Every time someone bad happens in a manga somebody comes along like this to claim it's some kinda especially Japanese bad thing and they're pretty much always wrong. There's not really any country on earth that DOESN'T have rape culture, unfortunately, just as there's no country on earth without patriarchy.
Look last samurai, I'm not trying to hate on Japanese culture and I'm definitely not claiming it's an exclusively Japanese thing. I've lived in Japan for a few years and almost every woman I've talked to has experienced some kind of sexual harassment and says they will probably never report it due to the fear of being blamed or shamed. It was a culture shock for me as I came from a country where these things are actually taken seriously. Rape culture does exist in a lot of places but at least in many countries, it is acknowledged by the general public and the government as a shitty thing, and steps are being taken to combat it instead of just trying to shut women (and men) up.
You having lived there or not doesn't change the fact that talking as if it were (even if it wasn't your intention) an especially Japanese culture is a thing that happens too often and is packaged with racism. What you've described is what happens in multiple countries, including mine (Brazil) and in 1st world countries even if they claim to be "progressive". They'll always find a reason to blame the victim, be it clothing or a mere hand signal.
It's not Japanese culture, just rape culture.
I'm not trying to single you out, it's just something to have in mind.
Like everyone else Misa's reaction in this really surprised me, but like kinseijoshi I don't think that it's OOC. I'm really excited to see where this is going!
Giving valid criticisms of a country or culture is not racist. And having lived there did in fact change my perspective of Japan as I learned how normalized victim blaming is. Ask any woman living in Japan and they will tell you it's a HUGE problem in Japan. The government, the police, the media, even the general public will pressure you into keeping quiet to "preserve the harmony".
Also, just because it happens in other places, doesn't make it any less of a problem. Like I said, even though it happens in other places, the difference is that in many of these places, people actually listen to and sympathize with victims, instead of being dismissive and victim blaming like some people here.
People are confused why Misa acted this way after learning about what happened to Io. But when you understand that victim blaming is normalized in Japanese culture (again, I'm not saying it is exclusive to Japanese culture), it becomes more clear why Misa acted the way she did. However, it still does not justify her actions.
