Seiko-chan ~ Lovely Complex’s Portrayal of Traps and Transgenderism
Lovely Complex is definitely a great comedy show that is very sweet, but one of the things that struck me the most is its portrayal of the transgendered girl Kotobuki Seiko. Of all the shows I watched, LoveCom does it the best (though I haven’t watched Hourou Musuko yet so can’t compare that). Seiko-chan is my all time favorite trap!
Note: I know that the ‘proper’, ‘politically correct’ term is a transgendered person, but I prefer to use the term trap because it sounds better to me in a phonetical/acoustical sense. It’s short and concise. Transgendered sounds weak, trap sound snappy – plus I can say that I’m going to TrapSlap someone.Seiko is a new student just entering the school, and falls for the male lead after he saves her from a dog. At one point she loses control and kisses him. Nobody knew that she’s a trap yet though, so Otani (the guy) became all cocky for a while.
The reveal where they dropped a Bridget on him happened in the infirmary where Seiko was trying to seduce Otani and took her shirt off. Seeing that she’s completely flat and is biologically male, combined with the fact that she had just kissed him a few days ago (which I assume to be his first kiss too), he FAINTS!
Although she was very straightforward in her quest for Otani, Seiko actually has a lot of concerns about her body. She thinks of herself as a girl, and believes that she was just placed in the wrong body. She knows that a lot of people will disapprove and think that it’s disgusting for her to like a guy, and she said that one of the reasons she fell for Otani was because she thought that he was someone who can accept her wholeheartedly. Being biologically male makes it complicated but she still tries hard.
She was confronted by some fans of Otani that asked her if she was going out with him, and after she said no they went away commenting to each other “there’s no way those two could be dating right” referring to how Seiko is biologically male.
Although Seiko didn’t say anything, Risa, the female lead, stepped in against them and called them out for being judgmental and rude. Up until now Seiko was only seen as being cheerful and happy, but she then breaks down and cries.
Such a heart-wrenching moment. Although the scenes are just a small amount of discrimination, when placed in the context of them being in a comedy show it shows that this is a society isn’t a particularly accepting society. Hell, even in an accepting society instances like these still hurt.
A lot of anime portray being a trap as an attractive quality, sometimes even with a group of fans. Reality is very different, and traps have to deal with acceptance issues. Rather than a group of fans, it’s much more likely to have a group of people beating you up. That feeling of not being accepted for who you are, on something as fundamental to a person’s identity as gender… makes me shudder just to remember.
Even after realizing that Seiko is a trap, the others still treat her normally as a girl. Although Otani doesn’t end up dating her, he says he doesn’t hate her nor does he think she’s disgusting. He even said that cheer girls are cute as a compliment. Because Seiko’s in a different year she doesn’t appear with the main cast very often, but when she does everyone treats her normally as a girl. The part about her being a trap doesn’t even come up later (except maybe in a few fights with the annoying no balls guy), and isn’t used as a gag. Seiko is just like any other girl. And that’s the way it’s supposed to be.
Note: The term used was ‘otoko no ko’ which might’ve meant trap/crossdresser, but I’m no expert so I’m not sure what the right translation would be.
Seiko-chan is very cute and sweet, even down to her voice. I remember the first time I saw her appear I went to the FB wall of a friend who already watched LoveCom and screamed “WHY CAN’T I BE AS CUTE AS SEIKO-CHAN WHY WHY WHY LIFE IS NOT FAIR!”. Even the other characters in the show called her cute, and Risa laments at how Seiko is way cuter than she is (OH HOW I FEEL YOUR PAIN). Although there are some very cute traps out there IRL, few of us look like girls, and usually don’t sound like girls unless they’re 1. very lucky or 2. had a lot of voice training. SCCSAVages would know how ugly my voice is (FUCK. YOU. PUBERTY&TESTOSTERONE.). But I digress.
I love Seiko, if I met her in real life I would totally pick her up and take her home! A trap-and-trap couple would be awesome, right?
Yup totally awesome!
Posted on December 29, 2011, in @Anya@, Anime and tagged Anime, Lovely Complex, Transgender, Transgendered, Trap, Traps. Bookmark the permalink. 12 Comments.
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Having never encountered a character like Seiko before, I was pretty shocked by the revelation. It fooled me, it really did.
She’s so cuteeeeeeeeee ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It’s ’cause most of the time they reveal right away that the character is a trap, and the trap is treated as a joke/idol rather than a normal person. She’s just another girl, who just happens to have a different body. She’s not looking to advertise it.
Slightly related, I fooled my fair share of people at AX, maybe I’ll tell the stories one day~ They were hilarious experiences.
Thanks for reading and commenting! ^^
EVERYTHING YOU JUST SAID! I feel the exact same way! As transgender person too, I worry about a lot of the same things. Will I ever be pretty enough? Will guys ever date me? Will they see me as a girl, or just a weird cross-dresser? It does hurt, it really does. So when I first saw her, I was pretty amazed! Very rarely are these issues done right. AND SHE IS SO CUTE! I wanna look like that soooooo much!
You should REALLY REALLY read/watch Hourou Musuko. The manga is better because it covers the whole story, whereas the anime is just part, but both are really great.
I used to be anxious like that, but I just go after whoever I like anyways and make them understand. My issue’s more with a lack of valid targets.
As for Hourou Musuko, I watched an ep (or maybe 2-3), and found this one hates that one because of this one, who likes that one but that one likes that one who hates this one who blarghahkghalsdflkjsdkfjsdk I quit. I don’t like drama.
While I might not share in to much of this subject I know what it feels like to be well pushed aside due to well physical appearances. In the past year I have slowly opened up a bit more about my physical problems and the whole wheelchair thing, throughout my High school days I never had any dates or girlfriends. most people see a chair and probably think oh they are either “lazy” or mentally challenged! Which sucks but I do believe there is someone out there for us…yeah it may take a while and that is the zzzz part.
However I hope you find someone Anya! We all deserve a bit of happiness <3 But thanks for sharing a bit more about yourself! I can relate to some of your troubles maybe not all of them but yeah.
Great post! It is nice to find shows you can relate to.
Yeah, society often has too much emphasis on a person’s physical appearance.
LOL, this post shares VERY little about myself, because I don’t want to detract from the anime itself. Lovely Complex and Seiko-chan are the star of this post, not me. This post from when I just entered college has a lot more sharing of stuff http://fortyfourfennecs.com/2010/09/25/future-in-my-hands/ (it’s a repost of an essay I wrote for a class). Though I’m pretty open all the time anyways, I have no filter on what I say to people XD
Yeah I hope I can find someone compatible, though I usually get rejected. Don’t have a target right now, but when I do, I jump at them (not literally though LOL).
Yup it’s definitely nice to find shows we can relate to. Thanks for commenting! =)
Seiko’s breakdown is one of my favorite parts of LovCom, too often trap’s are just joke characters and to poke fun at them is their purpose in the show but that shit hurts for anyone and i was glad to see it handled so thoughtfully, I’d give Seiko a hug anyday, she’s a sweet girl.
Yeah, that breakdown for me was like I FEEL YOUR PAINNNNNNNNN. Yeah, we’re made fun of all too often. I don’t mind some light humor headed my way (lots of funny trap stories from when I went to AX!), but the way they do it in media is too much. And I don’t think there’s anyone who WOULDN’T give Seiko a hug, she’s so cute and sweet >.<~ I would take her home!
Oh god, you surely reminded me of this great series. I loved it when I first watched it years ago, I still remember how much I lol’d to know that Seiko was a trap…:D
Yeah this show is pretty much one-of-a-kind, nothing else seems to come close to the kind of comedy it has.
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