A common Japanese character type, the
Bastard Boyfriend (in Japanese,
kichiku, literally "brutal" or "demonic") character is an Always Male Love Interest whose defining trait is that he is cold, cruel, or abusive to his romantic partner, in a manner intended to be kinky and appealing to the audience.Western versions exist but are comparatively rare nowadays due to the inherent Unfortunate Implications. Bastard Boyfriends can be readily distinguished from the more generic Jerkass or Domestic Abuser because their abuse is eroticized (if it isn't already explicitly sexual), and their victim's beloved's conflict and unhappiness will be played for titillation. As such, they are all-but-guaranteed to be Estrogen Brigade Bait, usually a Bishounen, and the consequences of their behavior are almost never handled realistically. The Bastard Boyfriend
almost always gets his girl (or guy), even in cases where they don't seem particularly compatible, although a few are doomed to be merely the rival.
Their love interest, male or female, is usually The Protagonist, although a minority of stories are from the Bastard Boyfriend's point of view. They will probably be presented as a Love Martyr or The Woobie, and is likely to spend quite a bit of the story anguishing over the relationship, possibly while weeping beautifully. This trope has next to no overlap with Belligerent Sexual Tension, since Bastard Boyfriends never seem to show an interest in anyone with the backbone to defy them.
The Bastard Boyfriend is likely to be redeemed by The Power Of Love at the end of the book; alternately, he may eventually be revealed to be nicer underneath. A minority may be revealed to have a Freudian Excuse (such as Abusive Parents or extremely bad former romances). If none of these things happen, his partner may decide that Stalking Is Love and embrace their status as a Love Martyr. Along the way the Bastard Boyfriend may well be Master Of The Mixed Message, if the author needs something to keep his partner strung along. Mature-rated works that have Kichiku characters are likely to involve psychological abuse, Rape Is Love, and maybe some BDSM. PG-rated examples tend to be cold, aloof or sarcastic. In either case, fan reaction tends to be polarized: either they're hot and sexy and their love affair is squeeable, or they're total Jerkasses and the relationship is squicktastic. Works that contain Stalker With A Crush or Mad Love relationships are likely to attract fan interpretations where the characters are recast along these lines.
