On ethical slavery in Japanese media

The isekai genre may say it's not approving slavery, but it's still endorsing it.

Preface

To make things clear, "isekai" refers to a plot structure where the protagonist was an ordinary person on Earth, before being inexplicably transported to a fantasy world in the prologue, through whatever means.

Among those is a cliche subset where the protagonist is a brooding college student or a salaryman, who dies in a traffic accident, is then given a new body in a world inspired by Dragon Quest, and goes on to solve problems with his modern knowledge and a hidden gimmick ability. It's so common in light novels and their adaptations, that many call this premise oversaturated.

Among those, some narratives solve the protagonist's need of teammates to fight along with, by the protagonist literally purchasing them on the slave market, and excusing it as the protagonist "actually" freeing them.

While the setup may differ, for this article I'll be discussing stories where the protagonist has some kind of ownership over someone, regardless of the circumstances.

Why does this happen?

Because it's fantasy. But to understand why the authors may be using this as a premise, let's go over several reasons.

1. Different culture: The setting may be stylized after an early historical period and presenting slavery as not just legal, but as being integrated in the nation's economy. If the setting uses late medieval period, then the slavery may formally be illegal, but still practiced through the black markets. As much as the protagonist may object to it, fighting the system would be much more trouble than fighting demons. For one man to undermine the society isn't very realistic, so the protagonist works with what they have while keeping the moral high ground. The protagonist may still advocate for systematic changes, and the paradigm shift can happen faster if the slave comes from a minority background and manages to prove themselves, but it's rarely the story's focus.
2. Owner as a savior: In many cases, acquiring a slave saves them from their expected fate: excessive labor, sexual abuse, or being killed off for sport. Better to have someone from a democratic country as your master than a sociopath noble. Having a renowned hero as your protector can also act as a deterrent against others trying to make a move, in case civil rights aren't a thing.
3. Road to companionship: Regardless of the salve's background, no hero in their right mind would treat them as such. Over time, the relationship drifts from the master and a slave, to the leader and a party member. After months of mutual respect and putting their lives on the line for each other, the formal shackles get completely disregarded. Legal bonds are replaced with emotional ones, and usually quickly become romantic.
4. As punishment: It's possible for the slaves to be former villains who get the taste of their own medicine. In this sense, it would be similar to penal labor or community service, they'll only get their freedom if they manage to rehabilitate. This can also provide the protagonist and the readers some catharsis.
5. Narrative restraint: Many isekai are written as an escapist Power Fantasy. In other words, they are meant to be relatable to a specific demographic. Someone who can be called a chronic loser is given another life where they can gain the fame from heroics and affection of female companions just by being reborn with a powerful magic. Both of these aspects have to be kept as simplistic as possible. Turning a slave into a romantic interest is functionally a very easy and reliable way of doing it, and if the story would put some nuance to it, it would undermine the fantasy aspect. It'd also introduce too much political drama in an otherwise action series.

Why this should not happen?

You may question, if the salve is such only on-paper and is quite happy with what they have, what is the problem? If you have to ask that, you're probably underestimating the liberties the democracy provides.

• Power difference: The protagonist may be treating their party as partners, but that's just not true. The protagonist has a significant social gap over their slaves and isn't equal to them no matter what they say. Even if they refuse to use the slave card to call for obedience, the fact is that they are still keeping it as an option. Regardless of how the master trusts their companion to act independently, they are not actually free, neither in movements nor in speech. The possibility of the conflict of interest is either glossed over by the narrative, or is already negated by the emotional attachment, which depending on a perspective may be just another form of shackles. The slaves agree with the protagonist not only because they trust their decision, but because they are indebted for being rescued and are legally coerced into it. Rarely a "freed" slave would think of themselves or by themselves. Ideally, their decisions should be genuine, informed, self-serving, and lack external factors that could have introduced bias. Even if the protagonist frees the slave legally, they have nowhere else to go and the protagonist can't be bothered to find them a new home.
• Cheap loyalty: While the protagonist may had own share of issues, when it comes to how the relationship starts specifically, it's just one purchase. The hero didn't fight the traders, nor have defended someone from monsters, nor put themselves on the line in front of a noble, they've simply done as the system expects. They didn't put in the effort for this trust. Yet, they are rewarded with affection, because the slave would likely have died otherwise. To spin it around, if the protagonist didn't need a convenient swordsman, they would be fine with the slave dying.
• Complacency: The protagonist is presented as a benevolent figure within an oppressive system, but they still benefit from it instead of opposing it. This only legitimizes it by showing that the exceptional hero can make the system more practical to society. This shifts the problem from the slavery itself, but to abusive masters, subtly arguing that this is fine as long as the masters are kind. By not being more vocal regarding the issues with the system, the protagonist keeps it normalized. It's rare for the protagonist to be concerned about other slaves as well, it's only a problem when and only in concern with who they see abused in person.
• It's lazy: It's just super convenient. In a more professional literary standard, when a new character is introduced, they already have own background, experiences, and thought process, and the hero will have to gain their trust before they even consider joining their party, fame be damned. But with slaves, narrative treats party members as an asset to the protagonist instead of giving them own motives. By using the slave model, the writing gives the hero a very straightforward and instantaneous way to expand their party with no need to ask who the character was beofre.

The discourse

Even if it's bad, it can still be nuanced, which is why there are a lot of controversy about it. Critics call ethical slavery a cowardly compromise by treating companions as something that can be gained with money instead of convincing them to become an ally. Apologists say that the emotional arc of a formal slave outweighs the interest in legal reforms and should be treated as background information rather than an active problem. This will probably remain debatable as the ethics as of whole are debatable.

Examples

• Louise Françoise (The Familiar of Zero). An aristocrat accidentally summons Saito Hiraga during a magic practice and makes him her property. She initially treats him as a witch would treat her pet cat and is mentally insecure, she can go from being abusive to being romantic at the drop of a hat. He even wears a rune to make him forget his past, and has a nervous breakdown when it's removed. After saving each other several times, their relationship becomes more genuine, but prior abuse is treated more like a slapstick comedy.
• Naofumi Iwatani (The Rising of the Shield Hero). After being betrayed and labeled as a criminal, he was still made to serve as the hero by the royalties. With nobody to support him, he resorts to the only thing left available to him, purchasing a slave to act as his combatant. He even makes a statement that he will rely on the magical salve crest to prevent the potential of a betrayal. But even in a paranoid state, Naofumi follows a personal sense of justice and goes from seeing Raphtalia as a tool to becoming personally invested in her, and in turn she becomes devoted in him. While Naofumi operates with necessary evil mindset at first, he repurposes the slave crest as a symbol of his party and uses it for its secondary purpose of checking on its subject's status and sharing magic power between them. Some of his later companions were even enslaved willingly since he's in charge. While it meant to be wholesome by the narrative, he inadvertently normalizes slavery by setting a good example instead of using literally any other method of proving trust.
• Rimuru Tempest (That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime). By giving monsters a name, Rimuru makes them humanoid and obedient, eventually treating them as a big family and building own civilization with them. While it's not slavery on paper, it's still a magically-enforced fealty, creating a direct hierarchy with himself as the king. An often glossed over part of the series is that once Rimuru decides the monster is a hazard if left unsupervised, he gives them the options between servitude or getting killed. Because of his sheer magical power and authority, questioning Rimuru would be unwise, but due to the series' tone, everyone on Rimuru's side instinctively defers their decision-making to him.
• Ainz Ooal Gown (Overlord). The members of Nazarick are custom-build NPCs who treat their creators as divine beings. No matter how Ainz express his discomfort with it, his subordinates even beg to be abused. On the political side, Ainz have subjugated several kingdoms, human and non-human, with military force, and while he and Nazarick treat them as insects, Ainz's presence actually abolished slavery and racism by technicality making everyone his slave on equal ground.
• Souma Kazuya (How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom). Due to a misunderstanding regarding duke Georg Carmine's rebellion (he planned to take corrupt nobles down with him), the Air Force have also joined against Souma's claim to the throne. Afterwards, Souma was expected to execute the traitors, so unwilling to, he turned Castor Vargas and his daughter into slaves. Carla Vargas serves as a maid in his castle and as his confidant, but also wears a collar that will kill her if she ever disrespects him.
• Myne (Ascendance of a Bookworm). Despite being a child, Myne gains approval of the temple's High Priest to become the director of an orphanage. However, she has to work with the limitations of not having enough resources to feed everyone and nobles still buying commoners for their mana or as labor, while she also needs to prove herself to the public. While she's well-intentioned, she also uses orphans as unpaid workers for her book workshop, arguing that if they don't want to contribute they are free to get out. This gets even more complicated when she gets older and has actual authority, as the orphans under her wing are still nowhere close to being accepted by the society, and her role is pretty much ensuring they are so well educated, the nobles she approves wouldn't mistreat them.

In conclusion

It's true that the isekai hero is not entirely responsible for the legal matters of the state they've reincarnated into. They are also not required to prioritize justice over benevolence. But I wouldn't call them heroes just because they save people in front of them. If they act as a good person in private, they should take this mindset to address public injustice as well. Some even have the authority to do so. Benefiting from the corrupt system just makes them as corrupt as the nobles they antagonize, and a hypocritical protagonist can be frustrated to follow. I also can't treat romances in isekai seriously when the girls don't even have autonomy and their personhood is neglected.

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