I've read a few of these series, and for all intents and purposes the best analogy is that works with the borderline H label relates to Hentai in the same sort of way as softcore porn relates to hardcore porn.

Their main focus is usually to sexually excite, usually with an excuse plot. Any sex is obscured but the majority of content focuses around nudity, fetishes, and characters thinking about sex.

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Im with you, not sure why female parts are so acceptable.

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I wouldn't say so. Sure, we see more boobs in movies and such, but we also see more penises than vaginas. Actually, I don't recall having ever seen a vagina in a movie, but I can think of several where dicks were proudly displayed on the silver screen.

As for borderline hentai, the few that I've read makes me inclined to agree with the others that the purpose of the story isn't to deliver a sexual experience, due to having a substantial plot not for the sake of sex. That said, my sample size is very small so I can't be certain.

Last edited by Damnedman at 5:14 pm, Aug 4 2013

A sex scene can be an extremely powerful tool for storytelling with any number of purposes besides arousal, most commonly as the ultimate act of unification between two lovers. One of the most powerful scenes I have ever read in a manga is the love scene at the climax of Hyouryuu Net Cafe.

Or on the other hand, a sex scene can be used to vilify or disgrace a character such as the one in a later volume of Boys on the Run. I actually find it quite interesting how the simple act of coitus can be beautiful in some manga and disgusting in others depending on the circumstances.

That being said, there are so many discrepancies I find within the Borderline H tag that I no longer pay attention to the tag at all. I feel like Toshiue no Hito and Velvet Kiss are definitely hentai, but they're only listed as Borderline H. And Hyouryuu Net Cafe is listed under it too, but I feel like it's not explicit enough to warrant the tag.

Thing is, there is a definition for it. Manga (so, with plot) that depicts actual sex but usually not the genitals, not explicitly at least.

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The line between borderline and actual hentai varies between manga.

The correct question should've been "Is borderline hentai really hentai?" The answer is no. If it were hentai, it would be called "hentai". Since it's not hentai, it's called "borderline hentai". I.e. it doesn't meet commonly accepted community expectations of hentai.

Last edited by cmertb at 1:42 pm, Dec 9 2013

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Despite social expectations, breasts are not, in fact, sexual organs. They evolved to provide milk for babies. The reason bras originally existed is for support, not for covering. Thus, even though Japan has the same societal connotations of breasts as the US does, legally speaking, the government of Japan recognizes that intentionally oversexualizing breasts by forcing higher ratings on media that demonstrates them is nonconducive to rational expression in media. Europe is the exact same way. Only the US considers breasts to be auto-classified as porn.

With that said, a manga that shows a vagina in a non-sexual way will get no lighter of a rating than a manga that shows a penis in a non-sexual way. Even Hajime no Ippo has shown a non-sexual censored penis and, to my knowledge, non a vagina.

Beyond that, once the rating reaches a certain threshold, the ratio of shown penises to shown vaginas will depend entirely on the author's goals, and not any abstract concept of "being acceptable". Like, if the author wants to target at straight, young adult males, yes, it's going to be mostly, if not all, vaginas.

tl;dr your post doesn't make sense in the correct cultural context.

It's simpler. There's magazines with real hentai, like Comic Megastore - those are 18+, and there's magazines like Champion Red Ichigo that can contain some stories with nudity and sometimes sex, but they only 16+ or something. "Borderline H" tag tell me there's some sex scenes in story, and they last long enough (not 1 or 2 pages) to be noticeable, but it's not hentai.

You don't say...

http://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?genre=Smut&e xclude_genre=Seinen_Shoujo%2BAi_Shounen_Shounen%2BAi_Y aoi_Yuri&perpage=50

http://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?genre=Smut&e xclude_genre=Doujinshi_Josei_Shoujo_Shoujo%2BAi_Shounen% 2BAi_Yaoi_Yuri&perpage=50

Smut is exclusively for girls stories - i.e. shoujo, josei, shounen-ai, yaoi, and some shoujo-ai with yuri.

Last edited by Reyalsdog at 2:56 pm, Dec 9 2013

Well, I read several Manga with Borderline H tags and each one is different. I mean My Doll House tags as Borderline H but I kindda think that's almost Hentai since there's sex in every chapter but we cannot see the actual penetration. Also some other titles like Angel (U-Jin) genitalia is often shadowed or made into a beam of light, which I consider to be stupid and transforms the Manga into a Hentai series. However Nana to Kaoru and it's spinoff/sequel is also tagged as Borderline H however there's no intercourse at all, not even bare boobs. Same happens with Kangoku Gakuen though bare boobs are sometimes shown.
So I guess the Borderline H tag has a wide range into what is or not Hentai. It really depends on the people who actually tag it I believe. I would tag all H series mentioned above but Nana to Kaoru and Kangoku Gakuen.

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read Domina no Do! and tell me if thats not borderline

I'm not even sure what "borderline hentai" is.

That said, its all moot. Different cultures define hentai/porn differently and that moves the 'borderline' accordingly. Whats "borderline hentai/porn" for Japanese audiences might be outright "hentai/porn" for American audiences.

Hummm, I dunno. I think borderline hentai is just as porny as hentai, it's just a matter of how straightup they want to be about it.

Hentai usually shows full-on genitals and sex, I think, with like the inside of the girl's v fully visible and the dude's d too.
Borderline hentai is more about subtleness and less full-on genitals/sex/the like.

I think a good example of what I mean is Kiss x Sis
Well, that's my opinion on it anyway
editttt: went back and reread opinions, i think Chayto's got a better opinion on it then me

Last edited by lovelylalaland at 2:42 pm, Dec 10 2013