美少年bishonen
Quick definition:Bishonen is a Japanese word for a beautiful boy or young man, and in anime and manga it describes elegant, delicate-featured male characters, often with long hair and graceful manners.
Meaning
Bishonen means beautiful boy, and it names a type of male character drawn with slender features, large eyes, smooth skin and elegant poses. Also spelled bishounen and sometimes called a pretty boy, the type may be a swordsman, an idol, a prince or a student. The look stresses grace and style, not roughness, and the character is often admired by those around him.
The idea is closely tied to shojo manga, which popularised the look for female readers, and it spread widely into action series, games and music. Bishonen characters can be heroes, rivals or villains, and many are given cool, calm or flamboyant personalities. Fans may enjoy them for their design, fashion and the way they are presented in stories.
The counterpart for female characters is bishoujo, meaning beautiful girl, though the two types are drawn and used in rather different ways.
Origin:Bishonen is written with characters meaning beautiful and boy. The ideal of the beautiful youth has deep roots in Japanese art and literature, and the word came into wide use in the twentieth century, especially through girls' manga. It passed into English-language fandom as a label for elegant, delicate-featured male characters.
Example:Yuki Sohma in Fruits Basket is a good example: a handsome, graceful student admired by almost everyone at his school, who is nicknamed a prince by classmates and even has a fan club among the students. His calm, elegant appearance hides a quiet and sometimes lonely personality.
Did you know?Western readers sometimes assume bishonen characters are always romantic leads, but the style also appears on villains, fighters and idols. Some series use the look to hide a cold or dangerous personality, so a gentle face can be a warning rather than a promise.
