Dr. Etchi's Guide to 'H' Manga
Curtis Hoffmann
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Copyrighted July 22, 1993, by Curtis H. Hoffmann.
Permission is granted to cross-post this file in whole to other
computer networks (in fact, I'd be very happy if someone would crosspost
this to Fido.) This file may be reprinted in a fanzine or newsletter
as long as I'm notified, in exchange for a copy of the issue this
article appears in. This article can not be altered, or reprinted in a
for-profit magazine, without permission.
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Well, it was only a matter of time before I decided to tackle etchi
(porno) manga as an issue separate from the rest of the stuff. [Quick
note: In Japan, 'hentai' means 'pervert,' so the sex-related manga are
called 'H' manga, which is rendered into katakana as 'etchi' or 'ecchi'.]
As in all forms of manga, it's both easy to put stories in separate
catagories, and nearly impossible. There are the adult manga magazines
that deal with a wide variety of stories, and contain some sex and lots
of violence. Then there are the etchi, or sukebe, magazines that are
nothing but sex, with some violence and almost no story. To complicate
matters, there are the specialty magazines that deal only with topics
like mah jongg and horse racing, where the main characters get laid (in
graphic detail) to show that they are very macho. But, sex is a regular
part of Japanese story telling, so when a manga is aimed at a certain
market, it may or may not contain sex scenes sometime along the way.
However, there are obvious distinctions that can be drawn -- Adult
manga has violent stories with some frontal nudity and maybe some sex;
Sukebe manga has lots of posed shots with frontal nudity and maybe some
sex; Etchi manga always contains graphic sex, and have titles like Comic
Babe, Manga Bon, Cream Lemon, etc. Then, there are two kinds of etchi
mags: ones with photo-realistic painted covers, and ones with covers
that look cartoonish. The ones with the realistic covers will usually
have plain sex, and probably some very sick sex (bondage, grisly murders,
sado-masochism, male domination,) and artwork that tends to make the
women look ugly. On the other hand, the ones with covers that look like
manga have stories that span the spectrum from fantasy to science
fiction, from high school lesbian to horny salary men, from rape by
aliens to strange kinkiy stuff.
The only thing that all manga has in common is the prohibition from
showing pubic hair, erections, and actual insertion (either oral or
otherwise.) Therefore, sex scenes may contain lots of sequences with
people fondling women through their panties (which doesn't look either
erotic or effective.)
Usually, the photo-realistic etchi manga are pretty bad. You can
find better stories and pictures in Playboy or Penthouse. I'll merely
mark these titles as PR, and otherwise ignore them unless there's
something particularly outstanding about the stories or artwork.
Code:
PR -- Photo-realistic
AM -- Adult manga. More to the stories, and more violence. Fair
amount of sexual references, but not consistently graphic.
HM -- Etchi manga. This is the first indication that the stories
are going to be imaginative, and the character designs will be
more like Cream Lemon.
Comic Bon
PR. Some nude photos.
Comic Babe
HM. Wide variety of artwork, the stories are mainly about high
school kids, with just a couple with aliens. Some of the art is good,
and the stories don't get in the way of the sex.
Erotopia
HM. High school kids getting laid.
Manga Gold
PR. Ninjas, police drama, and yakuza getting laid. Some of the
artwork is very good, and the stories sometimes have real content.
Manga (?) Jump (Exciting Eroto Comic)
AM. Wide variety of styles, but pretty standard stories. Mainly
just a bunch of people getting laid, but some of the artwork is impressive.
Nude photos of high school girls.
Manga Real
PR. Salarymen and Office Ladies getting laid.
Nippon Scoop
Men's information magazine. Sports, sex clubs, personalities. Lots
of photos, just a couple of the 4-panel gag manga.
Orange Club
HM. High school kids having sex. Character designs are similar to
Cream Lemon, but there's nothing to the stories.
Play Comic (Comics for Men)
AM. A wide variety of art styles and story lines. Some are better
than the average. A couple of pages of photos. Basically, adult wish
fulfillment.
(?)rakugo
AM. Lots of ugly women having sex with salarymen. Some nude photos
of high school girls. The manga is very graphic, but the sex is pretty
conventional.
Weekly (?)go
Men's information magazine. Articles on personalities, sports, and
politics. Some R-rated adventure manga, and lots of horse racing and
sex tips.
Weekly Manga Times
AM. Lots of gags about sex, with a few continuing stories concerning
members of the yakuza. A couple of the gag strips are rather amusing
without getting at all graphic. More like a children's version of the
Playboy gag strips.
Young Hip
HM. College boys fantasy stories -- ranges from transvestites to
werewolves vs vampires. Occasionally, patients having sex with nurses.
Fairly graphic. One of the better titles.
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Individual titles:
Uta Hime (Song Princess)
This is a manga carried in Young King, which has been collected into
a couple of volumes. The artwork is an attractive cross between Ah! My
Goddess, and I Give My All. The stories are all light hearted, with
some frontal nudity and implied sex.
I Give My All (and there's another title by the same artist)
Again, light-hearted sex romp. The artwork is very clean, and the
story revolves around the mishaps a young boy encounters while trying to
get laid. Copies of the original Japanese video can still be found in
some places.
Kiss Man
In Grand Champion. A guy with a tongue that has extraordinary
powers, goes around kissing women into frenzies. Average artwork, but
strange stories.
Otoko (?)i
Women working as hostesses at a soap hotel solve the personal
problems of their clients, and other hostesses. Some semi-graphic sex,
and the character designs are pretty good.
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Of course, there are a lot of other titles out there that I haven't
included, mainly because I haven't found them yet. Also, some of the
etchi stuff is in the girl's manga, which I normally don't read.
So, if anyone has other entries to be added to the list, feel free
to forward them to me.
-- Curtis H. Hoffmann
July 21, 1993
W2/JH1CUV
>
> Babe, Manga Bon, Cream Lemon, etc. Then, there are two kinds of etchi
> mags: ones with photo-realistic painted covers, and ones with covers
> that look cartoonish. The ones with the realistic covers will usually
> have plain sex, and probably some very sick sex (bondage, grisly murders,
> sado-masochism, male domination,) and artwork that tends to make the
They are called kannou gekiga. Sometimes referred as eromanga, but
they are NEVER called H manga.
Comic Babe ceased two years ago.
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W2/JH1CUV