Anime porn vs. Real porn

Tanner:

The debate over the benefits and detriments of animated and natural pornography has raged since the introduction of an explicitly adult direct to video release in Japan in 1984, Lolita Anime I: Yuki no Kurenai Kesho * Shojo Bara Kei (freely translated, Crimson Cosmetic on the Snow * Young Girls' Rose Punishment). This half-hour video, first in the short-lived Wonder Kids erotic anime series, consisted of two 15-minute dramas of rape and sadistic sexual torture/murder of schoolgirls, whose spirits exact a gruesome supernatural vengeance. The animated format allowed for the expressiveness of extreme of perverse fantasy erotica, without the consequences of subjecting actors to painful and humiliating (and likely illegal) situations. This was a new phenomenon in the culture of video pornography, and helped to propel the both the pornography and animation industries into unexplored realms. Today, animated pornography enjoys a high level of success and is widely considered if not an alternative to natural pornography, at least a sub-genre that has earned its place as a legitimate place in the industry.
In order to fully understand the phenomenon that is animated pornography, we must first examine the history and evolution of the art form. While dirty and perverse drawings have existed since the dawn of cave paintings, Japanese animated pornography as we know it today saw its origins just after World War II. The immediate postwar years saw the development of a low-grade, pulp culture in Japanese media. The Japanese press was now free to dispense with the 'wholesome' preoccupations of wartime literature and instead explore more 'decadent' themes, including a whole genre of 'carnal literature'. For many survivors, their bodies were the only possession they had managed to preserve from the destruction of the war; Japan's burned-out cities became sites for celebration of the 'raw, erotic energy of Japanese bodies'. Indeed the sexualization of the popular press and popular culture more widely was a conspicuous feature of Japan's first post-war decade. Women's bodies were prominently displayed in a manner that would have been inconceivable before the war. Public sexuality was suddenly visible and acceptable in a manner not seen prior to the war's end, and 'petting' couples were conspicuous features of parks and shrine areas. The new postwar environment saw a greater emphasis placed on fulfilling the emotional and sexual needs of the couple, which resulted in a demand for information about sexual practice and pleasure—a market to which the new “kasutori” magazines catered.

The genre was characterized by the exchange which took place between specialist researchers, amateur hobbyists and readers themselves. The magazines frequently featured roundtable talks where medical doctors, writers, readers and editors came together to discuss specific issues such as male homosexuality, female same-sex desire, sadomasochism or a range of fetishes. In these discussions, the discourse of modern medicine which rendered some sexual desires 'abnormal' was represented alongside reports from actual people who self-defined. Various levels of discourse were blended—'expert' diagnoses stood alongside personal testimonies which at times modified or contradicted the opinions of the experts. Importantly, hentai magazines such as Kitan kurabu created readers' columns to stimulate the critique of articles and encourage exchange of ideas between readers. These readers' columns not only functioned as personal advertisements which accorded people with the same interests opportunities to meet, but they also enabled the sharing of various sexual fantasies.

The hentaiseiyoku (perverse desires) genre of the postwar period was characterized by the tendency to seek out relations between a wide range of non-normative sexual fantasies and desires. In this sense it has many parallels with contemporary 'queer studies' in which a wide range of individuals whose sexual and gender identities are not sanctioned by the mainstream culture, come together in a variety of forums to consider the dynamics at play in the construction of some desires as normal and others as perverse.

This laid the groundwork for Japan animation’s ability to stretch the limits of sexual fantasy by visualizing and actualizing ‘perverse’ or ‘victimizing’ sexual behavior. Perverse sexual desire has, since WWII, been more widely accepted in Japan (where it is known as Hentai) than in the United States; animated pornography is a natural outlet for this desire. More recently, however, the phenomenon has crossed over into the United States as sexual ‘perversion’ has become more widely accepted.

The best-known "anime porn" title, and the one which started the American adult video market, is the notorious Urotsukidoji: Legend of the Overfiend; first of the "erotic grotesque" (more popularly known as "tentacle porn") genre. This began in Japan with the January 1987 release of the first of a five-video adaptation of Toshio Maeda's horror comic-book novel, produced by West Cape Corporation, best known in America for its Space Cruiser Yamato/Star Blazers space adventure series. Urotsukidoji is about the invasion and conquest of Earth by oversexed supernatural demons who enslave humanity and use our women as their sexual playthings. Generations pass. There are human plots to destroy the monsters, which often attempt to take advantage of their sexual obsession and turn it against them. The tale becomes more complex when a third group eventually emerges of human/monster crossbreeds, rejected by both parents. They are intellectually inclined to join the humans, but their intense carnal drives are still too uncontrollable to make them comfortable allies for the human rebels. Sequels eventually extended the series to eleven videos.

While Japanese pornography and Anime in general enjoyed modest popularity in the 1990’s and early 2000’s, the phenomenon virtually exploded with the increasing reach of the internet and streaming video. The Japanese-American cultural crossover and the ability to watch animated pornography over the internet propelled Japanese animation to popularity that was previously unmatched. Now, it is estimated that almost ten percent of all pornographic videos are animated Japanese videos, and almost 40 percent of all Japanese animation is pornographic.
In conclusion, Japanese animated pornography is a cultural phenomenon that allows for ‘perverse’ sexual appetites to be fulfilled visually without subjecting actors to perhaps unhealthy or humiliating actions. It is a relevant player in the adult film industry and has gained a mainstream following in the United States as a viable option in the expression of sexual art.

Danny:

Real porn.

Stefan:

This begins the obvious change in direction of topics as we now have five topics from one of our other readers. To the pornography! I have to say real porn. Real porn has actually people taking part in the act of “making love.” Even if it has the use of non-sexual objects, fists, feces, animals, food, or whatever, it is still actually being done with people. This could be thought of as limiting because the actual laws of physics and human capabilities have to be respected but I appreciate that. With anime porn anything can happen. A woman could make love to a green marsh creature with a 20ft wang (I just made that up, I swear) in an anime porn. Now to some that could be really erotic (its not to me, I swear, I just made that up) but to me that is weird. Everything that happens in anime porn is taking place because some person sitting in a little art studio thought of it and then actually took the time to draw it out. Some person actually spent hours drawing a 20ft marsh creature weiner. On top of that, think of all the people in the studio that have to do the voices for those movies. Somebody has to actually sit their and write out the uhhhs and aaaahhhhs and gregororororororo (that is the sound of a marsh creature with a 20ft wang, again, just made that up). People then have to go into a sound studio and perform those sounds. All of that is pretty weird if you ask me. So I will take the real life porno, thank you very much.