Bishōjo

The bishōjo character type emerged in the lolicon boom of the early 1980s, particularly in the works of manga artist Hideo Azuma.

At the time, the dominant style in seinen and pornographic manga was gekiga, a realistic style characterized by sharp angles, dark hatching, and gritty lines; in contrast, Azuma's work displayed light shading and clean, circular lines.

[3] Several characters created by Hayao Miyazaki are considered icons of the bishōjo boom, particularly Clarisse from the film Lupin III: Castle of Cagliostro (1979), Lana from the TV series Future Boy Conan (1978), and Nausicaä from his manga and film Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984).

[4] Another creator strongly associated with the boom was Rumiko Takahashi, whose character Lum from her manga Urusei Yatsura (1978–1987) gained immense popularity.

[5] Cultural critic Hiroki Azuma identifies Lum as a key development in fan interaction and response to bishōjo characters:[6] I first visited Tokyo's gathering for producers of fanzines, the Comic Market, in 1984 or 1985, and fanzines devoted to characters from manga and anime series such as Urusei Yatsura ... were everywhere.

Bishōjo characters are typified by design elements (such as personality archetypes, clothing, and accessories) that are known and acknowledged by the audience.