Loli is Japanese manga or anime that is sexually explicit and involves cartoon characters that are underage. It is a form of hentai, which is a genre of Japanese manga that focuses on sexualized characters and plots. Loli depicting underage girls is known as lolicon. The word comes from Vladimir Nabokov’s book, Lolita, in which an adult man is sexually attracted to a girl who is 12 years old. When loli depicts underage boys, it is known as shotacon. In Japan, loli is widespread. However, its legality has been controversial, and attempts to regulate it have increased since the 1990s.