Hentai
In addition to anime and manga, hentai works exist in a variety of media, including artwork and video games (commonly known as eroge).
[4] 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.
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.
[17] Yet another meaning, "metamorphosis," which resemebles the original one, was first adopted by the Entomological Society of Japan[17] 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.
[2] By the middle of the Meiji era, the term appeared in publications to describe unusual or abnormal traits, including paranormal abilities and psychological disorders.
[2] 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.
[2] 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.
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.
Erotic games, another area of contention, has its first case of the art style depicting sexual acts in 1985's Tenshitachi no Gogo.
[27][28] His debut work New Treasure Island was released in 1947 as a comic book through Ikuei Publishing and sold over 400,000 copies,[27] though it was the popularity of Tezuka's Astro Boy, Metropolis, and Jungle Emperor manga that would come to define the media.
[30] 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".
As the lolicon boom waned in the mid-1980s, the dominant form of representation for female characters became "baby faced and big chested" women.
[32] The shift in popularity from lolicon to bishōjo has been credited to Naoki Yamamoto (who wrote under the pen name of Tō Moriyama).
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.
[43] 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.
[43] In the late 1980s, eroge began to stagnate under high prices and the majority of games containing uninteresting plots and mindless sex.
[43] ELF's 1992 release of Dōkyūsei came as customer frustration with eroge was mounting and spawned a new genre of games called dating sims.
[43] 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.
[citation needed] 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.
[46] 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.
[60] 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.
[64] Classic media such as Madame Butterfly and Miss Saigon also portray Asian women having intimate relations with white men, ultimately to their demise.
[65] 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.
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.
[66] 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.
"[68] Kathryn Hemmann also writes that "self-identified female otaku [...] readily admit to enjoying [hentai] dōjinshi catering to a male erotic gaze".
The hentai genre engages a wide audience that expands yearly, and desires better quality and storylines, or works which push the creative envelope.
[71] Anime depicting normal sexual situations enjoy less market success than those that break social norms, such as sex at schools or bondage.
