Breathing Styles

With the usage of *hentai* as any erotic depiction, the history of these depictions is split into their media. Japanese artwork and comics serve as the first example of hentai material, coming to represent the iconic style after the publication of Azuma Hideo's *Cybele [ja]* in 1979. Japanese animation (anime) had its first hentai, in both definitions, with the 1984 release of Wonderkid's *Lolita Anime*, overlooking the erotic and sexual depictions in 1969's *One Thousand and One Arabian Nights* and the bare-breasted Cleopatra in 1970's *Cleopatra* film. Erotic games, another area of contention, has its first case of the art style depicting sexual acts in 1985's *Tenshitachi no Gogo*. In each of these mediums, the broad definition and usage of the term complicates its historic examination.

### Origin of erotic manga

Gratuitous illustrations of panties are a typical form of fanservice.
*The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife* (1814), a well-known example of Japanese erotic art (*shunga*)

Depictions of sex and abnormal sex can be traced back through the ages, predating the term "hentai". *Shunga*, a Japanese term for erotic art, is thought to have existed in some form since the Heian period. From the 16th to the 19th centuries, *shunga* works were suppressed by *shōguns*. A well-known example is *The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife*, which depicts a woman being stimulated by two octopuses. *Shunga* production fell with the introduction of pornographic photographs in the late 19th century.

To define erotic manga, a definition for manga is needed. While the *Hokusai Manga* uses the term "manga" in its title, it does not depict the story-telling aspect common to modern manga, as the images are unrelated. Due to the influence of pornographic photographs in the 19th and 20th centuries, the manga artwork was depicted by realistic characters. Osamu Tezuka helped define the modern look and form of manga, and was later proclaimed as the "God of Manga". His debut work *New Treasure Island* was released in 1947 as a comic book through Ikuei Publishing and sold over 400,000 copies, though it was the popularity of Tezuka's *Astro Boy*, *Metropolis*, and *Jungle Emperor* manga that would come to define the media. This story-driven manga style is distinctly unique from comic strips like *Sazae-san*, and story-driven works came to dominate *shōjo* and *shōnen* magazines.

Adult themes in manga have existed since the 1940s, but some of these depictions were more realistic than the cartoon-cute characters popularized by Tezuka. Early well-known "*ero-gekiga*" releases were *Ero Mangatropa* (1973), *Erogenica* (1975), and *Alice* (1977). The distinct shift in the style of Japanese pornographic comics from realistic to cartoon-cute characters is accredited to Hideo Azuma, "The Father of Lolicon". In 1979, he penned *Cybele*, which offered the first depictions of sexual acts between cute, unrealistic Tezuka-style characters. This would start a pornographic manga movement. The lolicon boom of the 1980s saw the rise of magazines such as the anthologies *Lemon People* and *Petit Apple Pie*.

The publication of erotic materials in the United States can be traced back to at least 1990, when IANVS Publications printed its first *Anime Shower Special*. In March 1994, Antarctic Press released *Bondage Fairies*, an English translation of *Insect Hunter*.

### Origin of erotic anime

Because there are fewer animation productions, most erotic works are retroactively tagged as *hentai* since the coining of the term in English.[*clarification needed*][*citation needed*] *Hentai* is typically defined as consisting of excessive nudity, and graphic sexual intercourse whether or not it is perverse. The term "ecchi" is typically related to fanservice, with no sexual intercourse being depicted.

Two early works escape being defined as hentai, but contain erotic themes. This is likely due to the obscurity and unfamiliarity of the works, arriving in the United States and fading from public focus a full 20 years before importation and surging interests coined the Americanized term *hentai*. The first is the 1969 film *One Thousand and One Arabian Nights*, which faithfully includes erotic elements of the original story. In 1970, *Cleopatra: Queen of Sex*, was the first animated film to carry an X rating, but it was mislabeled as erotica in the United States.

The *Lolita Anime* series is typically identified as the first erotic anime and original video animation (OVA); it was released in 1984 by Wonder Kids. Containing eight episodes, the series focused on underage sex and rape, and included one episode containing BDSM bondage. Several sub-series were released in response, including a second *Lolita Anime* series released by Nikkatsu. It has not been officially licensed or distributed outside of its original release.
*Lolicon*
The *Cream Lemon* franchise of works ran from 1984 to 2005, with a number of them entering the American market in various forms. *The Brothers Grime* series released by Excalibur Films contained *Cream Lemon* works as early as 1986. However, they were not billed as anime and were introduced during the same time that the first underground distribution of erotic works began.

The American release of licensed erotic anime was first attempted in 1991 by Central Park Media, with *I Give My All*, but it never occurred. In December 1992, *Devil Hunter Yohko* was the first risque (*ecchi*) title that was released by A.D. Vision. While it contains no sexual intercourse, it pushes the limits of the *ecchi* category with sexual dialogue, nudity and one scene in which the heroine is about to be raped.

It was Central Park Media's 1993 release of *Urotsukidoji* which brought the first hentai film to American viewers. Often cited for inventing the tentacle rape subgenre, it contains extreme depictions of violence and monster sex. As such, it is acknowledged for being the first to depict tentacle sex on screen. When the film premiered in the United States, it was described as being "drenched in graphic scenes of perverse sex and ultra-violence".

Following this release, a wealth of pornographic content began to arrive in the United States, with companies such as A.D. Vision, Central Park Media and Media Blasters releasing licensed titles under various labels. A.D. Vision's label SoftCel Pictures released 19 titles in 1995 alone. Another label, Critical Mass, was created in 1996 to release an unedited edition of *Violence Jack*. When A.D. Vision's hentai label SoftCel Pictures shut down in 2005, most of its titles were acquired by Critical Mass. Following the bankruptcy of Central Park Media in 2009, the licenses for all Anime 18-related products and movies were transferred to Critical Mass.

### Origin of erotic games

Hentai illustration typical for *eroge*
The term *eroge* (erotic game) literally defines any erotic game, but has become synonymous with video games depicting the artistic styles of anime and manga. The origins of *eroge* began in the early 1980s, while the computer industry in Japan was struggling to define a computer standard with makers like NEC, Sharp, and Fujitsu competing against one another. The PC98 series, despite lacking in processing power, CD drives and limited graphics, came to dominate the market, with the popularity of *eroge* games contributing to its success.

Because of vague definitions of what constitutes an "erotic game", there are several possible candidates for the first *eroge*. If the definition applies to adult themes, the first game was *Softporn Adventure*. Released in America in 1981 for the Apple II, this was a text-based comedic game from On-Line Systems. If *eroge* is defined as the first graphical depictions or Japanese adult themes, it would be Koei's 1982 release of *Night Life*. Sexual intercourse is depicted through simple graphic outlines. Notably, *Night Life* was not intended to be erotic so much as an instructional guide "to support married life". A series of "undressing" games appeared as early as 1983, such as "Strip Mahjong". The first anime-styled erotic game was *Tenshitachi no Gogo*, released in 1985 by JAST. In 1988, ASCII released the first erotic role-playing game, *Chaos Angel*. In 1989, AliceSoft released the turn-based role-playing game *Rance* and ELF released *Dragon Knight*.

In the late 1980s, *eroge* began to stagnate under high prices and the majority of games containing uninteresting plots and mindless sex. ELF's 1992 release of *Dōkyūsei* came as customer frustration with *eroge* was mounting and spawned a new genre of games called dating sims. *Dōkyūsei* was unique because it had no defined plot and required the player to build a relationship with different girls in order to advance the story. Each girl had her own story, but the prospect of consummating a relationship required the girl growing to love the player; there was no easy sex.

The term "visual novel" is vague, with Japanese and English definitions classifying the genre as a type of interactive fiction game driven by narration and limited player interaction. While the term is often retroactively applied to many games, it was Leaf that coined the term with their "Leaf Visual Novel Series" (LVNS) with the 1996 release of *Shizuku* and *Kizuato*. The success of these two dark *eroge* games would be followed by the third and final installment of the LVNS, the 1997 romantic *eroge* *To Heart*. *Eroge* visual novels took a new emotional turn with Tactics' 1998 release *One: Kagayaku Kisetsu e*. Key's 1999 release of *Kanon* proved to be a major success and would go on to have numerous console ports, two manga series and two anime series.