A glomp or glomping, sometimes referred to as a tackle hug, is a form of aggressive

hug A hug is a form of Affection, endearment, found in virtually all Communities, human communities, in which two or more people put their arms around the neck, back, under the armpits or waists of one another and hold each other closely. If more th ...

ging in which the initiating party dives or lunges at the receiving party in the manner of a tackle. Glomping is frequently associated with

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

and

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

, where it is depicted as a form of

slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such as ...

physical comedy Physical comedy is a form of comedy focused on manipulation of the body for a humorous effect. It can include slapstick, clowning, mime, physical stunts, or making funny faces. Physical comedy originated as part of the Commedia dell'arte. It is ...

. Glomping is also practiced by members of the

anime and manga fandom The anime and manga fandom is a worldwide community of fans of anime and manga. Anime includes animated series, films and videos, while manga includes manga, graphic novels, drawings, and related artworks. The anime and manga fandom traces ba ...

, particularly attendees of anime and manga conventions.

Description and history

A glomp is an aggressive or highly enthusiastic form of hugging wherein the active partner dives or lunges at the receiving partner, as akin to a tackle or

bear hug The bear hug is a grappling maneuver often seen in sports, such as wrestling. It also exists outside sports, such as street fighting, martial arts personal defense, military hand-to-hand combat, and even affectionate hugging. Bear hugs can be d ...

. It is often taken from a running start and with the receiving partner unaware of the active partner's approach. The active partner aims to wrap their arms and occasionally their legs completely around the receiving partner, which frequently results in both individuals being knocked to the ground. In fictional media, glomping is typically rendered as a form of

to indicate feelings of affection or attraction by one character towards another. Though tackling hugs appeared in media such as

comics a Media (communication), medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of Panel (comics), panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, Glo ...

and

animation Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...

prior to the emergence of "glomp" as a proper term in the early 1990s, glomping is primarily associated with

and

. The precise etymology of "glomp" is unclear, though the term has been associated with early English-language translations of manga by American publisher

Viz Media Viz Media, LLC is an American entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California, focused on publishing manga, and distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. The company was founded in 1986 as Viz, ...

, particularly ''

Ranma ½ is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi. It was serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' from August 1987 to March 1996, with the chapters collected in 38 volumes by Shogakukan. The story revolves a ...

'' by

Rumiko Takahashi is a Japanese manga artist. With a career of several commercially successful works, beginning with ''Urusei Yatsura'' in 1978, she is one of Japan's best-known and wealthiest manga artists. Her works are known worldwide, where they have been tra ...

. "Glomp" was used in these translations as an

onomatopoeia Onomatopoeia (or rarely echoism) is a type of word, or the process of creating a word, that phonetics, phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes. Common onomatopoeias in English include animal noises such as Oin ...

for tackling hugs, possibly as a synthesis from the word " glom". Later, "grab, latch on, maintain pressure" emerged as a

backronym A backronym is an acronym formed from an already existing word by expanding its letters into the words of a phrase. Backronyms may be invented with either serious or humorous intent, or they may be a type of false etymology or folk etymology. The ...

for the term. Glomping occurs as a real-life practice among members of the

, particularly attendees of anime and manga conventions. Though glomping in this context is ostensibly performed as a friendly or affectionate gesture, the possibility of glomping resulting in injury, harassment, or damage to

cosplay Cosplay, a blend word of "costume play", is an activity and performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and Fashion accessory, fashion accessories to represent a specific Character (arts), character. Cosplayers often i ...

costumes has resulted in the discouragement of the practice unless consent is obtained from both parties, and the implementation by some conventions of policies that prohibit glomping. At some conventions, attendees participate in so-called "glomping circles" akin to a mass group hug; one such glomping circle at the anime convention

Anime Expo Anime Expo, abbreviated AX, is an American anime convention held in Los Angeles, California and organized by the non-profit Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA). The convention is traditionally held annually on the first we ...

in 2008 reportedly lasted for seven hours.

References

External links

* {{Wiktionary inline, glomp Anime and manga terminology Internet culture Otaku

Description and history

See also

References

External links