Indirect kiss?

[Satsuki]

Yeah, everyone knows what an indirect kiss is: drinking the same cup at the same spot, eating the same crepe at the same spot, blah blah....You can find it almost everywhere in anime world. But it makes me curious: Does the concept of "indirect kiss" really exist in Japan (I mean in real life), or only in anime/vn/....?

[Flutterz]

Not sure about Japan, but I remember hearing about it in ~4th grade in Canada, and I didn't hear about it again until I got into VNs and anime.

[Eclipsed]

Yeah I've never encountered the concept of "indirect kiss" until VNs/anime. Upon sharing food/drinks with my friends we would be more like "eww germs" rather than "eww indirect kiss".

[madvanced]

Yeah I've never encountered the concept of "indirect kiss" until VNs/anime. Upon sharing food/drinks with my friends we would be more like "eww germs" rather than "eww indirect kiss".

^this

 

But I do wonder if in real life this concept is that of a big deal in Japan.

[crunchytaco]

Probably not in modern Japan where the young growing up are less conservative than their elders.

 

Otaku authors like to portray a more pure and innocent Japan with indirect kisses and virgin heroines. Then they completely obliterate that with Tentacle rape. 

[Nosebleed]

Where I'm from this concept simply is not a thing.

I've shared drinks and food with people before thousands of times, both males and females, and nobody could care less.

Just to give you a prespective, I went out with a group of friends last week and my friend's girlfriend shared a drink with 3 people from the same glass and nobody cared (I doubt anyone even thought about an indirect kiss).

 

The whole concept behind indirect kissing is just ridiculous in a modern society in my opinion.

 

The only time I ever was in presence of something similar to that was in elementary school when sometimes kids would throw around jokes like that but they were nothing more than jokes, they didn't actually stop you from sharing the drink/food.

 

Now there's many places where sharing drinks from the same cup/straw is considered unhygienic for example and that's understandable, but I never saw anyone refusing because it's "an indirect kiss"

 

I believe that anime/manga/vns/etc. use this in "pure" characters that blush over such small pointless details, it's just for the moe, people find it cute that those characters blush over such a thing, I highly doubt anyone IRL actually goes that far.

[Zenophilious]

I've heard it's a good way to get herpes (which is debatable), but other than that I haven't heard much.  I've heard the term used several times, but most people don't usually say it because it makes things awkward very fast.  Most people in my town seem to prefer "waterfalling" (letting a liquid pour into your mouth without letting the rim of the cup/bottle touch your mouth) to indirect kissing, or sharing drinks, or whatever you want to call it.  People in relationships obviously couldn't care less, but other than that, most people I know think of consuming food or drinks that have been in contact with someone else's mouth as disgusting.  To be fair, the human mouth is pretty damn dirty, so that's not exactly unfounded.

 

I've never actually seen it mentioned in any of the anime I've watched.  Nosebleed's guess sounds pretty accurate, at least to me.

[Fiddle]

In my understanding, it's simply their way of expressing what is perceived as sharing germs with one another. Like many other things, the simplest option is just to translate it as is, as opposed to finding a more awkward English equivalent.

[Nagisa_Fawkes]

I always refuse to share glasses/tableware with anyone, not because of indirect kisses, heard about that for the first time in a VN (Kono Oozora, if I'm not mistaken), my reason is that I'm a clean freak, that's all.

[Mr Poltroon]

Sharing drinks... 

For some reason I'm afraid other people mind, so I make sure to always get my own glass. But as it so happens, I'm fairly sure nobody could care less except for clean freaks. 

I do have a someone with herpes in my household, so we take care with that. 

 

'indirect kiss'... Never heard of such a term outside anime and manga, I must admit.

[Satsuki]

I never heard about such thing before I know about anime either, but I just wonder if it's something only exist in Japan, not other countries?

[Zenophilious]

Well, there's certainly a precedent in terms of its use in western movies (Now, Voyager, To Have and Have Not and Rope, movies made during the Hays Code era of media censorship, used sharing cigarettes and lighting one from another as a way to insinuate that characters had had sex) and TV shows (Seinfeld's double-dipping argument, some Friends episode involving two characters hiding a wedding ring in their mouths), but I don't think it's usually called indirect kissing.  Just doesn't seem to be that popular of a term.

[Bolverk]

I've heard it's a good way to get herpes (which is debatable), but other than that I haven't heard much.  I've heard the term used several times, but most people don't usually say it because it makes things awkward very fast.  Most people in my town seem to prefer "waterfalling" (letting a liquid pour into your mouth without letting the rim of the cup/bottle touch your mouth) to indirect kissing, or sharing drinks, or whatever you want to call it.  People in relationships obviously couldn't care less, but other than that, most people I know think of consuming food or drinks that have been in contact with someone else's mouth as disgusting.  To be fair, the human mouth is pretty damn dirty, so that's not exactly unfounded.

 

I've never actually seen it mentioned in any of the anime I've watched.  Nosebleed's guess sounds pretty accurate, at least to me.

 

It's the same here as you Zeno. Sharing your food is mostly fine though. Albeit, drinking with "waterfalling" is pretty much a must. My family has grounded this into me with the reasoning. You don't know if someone takes some water into their mouth, then back into the flask. Thus, the next time you drink. you drink their spit etc. Highly hygienic yes.

[Nosebleed]

It's the same here as you Zeno. Sharing your food is mostly fine though. Albeit, drinking with "waterfalling" is pretty much a must. My family has grounded this into me with the reasoning. You don't know if someone takes some water into their mouth, then back into the flask. Thus, the next time you drink. you drink their spit etc. Highly hygienic yes.

To be fair, kissing someone is also putting their spit into your mouth and that is seen as romantic  (that's why I never understood the "I don't want to drink their spit" excuse)

I understand where you're coming from though.

[Flutterz]

To be fair, kissing someone is also putting their spit into your mouth and that is seen as romantic  (that's why I never understood the "I don't want to drink their spit" excuse)

I understand where you're coming from though.

Obvious solution is obvious.

[Nagisa_Fawkes]

Obvious solution is obvious.

What the hell is the guy with the hat kissing? A freaking alien?

Well, guess it's a good thing it's forbidden, kissing an alien sounds dangerous.

Shepard is furious, though, lol.

[melelisun]

The concept exists in South Korea, I'm not sure about Japan. I think it depends how conservative the characters are. If they've been in a few relationships, it probably wouldn't matter at all... but say, middle school? Even here in America it was a big deal, at least by my experience ^^"

[Stray Cat]

Never heard of it being a big deal.  I think I remember it in some older movies so it may be generational. 

[phersu]

Dunno. When I go back to Japan, I'll share food with clean women and see their reactions. Here....I share food or drink with people. Nobody cares, so long as you aren't sick/diseased.

[Mr. Meogii]

I watched a few anime where the female characters where aware of this "Indirect Kiss". So based on the assumption that most creators and directors are aware of this notion, then It must stand that people in Japan do Know of the Indirect kiss.

[Bolverk]

To be fair, kissing someone is also putting their spit into your mouth and that is seen as romantic  (that's why I never understood the "I don't want to drink their spit" excuse)

I understand where you're coming from though.

Yeah, couples here don't really care much about it. Family, friends etc do care.

[Satsuki]

Yeah, couples here don't really care much about it. Family, friends etc do care.

I don't think a couple will even care about a direct kiss, let alone indirect...

[Zenophilious]

I have to say, as Nosebleed pointed out, we're pretty hypocritical when it comes to fear of germs and kissing.  Most couples will tongue each others' mouths like there's no tomorrow, but if they think about drinking from another person's cup they get grossed out.  Which one is more unsanitary again?  xD

[crunchytaco]

Everyone who has dined outside the house has probably tasted spit from a stranger once in their life, or so I've heard. No matter how safe and clean you try to keep yourself, you'll end up failing .

 

There was a manager at a local pizza chain that tried to send an indirect kiss to a police officer. The officer paid attention to her and sure enough he caught her spitting in his food. Like he suspected, her record showed that she was the same lady that the officer gave a speeding ticket to in the past. Moral of the story, indirect kisses lead to confinement in jail. 

[Stray Cat]

I have to say, as Nosebleed pointed out, we're pretty hypocritical when it comes to fear of germs and kissing.  Most couples will tongue each others' mouths like there's no tomorrow, but if they think about drinking from another person's cup they get grossed out.  Which one is more unsanitary again?  xD

I think the distinction is between strangers and people you know.  You don't know what disease or problems strangers could have but your family is (or should be) a known.