In the late 2010s, I discovered a blog called “Fandoms Hate Women.” I was a bit taken aback by the title. I thought about it more; unfortunately, there is truth to it. As someone who has been a part of fandom online and in person since the 2010s, the amount of misogyny that runs around in these spaces is alarming, and it often comes from all kinds of people because of our patriarchal society. I even recently hosted a panel at Dashcon 2 defending female characters. Yes, it can get that bad- so bad to the point where misogyny took up so much of the discourse surrounding Erased.
What is Erased?
Erased is a series that focuses on Satoru, an unhappy manga artist working at a pizza restaurant, who is sent back in time after his mother is murdered in his apartment. The reason he is sent back? The person who killed his mom also killed his classmates, and it is up to him to stop it.
The first person to be murdered is a girl named Kayo, who lives with her mother and her mother’s boyfriend, who beats her. Satoru forms a friendship with Kayo and realizes she was targeted because she was lonely and vulnerable. Satoru plans to prevent Kayo from being killed and to get her out of her abusive household. While his plan works and Satoru also prevents the killings of his other classmates, he sadly becomes a victim of the killer, who turns out to be his teacher, Gaku Yashiro. Gaku attempts to kill Satoru, and Satoru is placed in a 15-year coma.
Why Kayo’s Ending in Erased Upset So Many Fans
Near the end of the series, it is revealed that, in adulthood, Kayo married Hiromi, Satoru’s friend, and had a baby with him.
Of all the heinous things that happened in this series, this is what upset many of the fans the most. There was a man literally going around stalking and attempting to kill small children. Still, the fandom was angrier about a woman choosing who she wanted to be romantically with. Fandom will always find an issue with anything a female character does, especially when it comes to their private relationships. Fandom is a reflection of our outside world, so these behaviors are disappointing but not uncommon.
Women Don’t Owe Men Romance for Their Kindness
Society has pushed this idea onto us that if a man does something nice and helpful for a woman, she owes him something in return. It starts young for us too; it reminds me of promposals. For teenagers, prom is often their first date. Picture this: everyone is crowding around a girl during a moment that draws so much attention to her, and she dares to say she’s not interested in front of all those people who are pretty much pressuring her to go on this date. And when she says no, many people take the guy’s side. Matters are even worse if this was shared online and it becomes public scrutiny. This issue is so bad that there are numerous posts online advising teenage girls on how they are allowed to tell a guy “no” if he asks her to prom.
“Well, he did this really nice thing for you; why didn’t you say yes?”
Girls can turn down dates they don’t want to go on. It is just that simple. Women do not have to pursue romance with any man they don’t want to. No matter what he did for her. Telling girls and women that they should date someone because they did something special for them is policing their autonomy. And we have got to stop doing that.
Saving Kayo Didn’t Mean Satoru Was Entitled to Her Love
Given the context of Erased, the situation is very sensitive. So it’s understandable that viewers’ emotions are running high regarding the characters. The main purpose of Satoru going back in time was to stop the murders of his mother and classmates. Including Kayo. His saving of her is focused on a platonic friendship. As blunt as it sounds, she is not obligated to date and marry him because he helped her out of an abusive household. If you think a man is owed romance because he supported a woman during a rough stage of her life, then you have a lot to unpack when it comes to how you view women.
Nothing about Kayo was ungracious. And I am sick of people acting like she was because she didn’t end up with Satoru. Sure, at times in the series she was in a low mood and was wary of Satou. She didn’t fully understand why he wanted to be her friend all of a sudden, but overall she was appreciative. Even when a girl or woman is kind, fandom is still nitpicking every last decision she makes. As we saw, Kayo was very grateful for what Satou did for her when she came to visit him in the hospital with her son after he finally woke up from the coma. That being said, she is not obligated to be in a romantic relationship with him. And she for sure did not have to have his baby. Kayo’s life is about herself, not Satoru.
Gaku Yashiro Was the Villain, Not Kayo Hinazuki
For a series whose main antagonist is considered pure evil, if we are going based on the manga, and near pure evil if we are going based on the anime, you would think fans would have more to say about Gaku than Kayo. Gaku literally tried to drown Satoru, but fandom wants to throw a fit because Kayo decided to marry Satoru’s friend. One of these is not like the other! One isn’t an issue, and the other is atrocious! Just as Kayo did not owe Satoru marriage for saving her life, women do not owe you romance for something nice you did for them. You’re supposed to be a decent person in general, not because you think it will get someone to date you.
