Ask John: Is Interest in Hentai Versions of Anime Disrespectful?

Question:
Would you consider it abnormal to seek erotic material focused on characters of your favorite anime, or anime that you are currently watching? I personally have no quarrel with doing so, yet I have friends who press the idea that it is disrespectful to the creators of these characters and the essence of the characters themselves to seek materials in which they are involved in erotic/sexual atmospheres. What is your personal take on this habit/action and would you consider it out of the ordinary?

Answer:
Anime fans have a tendency to develop a sort of reverence for anime. We adore it and respect it so much that the defilement of anime with crude sexuality feels disrespectful and even blasphemous. Especially in the case of adorable or sweet characters like Belldandy and Aoi Sakuraba, associating them with sex feels like an abominable corruption of chaste, innocent beauty. On the other hand, the sexual fetishization of anime characters is a natural progression of adoration. One could argue that platonically loving anime characters without fantasizing about physical communion is immature; love without consummation or climax. It’s also necessary to remember that the subjects of this discussion are fictional characters. Any and every relationship viewers and readers have with these characters is a mental one; therefore the extent to which an individual embellishes a fantasy is a private, personal matter that should be judged by one’s own morality and comfort level.

I’ve heard of manga artists who are reportedly offended by erotic depictions of their characters. For example, according to common rumor Sailor Moon creator Naoko Takeuchi dislikes erotic depictions of her Sailor Moon characters. However, Usagi and Mamoru obviously have a sexual relationship in the original Sailor Moon manga and anime, and there’s an abundance of amateur and professionally published Sailor Moon erotica available in Japan which Takeuchi-sensei has seemingly tacitly ignored or allowed. I’ve also heard that manga creators such as Kenichi Sonoda enjoy seeing fan created erotic depictions of their characters. And there are numerous manga creators that condone the sexual fetishization of their characters by actually contributing to that fetishization themselves. For example, Koshi Rikdo, Johji Manabe, Ken Akamatsu, and Hiroe Rei have all self-published erotic doujinshi that include characters from their own well known, mainstream hit manga series. Hiroe Rei, for example, keeps sex out of his Black Lagoon manga, but self-publishes erotic Black Lagoon doujinshi under the pseudonym “TEX-MEX.”

I don’t think that sexually idolizing anime and manga characters is patently disrespectful, despite the fact that there may be creators who take personal offense. Professional manga creators don’t create and publish comics for themselves; that’s what amateur artists do. The responsibility of professional artists is to create art that audiences will enjoy. I think that most professional artists are, or should be, gratified if fans want to know characters better and want to interact with characters beyond merely reading or watching their published stories. Whether a fan loves a character chastely or lustfully, the fact is the same that the fan loves the character, meaning that the creation has achieved its goal of affecting the reader or viewer.

Insisting on a strictly platonic adoration of fictional characters, for any reason, is a romantic, chivalrous idea. I respect that passion and dignity. I see nothing wrong with it, and no harm in it so long as it doesn’t become debilitating or dangerous. I also don’t believe that the sexual fetishization of fictional characters is crude or disrespectful, so long as it doesn’t become harmful or dangerous. Wanting to see anime characters in sexual situations isn’t merely a sign of lascivious inhibition; it’s a manifestation of interest in anime. Wanting to see a manga or anime character in a sexual situation is a sign of wanting to see more of that character, wanting to see that character is new circumstances, wanting to see a hidden aspect of that character’s personality. That interest may be subconscious, but I do believe that it exists; otherwise, what would motivate someone to wish to see a particular character in a sexual pose?