Ecchi

Drawing of a girl in style of manga and anime. The clothes are purposely short and nearly transparent, to show the main aspect of the genre ecchi which involves partial nudity, without showing any primary sexual characteristics or sexual intercourse.

Ecchi (エッ", Ecchi), also romanized as etchi, is an often used euphemism in Japanese language for sexual innuendoes. As an adjective it is used with the meaning of "dirty", "naughty", "frivolous"; as a verb (ecchi suru), with the meaning to do something dirty, naughty, frivolous or to sleep together; or as a noun, to describe someone that is seen as ecchi. It's a synonym for ero (from Eros) and does not have such a harsh meaning as hentai.

In global context it also describes a genre of manga and anime which is seen as a softer variant of hentai (Japanese pornography). It actually does not show any sexual intercourse or primary sexual characteristics, but plays with tight clothing and suggestions − usually found in comedic Sh"nen/Seinen manga and harem anime.

Etymology

The purported origin of the Japanese word is the Latin alphabet letter "H". The most common theory states that it derives from the first character of the word hentai (変態, hentai), and indeed the two words have similar meanings.

Japanese usage

Template:Anime and manga The origin of the term ecchi is uncertain. Ecchi in Japanese is attached to the Japanese pronunciation of the Roman letter "H" which is the first letter in the Japanese word "Hentai", which may be backronym.

The word sekkusu is also used in Japan for sex, and Japanese native words for sex (such as seik") are often replaced by words of foreign origin such as sekkusu or neologisms such as ecchi. The nuance of ecchi varies with context, but in general the word itself is comparable to the English words "naughty" or "dirty" (when used as an adjective). The prefix "H-" is sometimes used to refer to pornographic genres: H-anime, H-manga, etc.

In manga and anime

While in Japanese the term can refer to anything perverted, it is also used to describe somewhat gentler hentai or erotic content, which usually is seen as rampant fan service in manga and anime. In comparison to hentai which "is anime erotica" and was adapted "among coy fans and distributors who preferred to use a foreign term for their pornography" in the west, the abbreviation ecchi is seen as softer in meaning than the full term. Calling a Japanese boy "H" might be flirtatious, as opposed to the more insulting "hentai."

"Ecchi" refers to erotic depictions. In comparison to hentai, it is less explicit.

Ecchi is meant to be a milder version of hentai and features anime anatomy but avoids explicit content by barely hiding the critical spots. Usually it is used in works that have a focus on comedy and is often described as its own genre, depicting the typical elements.

More information is available at [ Wikipedia:Ecchi ]

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