How does a cosplay café waitress react when a regular’s strange twist intensifies an already odd request?
Episode 5 — “Nene Arisu (Cosplay Café Staff)”
Hmm.
Wish-fulfillment self-insert narrative devices are nothing new to manga and anime. They appear in shonen plots as heroes evolve and grow stronger, saving the world from the Big Bad by the story’s end. Meanwhile, self-inserts have grown even more personal as entertainment companies mine self-publishing sites for material to adapt. But in the world of ecchi doujins? Self-insertion carries different meanings and nuances. You’ll see what I mean as I discuss Iyapan Returns, the author 40hara, and the specific requests made to a cosplay café waitress.
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Identity, Authorship, and Iyapan Returns
Identifying with a main character is a staple of the shonen and shojo genres. A reader sees their own struggles in the hero’s, drawing courage to push through adversity. Or to take the plunge and ask out that cute guy in your class. These stories clearly connect with their audiences. The same holds for other genres, like isekai fantasies and erotic fiction. You’re some schlub suddenly transported to another world. Or some god pitied you and installed a saimin app on your smartphone, summoning sluts to your front door. Could a self-insert go too far, like in the setup for Iyapan Returns? I see the same issues in self-published isekai plots and fetish-heavy POV ecchi anime shorts.
The glut of isekai stories, manga, and anime has become a problem for Kadokawa, Japan’s largest publisher of paper and digital novels, manga, anime, and games. What happened? Isekai plot fatigue (Slide 13). The issue? I argue that readers have rejected authors’ self-insertion and premises. Most isekai anime have no hero’s journey or self-improvement. Why should a loser deserve anything? It’s pure wish-fulfillment, and readers are right to suspect that the author is that self-inserted loser. Okay, I have harsh opinions about the users on Shousetsuka ni Narou (Kadokawa shortens the website’s name to “Narou”), but how does self-publishing isekai relate to H-doujins and art books like those Iyapan Returns adapted?
Artists, Fetishes, and 40hara’s Kinks in Iyapan Returns
H-doujin artists and writers also have personalities they often inject into their creations. It’s easy to tell which fetishes artists have because they always write about netorare, older sisters, or dark-skinned gals. Obviously, these creators have self-insert wish-fulfillment fantasies, like the Narou self-publishers. The gyaru invasion glut, for example, is working its way through hentai anime now. But the other genre of POV ecchi short anime strips away the thin filter between reader identification and creator self-insert fantasy. Iyapan Returns, like the previous Iyapan seasons, makes you the author!
That’s nothing new for ecchi artists. Kantoku has One Room, and Kiseki Himura has Tawawa on Monday. Both POV titles span several seasons of anime adaptations, and you can tell the specific fetishes of their respective artists. With Iyapan Returns, you know what 40hara likes! And in Episode 5, the story feels autobiographical. Did he ask a waitress to show him her panties with a disgusted face? The otaku details are so specific that we can’t help but suspect we need a disclaimer: “The story you are about to see is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent.” Or not so innocent, in 40hara’s case!
The only tenuous link to a real-life situation is that Nene Arisu, the cosplay waitress, has more artwork than any of 40hara’s other characters. See below for examples. Alternatively, the illustrator might only enjoy drawing maid costumes. 40hara loves Chitose the maid, too, you know. Either way, Iyapan Returns reveals much about its creator, as isekai stories with ridiculously long titles from Narou expose their creators’ sorry lives.
I’d much rather hang out with 40hara and his cat Kinako than spend time with Narou’s self-published writers.
Iyapan Returns Makes Me Say Heh.
This Iyapan Returns episode starts with pure fantasy: a cosplay café waitress fell in love with a regular customer. Living the dream! Oh? What did this customer ask Nene to do for him? We can only imagine, and you only need one guess after reading the title of this anime closely. Whoa! The waitress agreed to show “oniichan” her panties!
Stop! She’s doing it wrong! But she wanted to trade flashing her panties for being his girlfriend. Did “oniichan” change his mind? No! He explicitly asked her to show her panties while expressing a disgusted look on her face. Uh… That’s the title of Iyapan Returns! 40hara, is that you?
Now Nene gets it. No, she doesn’t get it at all! Shouldn’t guys be happy to see panties? This lady must be a J-List newsletter subscriber. Nene made the face! She keeps calling “oniichan” gross!
This regular customer is no longer a boyfriend candidate. Poor 40hara. I mean, “oniichan.” Nene called him a “total pervert.” No lies detected! Oof. He’s also no longer a regular customer! Eighty-sixed!
Iyapan Loves Nene! Or Maids?
The end card comes from illustrator Doushima, while Nene has been a favorite character of 40hara. Besides the commemorative image he made for Episode 5, Nene was the cover girl for his Tribute Art Works book! I hope that 40hara found a real-life Nene who makes the disgusted face for him, just as his real-life Kinako cat inspired the kawaii cat girl.
Iyapan Returns (Iya na Kao sare nagara Opantsu Misete Moraitai Returns, I Want You To Show Me Your Panties With a Disgusted Face Returns) streams at OceanVeil in Japanese audio and multiple language subtitles.
So, was 40hara the regular customer who demanded too much from Nene? I lean toward yes. How about you? Would you have asked Nene to add something to her flashing you if you knew she was in love? What would it be? Let us know in the comments!
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