HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

In
Japanese popular culture Japanese popular culture includes Japanese cinema, cuisine, television programs, anime, manga, video games, music, and doujinshi, all of which retain older artistic and literary traditions; many of their themes and styles of presentation can be ...
, a , also romanized as ''bishojo'' or ''bishoujo'', is a cute girl character. ''Bishōjo'' characters appear ubiquitously in media including
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 ...
,
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 computer games (especially in the ''bishojo'' game genre), and also appear in advertising and as mascots, such as for
maid café are a subcategory of cosplay restaurants found predominantly in Japan. In these cafés, waitresses, dressed in maid costumes, act as servants, and treat customers as masters (and mistresses) in a private home, rather than as café patrons. The f ...
s. An attraction towards ''bishōjo'' characters is a key concept in ''
otaku is a Japanese word that describes people with consuming interests, particularly in anime, manga, video games, or computers. Its contemporary use originated with a 1983 essay by Akio Nakamori in '' Manga Burikko''. may be used as a pejorat ...
'' (manga and anime fan) subculture. The development of the ''bishōjo'' aesthetic in manga of the early 1980s marked a departure from previous realistic styles, and the emergence of the aesthetic of "cute eroticism" (''kawaii ero'') and '' moe''.


History

The ''bishōjo'' character type emerged in the ''
lolicon In Japanese popular culture, is a genre of fictional media in which young (or young-looking) girl characters appear in romantic or sexual contexts. The term, a portmanteau of the English phrase " Lolita complex", also refers to desire an ...
'' boom of the early 1980s, particularly in the works of manga artist Hideo Azuma. Azuma's characters combined the round bodies of
Osamu Tezuka Osamu Tezuka (, born , ''Tezuka Osamu''; – 9 February 1989) was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist, and animator. Born in Osaka Prefecture, his prolific output, pioneering techniques, and innovative redefinitions of genres earned him such ...
characters and the round and emotive faces of ''shōjo'' manga. 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. In doing so, Azuma developed "cute eroticism" (''kawaii ero''), a form of eroticism based on manga-style characters. ''Lolicon'' (derived from "Lolita complex") was one of several terms referring to this expansion in cute characters in manga and anime, and a corresponding attraction to and affection for such characters. Synonyms include " two-dimensional complex" (''nijigen konpurekkusu''), "two-dimensional fetishism" (''nijikon fechi''), "two-dimensional syndrome" (''nijikon shōkōgun''), "cute girl syndrome" (''bishōjo shōkōgun''), and simply "sickness" (''byōki''). Several characters created by
Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator, director, producer, screenwriter, author, and manga artist. A co-founder of Studio Ghibli, he has attained international acclaim as a masterful storyteller and creator of Japanese animated feature films, and is widel ...
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). Another creator strongly associated with the boom was Rumiko Takahashi, whose character Lum from her manga '' Urusei Yatsura'' (1978–1987) gained immense popularity. Cultural critic Hiroki Azuma identifies Lum as a key development in fan interaction and response to ''bishōjo'' characters:


Features

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


Media

''Bishōjo'' characters appear in almost all genres of
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
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 ...
and in many video games, especially in
dating sim Dating sims, or , are video game subgenre of simulation games with romantic elements. Dating sims are often dialog-heavy and focus on time management. The player must befriend and carefully build and maintain a relationship with one or more ...
s and
visual novel A , often abbreviated as VN, is a form of digital semi-interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with and used in the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with sta ...
s, sometimes to get more players or simply just to make a game look good. Bishōjo characters tend to attract males. Bishōjo characters sometimes are the most popular female characters as most people like anime, manga, dating sims, and visual novels more when the art stands out, looks pretty, and has beautiful females.


''Bishōjo'' games

Games that are made with the intent of featuring ''bishōjo'' characters are known as ''bishōjo'' games. Because
visual novels A , often abbreviated as VN, is a form of digital semi-interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with and used in the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with sta ...
are considered games as well, ''bishōjo'' games also encapsulate
visual novels A , often abbreviated as VN, is a form of digital semi-interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with and used in the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with sta ...
made with the intent of featuring ''bishōjo'' characters. Although ''bishōjo'' games are made with a male audience in mind, they can extend to a female audience as well, such as the
Touhou The , also known simply as , is a bullet hell shoot 'em up video game series created by one-man independent Japanese ''doujin'' soft developer Team Shanghai Alice. Since 1995, the team's member, Jun'ya "ZUN" Ōta, has independently developed ...
project.


Confusion regarding terminology

Although ''bishōjo'' is not a genre but a character design, series which predominantly feature such characters, such as harem anime and
visual novels A , often abbreviated as VN, is a form of digital semi-interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with and used in the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with sta ...
, are sometimes informally called ''bishōjo'' series. The characters and works referred to by the term ''bishōjo'' are typically intended to appeal to a male audience. Since one of the main draws of these series is typically the art and the attractive female characters, the term is occasionally perceived negatively, as a genre which is solely dependent on the marketability of beautiful characters rather than the actual content or plot. The word ''bishōjo'' is sometimes confused with the similar-sounding '' shōjo'' ("girl") demographic, but ''bishōjo'' refers to the gender and traits of the ''characters'' it describes, whereas ''shōjo'' refers to the gender and age of an ''audience'' demographic – manga publications, and sometimes anime, described as "''shōjo''" are aimed at young female audiences. ''Bishōjo'' is not to be confused with
bishōnen (; also transliterated ) is a Japanese term literally meaning "beautiful youth (boy)" and describes an aesthetic that can be found in disparate areas in East Asia: a young man of androgynous beauty. This word originated from the Tang dyna ...
– beautiful boy. It is also not to be confused with moe – which is a definition for a genre of entertainment which features cute/adorable girls rather than "sexy" girls.


See also

* * game *


References


Works cited

* Female stock characters in anime and manga Japanese slang Girls {{Anime-stub