The 1,000 Year Old Woman - Oneshot

[MangaDex]

 

[Miltris]

More wholesome than I thought it would be

 

[Voyvoy_]

Outside of 2 moments that felt really tone deaf (the idea that ugly girls aren't sexually harassed and how easily the guy quits drinking) its a really good revenge horror story.

 

[Vainfire]

But don’t you quiver
I am an instrument
I am revenge
I am several women

 

[Vainfire]

On a more serious note: did you know that Prohibition occurred in America in part due to the efforts of women campaigners, who saw an end to alcohol as bringing about an end to domestic violence? Of course it didn't work—the root of gendered violence is the way that society creates situations where women are controlled and suborned by men: by their husbands, by their peers, by random strangers on the train.

I think it matters a LOT that this story was written by a woman, and presents a very particular fantasy of the "1,000 year old woman." This is in part because of the problem of reporting and retributive justice in real life: a wife who speaks up about an abusive husband admits her own fault in being unable to soothe him, to take care of his needs—because society places this responsibility on wives. A girl who speaks up about being molested is damaged goods, she's a ho. Furthermore, consider what happens to a wife whose husband is locked up: she loses her household income, she loses a man she once loved. It's a difficult situation.

The fantasy, then, is a source of retributive, restorative justice (she fixes the problem, but keeps the people around) which the female victim does NOT need to report to, does not even need to define the problem OUT LOUD to. The problem can be "solved" while going unspoken, without needing to involve a system of justice that has, traditionally, posed a great source of harm to female victims. The male perpetrator can be hurt to the point of feeling empathy, but not in such a way that causes problems for their victims. It's an intense form of wish fulfillment that comes from a place of equally intense hurt.

I think most girls have wished for something like this at least once in their life.

 

[sleepyknight]

On a more serious note: did you know that Prohibition occurred in America in part due to the efforts of women campaigners, who saw an end to alcohol as bringing about an end to domestic violence? Of course it didn't work—the root of gendered violence is the way that society creates situations where women are controlled and suborned by men: by their husbands, by their peers, by random strangers on the train.

I think it matters a LOT that this story was written by a woman, and presents a very particular fantasy of the "1,000 year old woman." This is in part because of the problem of reporting and retributive justice in real life: a wife who speaks up about an abusive husband admits her own fault in being unable to soothe him, to take care of his needs—because society places this responsibility on wives. A girl who speaks up about being molested is damaged goods, she's a ho. Furthermore, consider what happens to a wife whose husband is locked up: she loses her household income, she loses a man she once loved. It's a difficult situation.

The fantasy, then, is a source of retributive, restorative justice (she fixes the problem, but keeps the people around) which the female victim does NOT need to report to, does not even need to define the problem OUT LOUD to. The problem can be "solved" while going unspoken, without needing to involve a system of justice that has, traditionally, posed a great source of harm to female victims. The male perpetrator can be hurt to the point of feeling empathy, but not in such a way that causes problems for their victims. It's an intense form of wish fulfillment that comes from a place of equally intense hurt.

I think most girls have wished for something like this at least once in their life.

i fully agree with your comment, however, hino hideshi is a man. still, its notable that a man born in postwar japan espoused feminist sentiments more earnestly than many supposedly progressive western young men today. especially when you consider the place which japan and showa era gender dynamics hold in the western imagination

 

[Vainfire]

i fully agree with your comment, however, hino hideshi is a man. still, its notable that a man born in postwar japan espoused feminist sentiments more earnestly than many supposedly progressive western young men today. especially when you consider the place which japan and showa era gender dynamics hold in the western imagination

That's embarrassing on my part LMAO. I should do more basic research into the author's biographical details before assuming things like that—it just always feels like cheating, like the artist should speak to the audience only through their art.