Ask John: Why is Lolicon Popular in America?

Question:
Recently, you answered a question about the legality of lolicon. What I don’t understand is why it is so popular. In a previous article, you cited a Japanese “culture of cute.” This could account for loli-pin-ups, but not for actual lolicon sex. Also, this would only be pertinent to the Japanese side of the fetish; in America, there’s much demand for anime/manga lolicon online.

Answer:
Actually, I don’t think that there’s as much interest in “moe” or “lolita” anime and manga fetishes among American fans as you may suspect. In fact, I suspect that the fascination with Lolita anime themes among English speaking fans seems more prevalent than it actually is because its fans are very outspoken, and because the genre itself attracts more attention than other varieties of anime and manga. Among the English speaking people who do enjoy or appreciate lolicon, I think their reasons for enjoying it are similar to those of Japanese fans. For its supporters, lolicon is a safe, reassuring, and gratifying fetish.

Because of my relatively unique position of being both an anime fan, and an employee of an anime retail company, I know from first hand knowledge that the Japanese “moe” genre is not tremendously popular in America. Shows like Risky Safety and Bottle Fairies don’t sell well in America. Even though critics agree that Popotan has a surprising degree of depth in its characterizations, it’s still panned and ignored. Adorable anime series like Kokoro Library, Petopeto-san, Ojamajo Doremi, Comet-san, Tsukuyomi, and Fushigiboshi no Futago Hime are routinely ignored by the vast majority of the English speaking fan community. Shakugan no Shana is popular because it’s a moody, violent and dark supernatural series featuring a foul-tempered cute little girl. But shows that feature cheerful, kindhearted little girls generally don’t go over well in America. Based on that observation, I can’t believe that a tremendous number of Americans are unusually interested in lolicon art. Rather, I have the vague impression that American internet forums that seem filled with lolicon, or are devoted exclusively to attractive little anime girls are heavily frequented by the few hundred or few thousand English speaking fans who do like lolicon and moe themes. A handful of very active and outspoken anonymous people on an internet BBS can easily create the impression that there are more of them than there actually are. After all, ten people shouting make more noise than a hundred silent people.

I also think that the moe and lolicon genres are such specific themes that they’re easy to focus on. Therefore, they draw attention. There are undoubtedly many times more Dragonball, Evangelion, and Cowboy Bebop fans in America than there are loli fans. But exactly for that reason, when perusing image posting forums, lolicon images stand out while we barely notice more common Evangelion images. Lolicon fans, I think, tend to congregate on internet forums because the forums are anonymous and offer fans of a similar interest an opportunity to share that interest, which they can’t do elsewhere. That’s probably why image hosting forums often accumulate large collections of loli art, and why observers notice those large accumulations. Other genres of anime, like shoujo and mainstream shonen anime are so broad, and so commonplace within the fan community that they don’t raise eyebrows and don’t generate isolated specific clusters on certain websites. In effect, I don’t know for certain, but I suspect that the prevalence of Japanese lolicon art within the American fan community is misleading by creating the impression that it’s more popular in America than it really is.

To a large degree, I think that lolicon is popular among Americans for the same reasons why it’s popular among Japanese fans. Many anime fans are introverts. They’re shy, isolated people that have difficult developing social relationships. Anime is appealing because it’s a surrogate for reality. Anime provides a inviting society that’s welcoming and exciting, contrary to reality, which is frightening and troubling. Furthermore, the sweet and adorable innocence of moe manga and anime is a soothing escape from the stress of everyday real life. So lolicon is attractive for certain people because it offers sexual gratification that’s not intimidating or embarrassing. A fictional child represents something which a person can overpower, control, and dominate. For people suffering with low self-esteem, inferiority complex, or simply feelings of helplessness or weakness, the ability to fantasize being dominant is very cathartic. And the fact that the urge to dominate is inflicted only on imaginary characters is reassuring. I don’t think that the vast majority of people who like moe and lolicon are pedophiles or sexual deviants. They are people for whom lolicon provides a satisfying, cathartic outlet that is private, personal, and harms no one. I think that this rationale for being interested in lolicon is universal. The reason why certain fans find “moe” appealing is the same reason why people regardless of gender and nationality find puppies and kittens cute. Small, cuddly things are cute. I think that there are anime fans who are willing to admit that they find cute anime and manga attractive; there are fans who honestly aren’t interested in cute anime; and there are probably many American anime fans who psychologically refuse to admit that they find cute anime cute. For many people, admitting a fondness for adorable anime illustrations is unsettling because it’s an admission of being childish.