Shotacon
Encyclopedia
, sometimes shortened to , is a Japanese slang
portmanteau of the phrase and describes an attraction to young boys, or an individual with such an attraction. Outside Japan, the term is used less often with this meaning. It refers to a genre of manga and anime wherein pre-pubescent or pubescent male characters are depicted in a suggestive or erotic manner. It can also apply to postpubescent (adolescent or adult) characters with youthful neotenic features that would make them appear to be younger than they are. The phrase is a reference to the young male character from Tetsujin 28-go
(reworked in English as Gigantor
). The equivalent term for attraction to (or art pertaining to erotic portrayal of) young girls is lolicon
.
The usage of the term in both Western and Japanese fan cultures includes works ranging from explicitly pornographic
to mildly suggestive, romantic or entirely nonsexual. As with lolicon, shotacon is related to the concepts of kawaii (cuteness) and moe (in which characters are presented as young, cute or helpless in order to increase reader identification and inspire protective feelings). As such, shotacon themes and characters are used in a variety of non-erotic media. Elements of shotacon, like yaoi
, are comparatively common in shōjo manga, such as the popular translated manga Loveless
(which features an eroticized but unconsummated relationship between the 12-year-old male protagonist and his 20-year-old male "fighter unit"), or the young-appearing character Honey in Ouran High School Host Club
. Seinen
manga, particularly that aimed at otaku
, also occasionally presents eroticized adolescent males in a non-pornographic context, such as the cross-dressing 16-year-old boy in Yubisaki Milk Tea
.
Some critics claim that the shotacon genre contributes to actual sexual abuse of children
, while others point out that there is no evidence for this, or that there is evidence to the contrary.
of , a reference to the young male character Shōtarō (正太郎) from Tetsujin 28-go
.
In the anime
and manga
series, Shōtarō is a bold, self-assertive detective who frequently outwits his adversaries and helps to solve cases. Throughout the series, Shōtarō develops close friends within the world. His bishōnen
cuteness
embodied and formed the term "shotacon", putting a name to an old sexual subculture.
Where the shotacon concept developed is hard to pinpoint, but some of its earliest roots are in readers responses to detective series written by Edogawa Rampo
. In his works, a character named Yoshio Kobayashi of "Shōnentanteidan" (Junior Detective Group, similar to the Baker Street Irregulars of Sherlock Holmes
) forms a deep dependency with adult protagonist Kogoro Akechi
. Kobayashi, a beautiful teenager, constantly concerns himself with Kogoro's cases and well-being, and for a time moves in
with the unmarried man. This nonsexual but intimate adult-boy relationship in part inspired the evolution of the shotacon community.
Tamaki Saitō
describes the modern shotacon dōjinshi community as having largely formed in the early 1980s and having a roughly even split between males and females. Saitō suggests that shotacon was originally an offshoot of yaoi
, but when adopted by male readers became influenced by lolicon
; thus, he claims "shota texts by female yaoi authors are structurally identical to yaoi texts, while shota by male otaku clearly position these little boys as young girls with penises."
Shotacon for women is almost exclusively yaoi
, and may be published in general yaoi anthology magazines or in one of the few exclusively shotacon yaoi anthologies, such as Shōnen Romance. Because of the possible legal issues
, US publishers of yaoi have avoided material depicting notably underage characters. In 2006, Juné
released an English translation of Mako Takahashi's under the title "Almost Crying", a non-erotic shotacon manga; the book contains several stories featuring pubescent male characters, but their relationships are nonsexual.
Shotacon for male readers may feature heterosexual relationships ("straight shota") or male-male relationships. Shota stories may be published in (a subset of) general seijin (men's pornographic) manga anthologies or in the few seijin shota manga anthologies, such as Shōnen Ai no Bigaku, which specializes in male-male stories. Some gay men's magazines which offer a particularly broad mix of pornographic material occasionally run stories or manga featuring peri-pubescent characters.
In 2006, the seijin shotacon OVA anime
, which the producer has described as the first shotacon anime, was released. It was later followed by three sequels. However, three years previously an OVA based on the eroge Enzai was created, featuring explicit sexual acts involving young boys.
Slang
Slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's language or dialect but are considered more acceptable when used socially. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo...
portmanteau of the phrase and describes an attraction to young boys, or an individual with such an attraction. Outside Japan, the term is used less often with this meaning. It refers to a genre of manga and anime wherein pre-pubescent or pubescent male characters are depicted in a suggestive or erotic manner. It can also apply to postpubescent (adolescent or adult) characters with youthful neotenic features that would make them appear to be younger than they are. The phrase is a reference to the young male character from Tetsujin 28-go
Tetsujin 28-go
is a 1956 manga written and illustrated by Mitsuteru Yokoyama, who also created Giant Robo. The series centred on the adventures of a young boy named Shotaro Kaneda, who controlled a giant robot named Tetsujin 28, built by his late father....
(reworked in English as Gigantor
Gigantor
Gigantor is an American adaptation of the anime version of Tetsujin 28-go, a manga by Mitsuteru Yokoyama released in 1956. It debuted on U.S. television in 1964. As with Speed Racer, the characters' original names were altered and the original series' violence was toned down for American viewers...
). The equivalent term for attraction to (or art pertaining to erotic portrayal of) young girls is lolicon
Lolicon
, also romanised as lolikon or rorikon, is a Japanese portmanteau of the phrase "Lolita complex". In Japan, the term describes an attraction to underage girls or an individual with such an attraction...
.
The usage of the term in both Western and Japanese fan cultures includes works ranging from explicitly pornographic
Hentai
is a Japanese word that, in the West, is used when referring to sexually explicit or pornographic comics and animation, particularly those of Japanese origin such as anime, manga, and computer games. The word hentai is a kanji compound of 変 and 態...
to mildly suggestive, romantic or entirely nonsexual. As with lolicon, shotacon is related to the concepts of kawaii (cuteness) and moe (in which characters are presented as young, cute or helpless in order to increase reader identification and inspire protective feelings). As such, shotacon themes and characters are used in a variety of non-erotic media. Elements of shotacon, like yaoi
Yaoi
In careful Japanese enunciation, all three vowels are pronounced separately, for a three-mora word, . The English equivalent is . also known as Boys' Love, is a Japanese popular term for female-oriented fictional media that focus on homoerotic or homoromantic male relationships, usually created by...
, are comparatively common in shōjo manga, such as the popular translated manga Loveless
Loveless (manga)
is an ongoing fantasy manga by Yun Kōga. It is currently serialized in the Japanese magazine Monthly Comic Zero Sum by Ichijinsha and collected in nine tankōbon as of November 2009...
(which features an eroticized but unconsummated relationship between the 12-year-old male protagonist and his 20-year-old male "fighter unit"), or the young-appearing character Honey in Ouran High School Host Club
Ouran High School Host Club
is a manga series by Bisco Hatori, serialized in Hakusensha's LaLa magazine since August 5, 2003. The series follows Haruhi Fujioka, a scholarship student at Ouran High School, and the other members of the popular host club. The romantic comedy focuses on the relationships within and without the...
. Seinen
Seinen
is a subset of manga that is generally targeted at a 20–30 year old male audience, but the audience can be older with some manga aimed at businessmen well into their 40s. In Japanese, the word Seinen means "young man" or "young men" and is not suggestive of sexual matters...
manga, particularly that aimed at otaku
Otaku
is a Japanese term used to refer to people with obsessive interests, particularly anime, manga or video games.- Etymology :Otaku is derived from a Japanese term for another's house or family , which is also used as an honorific second-person pronoun...
, also occasionally presents eroticized adolescent males in a non-pornographic context, such as the cross-dressing 16-year-old boy in Yubisaki Milk Tea
Yubisaki Milk Tea
is the title of a Japanese romance manga by Tomochika Miyano centering around a boy whose hobby is cross-dressing and the lives of those around him whom he affects whether he is dressed up or not. It was serialized in Hakusensha's manga magazine Young Animal between January 2003 and March 2010...
.
Some critics claim that the shotacon genre contributes to actual sexual abuse of children
Child sexual abuse
Child sexual abuse is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include asking or pressuring a child to engage in sexual activities , indecent exposure with intent to gratify their own sexual desires or to...
, while others point out that there is no evidence for this, or that there is evidence to the contrary.
Origins
The term "shotacon" is a Japanese portmanteauJapanese abbreviated and contracted words
Abbreviated and contracted words are a common feature of Japanese. Long words are often contracted into shorter forms, which then become the predominant forms. For example, the University of Tokyo, in Japanese Tōkyō Daigaku becomes , Tōdai, and "remote control", rimōto kontorōrā , becomes rimokon....
of , a reference to the young male character Shōtarō (正太郎) from Tetsujin 28-go
Tetsujin 28-go
is a 1956 manga written and illustrated by Mitsuteru Yokoyama, who also created Giant Robo. The series centred on the adventures of a young boy named Shotaro Kaneda, who controlled a giant robot named Tetsujin 28, built by his late father....
.
In the anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
and manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
series, Shōtarō is a bold, self-assertive detective who frequently outwits his adversaries and helps to solve cases. Throughout the series, Shōtarō develops close friends within the world. His bishōnen
Bishonen
is a Japanese term literally meaning "beautiful youth ". The equivalent English concept is a "pretty boy".The term describes an aesthetic that can be found in disparate areas in East Asia: a young man whose beauty transcends the boundary of gender or sexual orientation...
cuteness
Cuteness
Cuteness is the appeal commonly associated with neoteny.- Cuteness effects :Humans respond favorably to a neotenized appearance A neotenized appearance elicits sympathy from humans as well as protective urges...
embodied and formed the term "shotacon", putting a name to an old sexual subculture.
Where the shotacon concept developed is hard to pinpoint, but some of its earliest roots are in readers responses to detective series written by Edogawa Rampo
Edogawa Rampo
, better known by the pseudonym , was a Japanese author and critic who played a major role in the development of Japanese mystery fiction. Many of his novels involve the detective hero Kogorō Akechi, who in later books was the leader of a group of boy detectives known as the .Rampo was an admirer...
. In his works, a character named Yoshio Kobayashi of "Shōnentanteidan" (Junior Detective Group, similar to the Baker Street Irregulars of Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
) forms a deep dependency with adult protagonist Kogoro Akechi
Kogoro Akechi
Kogoro Akechi is a fictional character and the creation of Japanese mystery writer Edogawa Rampo.He first appeared in the story "The D Slope Murder case" in 1925 and continued to appear in stories for a quarter of a century...
. Kobayashi, a beautiful teenager, constantly concerns himself with Kogoro's cases and well-being, and for a time moves in
Cohabitation
Cohabitation usually refers to an arrangement whereby two people decide to live together on a long-term or permanent basis in an emotionally and/or sexually intimate relationship. The term is most frequently applied to couples who are not married...
with the unmarried man. This nonsexual but intimate adult-boy relationship in part inspired the evolution of the shotacon community.
Tamaki Saitō
Tamaki Saito
is a Japanese psychologist. Saitō is Director of Medical Service at Sofukai Sasaki Hospital in Funabashi, Chiba.Saitō is notable for his study of hikikomori, a term he coined; he is internationally recognized as Japan's leading hikikomori expert....
describes the modern shotacon dōjinshi community as having largely formed in the early 1980s and having a roughly even split between males and females. Saitō suggests that shotacon was originally an offshoot of yaoi
Yaoi
In careful Japanese enunciation, all three vowels are pronounced separately, for a three-mora word, . The English equivalent is . also known as Boys' Love, is a Japanese popular term for female-oriented fictional media that focus on homoerotic or homoromantic male relationships, usually created by...
, but when adopted by male readers became influenced by lolicon
Lolicon
, also romanised as lolikon or rorikon, is a Japanese portmanteau of the phrase "Lolita complex". In Japan, the term describes an attraction to underage girls or an individual with such an attraction...
; thus, he claims "shota texts by female yaoi authors are structurally identical to yaoi texts, while shota by male otaku clearly position these little boys as young girls with penises."
Shotacon publications
Shotacon stories are commonly released in semi-monthly anthologies. Sometimes, however, manga artist will publish individual manga volumes. Many shotacon stories are published as doujinshi; , an annual convention to sell shotacon doujin material, was founded in 1995, apparently by a group of male creators. The 2008 Shotaket had over 1000 attendees and offered work from nearly 200 circles.Shotacon for women is almost exclusively yaoi
Yaoi
In careful Japanese enunciation, all three vowels are pronounced separately, for a three-mora word, . The English equivalent is . also known as Boys' Love, is a Japanese popular term for female-oriented fictional media that focus on homoerotic or homoromantic male relationships, usually created by...
, and may be published in general yaoi anthology magazines or in one of the few exclusively shotacon yaoi anthologies, such as Shōnen Romance. Because of the possible legal issues
Legal status of cartoon pornography depicting minors
The legal status of cartoon pornography depicting minors is a unique subject which interacts with internet pornography, simulated pornography, obscenity laws, and specific laws against child pornography....
, US publishers of yaoi have avoided material depicting notably underage characters. In 2006, Juné
Digital Manga Publishing
Digital Manga is a company that licenses and releases, in English, Japanese anime, manga, and related merchandise. The company has several subdivisions: Digital Manga Publishing, which publishes Japanese manga, novels and instructional and illustration books in North America with multiple imprints,...
released an English translation of Mako Takahashi's under the title "Almost Crying", a non-erotic shotacon manga; the book contains several stories featuring pubescent male characters, but their relationships are nonsexual.
Shotacon for male readers may feature heterosexual relationships ("straight shota") or male-male relationships. Shota stories may be published in (a subset of) general seijin (men's pornographic) manga anthologies or in the few seijin shota manga anthologies, such as Shōnen Ai no Bigaku, which specializes in male-male stories. Some gay men's magazines which offer a particularly broad mix of pornographic material occasionally run stories or manga featuring peri-pubescent characters.
In 2006, the seijin shotacon OVA anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
, which the producer has described as the first shotacon anime, was released. It was later followed by three sequels. However, three years previously an OVA based on the eroge Enzai was created, featuring explicit sexual acts involving young boys.
See also
- HentaiHentaiis a Japanese word that, in the West, is used when referring to sexually explicit or pornographic comics and animation, particularly those of Japanese origin such as anime, manga, and computer games. The word hentai is a kanji compound of 変 and 態...
- List of manga magazines - includes shotacon magazines.
- LoliconLolicon, also romanised as lolikon or rorikon, is a Japanese portmanteau of the phrase "Lolita complex". In Japan, the term describes an attraction to underage girls or an individual with such an attraction...
Legal aspects
- Legal status of cartoon pornography depicting minorsLegal status of cartoon pornography depicting minorsThe legal status of cartoon pornography depicting minors is a unique subject which interacts with internet pornography, simulated pornography, obscenity laws, and specific laws against child pornography....
- Legal status of Internet pornographyLegal status of Internet pornographyDue to the international nature of the Internet, Internet pornography carries with it special issues with regard to the law. There is no one set of laws that apply to the distribution, purchase, or possession of Internet pornography. Only the laws of one's home nation apply with regard to...
- Legal status of cartoon pornography
- Child pornographyChild pornographyChild pornography refers to images or films and, in some cases, writings depicting sexually explicit activities involving a child...