Fantasy Vs. Reality In Hentai

Now, let’s not beat around the bush (snort): all hentai is fantasy. We know this may come as a bit of a surprise to some of you, so we’ll let it sink in for a second. You good, champ?

Even if all hentai is fantasy, though, there’s definitely a pretty clear difference between the two main branches of anime smut. In one column, you’ve got the “real” stuff – hentai that takes place in something resembling our world. The fantasy is that you could walk right out the door and have the plot of these happen to you. In the other column, there’s the more fantastical stuff that’s definitely never going to happen. Epic quests, monster babes, magic powers… these are the bread, butter, and jam of fantasy hentai.

More realistic hentai tends to unfold in two major genres: visual novels and sim games. Visual novels are the most common, and have a long history dating back to the early ‘80s. Through the decade and into the 90s, game devs found it easiest to portray the real world in a grounded way that was easy to navigate for users. Whether you were a young lad getting lucky with his first crush, a devious lecher trying to seduce housewives, or a maniacal doctor ensnaring nurses in BDSM traps, visual novels proved an easy way to convey common fantasies in an accessible way. This really exploded in the ‘90s, which was the decade that really made visual novels mainstream with literally hundreds of eroge flooding the market.

Alongside these were “raising games” – sims where you’d raise the perfect woman or prepare the ultimate ladykiller. These are all simulator and management titles, where the smut comes second to the control. Beneath all the voluptuous anime lasses and paper-thing clothing are games for the most hardcore stat nerds imaginable. Over time, realistic hentai games would often blend sim-style gameplay with visual novel storytelling to add an even greater degree of immersion to the experience.

Of course, these sorts of trends weren’t exclusive to “grounded” hentai games. In the ‘80s, a totally different trend grew out of the rising erotic game scene: fantasy role-playing games. One of the earliest eroge was a grounded RPG centered around lusty housewives, and from that sprang a cottage industry of erotic fantasy JRPGs. Early examples – produced in the late ‘80s – drew from popular Falcom and Square titles for inspiration, and spiced the experiences up with classic ‘80s anime panache. There’s also a lot of tabletop gaming inspo in some of these early titles – just like ‘90s fantasies OVAs!

Going into the ‘90s, these games would adopt visual novel mechanics to go along with their RPG cores. Like the combination of raising sims and visual novels, the synthesis here would produce richer and more nuanced erotic gaming experiences. Players could finally experience the dialogue-based immersion of visual novels and the thrilling adventure of RPGs under the same roof. The impact of this was huge, and made waves in not only the adult gaming space, but in the gaming industry itself. Take a look at your average JRPG – especially not the big, expensive ones that get shown off at E3 (RIP) – and you’ll see the lineage to eroge. That’s right –  you couldn’t have a certain smash-hit JRPG that “stole the hearts” of folks in 2017 without hentai!

But let’s get a little more abstract: what are the biggest differences between “real” and “fantasy” hentai art, regardless of genre? Generally speaking, realistic hentai is going to really try and hit home for the audience. It’s about looking at the most common “types” of people, finding the sexy streak there, then applying a variety of erotic situations to them. Whether you want to be stepped on by a mommy in stilettos or put a bratty boss in her place, the intent behind hentai is to let you do all of the things in the real world that you can’t do in the real world. Occupations, personality types, everyday settings… these are the real hot stuff when it comes to this porn. Sometimes, this can result in scarier and more grounded scenarios when it comes to extreme fetish content, too.

By contrast, fantasy porn is even more far-flung. Elf babes get banged by hulking orcs. Warrior princesses do battle against rapacious tentacles. Witches enslave hapless men and women into becoming their sexual servants. These are just a few of the fantasy scenarios that can unfold in hentai, and that’s the fun: there are so many possibilities! Because of how much fantasy fiction exists, hentai artists have no shortage of fuel to make some of the wildest and most imaginative scenarios imaginable! The real fun of fantasy hentais that it’s so detached from reality, it often feels a lot safer to explore new and weird fetishes in.

(In other words: watersports hits a lot different when it’s happening to a deposed elf queen and not, say, a doctor… right?)

Ultimately, what hentai you love is a deeply personal thing. Because this is all fantasy, right? This is all what we’re holing up with or sharing with partners to help us feel good. That’s why hentai is incredible: it can be whatever you and the artists want it to be. Whether you’re exploring a magical land full of sexy Glamazons or taking a stroll to see the girl next door, hentai is there for you… always.

Want to try out a great free hentai game with realism aesthetics? We recommend: Gentleman's Club!

More interested in some fantasy-based waifus? Try out King of Kinks!