Does the famous line REALLY need to be said?

         Traps. The mere mention of this word strikes fear into the hearts of many. They are the greater of the two evils, with the other evil being the fabled reverse-trap. What exactly ARE traps? Why do people seem to have such a hate for them? And more importantly… what do traps have to do with you?

         To the uninformed, traps are merely males that take on the appearance of females. Anatomically, traps are still male, and retain all their male parts. They only obtain the outward appearance of females, be it by fake endowment or the flat route. Good examples of traps would be Miyanokouji Mizuho [fake endowment] and Watarase Jun [flat] from Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru and Happiness!, respectively. Reverse-traps are intuitively named so because they are the opposite of traps. Instead, they are females taking on the appearance of males. Fujioka Haruhi from Ouran Host High School Club is one such reverse-trap. A grayer area in the world of traps would be those who change genders. In the previously mentioned definitions, I stated that traps would only sport the appearance of the opposite sex, and not actually lose an elephant and gain a pair of meron pans. Should that happen, my personal judgement tells me that they would no longer be considered traps, but rather taken as actual females. I consider Osaragi Hazumu from Kashimashi a female with a male past, and thus not a trap. Of course, this remains true for the opposite regarding reverse-traps and gender changing. As if there wasn’t enough complication, there’s more. Should you want to add to the list, there are trap-traps and reverse-trap-traps, but they only exist in theory to the best of my knowledge [and I'm not 100% certain if I have the names are correct, due to the rarity/impossibility of such people, and the lack of discussion of such a topic].

         Now that it’s been clearly established what traps are, we should move on to exactly what traps are. As stated before, traps only take on outward physical features of females, often employing a fairly feminine voice as well. However, they still retain male minds and male parts. However, here’s where things get a little strange [as if talking about traps wasn't strange enough]. Despite everything I’ve said, traps are female. But wait, I thought I just said that traps are males that look like females? Yes, I did say that. Does that contradict my previous statement, claiming that traps are actually female? Well, not exactly. From a character and storyline standpoint, traps are most definitely male, there’s no argument against that. The character in the story is defined as a male and has at least SOME evidence that it is true. However, when looked at from a character design and realistic standpoint, traps are actually females. They are drawn as females, and when looked at it more rational view [rationality? In MY anime?], they are indeed females.

Etna, from Disgaea, in all her loli-ness

         To illustrate this, allow me to use the example of Etna. Unfortunately, I cannot recall who it was, but an individual brought up this argument in the WinDfs irc channel back in the days of Higurashi. He argued using the power of lolis, and who could deny that power? Etna, from Disgaea, is 1470 years old. This doesn’t change the fact that she is still a loli. Jun, from Happiness!, is a male. This doesn’t change the fact that s/he is still a girl. With this simple comparison, it becomes more apparent what traps really are. I’ll admit that before being presented with this example, I was on the fence about the entire trap issue. I was unsure how to interpret traps, and couldn’t decide either way. However, the loli Etna argument is one that I do not contest in the slightest. Despite her supposed age, she still doesn’t look legal, and I most definitely consider her a loli, as opposed to a granny. Taking Etna and applying this to traps, it’s easy to see where all the parallels in the arguments lie, and how the trap argument is very much like the loli argument. Etna is drawn as a loli, thus she is one. Jun is drawn as a female, thus he is one.

         I am unsure how the numbers actually add up, but I’m expecting a fair amount of people to oppose traps. Although I cannot read their minds, I can at least attempt to address these issues. To do this, however, I would have to ignore my previous argument that traps are female, since I wouldn’t expect those that oppose traps to think the same way, as that may remove the conflict, leaving nothing for discussion.

         A possible reason for the dislike of traps may be due to the ridiculous concept behind it. A male that looks exactly like a female is quite the strange subject matter indeed. However, that’s not to say it doesn’t exist outside the realm of anime. In fact, about a month ago, I walked past a rather interesting male. He had long, straight blonde hair, and from the back, I honestly believed that it was a female standing before me. When his face came into view, I was in for quite the shock. Real life traps do indeed exist. Besides, are there not much more stranger ideas that find their way into anime? Ninjas that wear bright orange? A notebook that can cause death? A seemingly ordinary group of high school students, in which one is God, the other a time traveller, another an alien, and the last an ESPer? To argue the stupidity of such a concept is to take away the very imagination and creativity that graces the anime world, the very essence that gives it a distinct and clear characteristic that divides it from the dull world of reality.

         But I would expect that the largest concern over traps would be over the fact that anime viewers may find it disturbing that they think that the body of a male figure is appealing. Speaking of the majority here, this would apply to the male heterosexual otaku population. Perhaps unconsciously, by rejecting the trap, it will prevent any possibility of being perceived as a homosexual, should the individual be even slighty homophobic . The irony of homophobic heterosexual men rejecting homosexuality would be that there is some evidence that suggests the idea that the underlying reasoning behind homophobics thoughts and tendencies may be because the homopohbics are either in denial of being homosexual themselves, or that they have latent homosexuality. However, this conclusion is fairly loosely based, and further research is needed if anything conclusive is to be made. To those wondering, no, I have not made anything up. Should you be interested [or alternatively, bored enough], I suggest you read the journal article I was speaking of:

Is Homophobia Associated with Homophobic Arousal?

         Published by the Journal of Abnormal Psychology in 1996, obviously titled “Is Homophobia Associated with Homophobic Arousal?”. Condensed into a summary, they essentially found that heterosexual homophobic men were significantly more aroused by homosexual erotic videos involving males compared to the arousal of heterosexual non-homophobic men exposed to the same stimulus. This suggests the idea that I already stated, regarding denial or latent homosexuality. However, this is only a suggestion, and is very inconclusive. There can be many other factors affecting the results, like aggression felt by homophobics when viewing the homosexual stimulus.

         But I digress. I believe that the main problem is that males don’t want to be caught with their pants down at their ankles, lube in one hand, only to find out that he’s a guy. And to those who aren’t as daring, then it would be downsized to only the mere aesthetic appeal that the male trap radiates. Which I’d hope most of you fall into, rather than the whole lube thing.

         …Which takes traps to a much more personal level. What do traps have to do with you? How can traps possibly affect your world?

         I certainly do not claim to have an extensive knowledge in traps, but it seems to me that there is a rise in the amount of trap anime out there. Previous to Ouran Host, I never knew of a reverse trap anime. In fact, I don’t think I knew of a reverse trap character period. Otome wa Boku and Happiness! are my first exposures to trap anime series as well, both of which are new this season. Before that, the only real thing that could apply would be Kashimashi, but I consider Hazumu to be a full fledged female, nullifying that point. Dori and Gura from Utawarerumono do not count either, as they were females in the anime adaptation. Of course, the lack of trap series may be due to my relatively recent introduction into anime, so all of the older series I remain unaware of.

         So with the increase in anime series that boast traps or reverse traps, there is a higher chance of exposure to said series, giving traps a place in your life. As well, with the increase of trap series, traps can find other ways to sneak in, as evidenced by this very blog post. They will become more and more the topic of discussion, be it simply randomness like this article, or be it by episode summaries and the such.

         There are different ways to handle this new influx of traps. Like Kurogane or Bj0rn, you can adopt the philosophy of “Fap First Worry Later”. Although this most certainly provides instant gratification, it is simply short term denial that will end once the delaying stops. Alternatively, you could keep mindful that traps are males, and keep your distance from said traps. However, this doesn’t seem like a very effective or well thought out adaptation. Of course, you can just simply NOT care. No need to take it all serious, it’s anime. And I’m going to take a wild guess here and say that most of you reading this don’t really care either way.

         Personally, I welcome our trap sisters brothers with open arms. They’re a novel source of comedy and impossibility which i enjoy. “Misunderstandings” caused by traps are quite the sight, and I just find the entire concept hilarious.

         Now if I’ve held your attention for this long, you’re probably wondering why in the world I wrote up this long article about absolutely nothing, and why in the world did you actually read this far. I may not know your motivations for reading this, but as for the issue of the purpose of writing… one reason was that I was really bored [as evidenced by the length of this post], but that’s not the real reason. The REAL reason is much more important. It’s becau—

NOT SO FAST, KAIBA! YOU ACTIVATED MY TRAP CARD!

//Soda