Is it normal for young women who read manga to be obsessed with those handsome characters known as bishounen? These types of characters are easy to spot, mostly because they are drawn so well and so carefully that they border between the conventional ideas of handsome and beautiful. It may also be hard to distinguish whether a character that is categorized as bishounen is male or female. Androgynous and certainly outside the normal boundaries of normal romantic relationships, why are many readers of manga (including this author) so taken with bishounen? These types of characters, who are generally teenage, have feminine features, and many other subtle characteristics are definitely part of the manga culture, and as such, should be studied, so that the obsession with bishounen might be more readily understood.

Of course, there are the physical characteristics of bishounen characters that make bishounen obsession understandable. They’re very handsome, to the point that they are beautiful. These teenage boys are generally drawn with long hair, or at least an unique hairstyle of some sort, feminine features that are offset by more masculine eyes and perhaps the jaw line, but include long, graceful limbs and long eyelashes. These are many things that we find beautiful in female characters, and yet they have a certain draw when portrayed within the idea of a male character. The basic appreciation for something or someone attractive can be explanation enough for the bishounen obsession.

But what about the personalities of these characters? Perhaps that too has something to do with the obsession with bishounen that have made characters like Alan Schezar from Escaflowne, Mamoru from Sailor Moon, Nakago from Fushigi Yuugi, and Marron Glace from Sorcerer Hunters so popular. Bishounen characters fit in the spectrum of all sorts of personality types, from the dominant and evil, to the heroic and sensitive. It is impossible to discern what particular personality characteristics will appeal to different people, as everyone is different, but it must certainly be part of the bishounen obsession.

There are probably a number of long-winded psychological answers to the question of the bishounen obsession. Why women enjoy reading about them, fantasizing about them though many are considered to be homosexual, and much of it ties in to the obsession with yaoi that many women are beginning to have. Yet, it could be as simple as appreciating the combination of a beautifully drawn characters with the unique personalities that authors give them.

Trying to discover the secret behind the bishounen obsession would take far more expertise in human psychology than what this particular author has. Yet, looking at the examples that are in almost every manga and anime, it is an obsession that will obviously continue on as long as there are bishounen in manga. So enjoy your obsession, and just remember that there are many different people who are just as obsessed as you are.