() is a term in

Japanese pornography Pornography in Japan has unique characteristics that readily distinguish it from western pornography. Pornographic films are known as "adult videos" (AV) in Japan, so Japanese adult videos are "JAV", referring to the Japanese pornographic f ...

for a facial expression of characters (usually women) during

sex Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones (ova, oft ...

, typically with rolling or crossed eyes, protruding tongue, and slightly reddened face, to show enjoyment or ecstasy. The style is often used in

erotic Eroticism () is a quality that causes sexual feelings, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality, and romantic love. That quality may be found in any form of artwork, including painting, scul ...

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

(), and

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

s ().

Etymology

The first part of the term, (

katakana is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with hiragana, kanji and in some cases the Latin script (known as rōmaji). The word ''katakana'' means "fragmentary kana", as the katakana characters are derived fr ...

: ), is an abbreviation for (), an

onomatopoeia Onomatopoeia is the process of creating a word that phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes. Such a word itself is also called an onomatopoeia. Common onomatopoeias include animal noises such as ''oink'', ''m ...

for 'pant' or 'moan'. The second part, or (), means 'face'. Thus, can be interpreted as 'moaning or panting face'. Many other terms have been coined for the facial expressions made at the moment of orgasm. One of these is () meaning 'coming .e., orgasmicface'. Others are ''acmegao'' (アクメ顔) from the French loanword ''acmé'' (orgasm), and ''yogarigao'' (よがり顔) for "satisfaction face".

Description

Typical characteristics are rolled or crossed eyes, a hanging tongue, and flushed cheeks. A character's overall face shape may also be distorted in scenes.An face of various levels of distortion is used to depict different grades of

sexual arousal Sexual arousal (also known as sexual excitement) describes the physiological and psychological responses in preparation for sexual intercourse or when exposed to sexual stimuli. A number of physiological responses occur in the body and mind as ...

. indicates that the pleasure experienced is so intense that the character loses control of their facial expression. While is often used in pornographic manga, anime, and videogames, it is not exclusively a term of . A number of non-adult works feature faces. In ''The History of Hentai Manga'', hentai manga researcher Kimi Rito states that follow three particular traits that set them apart from other ''ikigao'' (orgasm face) expressions:

History

Also known as the O-Face, the term dates at least as far back as the early 1990s. Pornographic magazines used the word to describe the facial expressions of female live-action

porn Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults,

actresses during

orgasm Orgasm (from Greek , ; "excitement, swelling") or sexual climax is the sudden discharge of accumulated sexual excitement during the sexual response cycle, resulting in rhythmic, involuntary muscular contractions in the pelvic region charac ...

. In the same context, was used in some postings at ''

2Channel , also known as 2ch, Channel 2, and sometimes retrospectively as 2ch.net, was an anonymous Japanese textboard founded in 1999 by Hiroyuki Nishimura. Described in 2007 as "Japan's most popular online community", the site had a level of influe ...

'' and its sister community for adult content, ''BBSPink'', as well as in pornographic videos at adult

e-commerce E-commerce (electronic commerce) is the activity of electronically buying or selling of products on online services or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain manageme ...

platforms in the early 2000s. In the midst of the 2000s, use of the term increased, and the drawing style became rather conventionalized and started spreading throughout the culture. In 2008, the first -themed comics anthology, ''A-H-E'', was released. In the 2010s, major publishers produced more -themed comic anthologies. By that time, the facial expression was featured in regular pornographic videos during the popularization of fetishes in the real-life sex industry. -like exaggerated facial expressions are also sometimes featured in other anime and manga works, in a non-sexual context. In September 2016, an " challenge" meme spread on social media websites, mostly via

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

, which spread the trend in the United States. Kimi claims that reasons for including in a scene include reflecting a character's joyful emotions such as ecstasy or pleasure; to show negative emotions such as fear or reluctance; or to show domination, submission and loyalty. Ahegao Belle Delphine

According to an article from adult gaming site ''

Nutaku Nutaku is an adult gaming platform with primarily hentai games. Located in Canada, Nutaku offers games with mature content. The platform focuses on browser, downloadable and mobile games, offering microtransactions and purchasable options. As ...

'', in combination with the

peace sign A number of peace symbols have been used many ways in various cultures and contexts. The dove and olive branch was used symbolically by early Christians and then eventually became a secular peace symbol, popularized by a ''Dove'' lithograph by ...

became an

Internet meme An Internet meme, commonly known simply as a meme ( ), is an idea, behavior, style, or image that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. What is considered a meme may vary across different communities on the Internet ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, known as " double peace" (). Kimi states that this version was usually used after a gang rape scene, either breaking the victim's spirit or as the final part of a humiliation scene. However, as this was limiting, the use of the double peace became more common as a joke. The term itself is credited as first appearing in a 2010 self-published video game called ''Futa Letter'', in which the main character's girlfriend does a double peace in a video sent to her boyfriend after she is "broken" by his uncle. In 2018,

Belle Delphine Mary-Belle Kirschner (born 23 October 1999), professionally known as Belle Delphine, is a South African-born English Internet celebrity, pornographic actress, model, and YouTuber. Her social media accounts feature erotic and cosplay modelling, ...

drew coverage from various media outlets for her Instagram modeling which often featured her ''ahegao'' expressions.

''Ahegao'' clothing

In 2015, an image by the hentai artist Hirame depicting various anime characters with the ''ahegao'' face circled the internet. Later that year, the pictures appeared on clothing. In May 2017, such images started appearing in western fashion, the clothes depicting among other works an image from the hentai ''Danke Dankei Revolution'' by Asanagi. This version is now sold by English-language hentai publisher FAKKU.

Ban of ''ahegao'' clothing

In January 2020 several anime conventions throughout the United States banned ''ahegao'' clothing on their grounds and forbade entry to those wearing such clothing. A similar movement was also done in

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

in 2022.

Trademark registration and lawsuit

The Chinese company Shenzhen Guangcai Trading filed a trademark registration for the term "Ahegao" in September 2018 and got approved by the

United States Patent and Trademark Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Alexa ...

on 23 April 2019. On 27 July 2020, Jacob Grady, the CEO of FAKKU, announced intent to contest the trademark registration and accused Shenzhen Guangcai Trading of using stolen artwork.

References

External links

Hentai Language A to Z

{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810164235/http://www.animetric.com/Static/Extras/Yuribou-Hentai-Dictionary.html , date=2017-08-10 Japanese pornography Anime and manga terminology Hentai Facial expressions Sexual fetishism Internet memes introduced in the 2010s Clothing brands Fashion aesthetics