Ask John: What is Bishonen?

Question:
What does the Japanese word “bishonen” mean?

Answer:
My pocket Japanese to English dictionary translates “bishounen” as “handsome youth.” To be slightly more accurate, bishounen refers to beautiful men or boys. Its commonly accepted meaning is as a descriptive pronoun referring to a “pretty” boy. I’m not suggesting any sexism with this comment. By pretty boy I mean the “heart-throb” or effeminate character. It’s actually a bit difficult to accurately describe the character type without using examples, so allow me to present some. Bishounen heroes range from the violent and masculine protagonists of Gundam Wing and St. Seiya, to the effeminate Maron Glaces of Sorcerer Hunters and Ladios Sopp/Amaterasu of Five Star Stories. More excellent examples include Akio, Saionji and Touga of Utena, the Vampire Hunter known as D, Griffith of Berserk, Mephisto from Demon City Shinjuku, and Ryo of Devilman. These men have a certain sense of style and fashion, and also an air of mystery and regality about them. They are not like other men; they are either more aloof or more powerful. Even when they make mistakes, their mistakes or errors are trifling matters to them, not the stumbling blocks or embarrassing moments similar blunders would be to normal men.

The bishounen character type is often associated with “shounen ai,” also known as “yaoi,” or homosexuality. The nature of the bishounen makes him well suited to sensuality. Especially the effeminate male character, who is both anima and animus, male and female, seems perfectly suited to a homosexual relationship.

To research more about the “bishounen” phenomenon, allow me to refer you to the bishounen category of the AnimeNation links page.