|
Content Warning! Content Warnings: Mention and depictions of insanity, obsessive behavior, stalking, manipulation, confinement, drugging, sharp objects, blood, disfigurement, horror themes, and murderous behavior. |
|
|
Fine. I'll just take your head like I did fifty years ago. And once I do, Deadly Dearest... you'll be mine forever.
"Kyouai" (JP) is a term for a character who loves someone so much that they go insane. It is similar to yandere in that they show an obsessive kind of love towards someone, but unlike yandere their love becomes mad and distorted and they do not have the sweet and affectionate "deredere" aspects of the character. It has almost the same meaning as yandere, but the biggest difference is that they don't care if their love interest suffers because of their love and the person who is loved is often forced to endure pain through confinement or other means. They are so mad that they may even kill their love interest because they "love" them so much. It could be seen as a horror version of yandere which lacks the cute and doting deredere aspects and only has the dark and obsessive ones.
Etymology
Meaning of the Term
Kyouai (狂愛) comes from a combination of "kyou" (狂), meaning "to go mad; insanity", and "ai" (愛), meaning "an intense love that was built and developed with time" and describes "the love that is given rather than the love that is desired in return for loving".[3] It could be translated into English as "mad love" and refers to the fact that the "love" (ai) you give is filled with "madness" (kyou).[4]
Origin
The first use of the term dates back to the 1892 novel The Pessimistic Poet and Woman, though it is not clear if the term had the same dark meaning as it does now or just referred to a more general obsessive love.[4]
The current meaning seems to have gained popularity some time after the redefinition of yandere in 2010. Following widespread backlash from Japanese yandere fans after many series starting labeling self-serving madmen as "yandere" and the belief that no true "dere" could be felt, characters of that nature who used to be called "yandere" started being labeled as "kyouai" instead. This is largely due to the fact that yandere wasn't very well understood at the time and the anime community had not agreed upon a strict definition of the meaning.[5][3]
Localization
In the 2021 romance manga series Kyoai Tryangle (JP) the term was romanized as "kyoai".[2]
History
Official Media
The term has been used in many romance series.
The term was used for the 2020 romance audio drama CD Kyouai Catharsis (JP). In the series, the character of Morimura Seiji falls in love with the daughter of the Rokuhara family and vows to protect her to keep her clean but his love becomes mad and distorted, quietly escalating into an abnormal obsession.[1]
It was used in the 2022 romance web manga series Kyouai Gakuen Online ― Koukan-do 0 = Dead End (JP) which featured several kyouai characters. When a bug occurs in the world's first full-dive otome game "Paradise Academy Online," developer Miyuri has to enter the game to investigate. However, when the heroes in the game's favorability rating drops due to the bug, they turn into "crazy freaks". A love death game begins, where a likeability rating of zero means a dead end.[6]
It was used in the 2022 romance web manga series Kyouai to Jun-Ai (JP). The story follows Julia, a servant at the Marquis's house, who has no memory of anything prior to the age of 12 and is unable to speak. She is treated badly at the mansion, but manages to get by with the help of Camille, the second son of the Marquis, who is the only person who can neutralize the curse and speak. One day, however, after Julia is abandoned by the Marquis's house, Glenn, the eldest son of the Duke, helps her, and Camille's mad love for Julia explodes. What destiny will the two different loves—Camille (mad love) and Glenn (pure love)—lead to?[7]
Personality
Kyouai characters have so much romantic love for someone that it causes them to go mad and start acting crazy. They want to be with the person they love and they will stop at absolutely nothing to achieve it, even if they have to drug, kidnap, confine, or even dismember them so they can't escape.
Some kyouai characters may even intentionally hurt or kill their love interest as an expression of just how much they "love" them.
They have the mindset of: The moment you fall in love, should that be considered as real love? I mean, all it is, really, is self-satisfaction, isn't it? You aren't thinking about the other person's happiness, but rather, all you're thinking about is, "As long as I feel good, it's fine."
Sub-Types
Note: The following names are not considered official, but are used to organize the different traits of kyouai characters.
Bizarre-Seeking
A character from Kyouai Gakuen Online
"Bizarre-Seeking-Type" (JP) are the type of kyouai characters who desire very strange things that normal people wouldn't collect as memento of their "love" interest. Unlike the yandere version of this trope, they do not care about the safety of their "love" interest because they have no real "dere" for them. They have become so far twisted that their entire sense of what is "love" has snapped.
They don't care if they permanently injure or even kill their "love" interest in the process to obtain these parts: fingernails, teeth, fingers, and other body parts that will cause immense pain and irreversible disfiguration and changes to the body of their love interest. They may even want their love interest's corpse, to turn them into a doll, or even want a vital part of their body, like their heart or head, which they will kill them to obtain. Some may even kill the "love" interest solely because they think killing them equals "love".
Restraints
Touma with Shujinko from AMNESIA
|
|
"Restraints-Type" (JP) are the type of kyouai characters who desire their love interest to be with them literally always.These kyouai characters make sure the love interest can't leave their side, now or in the future.
They will directly lock up the love interest, tie up or even kidnap and drug their love interest to keep them around and compliant. They want their love interest to never wander from their side. Many will even tie their love interest to themselves.
Some might not actually use ropes or chains, some can also find a way for their love interest to be always bound to them, using unusual methods like magic or a curse to accomplish so.
Extreme cases can even break or amputate their love interest's legs or feet so that they can't go anywhere else for the rest of their life and so they would need the kyouai to survive entirely.
Differences From Other Archetypes
While there is often a false impression that all "mentally ill lovers" fall under "yandere" specifically, there are actually several different archetypes of that nature and it's not accurate to label them all as "yandere". The main difference between kyouai and yandere is that a yandere character is deredere to their love interest and acts crazy towards third parties, while a kyouai will direct their crazy side at their love interest. They will have no problem confining them, hurting them, or even killing them as some sick expression of "love". Yandere is a one-sided love, but kyouai characters 'force' the love interest to love and desire them. It's because of these reasons that kyouai could be seen as a non-dere version of yandere for characters who display the "yan" traits but not the "dere" traits.
It could also be seen as a love version of yangire who will direct their mentally sick anger at their love interest.
It also has many similarities in with dorodere in that both types 'force' their love interest to love and desire them, but the difference difference is that dorodere is hidden under the guise of being a cute and overly affectionate deredere character while secretly harboring feelings of hatred. A dorodere character is also conflicted about their feelings and has an intense love-hate relationship with their love interest, neither of which are traits found in kyouai characters. However, once the guise of a dorodere character is broken they will force the love interest to be with them whether they like it or not in a similar manner as kyouai characters. The fact that the dark side of a dorodere character is purposefully hidden by a cute side so you drop your guard around them arguably makes it far more dangerous.
While many kyouai characters likely fall under the banner of menhera since they suffer from severe mental illnesses, the main difference between the two is that not all menhera characters have love or development a dark obsession towards their love interest if they do.
Similar Japanese Archetypes
- Dorodere: A term for a character who at first seems to be a cute, lovey-dovey, doting, and overly friendly deredere character, before it is revealed that this is nothing more than a disguise to hide their true intentions which is full of disturbed thoughts and feelings of hatred towards their love interest.
- Menhera: A term for a character who is suffering from a mental illness.
- Yandere: A term for a character who is pathologically infatuated with their partner and becomes deredere.
- Yangire: A term for a character who at first is very kind and innocent, but then one day suddenly snaps and start to become mentally unstable as a result of trauma or irritation.
List of Characters
Gallery
 Toma with Shujinko from AMNESIA: Memories  Morimura Seiji from Kyouai Catharsis  Characters from Kyouai Gakuen Online  Characters from Kyouai Gakuen Online  Characters from Kyouai Gakuen Online  Characters from Kyouai Gakuen Online |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Kyouai Catharsis. Animate Online Shop (2020/03/26). “Love is the same form of desire that humans have in any era. However, it can sometimes become mad and distorted, quietly escalating into an abnormal obsession. This work is an original situation CD based on the concept of "mad love" that unfolds in the era of "modernity". Love quietly becomes distorted and mad... Can you accept love that is so mad?”
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Kyoai Tryangle. Fun Guild (2021/05/07).
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Kyouai. Pixiv (2012/06/28). “A word that means love so strong it drives one insane, or a person who loves someone so much that they go insane. Almost the same meaning as yandere, but the person who is loved is often forced to endure pain through confinement or other means.”
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Kyouai. KotoBank (2024/11/15). “To love so passionately that it goes beyond the norm. Fanatic affection. [First example] "There may come a time when mad love will eventually shift to quiet love." (Source: The Pessimistic Poet and Woman (1892)”
- ↑ I Can't Sleep So A Yandere Girl Loves Me To Death CD. Pixiv. “So, is it "yandere" after all? A CD where you can't sleep because a yandere girl loves you to death. In some stories, the protagonist is confined, but in others, he is beaten up as if violence is a fine expression of love, and in the worst cases, he is actually killed, or he doesn't die but he is left without all his limbs intact. Also, the heroines who suddenly change are really scary, it's a level that will slightly traumatize you. By the way, there is a concept very similar to yandere called kyouai, and the heroines of this CD are more on that side. What's the difference? Kyouai characters don't mind kidnapping and confining you, killing you, or hurting you with love. Now that the understanding of yandere has improved, it seems to be analyzed as "Not yandere, but more like a mentally ill psychopath."”
- ↑ Kyouai Gakuen Online ― Koukan-do 0 = Dead End. Peep Comics (2022/09/23).
- ↑ Kyouai to Jun-Ai. Mecha Comic (2022/10/04).