WARNING: This article contains discussions of sexual assault and pedophilia.
Shonen Jump manga are targeted at young boys, which makes its new series Ghost Reaper Girl, from Rosario + Vampire creator Akihisa Ikeda, rather questionable for its target audience... and everyone else. Based around a wannabe celebrity who comes face-to-face with a legion of harassing ghosts, the story so far has several very problematic elements. Given how issues of sexual harassment and pedophilia are handled in the book, it's questionable why and how Shonen Jump managed to go ahead with the series!
Ghosts in the Shell
The story starts with young upstart celebrity Chloe Love, who's trying yet again to make it big in the entertainment industry. Unfortunately for her, the producer she's meeting with is possessed by several perverted ghosts, who jut out from his mouth in a disgustingly phallic manner. Chloe is able to fend him off, but he simply strikes back with an army of ghost perverts. The allusions to the unfortunate reality of casting couch grooming and assault within the movie industry are certainly timely and topical, but they aren't exactly handled in a serious manner.
Especially given how raw and adult this topic is, having it handled in such a cheap, exploitative way is uninteresting at best, and offensive at worst. Even the responsible treatment of this topic would be questionable in series aimed toward young boys, and this is not the responsible treatment. There's also the fact that, by virtue of his actions being conducted under the auspices of possession, the Harvey Weinstein-esque producer is essentially cleared of any wrongdoing. This is despite the fact that Chloe makes it clear that she's had to deal with this before, so it's not a problem that can simply be blamed on the ethereal.
Lolicon Sidekick
Also problematic is Chloe's sidekick. Kai Iod informs Chloe of the situation involving the ghosts, as well as informing her that she is a spirit medium that the creatures can channels themselves through. For this, they target her in large numbers, hoping to take over her body until Kai intervenes. Kai constantly refers to himself as a "gentleman," namely one concerned with the modesty and well-being of Chloe.
However, he's also a self-proclaimed "lolicon," which is someone who is sexually attracted to underage girls. This is mentioned in relation to Chloe herself looking like a teenager, despite being nearly 30. The heroine's defenseless before being saved by this so-called gentleman - who's design simply begs for a fedora - is bad enough, but making him a pedophile is incredibly worrisome. Needless to say, it's not exactly the type of material that many would consider appropriate for the target audience.
Shonen Jump should be wary of publishing such material, given its continued relationship with Nobuhiro Watsuki. This mangaka, who created the hit samurai series Rurouni Kenshin, was convicted a few years ago of possessing child pornography. Despite this controversy, Shonen Jump eventually resumed publication of Kenshin. This puts the magazine's handling of sexual misconduct in question, and only makes Ghost Sweeper Girl even ickier.
If you are a U.S.-based victim of sexual assault or misconduct in need of help, contact RAINN at 800-656-4673 to be connected with a trained staff member from a sexual assault service provider in your area. If you are based outside the U.S., click here for a list of international sexual assault resources