Do They Love Serial Killers in Japan too?

The meteoric rise of the true crime genre has placed previously taboo topics at the center of everyday conversations in America. After the success of Netflix's new Jeffrey Dahmer series, Americans have been forced to confront the fact that we just can't seem to get enough of the grotesque and grisly these days.

Most of the criticism is easy to understand. Profiteering off of tragedy, and exploiting the misfortune of bereaved families is something that the majority of people will agree is not a good thing.

But the less expected point of controversy over "Monster" was the speed at which our society elevated the killer and his story to rock star status.

The series sparked outrage over the adoration that fans began to display not just for the actor who played him, but for the real life Milwaukee Cannibal himself.

While escapism and morbid curiosity are far from being uniquely western concepts, our eagerness to romanticize it all so openly - seemed to shine a strange light on our relationship to such stories in America.

Once "Monster" suddenly surpassed both "SPY x FAMILY" and "Crash Landing on You" on Japanese streaming charts last year, it begged the question:

Do they love serial killers in Japan now too?

The allure of contemporary true crime content

I'm guilty of it myself. From prison story podcasters - to youth offenders turned YouTubers, I've clocked countless hours of ex-convict content on my daily Tokyo train rides.

But from OG Percy's "Tales from a Crip", it's just a short ride across the recommended video algorithm to find oneself suddenly two hours deep in the Ted Bundy trials.

When I finally became aware of just how much screen time I was racking up, I was beyond disappointed in myself. I had always made a concentrated effort not to waste any of my free time hooked on what I considered to be normie-tier pulp.

Yet there I was, desperately clutching my iPhone, consuming Mr. Ballen's tales of the strange, dark and mysterious like my life depended on it.

I wasn't any closer to passing the next level of the the Japanese proficiency test, but I could tell you that John Wayne Gacy used to insist on being called "Colonel" while he was still working as a KFC manager.

The rise of the sexy serial killer

As the serial killers of the 70's and 80's reenter the public discourse, the way in which we discuss them has also come under scrutiny. In particular, people are beginning to wonder if it's ever acceptable to find them attractive.

While the concept of Jeffrey Dahmer being hot has only made headlines in the past few months - the idea of falling in love with his ilk is nothing new.

In 2016, a Vice article investigated the world of "Columbiners" - online communities of young women who obsessed over Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris.

In working to make sense of their infatuation, the writer uncovered something particularly profound.

"Another major draw for Columbiners who idolize Dylan and Eric, is that unlike Justin Beiber and One Direction, school shooters are not media manufactured and marketed objects of female desire."

The problem is - that statement had already stopped being true.

Five years before the article was even written, the same exact team that brought you "Monster" had cast the same exact actor as a trench coat wearing school shooter, in a direct homage to Klebold and Harris for the first season of "American Horror Story".

Billions of views and millions of dollars later, they've succeeded in turning a child molesting cannibal into a media manufactured and marketed object of desire.

The show's creators have attempted to defend against the criticism - claiming they never intended to glamorize the serial murdering sex offender. A bit hard to believe, when Buzzfeed confidently asserts that not only is Evan Peters hot, he is so hot - that their writers are reaching for a glass of water.

It seems more likely that they knew exactly what they were doing (again), as Netflix had already received similar backlash over the portrayal of Ted Bundy by Zac Efron just a few short years prior.

True crime as entertainment in Japan

Japan is no stranger to incorporating shocking violence into the art it produces. Gratuitous fountains of blood from countless films and animations have both revolted and captivated audiences worldwide. While the majority of these are fiction, it would be disingenuous to claim that Japan has not produced any notable works depicting their own real-life national horrors.

The 2004 film "Concrete" tells the story of Junko Furuta, arguably the worst crime to ever take place in post-war Japan. By this time, it was already at least the third in a line of extremely poorly received movies made about the schoolgirl's murder.

The first Furuta movies were obviously little more than exploitative and shameful low-budget productions. It's possible that "Concrete" once had ambitions of telling the story in a more tactful and respectful manner - but the finished product casts a substantial shadow of doubt over the idea for many.

Naturally, people in Japan protested the release of "Concrete" until it was ultimately limited to a handful of small specialty theaters and DVDs.

This is where one can see things start to differ from the west.

The same outrage over shameless profiteering, and lack of respect for suffering families was seen in America over the "Monster" release - the difference is that the show went on, and then we all sat around talking about how hot Dahmer was for months after the fact.

Killer fan clubs

To those who hold the most conservative opinions towards the true crime genre, the hypothetical horror story ends with people openly worshipping serial killers as if they were The Beatles in the 60s.

In the worst possible ending, this leads to fanatics finding their fantasies normalized, and becoming copycat criminals themselves.

Decades before Dahmer mania, "Columbiners" were relegated to the world of internet obsessives, left alone in dark basements to discuss the case in the anonymity and relative privacy of small online forums and chat rooms.

Japan experienced a similar, though arguably much sicker phenomena over the case of the Sasebo Slasher, who was only 11 years old when she killed her classmate with a box cutter at a Nagasaki elementary school in the summer of 2004.

Despite law enforcement's efforts to protect the privacy of the minors and their families, images of the girls were leaked - and people were able to identify the perpetrator of the unprecedented crime.

Users of 2channel, the Japanese inspiration for America's now notorious 4chan - quickly began meme-ifying and paying artistic tributes to the child killer.

By reference to her hooded sweatshirt and a Japanese diminutive suffix, the girl was dubbed "Nevada-tan", and became the subject of a twisted adoration that still continues in pockets of internet insanity today.

Madness in plain view

But dressing up as our favorite murderers is no longer reserved for the darkest corners of the web. It's not even reserved for that one friend who tries to be extra edgy on Halloween. Jeffrey Dahmer cosplay has made it all the way into the bleeding edge of Gen Z trends.

A Japanese Newsweek article which cautions against using actors with "idol-like popularity" to portray real life killers - points out that TikTok is already flooded with videos of young people mimicking the murderers.

You can be into it, just please do it quietly

Japan as expected, seems to be most concerned with the perceived disrespect and resulting shame from engaging in serial killer fandom. Japanese parents really do not their want their kids dressing up like Jeffrey Dahmer on TikTok.

It's no secret that Japan places tremendous value on behaving oneself in a way that does nothing to disturb the overall harmony of society.

Part of what makes Dahmer such a glaringly "American" story to Japanese audiences, is the way in which he broke from societal norms by committing his crimes. So while the story in itself is upsetting to say the least, it's perhaps America's public celebration of the tale which Japanese find more shocking.

The reaction is less "can you believe this guy killed and ate people?" and more "can you believe how much Americans love this guy who killed and ate people?"

So while record numbers of Japanese households did in fact tune in to watch "Monster", you won't find too many people proclaiming their love of it on social media.

The same thing, but more Japanese

The likelihood of Dahmer impressions replacing K-pop dances on Japanese TikTok anytime soon is still low - but it's no longer zero.

True crime YouTube channels, reminiscent of what we've grown so accustom to in America, have been growing in popularity in Japan.

If you look only at the neon bedazzled backdrops and cartoonish outfits, it may seem indistinguishable from the independent true crime productions of the west.

But if you listen to the commentary, you'll notice a uniquely Japanese approach to covering the material.

"It's true we must accept that he was attracted to corpses, which is ok, but surely this did not give him the right to hurt anyone."

The future of the true crime genre is uncertain in both America and Japan.

I remember a point in time not too long ago, when violent video games were supposedly going to plunge the modern world into chaos. They didn't - they just got more expensive and less interesting.

True crime is probably here to stay as well.

And while Japan may share some of the love that Americans have for serial killers, I wouldn't expect them to express it in anything other than their own uniquely Japanese way - nuanced, carefully, and subtly.

So do Jeffrey Dahmer discussions belong in your Japanese workplace?

Probably not. But you might just make a new friend over something unexpected if you try.