I worry for people who think the way you do. Exploring dark themes in fiction, if done tactfully, shouldn’t be an issue. This is a dark story (and only has two chapters) that focuses on murder, cults, and sexual trauma (so far). Is the author a serial killer? Are they a cult leader?
No, any sane person can recognize the author is simply telling a story. They may explore themes of trauma, and should do so without being penalized for it. Especially when the assault is brief and not between the main characters (I’m a little confused where some of the people got that from. It’s at the very end of chapter 2).
Finding these themes uncomfortable is totally fair but you shouldn’t pass judgement on those who explore them or read about them. This militant mindset honestly does more harm to victims than helps.
(Side note: if this were rape porn or actual romanticization then I would be far more critical but I’m not seeing any signs of that. The brief seen was not meant to be titillating).
I would normally agree but this work is not the case, the r4pe scene here is clearly not shown to be romanticised in any sort of way! it’s just a part of the plot bc of the cultish themes! also to generalise the entire genre bc of the popular works w this trope is not it, there’s plenty of straight works w r4pe/assault etc too but u don't see the same outrage ppl have for it in bls
You probably consume so much sanitized media that you don't even fucking know how depraved cults are in real life. This is not even the surface of things, cults in real life have committed such heinous acts, basically crimes against humanity, especially to the vulnerable and children in large scale situations where even the local government can barely due shit due to legal loopholes. This manga actually shows the dark reality of cults, it's not some gothic fantasy shit where everyone worships and sacrifices goats to satan and be edgy in the dark, it's not a bunch of emos going woe is me and wearing black gothic victorian style clothes. Based on your comments i bet you were expecting that type of romanticized, santized viewpoint of this type of dark genre. Which tbf, i can't shame you for that cus i love that genre but this story just isn't what you are looking for. As said before, it's the dark reality of what real life cults are.
i'm generally worried about the mental state of the people who create these storylines and plots behind the scenes. the amount of rape/sexual assault in japanese bl mangas is so scary. can the cult not have been more occult-based that would have been way more bearable and interesting to read. seriously ugh.