Netorare, also known as NTR, is a subgenre of anime, manga, and other media that focuses on the theme of betrayal in romantic relationships. This genre explores infidelity between couples, whether they are boyfriends, spouses, or any type of bond that involves a minimum of commitment and loyalty.
These stories are usually presented from the perspective of the betrayed person, who in most cases is portrayed as a man. In this article, we will dive deeper into this subgenre, analyzing how it reflects aspects of Japanese reality and the way betrayal is approached in different cultural contexts.
Table of Content
The meaning of the word netorare
Netorare [寝取られ] literally means to betray a loved one with another, or "to put the horns", as it is popularly said. The term comes from the verb netore [寝取れ], which, in its passive form, means "to have the spouse or lover stolen". The verb netoru refers directly to the act of stealing someone's partner.
The word netorare is composed of the kanjis [寝], which means "to sleep" or "to go to bed," and [取], which means "to take," "to grab," "to steal," among others. The curious thing is that Google often gets confused when trying to translate this word, precisely because the Japanese ideograms have a broad range of meanings and synonyms.
Additionally, netorare can be written using only one of the ideograms or even without them, but the meaning remains the same. However, Google often generates peculiar and incorrect translations, such as "having sex in sleep," "getting naughty," or "taking a delight," which makes no sense. Therefore, it is always useful to refer to reliable dictionaries like jisho.org.
Sometimes, netorare is abbreviated to NTR. The main objective of this genre is to evoke jealousy in the audience by presenting stories where the protagonist loses their beloved, who is seduced by another person. Variations of the verb netoru, such as netori, netorimasu, and netorimashita, also refer to the act of stealing someone else's spouse.
Anime and Manga about Netorare
When people search for netorare, they are looking for related Japanese works. Whether anime or manga, people apparently like to see the suffering of others, this mixture of feelings of love and hate is usually very emotional.
Caso ainda não saiba, a maioria dos animes da categoria netorare são hentais, mas existem alguns Ecchi ou histórias shoujo inocentes que abordam o tema como no caso de White Album que trata-se de um anime de música e drama.
Read the article: The 20 Best NTR Betrayal anime
Fidelity x Reality
To understand the true "soul" of the Netorare genre, it is essential to understand the meaning of fidelity. After all, for a betrayal to occur, there must be some degree of fidelity, even if it is unilateral. If you are not yet familiar with the concept of fidelity, here is a summary:
Fidelity is the practice of being faithful, demonstrating care and respect for someone or something. It involves consistency in the commitments made to others.
With these terms clarified, we can delve deeper into our explanation of Netorare. To begin with, betrayal is something common in many types of animes, mangas, and other genres. If that seems confusing, think of that cliché where the villain eventually changes sides and joins the hero.
This type of betrayal can also be found in various stories, but what makes Netorare unique is that, in this subgenre, the betrayal occurs in a romantic and intimate context, usually involving the loss of a partner to another person. While in the example of the villain, the betrayal is directed towards alliances of power or friendship, in Netorare, the betrayed person is emotionally closer, making the impact much more personal.
And, to make the idea even more impactful, in some cases, the level of intimacy in a Netorare can be equivalent to or even greater than the relationship between villain and hero in terms of emotional betrayal. The factor that differentiates Netorare is that it explores this betrayal intensely, seeking to cause jealousy and even despair in the spectator, through the loss of the loved one to another.
Why is love betrayal so shocking?
You've heard the phrase "nothing lasts forever", it applies to everything, and this one has no exception, even the universe won't last forever, one hour or another it will disappear at the same speed it appeared.
But even though we know this, people insist on continuing to think that love is eternal. And this thought is so fixed in society that for people love is a sacred thing.
This love mentioned does not have a specific type, it is vague. That's because there are many forms of love, and that's why this paragraph above was left so vague. However, we can sift through these types and leave only one, love between couples.
As this one is so quoted in books and movies where one does everything for the other. But there are details they don't mention. For example, with time this love diminishes, or even in the moments that love ends.
I believe that because of this thought and the lack of dissemination of others, we are so shocked by love betrayals. I am, of course, generalizing this statement, as I know very well that while these things affect most people, it is not global.
Netorare development
In this type of Japanese genre, it is usually the woman who cheats on the man with another man, but other types can also happen, such as cheating with another woman, or even homosexual relationships between men. Anyway, the possibilities are many, but it doesn't change the fact that someone will cheat on their partner.
As it is more common to be women, we will treat the examples within this type. Let's take the cliché example, the woman cheats on her partner with another. As in most cases, we will observe the situation through the eyes of the protagonist, who is the one who has been “changed”. In his eyes, they had the perfect canvas. He would talk to her normally, hang out with her, have fun together, have some steamy moments, etc.
It really does look like the woman is wrong in this case, but before we throw stones at her, let's ask what prompted her to do so. We will then see from her point of view what the screen was like between them right after we explain some reasons that lead women to change their partners (attention, for men who identify with the theme, I advise you to pay close attention).
reasons for betrayal
Distance: Whether physical or emotional, the lack of proximity between the couple inevitably causes wear in the relationship, which often culminates in betrayal. When there is a disconnection, over time, the relationship tends to weaken.
Need: If one of the parties does not receive the affection or attention they desire from their partner, there is a great chance of seeking that in another person. The lack of affection in the relationship paves the way for betrayal to become an alternative.
Betrayal: It may seem paradoxical, but just as kindness begets kindness, betrayal also begets betrayal. One mistake can easily trigger a spiral of distrust and infidelity.
Time: As already mentioned, nothing lasts forever. When love comes to an end, what remains are two people sharing an empty relationship. When both have difficulty accepting this, they seek to satisfy their emotions elsewhere, even if they do not admit it.
To like another person: Although less common, it also occurs. The person stays in a current relationship only as an attempt to forget another for whom they still have feelings. However, this is just a temporary solution, and if the loved one shows any sign of reciprocity, infidelity is almost inevitable.
Lack of sex in the relationship: In my opinion, women value sex just as much as men do, although they often hesitate to admit it due to cultural pressures. The lack of sex can be a reflection of the absence of care, affection, and pleasure in companionship, which may eventually result in a loss of fidelity.
Jealousy: Excessive jealousy is fatal for any relationship. As they say, "those who seek, find," or "a lie repeated a thousand times becomes the truth." Constant distrust corrodes the relationship, opening doors to infidelity.
Lack of innovation: Monotony, just like jealousy, is a great enemy of relationships. When life as a couple becomes predictable and boring, irritation and emotional weariness take over, making the relationship unbearable. The end, in these cases, is almost always the same.
These are some of the reasons why many men in Japanese society end up allowing infidelity to infiltrate their relationships.
Points of view on Netorare
As promised, we will now put the girl's point of view on the relationship. The fact is, the protagonist was not interesting to her. In her view, they had a routine that was good at first, but over time it became predictable and boring.
She knew it would happen today, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and the day after the day after tomorrow. In short, it became monotonous and boring, and she didn't want that anymore.
Why didn't she say that? Well, there may be cases where this can happen, but in this case they suffered from another problem which is also in the list above, distance.
Just because you're in a relationship doesn't mean you're intimate with the other person. This can take a while to happen, months or years to get close enough, years or decades to almost fully understand your partner.
From his point of view the relationship was perfect, but they weren't close enough for him to know what she was thinking, and she wasn't safe enough to say she wanted new things. Given the points of view, stone or not is up to each one.
Netorare - Post exchange
There are cases where the couple separates, in others the couples remain together, but without one knowing about the betrayal of the other and in other cases the partner knows about the betrayal, but does not want to separate.
In the first example fidelity is broken by both, in the second case fidelity is not broken and in the third case fidelity may or may not be broken.
Anyway, these three cases can fit into this Japanese genre, but the third is common, with fidelity being broken by one of the parties. That is, in the example, the woman betrays her partner and then they separate.
After ending the relationship, we will see all the regrets and regrets that the protagonist has. If I were to define it in one word, that word would be lamentation.
And these lamentations are the basis of the psychological drama of the entire main plot and even some additional ones that may come to pass.
Basically, after being betrayed, the protagonist starts to get sad, lonely and other adjectives of that kind. With that lamentation, he may or may not try to move on and whether or not he will get over it.
Conclusion of the Article
We have reached the end of this article. Personally, I rarely consume this type of Japanese genre, perhaps because it is not so common. After all, we are used to the cliché of the protagonist who rejects the girls, while they, in turn, think of no one else. This is such a deep-rooted pattern that few dare to break it.
I confess that I appreciate when there is a break from this cliché. It may sound a bit sadistic, but I like to see protagonists who, by being passive or apathetic, end up suffering the consequences. This gives me a sense of realism. It's not that I root for others' misfortune, but rather for the honesty of the narrative. Sometimes, it's good to see that not everything ends in the idealized way and that, just like in real life, actions (or the lack of them) bring consequences.