Today we’re doing something a little different. I sincerely mean that. too, because while it might seem that Dick Fight Island by Reibun Ike, is as far from Yuri as you could get, it has more in common with some of the issues I’ve talked about here on Okazu, than not.
Some while back I did an article on problematic content and why you may still enjoy it, you should also be aware that your enjoyment comes at the price of someone else’s dehumanization or, perhaps, trauma.
Dick Fight Island (it’s Japanese title is a much more staid “8 Fighters”) is a story about Haruto, a young man who comes from a small archipelago of 8 islands, where once every 4 years a representative is chosen to “fight” in order to become the King of the Islands. The form of battle is a sex contest in which the winner makes the loser ejaculate first. This is entirely representative of world politics and also utterly ridiculous at the same time. ^_^
Haruto has a lover on the “outside,” but he returns home to participate in the battle. That is basically 98.5% of the plot. Most of the book are the “battles” themselves, which, like the premise, are ridiculous. But when the battle part is done, it turns out that there’s a series of romances inside. Haruto’s lover arrives on the island and they are reunited, other pairs that were working out stuff in the battles live happily every after and I’m thinking that maybe just everyone could have kept the old king without all this mishegas.
The art in this volume was outstanding, honestly. Even aside from creative dick armor, the designs of the battle costuming was lovely and utterly exploitative. The fighters wore the male equivalent of elaborate chain mail bikini for female fighters. There was no question that this was supposed to be that very thing, and done beautifully.
And then there are the “battles” themselves. If you can imagine gay porn where the participants have sex in an arena, and they and people around them comment on their techniques, you have the idea. I was reminded of a current manga running in Comic Yuri Hime called “Asumi-chan is interested in lesbian sex work!” (彩純ちゃんはレズ風俗に興味があります！) where different kinds of sex play are “explained” through teaching Asumi her job. In both cases, the “explaining” isn’t making the act any sexier, in my opinion, it just casts the audience in the role of innocent/clueless voyeur. I imagine, based on how many porn stories utilize this role for the viewer, that it’s a popular one. Frankly, I far preferred the snark-filled worldliness of Sakuran. (I don’t think I ever reviewed it, but Kate Dacey’s review is a very good one.) When sex is stripped of intimacy, I’m inclined to accept thinking it of as a business more readily than as a contest.
I felt kind of icky reading about these “islanders” and their weird sexual ritual as a form of entertainment, as well. That just sailed right off the coast of historical fetishism of indigenous cultures and was impossible for me to ignore.
And lastly, as a gay person, fetishizing gay sex always makes me uncomfortable. The English title of this book establishes the tone for the story pretty solidly. This is meant to be “tee-hee”d at. Treating gay sex as something to be “tee-hee”d at is still pretty problematic in my book.
So all this said, what did I think of Dick Fight Island? I don’t think I enjoyed it, honestly. I can see where BL fans would and it doesn’t quite make me happy. I think it has some outstanding art and some lovely costuming choices – even beyond the battle armor. The characters were good enough that I probably would enjoy a slice-of-life around their fantasy islands more than this story.
As I said in my previous article, “It is perfectly all right for you to like problematic content but it shows you’re a decent person if you’re mindful as to why that content might be problematic to someone else.”
As a title with which to revisit this idea, Dick Fight Island was perfect.
Dick Fight Island is available on Amazon, RightStuf or wherever you get your manga.
For what I presume will be a completely different perspective, check out the Mangasplaining Podcast, which will be covering this same volume in third season!
Please welcome back Luce, who will take a look at the remaining volumes of this series for us!
