Kemono

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Kemono-Taiheiki, a piece of traditional Japanese art in Muromachi period.
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Kemono-Taiheiki, a piece of traditional Japanese art in Muromachi period.

Kemono (Japanese 獣 or けもの "beast") is a genre of Japanese art and character design that prominently features animal-like fictional characters in human-like settings and situations. It is used widely in drawing, painting, manga, anime, and video game designs, many of which are popular in the rest of the world.

Human-like animal characters in the kemono genre are frequently called Jūjin (Japanese 獣人 or じゅうじん "therianthrope"; alternatively, these characters are also sometimes read as kemonobito "beast-human"). Their unique design differs from artist to artist, but in general they combine popular character design with animal traits deemed cute and endearing. However, most kemono character designs retain a fundamentally human character and personality, seldom acting like the real animals after which they are designed. As such, kemono are usually shown living the way normal humans live in the same setting: speaking normal language, wearing normal clothes, eating normal food, living in normal homes, in ways that blur their distinction from ordinary humans.

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[edit] Kemono in popular entertainment

The kemono style of character design is prominent in Japanese arts, particularly in video games. Following is a list of popular Japanese publications featuring or including kemono characters:

[edit] Anime and manga

[edit] Video games

[edit] Kemono on the Internet

Many amateur kemono artists maintain personal websites that showcase their artwork. These artists are predominantly male and draw mostly masculine characters and illustrations. Sometimes these depictions idealize the male muscular physique, in fashions reminiscent of male modeling. Occasional female kemono characters can be seen, but they usually have only marginal kemono features such as animal ears.

Kemono artists tend to be very protective of their copyrights, and usually forbid use of their media without permission. As webmasters, many kemono artists also prefer to grant permission before allowing other website to link to their own, usually with a banner image. Sometimes, the act of "mutual linking", where two websites each link to each other's website, is celebrated as a symbol of friendship between two webmasters.

Though based on very different cultural ideals, kemono and furry fandom on the Internet can occasionally overlap, both geographically and in influence. Some kemono artists appeal to both at the same time. Due to similarity in subject matter, people interested in kemono art are also frequently interested in furry art (and vice versa).

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

(This is a brief list of well-distinguished kemono websites on the Internet. These websites are all link-free or have been irrevocably permitted to be linked to by their webmasters. Most of the sites are written only in Japanese, and some may contain themes perceived as mildly adult in nature.)

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