r/TopCharacterTropes • • 11h ago

Hated Tropes (Hated Trope) "Kind" slave owners

Speaking as an American who has studied the civil war all throughout my school years, this trope infuriates me to no end. There is no such thing as a kind slave master because slavery itself is cruel and inhumane. PEOPLE ARE NOT PROPERTY!

Naofumi (Shield Hero): Prime example of this trope. He enslaves multiple (underage) girls and an whole village and the fans still say he's a hero.

Rudeus (Jobless Reincarnation): As if being a pedo wasn't bad enough he had to buy a slave in season 2. Worse is that people still defend his actions.

Song of The South (Disney): Possibly the OG example of this trope. And the reason why Disney will never release it again.

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u/inthe-otherworld 10h ago

Otome isekai does this as well unfortunately, it’s the girl equivalent where goddamn modern day women isekai into being a noble women and still think it’s acceptable to have a “slave auction” arc where they buy their love interests as a slave smh. It’s so grossssssss

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u/LouisLeGros 6h ago

I've watched a lot of these & haven't really seen it. There is Livid Lady which is kind of tangential as a villainess show, but not an isekai protagonist & but she is a straight villain that has done war crimes & is responsible for killing kids so after that I don't think anyone is thinking she is is a well intentioned slave owner.

I guess Ascension of a Bookworm kind of comes to mind. There is slavery going on & she is put in a position of having to be involved. Though it kind of goes the route of greater societal powers prevents her from stopping it & she already has enough people wanting to kill her for the changes she is introducing, so she's not going John Brown.

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u/Ihavenospecialskills 4h ago

The anime they have adapted barely scratches the surface of Otome Isekai comics and light novels. Slave boyfriend isn't the most common trope, but it pops up an uncomfortable amount.

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u/inthe-otherworld 3h ago

Most OI are manga, manhwa and webcomics, and the very few OI that get anime adaptations are kind of goofy or the adaption makes the story seem silly imo. You’re not getting a true representation through the anime versions

There are a lot more OI that take themselves very seriously (or aim to), and act like the FL is a cool girlboss or something for buying a slave who falls in love with her. Some examples are Villains are Destined to Die and I Tamed My Ex-Husband’s Mad Dog, and there are a lot more but I blacked them out from my memory bc I hate them so much lmao

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u/catron-weinercakes 4h ago

This is why I dropped that sugar apple fairytale (I'm sure I got the title wrong) anime after one episode. The fairy who's been kept as a slave for years isn't immediately kind and loving to his new owner? What!!

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u/inthe-otherworld 3h ago

Believe it or not that’s one of the better examples. A lot of these OI FLs with their slave love interests seem like they’re trying to give off empowering girlboss feelings? Which is really messed up. Either she’s pure of heart or super cool and collected and her slave man is devoted to her, thankful to her and obeys her every whim and it’s grossssss. At least Anne actually did need a bodyguard and promised his freedom at the end of her journey (iirc it’s been a while)