Post 6: Anime = Hentai?

*Warning: This article may include sexual themes that are not suitable for children ages 13 and below

When I entered high school anime seemed to have another meaning. Whenever I told someone that I was addicted to anime they would reply with "You like anime? So you watch Hentai?" Is that the common stereotype nowadays? Liking Anime equals watching Hentai?

According to Marc McLelland's Intersections: A Short History of Hentai, Hentai is a Sino-Japanese compound term widely used in modern Japanese to designate a person, action or state that is considered queer or perverse, particularly in a sexual sense. Unlike the English term 'queer', however, hentai does not have predominantly mean homosexual connotations but can be used to describe any sexual acts or motivations other than what might be termed 'normal' sexual relations. Apart from this general use of the term hentai, it can also be used to designate a specific genre of Japanese manga and animation that features extreme or perverse sexual content and it is in this sense that hentai has become well-known among western fans of Japanese popular culture.

Clearly with this description, Hentai is just basically a part of anime, it's a genre, people can choose to watch or not to watch it. But as society is much more curious today, a lot of people venture to the world of Hentai, seeing it as a form of release-especially for men- or a radical past time. But unbeknownst to the supposed fans of Hentai, the genre is not limited to that of intercourse between men and women. As there is a wide gay/lesbian community and personalities in Japan, Manga artists have come to claims with different types of styles of Hentai.

Covers of Junjou Romantica (Yaoi), Honey x Honey (Teen's Love) and Strawberry Panic (Yuri)

First and foremost is Yaoi or Boy's Love. It is the depiction of Man to Man love, meaning gay relationships. Yaoi is on a higher scale as opposed to Shounen Ai which is a softer approach to the relationships in the gay community. It is predominantly aimed at the shojo (girls), josei (older women) and homosexual markets.

Second and most common is Teen's Love or TL for short, it is a more explicit type of shojo genre. Likewise it is aimed for shojo and josei markets. 

Last but not least is Yuri or Girl's Love. It is similar to yaoi but mainly focuses on female to female relationships. Yuri is the higher scale of lesbian relations, Shoujo Ai is a softer version of the genre. It is aimed towards heterosexual men and lesbian female audiences.

As I have mentioned, Hentai is not limited to gender but it also caters to the personalities of its readers. Hentai is also a dwelling to a person's sexual fetishes, commonly there are 5. First are people who are inclined to sadism and masochism, there are certain mangas (Japanese comics) that feature this type of fetish. Next is Bakunyu, literally translated to "bursting breasts", this genre is aimed for men who have a certain interest for women with unusually massive breasts. Next is Incest, by definition incest is relationship between a legal family member, a good example of this would be The Sagara Family which is a hentai computer game. Next is Lolicon, it is a type of hentai fetish featuring one's addiction to preadolescent girls. And finally, Shotacon, it is the depiction of young boys, either with other young boys or older men, or depicting young boys with older women, an example would be the anime, Boku no Pico.

There are no words to how large the Hentai market is, this is supposedly because of Japan's early start to sexual influences since the Meiji Era. But besides this information, let's face the facts, Hentai is just a part of Anime, meaning not all anime are to be perceived as Hentai. Even though a lot of anime are subjected to sexual themes and innuendos, they are not to be taken seriously. This might be a gimmick as to make the audience laugh or make them more interested in the series. Anime is not a sexual outlet, the genre Hentai, is just an expression in which the desires of the director/author comes alive. So whenever someone tells you that they are interested in anime, think open mindedly, Anime is not equals to watching Hentai.