A World Without Women:A Feminist Critique of a Shōnen Battle Manga

Timothy LewisCTSJ 210: Mother Goose to Myspace

Prof. ChristianakisFebruary 25, 2015

1

A Note on Translations and Pagination:Toriko, like many shōnen manga, is subject to a process called “scanlation,”

whereby, the weekly texts from Japan are scanned and translated into English—usually ahead of their official release in Japan. This semi-legal process exists as a mechanism to overcome the publisher’s (in this case Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd.) economic reticence to translate the text into a variety of languages, as well as a practice known as “region-locking”—which literally restricts a text from certain regions, usually because of difficult-to-navigate obscenity laws. The translations of Toriko used in this paper fall under the category of unofficial translations because the official texts are difficult to obtain mainly because there are large number of chapters that have not been translated, yet. Readers will note, then, that the translators credited in this essay are credited by their Internet personas, and not their real names. As such, there are various translators, particularly because the series has been running for almost eight years. These translations are reliable because the manga community is extremely large and self-regulating—it mostly operates through a series of Internet forums that are frequently moderated by long-standing members. As for the pagination, since the author of this paper does not have access to the official volumes of Toriko, the pagination will refer to the online pages, as noted in the url for each chapter.

The entire series of Toriko can be found at this link (for Chapter 1, onwards); it is updated weekly:http://bato.to/comic/_/comics/toriko-r107

2

Toriko is a shōnen battle-style manga by Shimabukuro Mitsutoshi that has been in

serialization since 2008 in the leading provider of shōnen stories, Weekly Shōnen Jump;

the series is currently on Chapter 317 (released officially, Monday, February 23rd, 2015).

The still-continuing story revolves around the titular hero and his chef-combo-partner

Komatsu’s adventures in a world that is in The Gourmet Age; that is to say, everything in

the world of Toriko—from the architecture to the celebrities—is dependent on humanity’s

relationship with food and cooking. Ironically, in this world of abundance and seemingly

infinite resources, there is an almost absolute lack of individuals who could be described

as female characters. This will be the point of departure of this paper: In Toriko , there are

no female characters because any individual in the story who meets the standards for

“female” fails to meet the standards for having character—since the women in

positive/heroic positions do not self-actualize in any moment in the text—through the

examples of three women in the text: Rin, the beast tamer; Setsuno, the Human National

Treasure; and Melk the Second, the kitchen-knife craftsmaker.

Before an analysis can go any further, it is important to have a contextualized

understanding of shōnen as a genre, as well as the audience for this style of text. Shōnen

manga is a type of graphic novel that is typically is offered as a literary encounter for

elementary-age to fifteen-year-old Japanese boys; some would liken it to American pulp

fiction. The common characteristics of shōnen manga involve a male protagonist

pursuing their manifest destiny across a vast, dangerous world with their various

compatriots—this is not a genre that operates well when its characters are flat. Shōnen

manga are often also characterized by a cast of zany/quirky characters who introduce

readers to a variety of new ideas and possible worldviews, for example, in Toriko, readers

3

are presented with three different ontological models in the protagonist, Toriko’s (non-

nuclear) family: his three adopted brothers (Coco, Sani, and Zebra) approach food (and

therefore, the world) from the starting point of luck, beauty, and violence, respectively.

Unlike some manga in the shōnen genre like Yu-gi-oh or Detective Conan/Case Closed,

Toriko is a battle manga, which necessitates a level of violence that is uncommon in most

Western elementary school texts; in battle manga, people get hurt, bleed, and die. This

closeness to death and violence separates shōnen battle manga from traditional

elementary school texts in a way that allows it to capture the attention of readers through

sensationalized acts of violence—in fact, that is the selling point for Toriko. With a better

understanding of the genre, it is now possible to engage the text in a way that

contextualizes its position towards its readers, as well as its literary purpose.

In Toriko, men are willed into being. There are no women who are demonstrably

mothers—and the only woman who has had a child, Chiyo of Shokurin Temple, lost the

child and turned to an evil organization (the Bishokakai, or Gourmet Corporation) to find

a phantasmal food that is rumored to be able to return the dead to life. Keeping in mind

that Toriko is published weekly, readers would be surprised upon realizing that not a

single woman or female form appears in Toriko until the second to last page of Chapter 7

(Shimabukuro, 2008, 1-20); this is particularly relevant when the practice of selling

mastered versions of the text is concerned, since in the 203-pages of the first volume

(which contains Chapters 1-7), or collection of chapters for public consumption outside

the serialized magazine Shōnen Jump, female bodies appear in one panel on page 202.

These individuals are random, silent (they do not even have an attributable sound effect,

which is another trope in shōnen manga), and looking for their future husbands; they rely

4

on Toriko’s brother, Coco, to tell their fortunes and help them find the man of their

dreams (Shimabukuro, 2008, 18). In the wake of this, readers continue to only

experience women as important only in their relationship to men—in fact, the first words

said by a female form in Toriko are “Kyaa, Coco-sama <3!” (Shimabukuro, 2008, 3)

These women exist as pure love-objects, this permeates their being down to their

discourse being punctuated with hearts. There are no women leaders in the world

government, the main antagonistic organization in the series, the eight king beasts of the

world, or in the official arbiters of taste, the G7—women do not have a stake in the world

of Toriko; the Gourmet Age is not for them.

It is not until Chapter 22 (Shimabukuro, 2009, 8) that a female individual

becomes relevant to the plot of the story—that is to say, it is not until almost half a year

into serialization that a woman has a role in Toriko that transcends the role of the

background. Rin is a member of the International Gourmet Organization (IGO; the world

government in the Toriko universe); she works as a wild beast manager in the Gourmet

Coliseum (a place where the leaders of various countries watch and gamble on animals

killing each other) where she was in-charge of stimulating and relaxing the animals with

a variety of hormones, pheromones, and other perfumes. Her power and abilities as a

fighter are not dependent on her physical capabilities, but instead, on the vigor of the

perfumes that she manipulates. Rin, for no stated reason, is absolutely infatuated with

Toriko to a point where it can be said that her very existence is tied to her relationship

with Toriko—this is even taken to an extreme biological level, when she, dying from a

massive abdominal wound, is able to be revived from a kiss from Toriko because her

cells react favorably to contact with his flesh/essence.

5

Rin has an opportunity to transcend this locked ontology in her relationship with

her boss, Mansam (an ineffectual, vulnerable, and balding man who constantly asks

people if they addressed him as “handsome”); Rin does not listen to Mansam when he

instructs her to relax the beasts during one of the battles in the Gourmet Coliseum. Rin

tells Mansam to “shut-up” and calls him “baldy” because she is preparing her make-up

for Toriko (Shimabukuro, 2009, 1-20); naturally, for failing to listen to the “good advice”

of men, she is punished in the eyes of the reader by being presented as a bad woman-

worker who puts others in danger because she cannot control her female emotions. The

entire Coliseum has to be evacuated because instead of wordlessly obeying her boss, she

chose to “… think, act, initiate, confront, resist, challenge, feel, care, or question.”

(Dworkin, 1974, p. 42) Rin continues this trajectory as Toriko’s inactivated love object

throughout the series, for example: in Chapter 29, Rin goes into an emotional frenzy

because Toriko said her name (Shimabukuro, 2009, 1-20); in Chapter 30, Rin chastises

her biological brother Sani for touching Toriko (Shimabukuro, 2009, 1-20); in Chapter

38, Rin, watching Toriko massage his pet wolf Terry Cloth, wishes to herself that she

could be like the animal, so that Toriko would rub his hands (and therefore, actualize) on

her body (Shimabukuro, 2009, 1-20). This continued and shallow love routine continues

until Chapter 266 when Toriko non-chalantly agrees to Rin’s random marriage proposal

(Shimabukuro, 2014, 1-18); Rin then takes on the position of a bride-to-be, which

continues the negation of her identity as an individual woman.

Rin does not meet the standard for a female character because she does not self-

actualize at any point in the manga; purely her relation to a world of men defines her.

This is even more true when one considers the fact that the author never allows her to

6

succeed in battle or in her job: in Chapter 23, instead of managing the perfumes, she does

her make-up to impress Toriko (Shimabukuro, 2009, 1-20); in Chapter 30, the first

conversation that her beauty obsessed brother has with her is about how she is fat and

undesirable (Shimabukuro, 2009, 1-20), in Chapter 38, Rin is helping Toriko fight an

enemy creature, but instead of weakening it, she only makes it angry (Shimabukuro,

2009, 1-20); finally, when faced with a battle with one of the strongest people in the

world, the evil Starjun, her attack completely misses and Starjun gores her through the

abdomen—effectively eliminating her as a sexual subject (Shimabukuro, 2009, 1-20).

Particularly in the moment where Rin faces Starjun does she go through the patriarchal

motions for women in children’s texts because “First they are objects of malice [Rin’s

goring], then they are objects of romantic adoration [being saved by Toriko’s love].”

(Dworkin, 1974, p. 42)

There are a handful of other women in Toriko; however, none are as prominent as

Setsuno, the Human National Treasure. Setsuno is one of the four people in the world of

Toriko whose very existence is fundamental to the world: she is considered the greatest

living chef. However, in only being defined by her work, Setsuno also does not exist as a

“character;” she guides Toriko and his chef-partner Komatsu to rare ingredients and

powerful people, but she never expresses her hopes and dreams, or meets any of the other

standards for character in Dworkin’s perspective. Setsuno is positioned as a mentor/fairy

to Toriko and Komatsu, since “She is beautiful, good, and unearthly. Mostly, she

disappears.” (Dworkin, 1974, p. 42) Like Rin, the only time that Setsuno expresses desire

or ambition is when she thinks about her on-again-off-again boyfriend, Jirou (one of the

three strongest individuals in the Toriko world) (Shimabukuro, 2010, 1-20); also like Rin,

7

she is presented as a helpless in a fight when she was a young woman (Shimabukuro,

2010, 1-20). Setsuno is later presented as a capable fighter, who can manipulate the air

pressure around her; however, her main battle is with another woman (Chiyo) who is

jealous of Setsuno’s title (Shimabukuro, 2013, 1-20). This is not a battle between rivals in

a field, but instead, between images of women as petty and fragile objects of division.

Later, too, Setsuno takes the lead against one of the series’ final villains, Joa;

however, Joa is so strong that Setsuno must rely on Jirou to save her from the only

potentially self-actualized woman: the villain, Joa. There would be more to discuss about

Joa; however, since Joa is an end-of-series villain, all of her motivations, aspirations,

thoughts, and beliefs have not yet been revealed to readers; although it is interesting to

see how well Joa fits into the category of the “bad woman” from Dworkin’s piece, since

she prepares a human man’s head as the main course for a meal at the conclusion of one

of her battles (Shimabukuro, 2013, 1-20)—“She, the evil persona, is a cannibal. … She is

devouring and the male must not be devoured.” (Dworkin, 1974, p. 48) There would be

more to say about Setsuno, if her past had been presented to the reader; unfortunately,

Setsuno was seemingly willed into existence from thin-air as a “limiter” on the powerful

Jirou (Shimabukuro, 2014, 1-20).

Finally, Toriko offers readers Melk the Second as a potential female character; the

daughter of the great knife-sharpener, Melk. Melk the Second is from her name to her

actualization, a male object. After Komatsu’s kitchen knife (equated to the soul, the

phallus) breaks, he and Toriko seek-out the legendary smithy Melk. When they arrive at

Melk’s residence, Toriko challenges the authenticity of Melk the Second (who is calling

herself Melk the first) and meets her with violence (Shimabukuro, 2011, 1-21). The bad

8

woman is destroyed and the good woman, “… a victim” (Dworkin, 1974, p. 48) is born.

Melk the Second spends most of her time in the presence of Komatsu—a weak and

frightened character meant to display the reader’s psyche as it confronts the

ridiculousness of the Toriko world. Komatsu, even in his state of total anti-masculinity,

still manages to position and understand Melk the Second as a woman-victim, uttering

lines like, “Things like you being a woman…don’t matter do they?” (Shimabukuro, 2011,

1-20) or (after her actualization as a patriarchal object) “… she doesn’t need to behave

like a man anymore … she could just act normally like a girl now…” (Shimabukuro,

2011, 1-20). Even after creating a knife that can split mountains for Komatsu, Melk the

Second is restricted to a female body dependent on male approval and existence—the

message she carves into the knife, her mark as an artisan, exists as a “…symbol of her

deep thanks and respect towards Komatsu.” (Shimabukuro, 2011, 1-20) After the ten

chapters or so that Toriko and Komatsu spend with Melk the Second, she disappears for

the remainder of the series—only to show-up as a fan/supporter of Komatsu and Toriko

on rare occasion.

There are two women in Toriko with smaller roles (in terms of allotted page time)

who also fill the role of a non-self actualized woman: the Warden of Honey Prison, Love;

and the God of Chefs, Frohze. Love very much parallels Rin in her powers, personality,

and position as a female object in a male world: she has masterful control over her

pheromones, which allow her to subjugate men with a pseudo-erotic image; she is

combative towards most men, particularly her boss (the President of the IGO); and she is

in subject-shattering love with Zebra, the human manifestation of the God of Death. Love

is in every way possible enraptured by her demise; a demise that scorns her and infuriates

9

her. Additionally, there is the God of Chefs, Frohze; Frohze is the only other mother in

the series besides Chiyo. Frohze is positioned as a resource to the God of the Toriko

world—but, she is only as good as the food that she can cook. Like all of the good

women in fairy tales, Frohze dies helping her adopted son with his battle wounds “—…

the only good woman is a dead woman.” (Dworkin, 1974, p. 41)

In this story without female characters, all that remains are the values of the

masculine gourmand and the non-stop replication of brutal violence. Absent women, that

is all that can remain is an endlessly shallow consumptive force. The world of Toriko is

one of many kings: there are the Four Heavenly Kings (Toriko and his brothers), the

Eight King Species (the strongest animals in the world) and the kings of various, warring

countries. In the world with no queens, there is only bloodshed and materialism—in this

way, Toriko functions as a cautionary tale: a fairy tale with a moral. The moral of the

story: masculine desires or perspectives should not define a woman’s character; rather

than continuing to exist under the thumb of disciplinary power, women should be free to

self-actualize. Only then, with an idea of the Self that is disconnected from masculinist

truths, can the world begin to move again.

10

References

Dworkin, A. (1974). Woman Hating. New York, NY: Penguin Group

Mitsutoshi, S. (2008) Chapter 7: At Hotel Gourmet!! In Toriko (Caeserpk, Trans.) (pp. 1-

20). Retrieved from http://bato.to/comic/_/comics/toriko-r107

Mitsutoshi, S. (2008) Chapter 9: The Days of the Four Heavenly Kings!! In Toriko

(Caeserpk, Trans.) (pp. 1-17). Retrieved from

http://bato.to/comic/_/comics/toriko-r107

Mitsutoshi, S. (2009) Chapter 22: Battle Wolf!! In Toriko (Kewl0210, Trans.) (pp. 1-17).

Retrieved from http://bato.to/comic/_/comics/toriko-r107

Mitsutoshi, S. (2009) Chapter 23: Welcome!! In Toriko (Kewl0210, Trans.) (pp. 1-19).

Retrieved from http://bato.to/comic/_/comics/toriko-r107

Mitsutoshi, S. (2009) Chapter 29: Meal In Toriko (Kewl0210, Trans.) (pp. 1-19).

Retrieved from http://bato.to/comic/_/comics/toriko-r107

Mitsutoshi, S. (2009) Chapter 30: Sunny! In Toriko (Kewl0210, Trans.) (pp. 1-18).

Retrieved from http://bato.to/comic/_/comics/toriko-r107

Mitsutoshi, S. (2009) Chapter 38: Devil Athletics In Toriko (Kewl0210, Trans.) (pp. 1-

19). Retrieved from http://bato.to/comic/_/comics/toriko-r107

Mitsutoshi, S. (2009) Chapter 48: The Worst Encounter!! In Toriko (Kewl0210, Trans.)

(pp. 1-19). Retrieved from http://bato.to/comic/_/comics/toriko-r107

Mitsutoshi, S. (2010) Chapter 65: Gourmet Living National Treasure Setsuno!!In Toriko

(Kewl0210, Trans.) (pp. 1-15). Retrieved from

http://bato.to/comic/_/comics/toriko-r107

11

Mitsutoshi, S. (2010) Chapter 97: Miracle Answer!! In Toriko (Kewl0210, Trans.) (pp. 1-

20). Retrieved from http://bato.to/comic/_/comics/toriko-r107

Mitsutoshi, S. (2011) Chapter 117: The Secret of the Stardust!! In Toriko (Kewl0210,

Trans.) (pp. 1-21). Retrieved from http://bato.to/comic/_/comics/toriko-r107

Mitsutoshi, S. (2011) Chapter 122: The "Real" Melk!! In Toriko (Kewl0210, Trans.) (pp.

1-20). Retrieved from http://bato.to/comic/_/comics/toriko-r107

Mitsutoshi, S. (2011) Chapter 124: Knife Complete!! In Toriko (Kewl0210, Trans.) (pp.

1-20). Retrieved from http://bato.to/comic/_/comics/toriko-r107

Mitsutoshi, S. (2013) Chapter 208: Trying the Four Beasts!! In Toriko (Kewl0210,

Trans.) (pp. 1-19). Retrieved from http://bato.to/comic/_/comics/toriko-r107

Mitsutoshi, S. (2013) Chapter 222: A Catastrophic Joker Card!! In Toriko (Kewl0210,

Trans.) (pp. 1-17). Retrieved from http://bato.to/comic/_/comics/toriko-r107

Mitsutoshi, S. (2014) Chapter 252: Acacia's Fairy Tales!! In Toriko (Kewl0210, Trans.)

(pp. 1-20). Retrieved from http://bato.to/comic/_/comics/toriko-r107

Mitsutoshi, S. (2014) Chapter 266: The Final Treasure Chest!! In Toriko (Kewl0210,

Trans.) (pp. 1-18). Retrieved from http://bato.to/comic/_/comics/toriko-r107

12