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Mike? Aye, Pss... We got somewhat the same last name.

Heh, ScarletScythe's not wrong there, you know, as I did freely admit when I initially joined this forum that my first real exposure to Touhou Project was indeed a Reisen dojinshi called Bousou-Get! (^w^) Anyway, you make some very interesting points, CVN, which I'll address in the newer thread now. For this one here, I'll just say that, at the end of the day, I don't believe this is something you are ever going to reason out, not until you experience it yourself. I mean, I had a counsellor in the past who tried to apply his fancy college-course logic to me and my whacky interests and we went in utter circles for almost 9 months in total... and it was only supposed to be for 6. I ultimately cancelled the sessons because we simply weren't getting anywhere. (-_-) It's the old iceberg phenomenon basically, as in only seeing 1/8 of what Japanese culture is really all about. Helen McCarthy went over this when asked about H material and she said what I always do: it's a cultural thing and you are not going to understand it. The Japanese themselves struggle with comprehending how people can be hikikomori, or marry characters like Nene and Miku, or walk around in public with an anime dakimakura instead of a real girlfriend. Nijicon really is inexplicable to the average person, making me recall what Angelica once said in Rugrats, "If you have to ask, you'll never know." I don't think there's much else I can say on the subject really. (^_^) -------------------- Now come on guys, I was kidding about Eiki as well - "Danzai!" and all that. For sure, we all understand these characters were horrific abominations originally in common fokelore, with her being akin to the Three Fates of Greek mythology. I mean, have you seen what a monstrosity a rokurokubi really is and would you say Sekibanki is in any way representative of that? Only the Japanese could turn something so unpalatable and frightening into, as Stevo the Human rightly pointed out, a game where lolis shoot each other in the face with lasers. (=^_^=)

Hello again. I would like to reinforce my point one more time: I have nothing against the existence of such materials. I was more interested about their appeal and what makes people enjoy them so much. Also everyone has different tastes, which is perfectly fine. This is something I can agree with. It feels quite devoid of soul, mass produced and gross. It is also apparently accused of creating a bad/fictional/idealized image around how a male/female body should look like, as well as a poor understanding of relations and sexuality. I cannot confirm it though, as I try to stay as far as I can from it. But apparently it does create some problems in society. Long ago, in Romania was a bit of talk about how you are having a problem in Britain with an increasing amount of underage people being exposed to live-action porn, which combined with the lack of proper sex education lead to problems. Is this true, or some sort of fake news that came from Britain through shady sources (I do remember there was a British show airing every Saturday evening here in which some lady was advocating for sex education or something). Wait, you want to say that website and the whole idea of "Rule 34" in itself started as a joke? I know the rule itself came from an old joke on 4chan, but I did not know it extended to the creation of the website itself. Also, when did hentai the way we know it nowadays start making its appearance? We have already talked about the old Japanese erotic art, but the modern thing is quite intriguing as well. Also, is that traditional sort of art still being produced nowadays? I am not very sure about what you intended to say here. Could you please elaborate a bit more? It really caught my attention, but I did not fully understand. You say that governments/NGOs realized the overtly sexual style of anime illustrations as a whole? I mean, it is not like Japan took a lot of American influence in terms of animation. Maybe you can correct me, but from what I heard the Japanese were passionate about American cartoon since the interwar years, particularly stuff like Betty Boop or Disney animations. And after the war, the idea of comics was imported from the US as the Japanese were trying to copy the American lifestyle as much as they could. But again, maybe I am wrong again and what I remember is poor. But indeed, anime seems to be blamed for promoting an idealized version of the female form (which I think was the reason that attracted me into trying the style for my drawing - and I have been stuck into that for almost 2 years now despite questioning myself what I actually want to do - see the "How to draw" thread I started not loong ago in pursuit of a new artistic direction). Well, it looks like a change in direction would not be a bad thing. So we have the following questions: Why is Touhou so prolific when it comes to R18 materials? - already answered in the comments above (absolute freedom of expression given to the artists) Now, for the second question, hopefully better formulated this time: Why is R18 art so appealing? What is the thing that makes people like seeing their favorite characters in compromising poses, or having intercourse with a strange, faceless man? The faceless man is usually one of those things I found freaky. Why? Because one explanation for why people are usually faceless in such images/manga in the following: in order to make self-inserting possible. Basically, the idea is for you to be able to imagine yourself being the one making love with your favorite character. I can accept wholesome, consensual acts being depicted (I don't care if it's straight or yuri as long as there is some common sense), but at least please give those men some faces. Sorry for the final part and my very rough language (that is what spoiler is for). I really felt like I had to say it, just to mark a bit the line between what I personally find acceptable and what isn't. And it does not only apply to Touhou, but to any sort of media. Also sorry for going into another million tangents. I just like talking, and when I start talking about something, you can barely stop me.

Heres a couple drawings done some months ago. Of Marisa Reimu Sanae and Cirno. I also have a drawing from 2020. I thought it was a nice pun