tested by shows like I! My! Me! Strawberry Eggs. Grown men do not convincing traps make. OtoBoku or Happiness was just more plausible, given the whole late teens thing. Or if it's a really pretty boy like Genshiken's Kousaka. Reverse traps, on the other hand, like Ouran's Haruhi or 'I Still Can't Believe that's Mizuki Nana' Touma present no difficulty for believing that the rest of the cast have been reverse trapped and really believe the girl is a guy.
Maria+Holic's protagonist is not the cross-dresser and pretty much decided she is a lesbian; she bemoans how Mariya is a big obstacle in her quest for her fated yuri lover as well as how stunningly cute Mariya is despite being a boy. Despite the rather unconventional (if tentative) heterosexual pairing of Kanako with Mariya, I'd call this awesome yuri anime yuri based on Kanako's self-professed preference.
Final note. I've used the terminology from a decidedly hetero perspective. 'Trap' refers to a male who appears to be a very attractive woman to other males. 'Reverse trap' just switches the genders around. As such, Mariya, in relation to Kanako, should be called a 'yuri trap'? Better suggestions please?
Related posts:
Recent Comments
- Sora no woto 10 (2)
- Sora no woto 9 (3)
- Zyl: @ Kherubim re:...
- Sora no woto 8 (6)
Series & Themes
Maki Maki Blogroll
- mono no aware
- cool & spicy
- happy soda
- the banzai! effect
- moe moe rabu
- random curiosity
- minaide hitorigoto
- suguru's dame dame
- h.c.staff
- THAT
January 20th, 2009 - 21:16
Everyone calls this yuri anime (including myself), even though there’s only one lesbian lol.
January 20th, 2009 - 23:09
I find the idea that reverse traps are more believable than traps interesting, especially for older characters. A quick glance at Japanese pop culture reveals a great many number of real life, grown men, traps. Not so much for the reverse traps.
To be fair though, I think it’s hard to keep up any guise for long because of the voice. For any series wherein the rev/trap is past puberty and is interacting with the rest of the cast and using his/her voice, I don’t think the facade will last long. The voice, and if you look close enough, the Adam’s apple are usually mad obvious even if physical appearance is completely androgynous. I guess in that case, reverse traps are a little more believable than traps, but yeah.
I have a handful of transy friends, most of which are in the hormone supplement stage. It’s their voice that usually gives them away.
January 21st, 2009 - 01:25
What’s the sound of one hand clapping? It’s the same sound as one lesbian yuri. It’s not yuri until I see another lesbian or at least another girl who’s indifferent to her advances.
January 21st, 2009 - 02:57
It kinda feels like OtoBoku, but if the main trap was a evil scheming bastard. Mariya’s quest for greater popularity bodes well for yuri-esque scenes.
January 21st, 2009 - 14:55
Touma still giving you that effect even in the third season of Minami-ke? Even with her finally doing something girly over pudding?
January 21st, 2009 - 16:36
totali, Baka Raptor dissents! Needs to preface comment with ‘Almost’ LOL
Kiri, also it’s believable when middle aged men play the parts of middle aged women. I’m thinking of Dustin Hoffman as Tootsie or Robin Williams as Mrs Doubtfire. But I wouldn’t call either of those roles ‘traps’. XD
Baka Raptor, a moment of Zen!!
Kabitzin, evil scheming bastard trap FTW! And foul-mouthed tsukkomi meido too. Aren’t things so much more fun when there’s evil?
Ithekro, the role that I associate Mizuki Nana most strongly with is Fate Testarossa. Every time Touma uses the ‘ore’ pronoun, a fuse in my brain just blows. LOL The pudding ep may change things though if this added dimension to her chara is sustained.
January 23rd, 2009 - 15:04
Can we believe that “Haruka is Amazing” is Negi Springfield?
January 25th, 2009 - 14:32
If Kanako SAYS she likes girls in this way, it’s much (to me) like a guy who loudly proclaims his heterosexuality and extremely phobic responses to gay men… in other words, she’s overcompensating for something. Thus, Mariya is merely a TRAP, and not a ‘yuri trap’… since he’s attractive to girls who like girls as well as guys who like girls, and thus since both of those groups are chasing after the same thing, means that he’s very good at ‘being a girl’ and is thus a trap, period.
January 30th, 2009 - 10:34
Ithekro, the mind boggles indeed. But then again I haven’t watched any decent amount of Negima. Any recommendations for Negima yuri doujins?
Haesslich, I’m reminded a bit of the self-cest arguments in Murder Princess LOL. Yes, Kanako does sound like overcompensating but the hives are quite something. And Mariya just reminds me of those little boys who pull the pigtails of a girl in the playground because he secretly likes her…
Having just seen Ep 3, I’d say the series needz MOAR Mariya and Matsurika.
May 27th, 2009 - 17:46
In response to Kiri, some men can change their voice to sound 100% female with practice. This is what some transwomen (male to female) do. And not all men have noticeable adam’s apples while some biological women actually have adam’s apples.