Anaglyph’s Anime Appraisals

Introduction

It was only a short time after I first started watching anime that I became aware of the phenomenon known as the “trap”. My curiosity was piqued by the evident fascination these traps held for ostensibly heterosexual males and the resulting cognitive dissonance that was displayed, not to mention the fact that I myself was not immune to this process; hence I began to study the phenomenon. With this analysis I shall attempt to explain why these traps have such a power over the heterosexual psyche and how any cognitive dissonance might be resolved. Rather than addressing traps in general, I shall focus the study on a single character: Mizuho Miyanokoji from Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru. Mizuho is an unusual example of a trap in that his true gender is not obscured, to be revealed at a later date, but is instead disclosed at the beginning of the anime. Despite this, his power to ensnare is not diminished.

Materials and Methods

A screenshot will be used to carry out a topographical analysis of the trap’s physical construction. Note that the topography is simplified so that the calculations involved are transparent to the layman; the results lie within an acceptable margin of error when compared to a more detailed and thorough analysis.

Drawing from a widely accepted study carried out by Kleistermann and Beerbaum, I shall examine the psychology that lies behind the cognitive dissonance that traps cause in heterosexual males and the resulting justifications, and even denials, often expressed.

Results

- Topography

Using a grid and the simple formula Area = Length * Width, the percentages of the three topographical classes that comprise the trap were calculated. Colour-coding is used for clarity: yellow shows female areas, red shows male, and blue shows areas of gender ambiguity.

This last topographic class is not always present in traps, but with the equivocal nature of the data presented by the anime, the ambiguity can not as yet be resolved. That is to say, while the data initially seemed to suggest the use of padding or external prostheses, which would resolve into male, later sightings of the area seem to suggest the use of implanted prostheses, in which case arguments for either classification could be made; the use of hormones is even possible, which would certainly resolve the ambiguity into female.

The results of the topographical analysis show that Mizuho is comprised of 94.55% female, 4.24% gender ambiguous, and 1.21% male.

Pie chart of the results:

- Psychology

Kleistermann and Beerbaum’s work Anomalous Sexual Attraction: A Theory Of Taboo showed that the power of attraction inherent in any taboo (whether societal or personal) is diminished by its inherent aversive nature; therefore, depending on the ratio between the two (which varies for any given individual), the taboo becomes more, or less attractive than it would be if its status as taboo were to be nullified. From this can be derived the formula Attraction + Aversion = Inhibition. The greater the difference between Attraction and Inhibition, the greater the cognitive dissonance experienced.

Analysis

From these results we can see that several elements of attraction and aversion are present in our example Mizuho. Anatomically he’s ninety-five-percent female, resulting in a high level of physical attractiveness; however, the one-percent of male anatomy has a stronger impact than might be expected due to the taboo nature that it imparts on Mizuho. The taboo, of course, also has its own elements of attraction and aversion.

All these elements of attraction and aversion work together to create cognitive dissonance in the heterosexual male that finds himself with a homosexual attraction towards the trap. When the cognitive dissonance is negligible the trapee will be content with their state of arousal and feel little psychological need to justify it. As the cognitive dissonance grows, so too does the complexity of the justifications used to relieve psychological stress, until a point is reached where only outright denial of the trap’s authentic gender can save the individual from psychological collapse.

Conclusion

Traps are fun.

In the words of the great Captain Sisko of DS9:

The Sisko is wise

I can live with it.