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{{short description|Anime and manga pornography}}
]
{{Other uses}}
{{japanese|kanji=変態|kana= へんたい|romaji=hentai|eng=Hentai}}
{{Distinguish|Hentaigana}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2016}}


]
'''''Hentai''''' (変態), a ]
] meaning "perverted" is used in many ] to refer to ], ], and computer games with explicit sexual or ] content (see ]). However, the Japanese very rarely use the word in this way. More commonly used terms include '''"jū hachi kin"''' (18禁; prohibited for sale to persons under 18), '''"]/]"''' (sexual/pornographic ]) '''"eroanime"''' (エロアニメ; derived from ''erotic ]''), or '''"seinen"''' (成年; adult, not to be confused with ''] young adult'').


'''Hentai''' ({{langx|ja|ヘンタイ}}) is a style of ] ] and ]. In addition to anime and manga, hentai works exist in a variety of media, including artwork and video games (commonly known as '']'').
The term '''"hentai"''' may also be used to refer to pornographic animation in general that is not necessarily anime or manga. This is most often the case if the said animation is an imitation of a pre-existing cartoon or character (e.g. ] hentai).


{{Anime and manga}}
==Background==
]] is an artistic expression of pornography in Japan. As opposed to photographic pornography, they allow full use of the imagination as well as scenes that run counter to accepted society and culture. Elements of sexual fantasy are represented in ways that would be impossible to film, even with a dedicated special effects budget.


The development of hentai has been influenced by Japanese cultural and historical attitudes toward ]. Hentai works, which are often self-published, form a significant portion of the market for '']'' works, including '']''. Numerous subgenres exist depicting a variety of sexual acts and relationships, as well as novel ].
This is not without precedent in Japan. During the ], which was the heyday of ] wood-block prints, ukiyo-e had a pornographic variant, called ], which also had scenes that were sometimes surreal.
Each culture will have a different understanding about the line between adult content and mainstream works. It's important to understand ways that the Japanese line might be different from that in other cultures. Children's anime can depict nude characters, for example in '']'' it is implied that the girls are nude during their transformation. Many artists add ] as ].
However, H material tends to use explicit pornographic content.


== Terminology ==
As a form of expressing sexual fantasy, depictions can include those that are unacceptable in society, or run counter to social norms.
In sexual contexts, ''hentai'' carries additional meanings of "]" or "]", especially when used as an adjective;<ref name="Livia">{{cite book | title=Queerly Phrased: Language, Gender, and Sexuality | publisher=] | year=1997 | last1=Livia | first1=Anna | last2=Kira | first2=Hall}}</ref>{{rp|99}} in these uses, it is the shortened form of the phrase {{Nihongo3||変態性欲|hentai seiyoku}} which means "sexual perversion".<ref name="Short History">{{Cite journal |url=http://wwwsshe.murdoch.edu.au/intersections/issue12/mclelland.html |title=A Short History of ''Hentai'' |first=Mark |last=McLelland |journal=Intersections: Gender, History and Culture in the Asian Context |issue=12 |date=January 2006 |access-date=14 July 2014 |hdl=1885/8673 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170622163120/http://intersections.anu.edu.au/issue12/mclelland.html |archive-date=22 June 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> The character {{lang|ja-latn|hen}} is a catch-all for queerness as a peculiarity—it does not carry an explicit sexual reference.<ref name="Livia" />{{rp|99}} While the term has expanded in use to cover a range of publications including homosexual publications,<ref name="Livia" />{{rp|107}} it remains primarily a heterosexual term, as terms indicating homosexuality entered Japan as ].<ref name="Livia" />{{rp|100}}<ref name="Short History" /> ] are often simply tagged as {{Nihongo3||18禁|18-kin|extra='18-prohibited'}}, meaning "prohibited to those not yet 18 years old", and {{Nihongo3||成人漫画|seijin manga|extra="adult manga"}}.<ref name="Short History" /> Less official terms also in use include {{nihongo|] anime|エロアニメ}}, {{nihongo|ero manga|エロ漫画}}, and the English initialism AV (for "adult video"). Usage of the term ''hentai'' does not define a genre in Japan.
Such fantasies can be depicted in the extreme, often demonstrating subconscious desires or purely carnal motivations. This contrast between accepted&mdash;and in some cases ''legal''&mdash;behavior and primal sexuality is a primary motivation for many works of pornography, and H art is no exception.
]|left]]
''Hentai'' is defined differently in English. The '']'' defines it as "a subgenre of the Japanese genres of manga and anime, characterized by overtly sexualized characters and sexually explicit images and plots."<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/hentai |title=hentai |encyclopedia=] |publisher=Oxford University Press |access-date=25 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130806121703/http://oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/hentai |archive-date=6 August 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The origin of the word in English is unknown, but ]'s John Oppliger points to the early 1990s, when a '']'' erotic '']'' (self-published work) titled ''H-Bomb'' was released, and when many websites sold access to images culled from Japanese erotic ]s and games.<ref>{{cite web|first=John |last=Oppliger |url=http://www.animenation.net/blog/2007/10/19/ask-john-how-did-the-word-hentai-get-adopted-into-english/ |title=Ask John: How Did the Word 'Hentai' Get Adopted Into English? |publisher=] |access-date=25 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131006164915/http://www.animenation.net/blog/2007/10/19/ask-john-how-did-the-word-hentai-get-adopted-into-english/ |archive-date=6 October 2013 }}</ref> The earliest English use of the term traces back to the rec.arts.anime boards; with a 1990 post concerning ] of '']'' and the first discussion of the meaning in 1991.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rec.arts.anime/DUwhE32RLN4/D_OGfPXqd_0J | title=Ranma 1/2 | date=8 February 1990 | access-date=29 April 2013 | author=Newton, Mark}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://groups.google.com/d/topic/rec.arts.anime/TSxYG7Zo5pk/discussion | title=Some little questions | date=12 April 1991 | access-date=29 April 2013}}</ref> A 1995 glossary on the rec.arts.anime boards contained reference to the Japanese usage and the evolving definition of hentai as "pervert" or "perverted sex".<ref>{{cite web | url=https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rec.arts.anime/P-b8LL4ZYiA/vZVc_7gqwrwJ | title=rec.arts.manga Glossary | date=17 March 1995 | access-date=29 April 2013 | author=Sinclair, Iain}}</ref> ''The Anime Movie Guide'', published in 1997, defines {{Nihongo|"]"|エッチ|etchi}} as the initial sound of hentai (i.e., ], as pronounced in Japanese); it included that ecchi was "milder than hentai".<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LTtDAQAAIAAJ&q=hentai | title=The Anime Movie Guide | publisher=Overlook Press | author=McCarthy, Helen | date=27 October 1997 | isbn=9780879517816 | access-date=22 December 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190221122801/https://books.google.com/books?id=LTtDAQAAIAAJ&q=hentai | archive-date=21 February 2019 | url-status=live}}</ref> A year later it was defined as a genre in ''Good Vibrations Guide to Sex''.<ref>{{cite book | title=Good Vibrations Guide to Sex: The Most Complete Sex Manual Ever Written | publisher=Cleis Press | author=Winks, Cathy | date=7 November 1998}}</ref> At the beginning of 2000, "hentai" was listed as the 41st most-popular search term of the internet, while "anime" ranked 99th.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.questia.com/read/1P2-5045822/forget-sex-and-drugs-surfers-are-searching-for-rock-n-roll | title=Forget Sex and Drugs. Surfers Are Searching for Rock'n'roll as the Net Finally Grows Up | work=] | location=London | date=18 January 2000 | access-date=25 April 2013}}{{Dead link|date=July 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> The attribution has been applied retroactively to works such as '']'', '']'', and '']''. ''Urotsukidōji'' had previously been described with terms such as "Japornimation",<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://www.questia.com/library/1G1-17165499/holy-akira-it-s-aeon-flux | title=Holy Akira! It's Aeon Flux | last=Marin | first=Cheech | journal=] | volume=107 | issue=7 | access-date=29 August 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140505125057/http://www.questia.com/library/1G1-17165499/holy-akira-it-s-aeon-flux | archive-date=5 May 2014 | url-status=live | df=dmy-all}}</ref> and "]",<ref name="wp">{{cite news | url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-943760.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611135351/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-943760.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=11 June 2014 | title=Movies; 'Overfiend': Cyber Sadism | newspaper=] | date=26 April 1993 | access-date=25 April 2013 | last=Harrington|first= Richard}}</ref> prior to being identified as hentai.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/80213/Urotsukidoji-I-Legend-of-the-Overfiend/overview | title=Urotsukidoji I: Legend of the Overfiend (1989) | access-date=25 April 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090227003431/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/80213/Urotsukidoji-I-Legend-of-the-Overfiend/overview | archive-date=27 February 2009 | url-status=dead | department=Movies & TV Dept. | work=] | author=Clarke Fountain | date=2009 | df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Paula |last=Span | url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-728801.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611135356/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-728801.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=11 June 2014 | title=Cross-Cultural Cartoon Cult; Japan's Animated Futuristic Features Move From College Clubs to Video Stores | newspaper=] | date=15 May 1997 | access-date=1 May 2013}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!
! Development of the term "Hentai"<ref>{{Cite web |last=Josephy-Hernández |first=Daniel E |date=January 2017 |title=Fansubbing Hentai Anime: Users, Distribution, Censorship and Ethics |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283860753 |website=Researchgate |page=175}}</ref>
|-
| ] (1868–1912)
| ]
|-
| 1917s
| Abnormal sexual desire.
|-
| 1920s–1930s
| Perverted sexuality. Topics related to homosexual relationships.
|-
| 1940s–1950s
| Hentai seiyoku or "perverted desires". Homosexual relationships are still a major theme.
|-
| 1960s
| The term becomes increasingly heterosexualised. The word "ecchi/etchi" appears for the first time.
|-
| 1970s and afterwards
| Development into a loanword in English with its own meaning, referring to a specific pornographic genre.
|-
| 2000s
| In Japan, refers to male heterosexual perversion rather than a wide range of sexual practices and identities. Also refers to the cartoon genre.
|}


== Etymology ==
] This form of Japanese culture acquired some popularity in the West thanks, to a large extent, to the ]. Although there have been many pornographic comic books and animations produced in the West, they never were as popular as H manga is today. Comic book artists who focus on provocative female figures often use their talent for mainstream comic companies rather than adult works, and may fear ridicule for working on niche adult titles that are not as widespread, compared to Japan where a large group of artistic talent draws pornography.
]


{{lang|ja|変態}} (''hentai''; ]; {{pronunciation|Ja-Hentai.oga|listen|(|help=no}}) derives from {{lang|ja|變態}} (], also ]), which is attested in ] texts.<ref name="hannom">{{cite web|url=https://hvdic.thivien.net/whv/%E8%AE%8A%E6%85%8B|title=變態|website=Từ điển Hán Nôm}}</ref> It functioned as a verbal phrase, from its two component ]s, {{lang|ja|變}} meaning "to change" and {{lang|ja|態}} meaning "state" or "condition," hence "to change from a state to another." Literal one-to-one English translations for this would be '']'' and '']'', wherein '']'' and '']'' correspond to 變, while '']'' and '']'' to 態.This meaning is attested in ] and later texts.<ref name="kotobank">{{cite web|url=https://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%A4%89%E6%85%8B-131270#w-1252996|title=変態|website=kotobank.jp}}</ref>
In comparison to other forms of pornography, H art often portrays women as regular females in society who end up in some kind of sexual encounter, and are often aroused by the encounter to the point of no return. Characters may be portrayed as shy or have no conscious thoughts about sex, until placed in a situation where they are stimulated and aroused. While there is a common theme of a male stranger convincing a female to become aroused physically by her own body and whatever the male desires, there are also depictions of consensual sex between couples, as well as assertive females who initiate sex.


In Chinese, {{lang|ja|變}} is primarily a verb meaning to "change," and secondarily a noun meaning "troublesome event,"<ref name="hannom" /> but in Japanese, it was extended to an ] meaning "different," "unusual" or "strange"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%A4%89-171168#w-1412813|title=変|website=kotobank.jp}}</ref> (compare other compounds such as {{nihongo||變體|hentai|{{lit|unusual form}}}} as in {{nihongo||變體假名|]}}, and {{nihongo||變格|henkaku|{{lit|unusual style}}}} as in {{nihongo||變格活用|]}}). This led {{lang|ja|變態}} to become a noun phrase meaning "strange state," thus "abnormality,"<ref name="kotobank" /><ref name="kenkyusha">{{cite book |title=研究社新和英大辞典 |trans-title=] |language=ja |publisher=]}}</ref> instead of the original "to change to another state," in modern Japanese<ref name="kotobank" /> and Chinese<ref name="hannom" /> publications, particularly in psychology and physiology. A psychological application of this meaning is found in the phrase {{lang|ja|変態性欲}} (''hentai seiyoku'' {{lit|abnormal sexual desire}}<ref name="kenkyusha" />), which has been cited as being shortened back to just {{lang|ja|変態}}.<ref name="kotobank" />
Often, H artists try to portray situations in the most extreme manner possible, in order to break the boundaries of the viewer's ]. This results in artists competing to show successively more excessive situations over time. An example would include ] and group sex, which demonstrates extreme sex that isn't usually performed by the average person. Other forms of demonstrating extreme sexual activity include bondage, tentacles, or other fetishes. Some artists may prefer to do the opposite, and focus on lighter titillation and nudity, or on character relationships and story.


Yet another meaning, "]," which resemebles the original one, was first adopted by the ]<ref name="kotobank" /> and reintroduced into Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese. This meaning is used in the English translation of the light novel '']'', although it is not directly entomological, and it may also reference the semi-sexual portions of the work.
==Meaning of the word==
In ], the word ''hentai'' is based on the words, "hen" meaning unusual or strange and "tai" meaning attitude or appearance. It is never used to refer to pornographic material, only to a person. The terms ''18-kin'' (18禁, literally "18-prohibited") meaning "prohibited to those not yet 18 years old", and ''seijin manga'' (成人漫画 "adult manga") are used when referring to pornography.


It is worth noting that {{lang|ja|変態}} is further shortened to ''H'' (''etchi''), the first letter of its romanization. Both ''hentai'' and ''etchi'' (or '']'' in English parlance) are used to refer to sexual perversion/deviance, or people therewith, as well as smut. A person accused of sexual perversion may be derogatorily called ''hentai'', while a sex scene in a film, TV show or ] is called {{lang|ja|Hシーン}} (''etchi shīn'' {{lit|H-scene}}).<ref>{{cite book|first=Mitsuru|last=Adachi|authorlink=Mitsuru Adachi|title=]|location=Tokyo|publisher=Shogakukan|date=23 July 2007|isbn=978-4-09-127873-9|volume=3|page=36|chapter=ja:下駄とダイヤモンド|trans-chapter=Geta and Diamonds|quote=話は面白いけどな。——しかし大事なのは'''エッチシーン'''。|trans-quote=Story's good, but it needs some sex scenes.}}</ref><!-- Ideally there should be some kind of encyclopedic entry, but my Goolge results are full of smut, and frankly this term is oververifiable. If you can find one better, feel free to replace this quote. --> The distinction outside of Japanese contexts between "hardcore" ''hentai'' and "softcore" ''etchi'' is entirely artificial.
Compare '']'' for another word altered somewhat in this transition. The English use is compared to the Japanese slang エッチ (''H'', '']'', often spelled '']''), which refers to any sexually explicit content or behavior &#8212; or simply a lewd comment. ''Etchi'' is simply the spelling-out of the Japanese pronunciation of the letter ''H''; and is believed to be a shortened form of ''hentai'' used as a polite codeword in the ]. (Note that even in Japan the origins of ''etchi'' are unclear &#8212; one playful suggestion is that an H is someone who always follows a G, or girl.) Another possibility is that ''etchi'' is not a pronunciation of anything; it simply means "dirty". On forums and chat rooms "ecchi" is used to refer to pictures that are ], showing nothing more explicit than women's breasts.


The history of the word ''hentai'' has its origins in science and psychology.<ref name="Short History" /> By the middle of the ], the term appeared in publications to describe unusual or abnormal traits, including paranormal abilities and psychological disorders.<ref name="Short History" /> A translation of German sexologist ]'s text {{Lang|de|]}} originated the concept of ''hentai seiyoku'', as a "perverse or abnormal sexual desire",<ref name="Short History" /> though it was popularized outside psychology, as in the case of ]'s 1909 novel '']''.<ref name="Short History" /> Continued interest in ''hentai seiyoku'' resulted in numerous journals and publications on sexual advice which circulated in the public, served to establish the sexual connotation of ''hentai'' as perverse.<ref name="Short History" /> Any perverse or abnormal act could be hentai, such as committing {{lang|ja-latn|]}} (love suicide).<ref name="Short History" /> It was Nakamura Kokyo's journal ''Abnormal Psychology'' which started the popular ] boom in Japan which would see the rise of other popular journals like ''Sexuality and Human Nature'', ''Sex Research'' and ''Sex''.<ref name="Driscoll" /> Originally, Tanaka Kogai wrote articles for ''Abnormal Psychology'', but it would be Tanaka's own journal ''Modern Sexuality'' which would become one of the most popular sources of information about erotic and neurotic expression.<ref name="Driscoll" /> ''Modern Sexuality'' was created to promote ], ], and ] as a facet of modern life.<ref name="Driscoll">{{cite book| title=Absolute Erotic, Absolute Grotesque: The Living, Dead, and Undead in Japan's Imperialism, 1895–1945 |location=Durham/London| publisher=] | date=13 July 2010 | last=Driscoll | first= Mark | pages=140–160 | isbn=978-0-8223-4740-8}}</ref> The ] movement and depiction of perverse, abnormal and often erotic undertones were a response to interest in ''hentai seiyoku''.<ref name="Short History" />
Exactly how the term ''hentai'' came to refer to all sexually explicit content in American anime fandom is unknown. With the rise of the ], however, the term was extensively promoted by pornographic sites selling access to (frequently bootlegged) erotic manga. ]s promoting these sites might, for instance advertise "live girls and hentai", with the latter meaning erotic manga as opposed to photographs. In addition, many people outside of anime and manga fandom had come to associate anime with a particular genre of extreme pornography (e.g., ]) which could easily be called ''hentai'' in Japanese as well.


Following ], Japan took a new interest in sexualization and public sexuality.<ref name="Short History" /> Mark McLelland puts forth the observation that the term ''hentai'' found itself shortened to "H" and that the English pronunciation was "]", referring to lewdness and which did not carry the stronger connotation of abnormality or perversion.<ref name="Short History" /> By the 1950s, the "hentai seiyoku" publications became their own genre and included fetish and homosexual topics.<ref name="Short History" /> By the 1960s, the homosexual content was dropped in favor of subjects like sadomasochism and stories of lesbianism targeted to male readers.<ref name="Short History" /> The late 1960s brought a sexual revolution which expanded and solidified the normalizing of the term's identity in Japan that continues to exist today through publications such as ''Bessatsu Takarajima''{{'}}s ''Hentai-san ga iku'' series.<ref name="Short History" />
"H" in Japan is now broadly used to refer to all sexual content or activity, so "H manga" are manga with sexual content&mdash;however, "H" and "hentai" are no longer interchangeable. Also, the term "ero" (エロ), short for "erotic" but closer in meaning to "porn", is now used more often instead of "H".


==Hentai media== == History ==
With the usage of ''hentai'' as any erotic depiction, the history of these depictions is split into their media. Japanese artwork and comics serve as the first example of hentai material, coming to represent the iconic style after the publication of ]'s ''{{ill|Cybele (doujinshi)|lt=Cybele|ja|シベール (同人誌)}}'' in 1979.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pFQmCAAAQBAJ&q=cybele+hideo+azuma&pg=PT81|title=Debating Otaku in Contemporary Japan: Historical Perspectives and New Horizons|last1=Galbraith|first1=Patrick W.|last2=Kam|first2=Thiam Huat|last3=Kamm|first3=Björn-Ole|date=21 May 2015|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=9781472594983|language=en}}</ref> Hentai first appeared in animation in the 1932 film {{ill|Suzumi-bune|ja|すヾみ舟}} by {{ill|Hakusan Kimura|ja|木村白山}}, which was seized by police when it was half complete. The remnants of the film were donated to the ] in the early 21st century.<ref name=":1" /> The film has never been viewed by the public.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Clements |first=Jonathan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=inWpe4hhc0IC&pg=PA75 |title=Schoolgirl Milky Crisis: Adventures in the Anime and Manga Trade |publisher=A-Net Digital LLC |year=2010 |isbn=9780984593743 |pages=75 |author-link=Jonathan Clements}}</ref> However, the 1984 release of Wonderkid's '']'' was the first hentai to get a general release,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FM9Y5EKSOakC&q=loloita+anime+1984&pg=PA49|title=Mechademia 3: Limits of the Human|last=Lunning|first=Frenchy|date=1 November 2014|publisher=U of Minnesota Press|isbn=9781452914176|pages=49|language=en}}</ref> overlooking the erotic and sexual depictions in 1969's '']'' and the bare-breasted Cleopatra in 1970's '']'' film. Erotic games, another area of contention, has its first case of the art style depicting sexual acts in 1985's '']''. In each of these mediums, the broad definition and usage of the term complicates its historic examination.<ref name=":0" />
*Adult anime, or ], is anime that relies primarily on sex.
*] rendered graphics, a more recent development that has evolved with graphics technology. Styles tend to emulate drawn art as well as video game art. Can be in image, game, or animation form.
*Adult manga, or ], is manga designed for purely pornographic purposes. Plot is still used to develop character and setting, but the ultimate goal is to show scenes of sexuality. Adult manga is often sold in convenience stores, book stores, and magazine stores in Japan, and also other public places such as airports, and is far more prolific and accessible than the US adult ] market. It is usually distributed in digest format, containing several stories by different artists.
*Adult ] includes individual drawings by artists. Art can be available on websites, ]s, or in printed art books. CG artwork is used frequently in adult video games.
*Adult video games, or ], are games with a pornographic element. They can include ]s that involve character driven plots, can exist as sex ]s.
*Adult Dōjinshi, or ], refers to a type of work that uses copyrighted characters presented in sexual situations. It usually refers to printed manga, but can also refer to any type of visual work depicting copyrighted characters, including video games, animation, and CG artwork. Familiarity with a particular character or setting can add a sense of relating to the character over a generic character used in mainstream hentai, making dōjinshi more appealing to fans of a particular work. Despite not representing characters and licensed properties as intended, companies often view these works as a free form of license recognition and advertising through dedicated fandom. Some mangakas create hentai dojinshi with characters from their own mangas. Like ] who create himself ''Bastard - Expansion'', a pornographic dōjin with characters from ].
*In Western ] circles, hentai-based works are popularly referred to as ], based on a more popular hentai title called ]. Fictions referred to as "Lime" are ones in which the characters do everything short of having sexual intercourse with each other. In Japan, the works may be referred to as "lemon" or "]" ("pink" having sexual connotations similar to the term "blue" in the west).
*Hobbyists often add an extreme adult element to sculptures, models, figures, dolls, mannequins, or outfits.


=== Origin of erotic manga ===
== Hentai classification ==
]'' (1814), a well-known example of Japanese erotic art ('']'')]]
There are two main categories of hentai: works that feature mainly heterosexual interactions (often abbreviated "het" by its users), and those that feature mainly homosexual interactions. This second group can be further split into ] and ] styles. ''Yaoi'' refers to ] male pairings, and ''yuri'' to ] pairings.
Depictions of sex and abnormal sex can be traced back through the ages, predating the term "hentai". '']'', a Japanese term for erotic art, is thought to have existed in some form since the ]. From the 16th to the 19th centuries, ''shunga'' works were suppressed by the ].<ref>{{cite web |author=Bowman, John |year=2000 |title=Columbia Chronologies of Asian History and Culture |url=https://www.questia.com/library/99910501/columbia-chronologies-of-asian-history-and-culture |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130716085313/http://www.questia.com/library/99910501/columbia-chronologies-of-asian-history-and-culture |archive-date=16 July 2013 |access-date=26 April 2013 |publisher=] }}</ref> A well-known example is '']'' by ], which depicts a woman being stimulated by two octopuses. ''Shunga'' production fell with the introduction of pornographic photographs in the late 19th century.


To define erotic ], a definition for manga is needed. While the '']'' uses the term "manga" in its title, it does not depict the story-telling aspect common to modern manga, as the images are unrelated. Due to the influence of pornographic photographs in the 19th and 20th centuries, the manga artwork was depicted by realistic characters. ] helped define the modern look and form of manga, and was later proclaimed as the "God of Manga".<ref name="history">{{cite web|url=http://www.matt-thorn.com/mangagaku/history.html |title=A History of Manga |access-date=26 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130415042305/http://www.matt-thorn.com/mangagaku/history.html |archive-date=15 April 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://hentaiweeb.com/what-is-hentai/ | title=History of Manga and Hentai | access-date=20 July 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810030827/http://hentaiweeb.com/what-is-hentai | archive-date=10 August 2017 | url-status=dead | df=dmy-all}}</ref> His debut work '']'' was released in 1947 as a comic book through Ikuei Publishing and sold over 400,000 copies,<ref name="history" /> though it was the popularity of Tezuka's '']'', '']'', and '']'' manga that would come to define the media. This story-driven manga style is distinctly unique from comic strips like '']'', and story-driven works came to dominate {{lang|ja-latn|]}} and '']'' magazines.<ref name="history" />
Yaoi commonly features males of ambiguous ] in both physical appearance and mannerisms. These males are called "]," which literally means "pretty boy." The traditional "]" of gay porn in other countries is very rare in Japan. Yaoi also exists outside of the hentai genre, since it is an ambiguous term that is applied to any form of anime that includes male homosexuality. However, it is different from ] (literally, "boy-love"), in which two males simply express romantic feelings for each other and never actually have sexual relations.


Adult themes in manga have existed since the 1940s, but some of these depictions were more realistic than the cartoon-cute characters popularized by Tezuka.<ref name="Galbraith">{{cite journal |author=Galbraith, Patrick |year=2011 |title=Lolicon: The Reality of 'Virtual Child Pornography' in Japan |url=http://www.imageandnarrative.be/index.php/imagenarrative/article/viewFile/127/98 |journal=Image & Narrative |publisher=The University of Tokyo |volume=12 |issue=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170806212344/http://www.imageandnarrative.be/index.php/imagenarrative/article/viewFile/127/98 |archive-date=6 August 2017 |access-date=26 April 2013 }}</ref> In 1973, ''Manga Bestseller'' (later known as ''Manga Erotopia''), which is considered to be the first hentai manga magazine published in Japan, would be responsible for creating a new genre known as {{lang|ja-latn|ero-gekiga}}, where {{lang|ja-latn|]}} was taken, and the sexual and violent content was intensified.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|last=Kimi|first=Rito|title=The History of Hentai Manga: An Expressionist Examination of Eromanga|publisher=]|year=2021|isbn=978-1-63442-253-6|pages=24, 25}}</ref> Other well-known "{{lang|ja-latn|ero-gekiga}}" magazines were ''Erogenica'' (1975), and ''Alice'' (1977).<ref>{{cite book |author=Gravett, Paul |url=https://archive.org/details/mangasixtyyearso0000grav |title=Manga: Sixty Years of Japanese Comics |publisher=Laurence King Publishing and Harper Design International |year=2004 |isbn=9781856693912 |location=New York |page=135 |oclc=935609782 |url-access=registration}}</ref> The circulation of {{lang|ja-latn|ero-gekiga}} magazines would peak in 1978, and it is believed that somewhere between eighty and one hundred different {{lang|ja-latn|ero-gekiga}} magazines were being published annually.
Yuri is very similar to yaoi, except that the focus is on homosexual female interactions, and the females in a typical yuri illustration or animation tend to be far less realistic than the males in yaoi. The females in yuri are known as "]," which, predictably, translates as "pretty girl." Shōjo-ai ("girl love") is the female equivalent of shōnen-ai.


The 1980s would see the decline of {{lang|ja-latn|ero-gekiga}} in favor of the rising popularity of '']'' and {{lang|ja-latn|]}} magazines, which grew from '']'' fan culture. It has been theorized that the decline of {{lang|ja-latn|ero-gekiga}} was due to the baby boomer readership beginning to start their own families, as well as migrating to ] magazines such as '']'', and when it came to sexual material, the readership was stolen by ] and ]s.<ref name=":3" /> The distinct shift in the style of Japanese pornographic comics from realistic to cartoon-cute characters is accredited to ], "The Father of ''Lolicon''".<ref name="Galbraith" /> In 1979, he penned ''{{interlanguage link|Cybele (doujinshi)|lt=Cybele|ja|シベール (同人誌)}}'', which offered the first depictions of sexual acts between cute, unrealistic Tezuka-style characters. This would start a pornographic manga movement.<ref name="Galbraith" /> The ''lolicon'' boom of the 1980s saw the rise of magazines such as the anthologies '']'' and '']''. As the ''lolicon'' boom waned in the mid-1980s, the dominant form of representation for female characters became "baby faced and big chested" women.<ref name="nagayama">{{Cite book|last=Nagayama|first=Kaoru|title=Erotic Comics in Japan: An Introduction to Eromanga|date=2020|publisher=]|isbn=978-94-6372-712-9|location=Amsterdam|pages=27, 137–139, 223–224|translator-last=Galbraith|translator-first=Patrick W.|oclc=1160012499|translator-last2=Bauwens-Sugimoto|translator-first2=Jessica}}</ref> The shift in popularity from ''lolicon'' to {{lang|ja-latn|bishōjo}} has been credited to ] (who wrote under the pen name of Tō Moriyama). Moriyama's manga had a style that had not been seen before at the time, and was different from the {{lang|ja-latn|ero-gekiga}} and ''lolicon'' styles, and used {{lang|ja-latn|bishōjo}} designs as a base to build upon. Moriyama's books sold well upon publication, creating even more fans for the genre. These new artists would then write for magazines such as ''Monthly Penguin Club Magazine'' (1986) and ''Manga Hot Milk'' (1986) which would become popular with their readership, drawing in new fans.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kimi|first=Rito|title=The History of Hentai Manga: An Expressionist Examination of Eromanga|publisher=]|year=2021|isbn=978-1-63442-253-6|pages=37, 38}}</ref>
The scope of hentai encompasses the entire range of sexual ]es, including:
*], the depiction of women with large breasts. Literally translated to "busty".
*], focusing on domination though use of ropes, tools, ], and elaborate devices. Themes can include empowerment, restriction, and submitting to sexual urges.
*], a common representation of a female being used to service as many males as physically possible, who then ejaculate on her. Often depicted in public or in areas with a large number of males present.
*]s (also known as "nekos" - Japanese for "cat" - in online slang) and other anthropomorphic characters, who display animal attributes such as ears, claws, and a tail. Generally, skin is made completely visible and not covered entirely by fur, a distinction from ].
*] and ]
*]
*], focusing on nudity, partial nudity, and provocative clothing rather than pure sex.
*], a depiction of females who naturally have male genitalia, often exaggerated beyond normal proportions.
*], focusing on imaginative gore and mutilation.
*]
*], includes girls who are depicted as being below the age of consent. <!-- in Japan (for sexual activities) , which is 13. -->
*]
*]
*], ] and ]
*], the depiction of underage boys having intercourse with other boys, men or women.
*], the depiction of tentacled creatures or monsters (imaginative or otherwise) engaging in sex or rape with girls.


The publication of erotic materials in the United States can be traced back to at least 1990, when ] printed its first ''Anime Shower Special''.<ref name="john2" /> In March 1994, ] released '']'', an English translation of ''Insect Hunter'', an "insect rape" manga which became popular in the American market, while it apparently had a poor showing in Japan.<ref name="john2" /><ref>{{Cite book|last=Kimi|first=Rito|title=The History of Hentai: An Expressionist Examination of Eromanga|publisher=]|year=2021|isbn=978-1-63442-253-6|pages=333}}</ref> During this time, the one American publisher translating and publishing hentai was Fantagraphics on their adult comic imprint, Eros Comix, which was established around 1990.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kimi|first=Rito|title=The History of Hentai Manga: An Expressionist Examination of Eromanga|publisher=]|year=2021|isbn=978-1-63442-253-6|pages=331}}</ref>
==See also==
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*]
*]
*]
*]
*]
*]
*]
*] (and ])
*] (groups, studios, production companies, circles)
*]
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== External links and references == === Origin of erotic anime ===
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Because there are fewer animation productions, most erotic works are retroactively tagged as ''hentai'' since the coining of the term in English.{{Clarify|reason=|date=June 2020}}{{Citation needed|date=June 2020}} ''Hentai'' is typically defined as consisting of excessive nudity, and graphic sexual intercourse whether or not it is perverse. The term "]" is typically related to ], with no sexual intercourse being depicted.
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The earliest pornographic anime was ''{{ill|Suzumi-bune|ja|すヾみ舟}}'', created in 1932 by {{ill|Hakusan Kimura|ja|木村白山}}. It was the first part of a two-reeler film, which was half complete before it was seized by the police. The remnants of the film were donated to the ] in the early 21st century by the Tokyo police, who were removing all silver nitrate film in their possession, as it is extremely flammable.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last1=Clements |first1=Jonathan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E03KBgAAQBAJ |title=The Anime Encyclopedia: A Century of Japanese Animation |last2=McCarthy |first2=Helen |publisher=Stone Bridge Press |year=2015 |isbn=9781611729092 |edition=3rd Revised |chapter=Erotica and pornography |author-link=Jonathan Clements |author-link2=Helen McCarthy}}</ref> The film has never been viewed by the public.<ref name=":2" />
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Two early works escape being defined as hentai, but contain erotic themes. This is likely due to the obscurity and unfamiliarity of the works, arriving in the United States and fading from public focus a full 20 years before importation and surging interests coined the Americanized term ''hentai''. The first is the 1969 film '']'', which faithfully includes erotic elements of the original story.<ref name="AE" />{{rp|27}} In 1970, '']'', was the first animated film to carry an ], but it was mislabeled as erotica in the United States.<ref name="AE">{{cite book |last1=Clements |first1=Jonathan | author-link1=Clements, Jonathan |last2=McCarthy |first2=Helen |author-link2=Helen McCarthy | title=] |edition=Revised and Expanded | publisher=Stone Bridge Press | year=2006}}</ref>{{rp|104}}
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The '']'' series is typically identified as the first erotic ] and ] (OVA); it was released in 1984 by Wonder Kids. Containing six episodes, the series focused on underage sex and rape, and included one episode containing ] bondage.<ref name="AE" />{{rp|376}} Several sub-series were released in response, including a second ''Lolita Anime'' series released by ].<ref name="AE" />{{rp|376}} It has not been officially licensed or distributed outside of its original release.
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The '']'' franchise of works ran from 1984 to 2005, with a number of them entering the American market in various forms.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.animenation.net/blog/2003/07/22/ask-john-how-much-cream-lemon-is-there/ |title=Ask John: How Much Cream Lemon is There? |publisher=animenation.net |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090505172501/http://www.animenation.net/blog/2003/07/22/ask-john-how-much-cream-lemon-is-there/ |archive-date=5 May 2009}}</ref> ''The Brothers Grime'' series released by Excalibur Films contained ''Cream Lemon'' works as early as 1986.<ref name="Anime Porn Market">{{cite web |url=http://www.awn.com/mag/issue3.4/3.4pages/3.4patten.html |title=The Anime 'Porn' Market |publisher=awn.com |access-date=6 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170428102208/http://www.awn.com/mag/issue3.4/3.4pages/3.4patten.html |archive-date=28 April 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> However, they were not billed as anime and were introduced during the same time that the first underground distribution of erotic works began.<ref name="john2">{{cite web|url=http://www.animenation.net/blog/2008/03/26/ask-john-how-did-hentai-become-popular-in-america/ |title=Ask John: How Did Hentai Become Popular in America? |publisher=AnimeNation |access-date=26 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130925211808/http://www.animenation.net/blog/2008/03/26/ask-john-how-did-hentai-become-popular-in-america/ |archive-date=25 September 2013 }}</ref>
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The American release of licensed erotic anime was first attempted in 1991 by ], with ''I Give My All'', but it never occurred.<ref name="john2" /> In December 1992, '']'' was the first risque (''ecchi'') title that was released by ].<ref name="john2" /> While it contains no sexual intercourse, it pushes the limits of the ''ecchi'' category with sexual dialogue, nudity and one scene in which the heroine is about to be raped.
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]
It was Central Park Media's 1993 release of '']'' which brought the first hentai film to American viewers.<ref name="john2" /> Often cited for inventing the ] subgenre, it contains extreme depictions of violence and monster sex.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://metanorn.net/2011/08/not-fit-to-fap-to-urotsukidoji-birth-of-the-overfiend-nsfw | title=Not Fit to Fap To: Urotsukidoji: Birth of the Overfiend (NSFW) | publisher=Metanorn | access-date=25 April 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160823032050/http://metanorn.net/2011/08/not-fit-to-fap-to-urotsukidoji-birth-of-the-overfiend-nsfw | archive-date=23 August 2016 | url-status=dead | df=dmy-all}}</ref> As such, it is acknowledged for being the first to depict tentacle sex on screen.<ref name="wp" /> When the film premiered in the United States, it was described as being "drenched in graphic scenes of perverse sex and ultra-violence".<ref>Richard Harrington. "Movies; 'Overfiend': Cyber Sadism". '']''. Washingtonpost Newsweek Interactive. 1993. {{Cite web |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-943760.html |title=Movies; 'Overfiend': Cyber Sadism – the Washington Post &#124; HighBeam Research |access-date=25 April 2013 |archive-date=11 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611135351/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-943760.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>
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Following this release, a wealth of pornographic content began to arrive in the United States, with companies such as A.D. Vision, Central Park Media and ] releasing licensed titles under various labels.<ref name="Anime Porn Market" /> A.D. Vision's label SoftCel Pictures released 19 titles in 1995 alone.<ref name="Anime Porn Market" /> Another label, ], was created in 1996 to release an unedited edition of '']''.<ref name="Anime Porn Market" /> When A.D. Vision's hentai label SoftCel Pictures shut down in 2005, most of its titles were acquired by Critical Mass. Following the bankruptcy of Central Park Media in 2009, the licenses for all Anime 18-related products and movies were transferred to Critical Mass.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-06-08/central-park-media-licenses-offered-by-liquidator |title=Central Park Media's Licenses Offered by Liquidator |publisher=] |date=8 June 2009 |access-date=30 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222050850/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-06-08/central-park-media-licenses-offered-by-liquidator |archive-date=22 December 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>
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=== Origin of erotic games ===
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] (Japanese-style adult video game)]]
]
The term '']'' (erotic game) literally defines any erotic game, but has become synonymous with video games depicting the artistic styles of anime and manga. The origins of ''eroge'' began in the early 1980s, while the computer industry in Japan was struggling to define a computer standard with makers like ], ], and ] competing against one another.<ref name="eroge1">{{cite web|url=http://www.shii.org/geekstories/eroge.html |title=A History of Eroge |access-date=28 April 2013 |author=Todome, Satoshi |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121205102947/http://www.shii.org/geekstories/eroge.html |archive-date=5 December 2012 }}</ref> The ] series, despite lacking in processing power, ]s and limited graphics, came to dominate the market, with the popularity of ''eroge'' games contributing to its success.<ref name="eroge1" /><ref name="hcg" />
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Because of vague definitions of what constitutes an "erotic game", there are several possible candidates for the first ''eroge''. If the definition applies to adult themes, the first game was '']''. Released in America in 1981 for the ], this was a text-based comedic game from ]. If ''eroge'' is defined as the first graphical depictions of Japanese adult themes, it would be ]'s 1982 release of '']''.<ref name="hcg">{{cite web | url=http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/JPNcomputers/Japanesecomputers3.htm | title=Hardcore gaming 101: Japanese computers | publisher=Hardcoregaming101 | access-date=28 April 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170930174030/http://hardcoregaming101.net/JPNcomputers/Japanesecomputers3.htm | archive-date=30 September 2017 | url-status=live | df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Jones|first1=Matthew T.|date=December 2005|title=The Impact of Telepresence on Cultural Transmission through Bishoujo Games|journal=PsychNology Journal|volume=3|issue=3|pages=292–311|url=http://www.psychnology.org/File/PNJ3(3)/PSYCHNOLOGY_JOURNAL_3_3_JONES.pdf|issn=1720-7525|access-date=16 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120620120235/http://www.psychnology.org/File/PNJ3%283%29/PSYCHNOLOGY_JOURNAL_3_3_JONES.pdf|archive-date=20 June 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> Sexual intercourse is depicted through simple graphic outlines. Notably, ''Night Life'' was not intended to be erotic so much as an instructional guide "to support married life". A series of "undressing" games appeared as early as 1983, such as "Strip Mahjong". The first ]-styled erotic game was {{lang|ja-latn|]}}, released in 1985 by ]. In 1988, ] released the first erotic ], ''Chaos Angel''.<ref name="eroge1" /> In 1989, ] released the turn-based role-playing game '']'' and ] released '']''.<ref name="eroge1" />
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In the late 1980s, ''eroge'' began to stagnate under high prices and the majority of games containing uninteresting plots and mindless sex.<ref name="eroge1" /> ELF's 1992 release of {{lang|ja-latn|]}} came as customer frustration with ''eroge'' was mounting and spawned a new genre of games called ]s.<ref name="eroge1" /> {{lang|ja-latn|Dōkyūsei}} was unique because it had no defined plot and required the player to build a relationship with different girls in order to advance the story.<ref name="eroge1" /> Each girl had her own story, but the prospect of consummating a relationship required the girl growing to love the player; there was no easy sex.<ref name="eroge1" />

The term "]" is vague, with Japanese and English definitions classifying the genre as a type of interactive fiction game driven by narration and limited player interaction. While the term is often retroactively applied to many games, it was ] that coined the term with their "Leaf Visual Novel Series" (LVNS) and the 1996 release of {{lang|ja-latn|]}} and {{lang|ja-latn|]}}.<ref name="eroge1" /> The success of these two dark ''eroge'' games would be followed by the third and final installment of the LVNS, the 1997 romantic ''eroge'' '']''.<ref name="eroge1" /> ''Eroge'' visual novels took a new emotional turn with ]' 1998 release {{lang|ja-latn|]}}.<ref name="eroge1" /> ]'s 1999 release of '']'' proved to be a major success and would go on to have numerous console ports, two manga series and two anime series.

== Censorship ==
{{see also|Censorship in Japan|Pornography laws by region}}

Japanese laws have impacted depictions of works since the ], but these predate the common definition of hentai material. Since becoming law in 1907, Article 175 of the ] forbids the publication of obscene materials. Specifically, depictions of male–female sexual intercourse and ] are considered obscene, but bare genitalia is not.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}} As censorship is required for published works, the most common representations are the blurring dots on pornographic videos and "bars" or "lights" on still images. In 1986, ] sought to get past censorship on depictions of sexual intercourse, by creating ].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.urotsukidoji.jp/en/profile.html | title=Hentai Comics | publisher=Maeda, Toshio | access-date=25 April 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170721003554/http://www.urotsukidoji.jp/en/profile.html | archive-date=21 July 2017 | url-status=live | df=dmy-all}}</ref> This led to the large number of works containing sexual intercourse with monsters, demons, robots, and aliens, whose genitals look different from men's. While Western views attribute hentai to any explicit work, it was the products of this censorship which became not only the first titles legally imported to America and Europe, but the first successful ones. While uncut for American release, the United Kingdom's release of '']'' removed many scenes of the violence and tentacle rape scenes.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=389419 | title=Urotsukidoji III – The Return of the Overfiend | publisher=Move Censorship.com | access-date=25 April 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180216084735/https://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=389419 | archive-date=16 February 2018 | url-status=live | df=dmy-all}}</ref> Another technique used to evade regulation was the "sexual intercourse cross-section view", an imaginary view of intercourse resembling an anatomic drawing or an ], which would eventually evolve as a prevalent expression in hentai for its erotic appeal. This expression is known in the Western world as the "x-ray view".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kimi|first=Rito|title=The History of Hentai: An Expressionist Examination of Eromanga|publisher=]|year=2021|isbn=978-1-63442-253-6|pages=177, 325, 326, 327}}</ref>

It was also because of this law that the artists began to depict the characters with a minimum of anatomical details and without pubic hair, by law, prior to 1991. Part of the ban was lifted when ] prevailed over the obscenity charges at his trial for his film '']''.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://faculty.upj.pitt.edu/jalexander/Research%20archive/Japanese%20obscenity%20law/Oshima%20article.pdf | title=Obscenity, Pornography, and the Law in Japan: Reconsidering Oshima's In the Realm of the Senses | access-date=26 April 2013 | author=Alexander, James | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118071249/http://faculty.upj.pitt.edu/jalexander/Research%20archive/Japanese%20obscenity%20law/Oshima%20article.pdf | archive-date=18 January 2017 | url-status=live | df=dmy-all}}</ref> Though not enforced, the lifting of this ban did not apply to anime and manga as they were not deemed artistic exceptions.<ref name="Galbraith" />

Alterations of material or censorship and banning of works are common. The US release of '']'' altered the age of the heroine from 16 to 18, removed sex scenes with a dwarf ninja named Nin-nin, and removed the Japanese blurring dots.<ref name="AE" /> ''La Blue Girl'' was outright rejected by UK censors who refused to classify it and prohibited its distribution.<ref name="AE" /><ref>'' {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100701112841/http://www.bbfc.co.uk/general/index.php |date=1 July 2010}}'' (30 December 1996). " {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140505130255/http://www.bbfc.co.uk/website/Classified.nsf/ClassifiedWorks/06F862821A46D9C8802566C00033C26C?OpenDocument |date=5 May 2014}}". Retrieved 27 November 2009.</ref> In 2011, members of the ] sought a ban on the subgenre '']'' but were unsuccessful.<ref>{{cite web|title=請願:参議院ホームページ|url=http://www.sangiin.go.jp/japanese/joho1/kousei/seigan/177/yousi/yo1771775.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171024043059/http://www.sangiin.go.jp/japanese/joho1/kousei/seigan/177/yousi/yo1771775.htm|archive-date=24 October 2017|access-date=14 May 2013|publisher=Sangiin.go.jp}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Hodgkins|first=Crystalyn|date=30 September 2011|title=LDP Petition: Japan's Child Porn Laws Should Apply to Manga/Anime/Games|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-09-30/ldp-petition/japan-child-porn-laws-should-apply-to-manga/anime/games|access-date=12 February 2021|website=Anime News Network|language=en}}</ref> The last law proposed against it was introduced on 27 May 2013 by the Liberal Democratic Party, the ] and the ] that would have made possession of sexual images of individuals under 18 illegal with a fine of 1&nbsp;million yen (about US$10,437) and less than a year in jail.<ref>{{cite web|last=Loveridge|first=Lynzee|date=27 May 2013|title=Japan's Ruling Party to Reintroduce Child Pornography Law Revision|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2013-05-27/japan-ruling-party-to-reintroduce-child-pornography-law-revision|access-date=17 June 2013|work=Anime News Network}}</ref> The Japanese Democratic Party, along with several industry associations involved in anime and manga protested against the bill saying "while they appreciate that the bill protects children, it will also restrict freedom of expression".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://taruiyoshikazu.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/MX-2600FN_20130613_194327.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130703181021/http://taruiyoshikazu.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/MX-2600FN_20130613_194327.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=3 July 2013 |title=JDP formally opposes the 2013 child pornography law |work=taruiyoshikazu.com |language=ja |access-date=17 June 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Torres|first=Ida|date=30 May 2013|title=Anime and manga associations protest proposed revision to child pornography bill|url=http://japandailypress.com/anime-and-manga-associations-protest-proposed-revision-to-child-pornography-bill-3029742|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170322043416/http://japandailypress.com/anime-and-manga-associations-protest-proposed-revision-to-child-pornography-bill-3029742/|archive-date=22 March 2017|access-date=17 June 2013|work=Japan Daily Press}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Yoshida|first=Reiji|date=29 June 2013|title=Opposition slams ruling bloc on jobs deregulation|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/06/29/national/opposition-hits-ruling-blocs-employment-deregulation-plan-in-online-debate/|access-date=4 July 2013|work=The Japan Times|archive-date=24 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171024101137/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/06/29/national/opposition-hits-ruling-blocs-employment-deregulation-plan-in-online-debate/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The law was ultimately passed in June 2014 after the regulation of ''lolicon'' anime and manga was removed from the bill. This new law went into full effect in 2015 banning real life child pornography.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/japan-ban-child-pornograpy-1451724|title=Japan to Ban Child Pornography|work=www.ibtimes.co.uk|author=Tom Porter|date=7 June 2014|access-date=9 June 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Demetriou|first=Danielle|date=16 July 2015|title=Japan finally bans possession of child porn|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/11743004/Japan-finally-bans-possession-of-child-porn.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/11743004/Japan-finally-bans-possession-of-child-porn.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=12 August 2015|work=The Telegraph}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

== Societal effects of hentai ==
{{See also|Feminist views on pornography|3=Stereotypes of East Asians in the United States}}
There is existing research on the social implications of pornography, in general, as it pertains to the sexualized and objectified image of women. In regards to how hentai particularly contributes to the conversation of the image of women, recent research identifies evidence in which hentai promotes rape myth acceptance, sexual violence, and racialization of women.

=== Rape myths ===
Recent studies have illustrated a correlation between the consumption of hentai and the promotion of ]s. In particular, studies have shown how viewing hentai can lead to an increase in prejudiced and stereotypical perspectives on rape and sexual assault.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Azevedo Almeida |first=Beatriz |date=2023 |title=The Mediating Role of Rape Myths in the Relationship Between the Use of Hentai Pornography and Sexually Aggressive Strategies: A Study With College Students |url=https://repositorio-aberto.up.pt/bitstream/10216/150710/2/632838.pdf |journal=UPorto}}</ref> Increased consumption can also lead to an increase in the normalization of sexual violence, rape, victim blaming, and further stereotypes associated with sexual violence and sexually aggressive behaviors.<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal |last=Marujo Costa |first=Vera Alzira |date=2023 |title=Evidence on the Predicting Role of Rape Myth Endorsement on Hentai Pornography Consumption Frequency |url=https://repositorio-aberto.up.pt/bitstream/10216/155237/2/650094.pdf |journal=UPorto}}</ref> The origin and culture of hentai as "abnormal" pornography, as highlighted through research studies, is also described to perpetuate a desensitized view of sexual violence and rape play.<ref name=":03">{{Cite journal |last=Marujo Costa |first=Vera Alzira |date=2023 |title=Evidence on the Predicting Role of Rape Myth Endorsement on Hentai Pornography Consumption Frequency |url=https://repositorio-aberto.up.pt/bitstream/10216/155237/2/650094.pdf |journal=UPorto}}</ref> The distinction between rape myth acceptance and sexually violent or aggressive behaviors has also been outlined in various research studies.<ref name="O'Connor 2021 321–330">{{Cite journal |last=O'Connor |first=Julia |date=2021 |title=The Longitudinal Effects of Rape Myth Beliefs and Rape Proclivity |journal=Psychology of Men & Masculinity |volume=22 |issue=2 |pages=321–330 |doi=10.1037/men0000324 |issn=1524-9220 |pmc=9380434 |pmid=35979223}}</ref> Recent studies highlight how a rise in the acceptance of rape myths is causally linked to rape proclivity and sexually violent behaviors.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bohner |first1=Gerd |last2=Jarvis |first2=Christopher I. |last3=Eyssel |first3=Friederike |last4=Siebler |first4=Frank |date=November 2005 |title=The causal impact of rape myth acceptance on men's rape proclivity: comparing sexually coercive and noncoercive men |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ejsp.284 |journal=European Journal of Social Psychology |language=en |volume=35 |issue=6 |pages=819–828 |doi=10.1002/ejsp.284 |issn=0046-2772}}</ref>

=== Racial fetishization of Asian women in hentai ===
==== History ====
The racial fetishization of Asian women can be traced back to Western colonialism and imperialism where Asian women were portrayed as "exotic" or submissive and such traits were in turn romanticized.<ref name=":14">{{Cite web |last=Ishikawa |first=Hinako |date=May 2024 |title="Negotiating Hentai: Racial Fetishization of Japanese Women and Reclamation of Sexual Agency" |url=https://scholarworks.calstate.edu/downloads/5x21tp90t |access-date=8 October 2024}}</ref>

Classic media such as ''Madame Butterfly'' and ''Miss Saigon'' also portray Asian women having intimate relations with white men, ultimately to their demise. Critics say this perpetuates the notion that value of Asian women is tied to their white lovers.<ref name=":22">{{Cite journal |last=Pires |first=Isabel |date=2 February 2024 |title=A Lotus or a Dragon? – The orientalization and fetishization of Asian women's bodies |url=https://www.scielosp.org/article/csc/2024.v29n2/e03592023/en/ |journal=Ciência & Saúde Coletiva |language=en |volume=29 |issue=2 |pages=e03592023 |doi=10.1590/1413-81232024292.03592023 |pmid=38324824 |issn=1413-8123|hdl=10451/63741 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

A popular trope in hentai places the woman in a more submissive role, playing into the "lotus blossom" stereotype where Asian women are thought to be more docile.<ref name=":22" /> The increasing Western audience of hentai exacerbates this portrayal of Asian women.

==== Portrayals of Japanese women ====
Since hentai is a broad genre of erotic media the portrayal of women varies greatly, however, almost always is the girl slim and with large breasts. A paper by Hinako Ishikawa on the racialization of Japanese women in hentai concluded that this portrayal directly plays into the sexual objectification and stereotyping of Japanese women.<ref name=":14"/>

==== Racial fetishization of Japanese women ====
Although the race of the female protagonists in hentai is not always clear, the film will often highlight the character's "Japanese-ness".<ref name=":33">{{Cite journal |last=Barancovaitė-Skindaravičienė |first=Kristina |date=2013 |title=Construction of Gender Images in Japanese Pornographic Anime |url=https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=224617 |journal=Regioninės studijos |language=English |issue=7 |pages=9–29 |issn=2029-2074}}</ref> This is done either through her clothes (wearing traditional dress like kimonos), the setting of the film, or her mannerisms (eating with chopsticks) that imply the character's race.<ref name=":33"/>

According to Ishikawa, this portrayal of Japanese women plays into the increasingly popularized Asian fetish in the Western world, specifically citing 2022's Pornhub statistics world wide trendy terms put "hentai" and "Japanese" as top two most searched words.<ref name=":14"/>

== Demographics ==
According to data from ] in 2017, the most prolific consumers of hentai are men.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.inverse.com/article/40054-pornhub-2017-porn-stats-minecraft-hentai|title=Pornhub's Stats for 2017 Reveal How Much We Love Hentai and Minecraft|last=Scott|first=Grace Lisa|date=9 January 2019|website=Inverse|language=en|access-date=10 November 2019}}</ref> However, Patrick W. Galbraith and Jessica Bauwens-Sugimoto note that hentai manga attracts "a diverse readership, which of course includes women."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Nagayama|first=Kaoru|title=Erotic Comics in Japan: An Introduction to Eromanga|date=2020|publisher=Amsterdam University Press|isbn=978-94-6372-712-9|location=Amsterdam|pages=27|translator-last=Galbraith|translator-first=Patrick W.|chapter=Translators' Introduction: Eromanga in the Global Now|oclc=1160012499|translator-last2=Bauwens-Sugimoto|translator-first2=Jessica|chapter-url=https://assets.ctfassets.net/4wrp2um278k7/6jQ7IoEGhDnuMstGoiV0UY/16b9d794267d366e5382408e97919100/9789463727129_ToC_Intro.pdf}}</ref> Kathryn Hemmann also writes that "self-identified female otaku readily admit to enjoying ''dōjinshi'' catering to a male erotic gaze".<ref>{{cite book|author=Hemmann|first=Kathryn|title=Manga Cultures and the Female Gaze|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=2020|isbn=978-3030180942|pages=98|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4VDaDwAAQBAJ&q=d%C5%8Djinshi+catering+to+a+male+erotic+gaze}}</ref> When it comes to mediums of hentai, ''eroge'' games in particular combine three favored media—cartoons, pornography and gaming—into an experience. The hentai genre engages a wide audience that expands yearly, and desires better quality and storylines, or works which push the creative envelope.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Bennett|first=Dan|title=Anime erotica potential growing strong.(Animated erotica).|magazine=Video Store|publisher=Questex Media Group, Inc.|date=18 April 2004|access-date=2 May 2013|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-116341275.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611135353/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-116341275.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 June 2014}}</ref> Nobuhiro Komiya, a manga censor, states that the unusual and extreme depictions in hentai are not about perversion so much as they are an example of the profit-oriented industry.<ref name="censor1">{{cite news|title=Bizarre sex sells in weird world of manga|newspaper=New Zealand Herald|location=Auckland, New Zealand|publisher=Independent Print Ltd.|date=5 February 2011|access-date=2 May 2013|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-248344423.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611135348/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-248344423.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 June 2014}}</ref> Anime depicting normal sexual situations enjoy less market success than those that break social norms, such as sex at schools or bondage.<ref name="censor1" />

According to clinical psychologist Megha Hazuria Gorem, "Because toons are a kind of final fantasy, you can make the person look the way you want him or her to look. Every fetish can be fulfilled."<ref name="india">{{cite news|title=Oooh Game Boy|newspaper=Hindustan Times|location=New Delhi, India|publisher=McClatchy-Tribune Information Services|date=30 June 2007|access-date=2 May 2013|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1298294031.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611135357/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1298294031.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 June 2014}}</ref> Sexologist Narayan Reddy noted of ''eroge'', "Animators make new games because there is a demand for them, and because they depict things that the gamers do not have the courage to do in real life, or that might just be illegal, these games are an outlet for suppressed desire."<ref name="india" />

== Classification ==
]-inspired artwork]]
The hentai genre can be divided into numerous subgenres, the broadest of which encompasses heterosexual and homosexual acts. Hentai that features mainly heterosexual interactions occur in both male-targeted (''ero'' or ''dansei-muke'') and female-targeted ("ladies' comics") form. Those that feature mainly homosexual interactions are known as '']'' or ''Boys' Love'' (male–male) and '']'' or ''Girls' Love'' (female–female). Both ''yaoi'' and, to a lesser extent, ''yuri'', are generally aimed at members of the opposite sex from the persons depicted. While ''yaoi'' and ''yuri'' are not always explicit, their pornographic history and association remain.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.guidemag.com/temp/yaoi/a/mcharry_yaoi.html |title=Yaoi: Redrawing Male Love |publisher=The Guide |date=November 2003 |access-date=23 August 2013 |author=McHarry, Mark |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080417001927/http://www.guidemag.com/temp/yaoi/a/mcharry_yaoi.html |archive-date=17 April 2008}}</ref> ''Yaoi''{{'s}} pornographic usage has remained strong in textual form through ].<ref>Kee, Tan Bee. "Rewriting Gender and Sexuality in English-Language Yaoi Fanfiction". ''Boys' Love Manga: Essays on the Sexual Ambiguity and Cross-Cultural Fandom of the Genre'' (2010): 126.</ref> The definition of ''yuri'' has begun to be replaced by the broader definitions of "lesbian-themed animation or comics".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.yuricon.com/what-is-yuricon/#whatisyuri | title=Yuricon What is Yuricon? | date=28 March 2011 | publisher=Yuricon | access-date=23 August 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201035708/http://www.yuricon.com/what-is-yuricon/#whatisyuri | archive-date=1 December 2017 | url-status=live | df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Hentai is perceived as "dwelling" on ].<ref>{{cite journal|title=Peek-a-boo, I See You: Watching Japanese Hard-core Animation |doi=10.1007/s12119-008-9039-5 |volume=13 |journal=Sexuality |year=2009 |pages=17–31|last1=Ortega-Brena |first1=Mariana |s2cid=143481005}}</ref> These include dozens of ] and ] related subgenres, which can be further classified with additional terms, such as heterosexual or homosexual types.

Many works are focused on depicting the mundane and the impossible across every conceivable act and situation, no matter how fantastical. One subgenre of hentai is '']'' (]), which features a woman with a ] or penis-like appendage in addition to a ].<ref name="john3">{{cite web | first=John | last=Oppliger | date=12 March 2008 | url=http://www.animenation.net/ask-john-what-is-futanari-and-why-is-it-popular/ | title=Ask John: What Is Futanari and Why Is It Popular? | publisher=] | access-date=1 May 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180215122237/http://www.animenation.net/ask-john-what-is-futanari-and-why-is-it-popular/ | archive-date=15 February 2018 | url-status=live | df=dmy-all}}</ref> Futanari characters are often depicted as having sex with other women,<ref name="john3" /> but many other works feature sex with men or, as in ''Anal Justice'', with both genders.<ref name="nagayama" /> Futanari can be dominant, submissive, or switch between the two roles in a single work.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Nagayama|first=Kaoru|title=Erotic Comics in Japan: An Introduction to Eromanga|date=2020|publisher=Amsterdam University Press|isbn=978-94-6372-712-9|location=Amsterdam|pages=221|translator-last=Galbraith|translator-first=Patrick W.|oclc=1160012499|quote=In sexual situations, the "shemale" can appear male, female and something distinctly other as "shemale." Roles as attacker or "top" (seme) and receiver or "bottom" (uke) can shift throughout the work. The same "shemale" character can be in the role of a sadistic female top in one scene, and in another play a masochistic male bottom who enjoys being disgraced by women. Top and bottom roles are not necessarily based on appearance. It is not rare to depict a "shemale" character who is actually the dominant one, but shivers in ecstasy while being whipped by a brawny man and brutally raped. Furthermore, each character has their own "gender identity" (sei jinin), which can impact reader identification and self-projection.|translator-last2=Bauwens-Sugimoto|translator-first2=Jessica}}</ref>

=== Genres ===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Common English terms !! Common Japanese terms !! Type !! Description
|-
| '']'' / ''shōnen-ai'' / Boys' Love || {{lang|ja|やおい}} / {{lang|ja|ボーイズ ラブ}} / {{lang|ja|ビーエル}} || Gender || Male homosexuality
|-
| '']'' / ''shōjo-ai'' / Girls' Love|| {{lang|ja|百合}} || Gender || Female homosexuality
|-
| '']'' || {{lang|ja|ロリコン}} || Gender and age || Centered on prepubescent, pubescent, or post-pubescent underage girls, whether heterosexual (man-girl or boy-girl) or homosexual (woman-girl or two girls)
|-
| '']'' || {{lang|ja|ショタコン}} || Gender and age || Centered on prepubescent, pubescent, or post-pubescent underage boys, whether heterosexual (woman-boy or girl-boy) or homosexual (man-boy or two boys)
|-
| ''Bakunyū''
| {{lang|ja|爆乳}}
|
| A genre of pornographic media focusing on the depiction of women with large ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.studlife.com/scene/2008/08/29/internet-of-hentai/|title=Internet of hentai|last=Moore|first=Lucy|date=29 August 2008|work=]|access-date=10 February 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100402001527/http://www.studlife.com/scene/2008/08/29/internet-of-hentai/|archive-date=2 April 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> The word can be literally translated to "exploding breasts".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwjdic.cgi?1MUJ爆乳 |title=Word Display |publisher=] |access-date=10 November 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120630231015/http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwjdic.cgi?1MUJ%E7%88%86%E4%B9%B3 |archive-date=30 June 2012 }}</ref> ''Bakunyū'' is a subgenre within the genre of hentai anime.<ref>{{cite book | title=Manga: The Complete Guide | first=Jason | last=Thompson | publisher=Ballantine Books/Del Rey | year=2007 | isbn=978-0-345-48590-8}}</ref>
|-
| ] / ''nekomimi''
| {{lang|ja|猫耳}}
|
| Human females with cat characteristics, such as cat ears, cat tails and whiskers
|-
| '']''
| {{lang|ja|ふたなり}}
|
| Depictions of women that have both phallic genitalia (penis either with or without scrotum) and a vulva
|-
| ]
| {{lang|ja|近親相姦}}
|
| Sexual activity with family members
|-
| ''Netorare'' / ''Netorase'' / ''Netori''
| {{lang|ja|寝取られ}} / {{lang|ja|ネトラセーゼ}} / {{lang|ja|寝取り}}
|
| Related to ], ] and/or ], abbreviated '''NTR'''; variations of being masochistically aroused by seeing or knowing that one's spouse or lover is having sexual intercourse with another person, whether they do so voluntarily or not, {{abbr|lit.|literally}} "being snatched away".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mangabookshelf.com/51846/bookshelf-briefs-92616/|title=Bookshelf Briefs 9/26/16|publisher=Manga Bookshelf|author=Sean Gaffney|date=26 September 2016|access-date=12 October 2016}}</ref> In ''netorare'', the protagonist's ] partner wants to deceive and/or break up with the protagonist to be with the cheater. In ''netorase'', the protagonist enjoys, actively encourages or even causes the partner to have sex with others, often with their informed knowledge and consent. In ''netori'', the protagonist finds a cheater in a marriage or relationship and ]s/]s them away from their cucked partner.
|-
| '']''
| {{lang|ja|おもらし}} / {{lang|ja|お漏らし}}
|
| A form of ]
|-
| '']'' / ''Gyaku-ryona'' / ''Onna Zako''
| {{lang|ja|リョナ}} / {{lang|ja|逆リョナ}} / {{lang|ja|女ザコ}}
|
| Depictions of fetish revolves around a victim being physically assaulted or psychologically abused by an offender;
|-
| ]
| {{lang|ja|触手責め}}
|
| Depictions of tentacled creatures and sometimes monsters (fictional or otherwise) engaging in sex or rape with women and, less often, men
|-
| ''Josō-seme'' / cross-dressing attack
| {{lang|ja|女装攻め}}
|
| Depictions of a '']'', ] or ] taking the lead (i.e. the "'']''") or exhibiting ] over a sexual partner
|}

== See also ==
{{Portal|Erotica and pornography}}
* ]
* '']''
* ]
* ]
* ] (groups, studios, production companies, circles)
* ]
* ]
* '']''
* ]
* ] ("Adult anime ")

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* {{Cite journal |last=Aquila |first=Meredith |year=2007 |url=http://www.upress.umn.edu/Books/L/lunning_mechademia2.html |title=Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction Writers: New Narrative Themes or the Same Old Story? |journal=] |volume=2 |isbn=978-0-8166-5266-2 |access-date=4 January 2010 |archive-date=15 December 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071215165131/http://www.upress.umn.edu/Books/L/lunning_mechademia2.html |url-status=dead }}
* Buckley, Sandra (1991). {{"'}}Penguin in Bondage': A Graphic Tale of Japanese Comic Books", pp.&nbsp;163–196, In ''Technoculture''. C. Penley and A. Ross, eds. Minneapolis: ]. {{ISBN|0-8166-1932-8}}.
* McCarthy, Helen, and ] (1998). ''The Erotic Anime Movie Guide''. London: Titan. {{ISBN|1-85286-946-1}}.
* {{Cite book | last = Napier | first = Susan J. |author-link=Susan J. Napier | year = 2000 | title = ] | location = New York | publisher = Palgrave | isbn = 0-312-23863-0}}
* {{Cite journal | last1 = Perper |first1=Timothy |last2=Cornog |first2=Martha |date=March 2002|title=Eroticism for the masses: Japanese manga comics and their assimilation into the U.S. |journal=Sexuality & Culture |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=3–126 |doi=10.1007/s12119-002-1000-4|s2cid=143692243 }}

== External links ==
{{Wiktionary|hentai}}
* {{Commons category-inline}}

{{Japanese Erotic Cinema}}
{{Animation industry in Japan}}
{{Pornography}}
{{Film genres}}

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Latest revision as of 10:16, 7 January 2025

Anime and manga pornography For other uses, see Hentai (disambiguation). Not to be confused with Hentaigana.

A wide variety of hentai merchandise is commonly sold in specialized stores in Japan.

Hentai (Japanese: ヘンタイ) is a style of Japanese pornographic anime and manga. In addition to anime and manga, hentai works exist in a variety of media, including artwork and video games (commonly known as eroge).

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The development of hentai has been influenced by Japanese cultural and historical attitudes toward sexuality. Hentai works, which are often self-published, form a significant portion of the market for doujin works, including doujinshi. Numerous subgenres exist depicting a variety of sexual acts and relationships, as well as novel fetishes.

Terminology

In sexual contexts, hentai carries additional meanings of "perversion" or "abnormality", especially when used as an adjective; in these uses, it is the shortened form of the phrase hentai seiyoku (変態性欲) which means "sexual perversion". The character hen is a catch-all for queerness as a peculiarity—it does not carry an explicit sexual reference. While the term has expanded in use to cover a range of publications including homosexual publications, it remains primarily a heterosexual term, as terms indicating homosexuality entered Japan as foreign words. Japanese pornographic works are often simply tagged as 18-kin (18禁, '18-prohibited'), meaning "prohibited to those not yet 18 years old", and seijin manga (成人漫画, "adult manga"). Less official terms also in use include ero anime (エロアニメ), ero manga (エロ漫画), and the English initialism AV (for "adult video"). Usage of the term hentai does not define a genre in Japan.

The word hentai written in kanji

Hentai is defined differently in English. The Oxford Dictionary Online defines it as "a subgenre of the Japanese genres of manga and anime, characterized by overtly sexualized characters and sexually explicit images and plots." The origin of the word in English is unknown, but AnimeNation's John Oppliger points to the early 1990s, when a Dirty Pair erotic doujinshi (self-published work) titled H-Bomb was released, and when many websites sold access to images culled from Japanese erotic visual novels and games. The earliest English use of the term traces back to the rec.arts.anime boards; with a 1990 post concerning Happosai of Ranma ½ and the first discussion of the meaning in 1991. A 1995 glossary on the rec.arts.anime boards contained reference to the Japanese usage and the evolving definition of hentai as "pervert" or "perverted sex". The Anime Movie Guide, published in 1997, defines "ecchi" (エッチ, etchi) as the initial sound of hentai (i.e., the name of the letter H, as pronounced in Japanese); it included that ecchi was "milder than hentai". A year later it was defined as a genre in Good Vibrations Guide to Sex. At the beginning of 2000, "hentai" was listed as the 41st most-popular search term of the internet, while "anime" ranked 99th. The attribution has been applied retroactively to works such as Urotsukidōji, La Blue Girl, and Cool Devices. Urotsukidōji had previously been described with terms such as "Japornimation", and "erotic grotesque", prior to being identified as hentai.

Development of the term "Hentai"
Meiji period (1868–1912) Hysteria
1917s Abnormal sexual desire.
1920s–1930s Perverted sexuality. Topics related to homosexual relationships.
1940s–1950s Hentai seiyoku or "perverted desires". Homosexual relationships are still a major theme.
1960s The term becomes increasingly heterosexualised. The word "ecchi/etchi" appears for the first time.
1970s and afterwards Development into a loanword in English with its own meaning, referring to a specific pornographic genre.
2000s In Japan, refers to male heterosexual perversion rather than a wide range of sexual practices and identities. Also refers to the cartoon genre.

Etymology

A depiction of a male homosexual couple from the January 1928 edition of Hentai shiryō

変態 (hentai; shinjitai; (listen)) derives from 變態 (classical Chinese, also kyūjitai), which is attested in classical Chinese texts. It functioned as a verbal phrase, from its two component morphemes, 變 meaning "to change" and 態 meaning "state" or "condition," hence "to change from a state to another." Literal one-to-one English translations for this would be transform and metamorph, wherein trans- and meta- correspond to 變, while form and morph to 態.This meaning is attested in early Middle Japanese and later texts.

In Chinese, 變 is primarily a verb meaning to "change," and secondarily a noun meaning "troublesome event," but in Japanese, it was extended to an adjectival noun meaning "different," "unusual" or "strange" (compare other compounds such as hentai (變體, lit. 'unusual form') as in hentaigana (變體假名), and henkaku (變格, lit. 'unusual style') as in henkaku katsuyō (變格活用)). This led 變態 to become a noun phrase meaning "strange state," thus "abnormality," instead of the original "to change to another state," in modern Japanese and Chinese publications, particularly in psychology and physiology. A psychological application of this meaning is found in the phrase 変態性欲 (hentai seiyoku lit. 'abnormal sexual desire'), which has been cited as being shortened back to just 変態.

Yet another meaning, "metamorphosis," which resemebles the original one, was first adopted by the Entomological Society of Japan and reintroduced into Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese. This meaning is used in the English translation of the light novel Perfect Blue: Complete Metamorphosis, although it is not directly entomological, and it may also reference the semi-sexual portions of the work.

It is worth noting that 変態 is further shortened to H (etchi), the first letter of its romanization. Both hentai and etchi (or ecchi in English parlance) are used to refer to sexual perversion/deviance, or people therewith, as well as smut. A person accused of sexual perversion may be derogatorily called hentai, while a sex scene in a film, TV show or erotic game is called Hシーン (etchi shīn lit. 'H-scene'). The distinction outside of Japanese contexts between "hardcore" hentai and "softcore" etchi is entirely artificial.

The history of the word hentai has its origins in science and psychology. By the middle of the Meiji era, the term appeared in publications to describe unusual or abnormal traits, including paranormal abilities and psychological disorders. A translation of German sexologist Richard von Krafft-Ebing's text Psychopathia Sexualis originated the concept of hentai seiyoku, as a "perverse or abnormal sexual desire", though it was popularized outside psychology, as in the case of Mori Ōgai's 1909 novel Vita Sexualis. Continued interest in hentai seiyoku resulted in numerous journals and publications on sexual advice which circulated in the public, served to establish the sexual connotation of hentai as perverse. Any perverse or abnormal act could be hentai, such as committing shinjū (love suicide). It was Nakamura Kokyo's journal Abnormal Psychology which started the popular sexology boom in Japan which would see the rise of other popular journals like Sexuality and Human Nature, Sex Research and Sex. Originally, Tanaka Kogai wrote articles for Abnormal Psychology, but it would be Tanaka's own journal Modern Sexuality which would become one of the most popular sources of information about erotic and neurotic expression. Modern Sexuality was created to promote fetishism, S&M, and necrophilia as a facet of modern life. The ero guro movement and depiction of perverse, abnormal and often erotic undertones were a response to interest in hentai seiyoku.

Following World War II, Japan took a new interest in sexualization and public sexuality. Mark McLelland puts forth the observation that the term hentai found itself shortened to "H" and that the English pronunciation was "etchi", referring to lewdness and which did not carry the stronger connotation of abnormality or perversion. By the 1950s, the "hentai seiyoku" publications became their own genre and included fetish and homosexual topics. By the 1960s, the homosexual content was dropped in favor of subjects like sadomasochism and stories of lesbianism targeted to male readers. The late 1960s brought a sexual revolution which expanded and solidified the normalizing of the term's identity in Japan that continues to exist today through publications such as Bessatsu Takarajima's Hentai-san ga iku series.

History

With the usage of hentai as any erotic depiction, the history of these depictions is split into their media. Japanese artwork and comics serve as the first example of hentai material, coming to represent the iconic style after the publication of Azuma Hideo's Cybele [ja] in 1979. Hentai first appeared in animation in the 1932 film Suzumi-bune [ja] by Hakusan Kimura [ja], which was seized by police when it was half complete. The remnants of the film were donated to the National Film Center in the early 21st century. The film has never been viewed by the public. However, the 1984 release of Wonderkid's Lolita Anime was the first hentai to get a general release, overlooking the erotic and sexual depictions in 1969's One Thousand and One Arabian Nights and the bare-breasted Cleopatra in 1970's Cleopatra film. Erotic games, another area of contention, has its first case of the art style depicting sexual acts in 1985's Tenshitachi no Gogo. In each of these mediums, the broad definition and usage of the term complicates its historic examination.

Origin of erotic manga

The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife (1814), a well-known example of Japanese erotic art (shunga)

Depictions of sex and abnormal sex can be traced back through the ages, predating the term "hentai". Shunga, a Japanese term for erotic art, is thought to have existed in some form since the Heian period. From the 16th to the 19th centuries, shunga works were suppressed by the shogunate. A well-known example is The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife by Hokusai, which depicts a woman being stimulated by two octopuses. Shunga production fell with the introduction of pornographic photographs in the late 19th century.

To define erotic manga, a definition for manga is needed. While the Hokusai Manga uses the term "manga" in its title, it does not depict the story-telling aspect common to modern manga, as the images are unrelated. Due to the influence of pornographic photographs in the 19th and 20th centuries, the manga artwork was depicted by realistic characters. Osamu Tezuka helped define the modern look and form of manga, and was later proclaimed as the "God of Manga". His debut work New Treasure Island was released in 1947 as a comic book through Ikuei Publishing and sold over 400,000 copies, though it was the popularity of Tezuka's Astro Boy, Metropolis, and Jungle Emperor manga that would come to define the media. This story-driven manga style is distinctly unique from comic strips like Sazae-san, and story-driven works came to dominate shōjo and shōnen magazines.

Adult themes in manga have existed since the 1940s, but some of these depictions were more realistic than the cartoon-cute characters popularized by Tezuka. In 1973, Manga Bestseller (later known as Manga Erotopia), which is considered to be the first hentai manga magazine published in Japan, would be responsible for creating a new genre known as ero-gekiga, where gekiga was taken, and the sexual and violent content was intensified. Other well-known "ero-gekiga" magazines were Erogenica (1975), and Alice (1977). The circulation of ero-gekiga magazines would peak in 1978, and it is believed that somewhere between eighty and one hundred different ero-gekiga magazines were being published annually.

The 1980s would see the decline of ero-gekiga in favor of the rising popularity of lolicon and bishōjo magazines, which grew from otaku fan culture. It has been theorized that the decline of ero-gekiga was due to the baby boomer readership beginning to start their own families, as well as migrating to seinen magazines such as Weekly Young Magazine, and when it came to sexual material, the readership was stolen by gravure and pornographic magazines. The distinct shift in the style of Japanese pornographic comics from realistic to cartoon-cute characters is accredited to Hideo Azuma, "The Father of Lolicon". In 1979, he penned Cybele [ja], which offered the first depictions of sexual acts between cute, unrealistic Tezuka-style characters. This would start a pornographic manga movement. The lolicon boom of the 1980s saw the rise of magazines such as the anthologies Lemon People and Petit Apple Pie. As the lolicon boom waned in the mid-1980s, the dominant form of representation for female characters became "baby faced and big chested" women. The shift in popularity from lolicon to bishōjo has been credited to Naoki Yamamoto (who wrote under the pen name of Tō Moriyama). Moriyama's manga had a style that had not been seen before at the time, and was different from the ero-gekiga and lolicon styles, and used bishōjo designs as a base to build upon. Moriyama's books sold well upon publication, creating even more fans for the genre. These new artists would then write for magazines such as Monthly Penguin Club Magazine (1986) and Manga Hot Milk (1986) which would become popular with their readership, drawing in new fans.

The publication of erotic materials in the United States can be traced back to at least 1990, when IANVS Publications printed its first Anime Shower Special. In March 1994, Antarctic Press released Bondage Fairies, an English translation of Insect Hunter, an "insect rape" manga which became popular in the American market, while it apparently had a poor showing in Japan. During this time, the one American publisher translating and publishing hentai was Fantagraphics on their adult comic imprint, Eros Comix, which was established around 1990.

Origin of erotic anime

A girl drawn in erotic anime style at the beach.

Because there are fewer animation productions, most erotic works are retroactively tagged as hentai since the coining of the term in English. Hentai is typically defined as consisting of excessive nudity, and graphic sexual intercourse whether or not it is perverse. The term "ecchi" is typically related to fanservice, with no sexual intercourse being depicted.

The earliest pornographic anime was Suzumi-bune [ja], created in 1932 by Hakusan Kimura [ja]. It was the first part of a two-reeler film, which was half complete before it was seized by the police. The remnants of the film were donated to the National Film Center in the early 21st century by the Tokyo police, who were removing all silver nitrate film in their possession, as it is extremely flammable. The film has never been viewed by the public.

Two early works escape being defined as hentai, but contain erotic themes. This is likely due to the obscurity and unfamiliarity of the works, arriving in the United States and fading from public focus a full 20 years before importation and surging interests coined the Americanized term hentai. The first is the 1969 film One Thousand and One Arabian Nights, which faithfully includes erotic elements of the original story. In 1970, Cleopatra: Queen of Sex, was the first animated film to carry an X rating, but it was mislabeled as erotica in the United States.

The Lolita Anime series is typically identified as the first erotic anime and original video animation (OVA); it was released in 1984 by Wonder Kids. Containing six episodes, the series focused on underage sex and rape, and included one episode containing BDSM bondage. Several sub-series were released in response, including a second Lolita Anime series released by Nikkatsu. It has not been officially licensed or distributed outside of its original release.

The Cream Lemon franchise of works ran from 1984 to 2005, with a number of them entering the American market in various forms. The Brothers Grime series released by Excalibur Films contained Cream Lemon works as early as 1986. However, they were not billed as anime and were introduced during the same time that the first underground distribution of erotic works began.

The American release of licensed erotic anime was first attempted in 1991 by Central Park Media, with I Give My All, but it never occurred. In December 1992, Devil Hunter Yohko was the first risque (ecchi) title that was released by A.D. Vision. While it contains no sexual intercourse, it pushes the limits of the ecchi category with sexual dialogue, nudity and one scene in which the heroine is about to be raped.

It was Central Park Media's 1993 release of Urotsukidōji which brought the first hentai film to American viewers. Often cited for inventing the tentacle rape subgenre, it contains extreme depictions of violence and monster sex. As such, it is acknowledged for being the first to depict tentacle sex on screen. When the film premiered in the United States, it was described as being "drenched in graphic scenes of perverse sex and ultra-violence".

Following this release, a wealth of pornographic content began to arrive in the United States, with companies such as A.D. Vision, Central Park Media and Media Blasters releasing licensed titles under various labels. A.D. Vision's label SoftCel Pictures released 19 titles in 1995 alone. Another label, Critical Mass, was created in 1996 to release an unedited edition of Violence Jack. When A.D. Vision's hentai label SoftCel Pictures shut down in 2005, most of its titles were acquired by Critical Mass. Following the bankruptcy of Central Park Media in 2009, the licenses for all Anime 18-related products and movies were transferred to Critical Mass.

Origin of erotic games

Image of an eroge (Japanese-style adult video game)

The term eroge (erotic game) literally defines any erotic game, but has become synonymous with video games depicting the artistic styles of anime and manga. The origins of eroge began in the early 1980s, while the computer industry in Japan was struggling to define a computer standard with makers like NEC, Sharp, and Fujitsu competing against one another. The PC98 series, despite lacking in processing power, CD drives and limited graphics, came to dominate the market, with the popularity of eroge games contributing to its success.

Because of vague definitions of what constitutes an "erotic game", there are several possible candidates for the first eroge. If the definition applies to adult themes, the first game was Softporn Adventure. Released in America in 1981 for the Apple II, this was a text-based comedic game from On-Line Systems. If eroge is defined as the first graphical depictions of Japanese adult themes, it would be Koei's 1982 release of Night Life. Sexual intercourse is depicted through simple graphic outlines. Notably, Night Life was not intended to be erotic so much as an instructional guide "to support married life". A series of "undressing" games appeared as early as 1983, such as "Strip Mahjong". The first anime-styled erotic game was Tenshitachi no Gogo, released in 1985 by JAST. In 1988, ASCII released the first erotic role-playing game, Chaos Angel. In 1989, AliceSoft released the turn-based role-playing game Rance and ELF released Dragon Knight.

In the late 1980s, eroge began to stagnate under high prices and the majority of games containing uninteresting plots and mindless sex. ELF's 1992 release of Dōkyūsei came as customer frustration with eroge was mounting and spawned a new genre of games called dating sims. Dōkyūsei was unique because it had no defined plot and required the player to build a relationship with different girls in order to advance the story. Each girl had her own story, but the prospect of consummating a relationship required the girl growing to love the player; there was no easy sex.

The term "visual novel" is vague, with Japanese and English definitions classifying the genre as a type of interactive fiction game driven by narration and limited player interaction. While the term is often retroactively applied to many games, it was Leaf that coined the term with their "Leaf Visual Novel Series" (LVNS) and the 1996 release of Shizuku and Kizuato. The success of these two dark eroge games would be followed by the third and final installment of the LVNS, the 1997 romantic eroge To Heart. Eroge visual novels took a new emotional turn with Tactics' 1998 release One: Kagayaku Kisetsu e. Key's 1999 release of Kanon proved to be a major success and would go on to have numerous console ports, two manga series and two anime series.

Censorship

See also: Censorship in Japan and Pornography laws by region

Japanese laws have impacted depictions of works since the Meiji Restoration, but these predate the common definition of hentai material. Since becoming law in 1907, Article 175 of the Criminal Code of Japan forbids the publication of obscene materials. Specifically, depictions of male–female sexual intercourse and pubic hair are considered obscene, but bare genitalia is not. As censorship is required for published works, the most common representations are the blurring dots on pornographic videos and "bars" or "lights" on still images. In 1986, Toshio Maeda sought to get past censorship on depictions of sexual intercourse, by creating tentacle sex. This led to the large number of works containing sexual intercourse with monsters, demons, robots, and aliens, whose genitals look different from men's. While Western views attribute hentai to any explicit work, it was the products of this censorship which became not only the first titles legally imported to America and Europe, but the first successful ones. While uncut for American release, the United Kingdom's release of Urotsukidōji removed many scenes of the violence and tentacle rape scenes. Another technique used to evade regulation was the "sexual intercourse cross-section view", an imaginary view of intercourse resembling an anatomic drawing or an MRI, which would eventually evolve as a prevalent expression in hentai for its erotic appeal. This expression is known in the Western world as the "x-ray view".

It was also because of this law that the artists began to depict the characters with a minimum of anatomical details and without pubic hair, by law, prior to 1991. Part of the ban was lifted when Nagisa Oshima prevailed over the obscenity charges at his trial for his film In the Realm of the Senses. Though not enforced, the lifting of this ban did not apply to anime and manga as they were not deemed artistic exceptions.

Alterations of material or censorship and banning of works are common. The US release of La Blue Girl altered the age of the heroine from 16 to 18, removed sex scenes with a dwarf ninja named Nin-nin, and removed the Japanese blurring dots. La Blue Girl was outright rejected by UK censors who refused to classify it and prohibited its distribution. In 2011, members of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan sought a ban on the subgenre lolicon but were unsuccessful. The last law proposed against it was introduced on 27 May 2013 by the Liberal Democratic Party, the New Komei Party and the Japan Restoration Party that would have made possession of sexual images of individuals under 18 illegal with a fine of 1 million yen (about US$10,437) and less than a year in jail. The Japanese Democratic Party, along with several industry associations involved in anime and manga protested against the bill saying "while they appreciate that the bill protects children, it will also restrict freedom of expression". The law was ultimately passed in June 2014 after the regulation of lolicon anime and manga was removed from the bill. This new law went into full effect in 2015 banning real life child pornography.

Societal effects of hentai

See also: Feminist views on pornography and Stereotypes of East Asians in the United States

There is existing research on the social implications of pornography, in general, as it pertains to the sexualized and objectified image of women. In regards to how hentai particularly contributes to the conversation of the image of women, recent research identifies evidence in which hentai promotes rape myth acceptance, sexual violence, and racialization of women.

Rape myths

Recent studies have illustrated a correlation between the consumption of hentai and the promotion of rape myths. In particular, studies have shown how viewing hentai can lead to an increase in prejudiced and stereotypical perspectives on rape and sexual assault. Increased consumption can also lead to an increase in the normalization of sexual violence, rape, victim blaming, and further stereotypes associated with sexual violence and sexually aggressive behaviors. The origin and culture of hentai as "abnormal" pornography, as highlighted through research studies, is also described to perpetuate a desensitized view of sexual violence and rape play. The distinction between rape myth acceptance and sexually violent or aggressive behaviors has also been outlined in various research studies. Recent studies highlight how a rise in the acceptance of rape myths is causally linked to rape proclivity and sexually violent behaviors.

Racial fetishization of Asian women in hentai

History

The racial fetishization of Asian women can be traced back to Western colonialism and imperialism where Asian women were portrayed as "exotic" or submissive and such traits were in turn romanticized.

Classic media such as Madame Butterfly and Miss Saigon also portray Asian women having intimate relations with white men, ultimately to their demise. Critics say this perpetuates the notion that value of Asian women is tied to their white lovers.

A popular trope in hentai places the woman in a more submissive role, playing into the "lotus blossom" stereotype where Asian women are thought to be more docile. The increasing Western audience of hentai exacerbates this portrayal of Asian women.

Portrayals of Japanese women

Since hentai is a broad genre of erotic media the portrayal of women varies greatly, however, almost always is the girl slim and with large breasts. A paper by Hinako Ishikawa on the racialization of Japanese women in hentai concluded that this portrayal directly plays into the sexual objectification and stereotyping of Japanese women.

Racial fetishization of Japanese women

Although the race of the female protagonists in hentai is not always clear, the film will often highlight the character's "Japanese-ness". This is done either through her clothes (wearing traditional dress like kimonos), the setting of the film, or her mannerisms (eating with chopsticks) that imply the character's race.

According to Ishikawa, this portrayal of Japanese women plays into the increasingly popularized Asian fetish in the Western world, specifically citing 2022's Pornhub statistics world wide trendy terms put "hentai" and "Japanese" as top two most searched words.

Demographics

According to data from Pornhub in 2017, the most prolific consumers of hentai are men. However, Patrick W. Galbraith and Jessica Bauwens-Sugimoto note that hentai manga attracts "a diverse readership, which of course includes women." Kathryn Hemmann also writes that "self-identified female otaku readily admit to enjoying dōjinshi catering to a male erotic gaze". When it comes to mediums of hentai, eroge games in particular combine three favored media—cartoons, pornography and gaming—into an experience. The hentai genre engages a wide audience that expands yearly, and desires better quality and storylines, or works which push the creative envelope. Nobuhiro Komiya, a manga censor, states that the unusual and extreme depictions in hentai are not about perversion so much as they are an example of the profit-oriented industry. Anime depicting normal sexual situations enjoy less market success than those that break social norms, such as sex at schools or bondage.

According to clinical psychologist Megha Hazuria Gorem, "Because toons are a kind of final fantasy, you can make the person look the way you want him or her to look. Every fetish can be fulfilled." Sexologist Narayan Reddy noted of eroge, "Animators make new games because there is a demand for them, and because they depict things that the gamers do not have the courage to do in real life, or that might just be illegal, these games are an outlet for suppressed desire."

Classification

An example of yaoi-inspired artwork

The hentai genre can be divided into numerous subgenres, the broadest of which encompasses heterosexual and homosexual acts. Hentai that features mainly heterosexual interactions occur in both male-targeted (ero or dansei-muke) and female-targeted ("ladies' comics") form. Those that feature mainly homosexual interactions are known as yaoi or Boys' Love (male–male) and yuri or Girls' Love (female–female). Both yaoi and, to a lesser extent, yuri, are generally aimed at members of the opposite sex from the persons depicted. While yaoi and yuri are not always explicit, their pornographic history and association remain. Yaoi's pornographic usage has remained strong in textual form through fanfiction. The definition of yuri has begun to be replaced by the broader definitions of "lesbian-themed animation or comics".

Hentai is perceived as "dwelling" on sexual fetishes. These include dozens of fetish and paraphilia related subgenres, which can be further classified with additional terms, such as heterosexual or homosexual types.

Many works are focused on depicting the mundane and the impossible across every conceivable act and situation, no matter how fantastical. One subgenre of hentai is futanari (hermaphroditism), which features a woman with a penis or penis-like appendage in addition to a vulva. Futanari characters are often depicted as having sex with other women, but many other works feature sex with men or, as in Anal Justice, with both genders. Futanari can be dominant, submissive, or switch between the two roles in a single work.

Genres

Common English terms Common Japanese terms Type Description
Yaoi / shōnen-ai / Boys' Love やおい / ボーイズ ラブ / ビーエル Gender Male homosexuality
Yuri / shōjo-ai / Girls' Love 百合 Gender Female homosexuality
Lolicon ロリコン Gender and age Centered on prepubescent, pubescent, or post-pubescent underage girls, whether heterosexual (man-girl or boy-girl) or homosexual (woman-girl or two girls)
Shotacon ショタコン Gender and age Centered on prepubescent, pubescent, or post-pubescent underage boys, whether heterosexual (woman-boy or girl-boy) or homosexual (man-boy or two boys)
Bakunyū 爆乳 A genre of pornographic media focusing on the depiction of women with large breasts. The word can be literally translated to "exploding breasts". Bakunyū is a subgenre within the genre of hentai anime.
Catgirl / nekomimi 猫耳 Human females with cat characteristics, such as cat ears, cat tails and whiskers
Futanari ふたなり Depictions of women that have both phallic genitalia (penis either with or without scrotum) and a vulva
Incest 近親相姦 Sexual activity with family members
Netorare / Netorase / Netori 寝取られ / ネトラセーゼ / 寝取り Related to swinging, infidelity and/or cuckolding, abbreviated NTR; variations of being masochistically aroused by seeing or knowing that one's spouse or lover is having sexual intercourse with another person, whether they do so voluntarily or not, lit. "being snatched away". In netorare, the protagonist's adulterous partner wants to deceive and/or break up with the protagonist to be with the cheater. In netorase, the protagonist enjoys, actively encourages or even causes the partner to have sex with others, often with their informed knowledge and consent. In netori, the protagonist finds a cheater in a marriage or relationship and manipulates/blackmails them away from their cucked partner.
Omorashi おもらし / お漏らし A form of urolagnia
Ryona / Gyaku-ryona / Onna Zako リョナ / 逆リョナ / 女ザコ Depictions of fetish revolves around a victim being physically assaulted or psychologically abused by an offender;
Tentacle erotica 触手責め Depictions of tentacled creatures and sometimes monsters (fictional or otherwise) engaging in sex or rape with women and, less often, men
Josō-seme / cross-dressing attack 女装攻め Depictions of a kathoey, male-crossdresser or tomgirl taking the lead (i.e. the "seme") or exhibiting dominance over a sexual partner

See also

References

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Further reading

External links

  • Media related to Hentai at Wikimedia Commons
Japanese erotic cinema
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