Post by Adelaide on Nov 16, 2006 20:29:34 GMT -5
Hentai (変態 or へんたい, Hentai?) is a Japanese word that means "strange appearance" or "abnormality". However, in colloquial situations it often means "perverted" and is subsequently used in many other countries to refer to anime, manga, and computer games with explicit sexual or pornographic content (see Japanese pornography). The word is never used this way in Japanese; commonly used terms include "jū hachi kin" (18禁; prohibited for sale to persons under 18), "ecchi/H anime" (sexual/pornographic anime) "eroanime" (エロアニメ; derived from erotic anime), or "seinen" (成年; adult, not to be confused with 青年 young adult).
The term "hentai" is commonly used (outside of Japan) 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. Princess Jasmine hentai)
H anime 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.
This is not without precedent in Japan. During the Edo Period, which was the heyday of ukiyo-e wood-block prints, ukiyo-e had a pornographic variant, called shunga, which also had scenes that were sometimes surreal.
Each culture will have a different understanding about the line between pornographic 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 Sailor Moon it is implied that the girls are nude during their transformation, and in Digimon Frontier and Digimon Tamers, Zoe, Jenrya, Takato, and Ruki are nude during spirit evolution sequences and bio-mergance, respectively. Many artists add nudity as fanservice. On the other hand, H material tends to use explicit erotic content.
As a form of expressing sexual fantasy, depictions can include those that are unacceptable in society, or run counter to social norms. Such fantasies can be depicted in the extreme, often demonstrating subconscious desires or purely carnal motivations. This contrast between accepted—and in some cases legal—behavior and primal sexuality is a primary motivation for many works of pornography, and H art is no exception.
This form of Japanese culture acquired some popularity in the West, thanks, to a large extent, to the Internet. 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.
In comparison to other forms of pornography, H art often portrays women as regular people 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 woman 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 women who initiate sex.
Often, H artists try to portray situations in the most extreme manner possible, in order to break the boundaries of the viewer's comfort zone. This results in artists competing to show successively more excessive situations over time. An example would include bukkake 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.
In Japanese, the word hentai is a kanji compound of 変 (hen meaning "unusual" or "strange") and 態 (tai meaning "attitude" or "appearance"), roughly translating into "pervert". 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.
Compare otaku for another word altered somewhat in this transition. The English use is compared to the Japanese slang エッチ (H, etchi, often spelled ecchi), which refers to any sexually explicit content or behavior — 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 1960s. (Note that even in Japan the origins of etchi are unclear — 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 softcore pornography, showing nothing more explicit than women's breasts.
Exactly how the term hentai came to refer to all sexually explicit content in American anime fandom is unknown. With the rise of the World Wide Web, however, the term was extensively promoted by pornographic sites selling access to (frequently bootlegged) erotic manga. Banner ads 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., tentacle rape) which could easily be called hentai in Japanese as well.
"H" in Japan is now broadly used to refer to all sexual content or activity, so "H manga" are manga with sexual content—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".
The only one who actually watches this bullshit however is David Byron (see "Losing") a Verizon Sales Rep from Orange County, CA who goes under the alias "Lumley."
There are two main categories of hentai: works that feature mainly heterosexual interactions (often abbreviated "het" by its readers), and those that feature mainly homosexual interactions. This second group can be further split into yaoi and yuri styles. Yaoi refers to homosexual male pairings, and yuri to lesbian pairings also known as "slash".
Yaoi commonly features males of ambiguous gender in both physical appearance and mannerisms. These males are called "bishōnen", which literally means "pretty boy". The traditional "bear" 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 shōnen-ai (literally, "boy-love"), in which two males simply express romantic feelings for each other and never actually have sexual relations.
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 "bishōjo," which, predictably, translates as "pretty girl". Shōjo-ai ("girl love") is the female equivalent of shōnen-ai.
The term "hentai" is commonly used (outside of Japan) 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. Princess Jasmine hentai)
H anime 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.
This is not without precedent in Japan. During the Edo Period, which was the heyday of ukiyo-e wood-block prints, ukiyo-e had a pornographic variant, called shunga, which also had scenes that were sometimes surreal.
Each culture will have a different understanding about the line between pornographic 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 Sailor Moon it is implied that the girls are nude during their transformation, and in Digimon Frontier and Digimon Tamers, Zoe, Jenrya, Takato, and Ruki are nude during spirit evolution sequences and bio-mergance, respectively. Many artists add nudity as fanservice. On the other hand, H material tends to use explicit erotic content.
As a form of expressing sexual fantasy, depictions can include those that are unacceptable in society, or run counter to social norms. Such fantasies can be depicted in the extreme, often demonstrating subconscious desires or purely carnal motivations. This contrast between accepted—and in some cases legal—behavior and primal sexuality is a primary motivation for many works of pornography, and H art is no exception.
This form of Japanese culture acquired some popularity in the West, thanks, to a large extent, to the Internet. 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.
In comparison to other forms of pornography, H art often portrays women as regular people 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 woman 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 women who initiate sex.
Often, H artists try to portray situations in the most extreme manner possible, in order to break the boundaries of the viewer's comfort zone. This results in artists competing to show successively more excessive situations over time. An example would include bukkake 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.
In Japanese, the word hentai is a kanji compound of 変 (hen meaning "unusual" or "strange") and 態 (tai meaning "attitude" or "appearance"), roughly translating into "pervert". 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.
Compare otaku for another word altered somewhat in this transition. The English use is compared to the Japanese slang エッチ (H, etchi, often spelled ecchi), which refers to any sexually explicit content or behavior — 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 1960s. (Note that even in Japan the origins of etchi are unclear — 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 softcore pornography, showing nothing more explicit than women's breasts.
Exactly how the term hentai came to refer to all sexually explicit content in American anime fandom is unknown. With the rise of the World Wide Web, however, the term was extensively promoted by pornographic sites selling access to (frequently bootlegged) erotic manga. Banner ads 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., tentacle rape) which could easily be called hentai in Japanese as well.
"H" in Japan is now broadly used to refer to all sexual content or activity, so "H manga" are manga with sexual content—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".
The only one who actually watches this bullshit however is David Byron (see "Losing") a Verizon Sales Rep from Orange County, CA who goes under the alias "Lumley."
There are two main categories of hentai: works that feature mainly heterosexual interactions (often abbreviated "het" by its readers), and those that feature mainly homosexual interactions. This second group can be further split into yaoi and yuri styles. Yaoi refers to homosexual male pairings, and yuri to lesbian pairings also known as "slash".
Yaoi commonly features males of ambiguous gender in both physical appearance and mannerisms. These males are called "bishōnen", which literally means "pretty boy". The traditional "bear" 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 shōnen-ai (literally, "boy-love"), in which two males simply express romantic feelings for each other and never actually have sexual relations.
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 "bishōjo," which, predictably, translates as "pretty girl". Shōjo-ai ("girl love") is the female equivalent of shōnen-ai.