Kemonā

''Kemonā'' () is a Japanese subcultural term used to describe people who are fond of anthropomorphic animal characters, which are referred to as ''kemono'' (). These terms emerged during the late 1990s within the manga ''doujin'' culture, and they are sometimes claimed to have gained popularity when the term was used in the PlayStation 2 game '' .hack//G.U.'', released in 2000s. Interaction among ''kemonā'' initially revolved around ''doujin'' conventions, but with the proliferation of the Internet, the fandom has expanded to encompass various online art communities and social networking services. As per a 2013 article, the fandom has at least several thousand members.

Definition 

In Japanese subcultures, human characters with animal features such as ears and tails are often created, but they are not considered to be ''kemono''. Criteria for identifying ''kemono'' often include the presence of a muzzle on the face and an animal-like appearance of the body surface. According to researcher Inokuchi Tomohiro (), this is due to the recognition of "disconnection from humans" as a crucial factor that distinguishes between ''kemono'' and non-''kemono''. Inokuchi notes that while they are concerned with whether or not a character has a personality, they are rarely concerned with the amount of rationality or wildness within the personality. He then defines kemono as "an animal that is depicted as a non-human being, but with the potential for mutual understanding with humans."

Controversy on definition

Although those who are fond of ''kemonomimi'' character are also referred to as ''kemonā'', this sort of usage is often controversial as a misuse of the term. This is because those who identify themselves as kemonā basically do not like the idea of being identified with lovers of animal ears.

In 2015, a personal blog introduced ''Kemono Friends'', a smartphone game app featuring ''kemonomimi'' characters, as "for ''kemonā''." A poster of the article included the sentence "I didn't realize that I was a kemonā, but it seems that I am." This caused an uproar, and finally the blog operator posted an apology. Inokuchi speculates that the fact that many ''kemonā'' do not view their identity and the term ''kemonā'' in a positive light might have contributed to the flaming. ''Kemonā'' may consider ''kemono'' characters as sexual objects, but there is a strong tendency for this to be equated with bestiality and considered taboo, which is why the term ''kemonā'' is often used in a negative sense. Combined with the strong internal orientation of Japanese ''doujin'' fandom, fans themselves have rarely actively made their fetishism public. This is believed to be one of the reasons why this fandom was not well known in Japan.

Culture

As few commercial works deal with ''kemono'', many of them create original characters and stories. Fursuit culture is also popular.

History

The terms ''kemono'' and ''kemonā'' were coined in the 1990s, but due in part to the ''Pokémon'' ''doujinshi'' incident in 1999, in which an artist who drew an erotic ''doujinshi'' about ''Pokémon'' was arrested, no ''kemono''-only conventions were held until the 2010s. This is in contrast to ''kemonomimi''-only convention ''Mimiketto'' (), which was first held in 2000.

Some of ''kemonā'''s most representative conventions include Kemoket (), which was held in 2012 for the first time. As for events related to fursuits, ''Transfur'' () has been held since 2005 under the title of "first transfur event in Japan" and its de facto successor ''Kemocon'' has been held since 2007. In a 2013 interview, Inokuchi stated, "Originally, there was not much of a direct connection between the community that gathered at doujinshi sales and the community that liked fursuits, but these events have made this cohesion visible, and a new ''kemono'' culture is emerging that integrates the both."

Although, the kemonā design features kawaii (cute in japanese) design depending of the kemonā design part feature.

Commercial work

CyberConnect2, a game development company credited with popularizing the term ''kemonā'', launched the and sells anthologies and merchandise. YOS Corporation, which sells , a sex doll for ''kemonā'', realized during commercial research that there were no adult products targeting ''kemonā'', and created it as the "ultimate adult goods" for them.

References

See also

* Moe anthropomorphism
* Furry fandom
* List of catgirls and catboys

{{Fandom

Sexual fetishism
Japanese subcultures
Furry fandom