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V2 See [i][[bishonen]][/i]
Updated by deleted101928 Tue, Feb 14 '23, 00:05
V1 A Japanese term literally meaning "beautiful teenage boy". The equivalent English concept is "pretty boy". The term describes an aesthetic that can be found in disparate areas in Asia: a teenage boy, around 13 to 18 years old, whose beauty (and sexual appeal) transcends the boundary of gender or sexual orientation. Bishounen characters are fairly common in manga and anime; a heavy number of male characters show subtle signs of the bishounen style, such as slender eyes or a feminine face.

Bishounen are usually drawn delicately, with long limbs, silky or flowing hair, and slender eyes with long eyelashes that can sometimes extend beyond the face. It's best to tag images that focus on the character's beauty, so there tends to be a heavier emphasis on solo or duo images here. Group images are fine, so long as the majority of the males exemplify this trait.

As the name suggests, the term is best used when you can still tell that the character is a male. If there are remarkable feminine traits, consider adding [[androgynous]]. For characters where their feminine traits are at the point of making you believe that they're a female, use [[otoko no ko]] instead.

Note that with [[genderswap (ftm)|female-to-male genderswaps]], this tag can apply if they possess the above-mentioned traits.

There also exists an older variant: ''biseinen'', which has the same pseudo androgynous beauty, but are older than the "shounen" category (that is, older than 18). On Danbooru, this is tagged as [[mature male]].
Updated by bot Sun, Sep 18 '22, 02:54