![2boys bishounen black_hair blue_eyes blue_hair book cape facial_mark fire_emblem fire_emblem:_path_of_radiance gloves headband highres ike_(fire_emblem) long_hair male_focus multiple_boys novice_(o_novice) ragnell red_eyes short_hair soren_(fire_emblem) weapon rating:s score:3 post #3071424](/cdn_image/preview/98/77/9877798b8947318cc0ccb7ce306ebf67.jpg)
Bishōnen (美少年, also transliterated bishounen), is a Japanese term literally meaning "beautiful youth (boy)". The equivalent English concept is "pretty boy".
The term describes an aesthetic that can be found in disparate areas in Asia: a young man whose beauty (and sexual appeal) transcends the boundary of gender or sexual orientation.
Bishōnen are usually drawn delicately, with long limbs, silky or flowing hair, and slender eyes with long eyelashes that can sometimes extend beyond the face. The character's "sex appeal" is highlighted through introducing the character by using an "eroticized" full page spread.
Bishōnen characters are fairly common in manga and anime; a heavy number of male characters show subtle signs of the bishōnen style, such as slender eyes or a feminine face.
There also exists an older variant: ''biseinen'', who have the same pseudo androgynous beauty, but are older than the "shonen" category (that is, older than 18).
The following tags are aliased to this tag: bishounens and bishonen (learn more).