Hentai

Outside of , hentai ()) is and . In , however, "hentai" is not a genre of media but any type of perverse or bizarre sexual desire or act. For example, outside of Japan a work of animation depicting sex might be described as " hentai", but in Japan it would just be described as "yuri".

The word is short for hentai seiyoku (変態性欲), a perverse . The word hentai in Japanese means "transformation" or ""; the implication of or was derived from there, and both meanings can be easily distinguished in context.

Hentai is a compound of 変 (hen; "change", "weird", or "strange") and 態 (tai; "appearance" or "condition"). It also means "" or "abnormality", especially when used as an adjective. The character hen is catch-all for queerness as a peculiarity—it does not carry an explicit sexual reference.:107 it remains primarily a heterosexual term, as terms indicating homosexuality entered Japan as . 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"). 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.

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."'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 and games. of 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"." (エッチ, etchi ) as the initial sound of hentai (i.e., , as pronounced in Japanese); it included that ecchi was "milder than hentai". At the beginning of 2000, "hentai" was listed as the 41st most-popular search term of the internet, while "anime" ranked 99th., , and . Urotsukidōji had previously been described with terms such as "Japornimation",",[14]

The history of the word hentai has its origins in science and psychology., the term appeared in publications to describe unusual or abnormal traits, including paranormal abilities and psychological disorders.'s text originated the concept of hentai seiyoku, as a "perverse or abnormal sexual desire".'s 1909 novel . Any perverse or abnormal act could be hentai, such as committing (love suicide). boom in Japan which would see the rise of other popular journals like Sexuality and Human Nature, Sex Research and Sex. Modern Sexuality was created to promote , , and as a facet of modern life. movement and depiction of perverse, abnormal and often erotic undertones were a response to interest in hentai seiyoku.[2]

Following , Japan took a new interest in sexualization and public sexuality.", referring to lewdness and which did not carry the stronger connotation of abnormality or perversion. By the 1960s, the homosexual content was dropped in favor of subjects like sadomasochism and stories of lesbianism targeted to male readers.

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  [] in 1979., 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.[16]

Origin of erotic manga

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 ., which depicts a woman being stimulated by two . 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". His debut work was released in 1947 as a comic book through Ikuei Publishing and sold over 400,000 copies,, , 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 and magazines.[19]

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.-" releases were Ero Mangatropa (1973), Erogenica (1975), and Alice (1977)., "The Father of ". The lolicon boom of the 1980s saw the rise of magazines such as the anthologies and .

The publication of erotic materials in the United States can be traced back to at least 1990, when printed its first Anime Shower Special. released , an English translation of Insect Hunter.[23]

Origin of erotic anime

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 "" is typically related to , with no sexual intercourse being depicted.

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., was the first animated film to carry an , but it was mislabeled as erotica in the United States.[24]:104

The series is typically identified as the first erotic and (OVA); it was released in 1984 by Wonder Kids. Containing eight episodes, the series focused on underage sex and rape, and included one episode containing bondage..[24]:376 It has not been officially licensed or distributed outside of its original release.

The franchise of works ran from 1984 to 2005, with a number of them entering the American market in various forms. However, they were not billed as anime and were introduced during the same time that the first underground distribution of erotic works began.[23]

The American release of licensed erotic anime was first attempted in 1991 by , with I Give My All, but it never occurred. was the first risque () title that was released by .[23] 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 which brought the first hentai film to American viewers. subgenre, it contains extreme depictions of violence and monster sex. on screen.

Following this release, a wealth of pornographic content began to arrive in the United States, with companies such as , and releasing licensed titles under various labels. Another label, , was created in 1996 to release an unedited edition of . in 2009, the licenses for all Anime 18-related products and movies were transferred to Critical Mass.[29]

Origin of erotic games

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. series, despite lacking in processing power, 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 . Released in America in 1981 for the , this was a text-based comedic game from . If eroge is defined as the first graphical depictions or Japanese adult themes, it would be 's 1982 release of . 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 , released in 1985 by . In 1988, released the first erotic , Chaos Angel. released the turn-based and released .[30]

In the late 1980s, eroge began to stagnate under high prices and the majority of games containing uninteresting plots and mindless sex. came as customer frustration with eroge was mounting and spawned a new genre of games called . 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.[30]

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) with the 1996 release of and ..' 1998 release .'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.

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. 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 tentacle sex. removed many scenes of the violence and tentacle rape scenes.[34]

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 .

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. sought a ban on the subgenre .

The most prolific consumers of hentai are men. 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.

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."

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 (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..

Hentai is perceived as "dwelling" on . 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 most often features a female with a penis or penis-like appendage in place of, or in addition to, a .

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  artwork depicting a seme (left) and uke (right) couple (male)
  

Genres

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