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I used to think that incest was only in hentai/eroge, but gradually, I have
run into more mainstream content which seems to hint at brother-sister,
mother-son relationships, or the tension of such attraction.

What is the origin of this theme?

Why is it so prevalent in Japanese manga and anime compared to Western comics?

It seems strange for a taboo to be popping up everywhere, so I am curious as
to the origin.


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2015-02-18T05:36:34.917
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tropes
Why is incest such a prevalent theme in manga and anime?


First, it needs to be said that incest in popular culture is prevalent in many
other culture. It isn't unique to anime or manga works. Although it is true
that compared to Western comics it is less prevalent, incest do exist in
Western pop-culture songs, movies, literature, etc.

With that, we should focus on what it is in Japanese culture that makes incest
a seemingly prevalent trope in anime and manga. There's also different types
of incest relationships.

Incest is a taboo in Japan. What is incest to them, however, may be a little
bit different than ours. Incest marriages between cousins are occasional as
they are not considered incestuous until recently. This may explain why incest
relationships like in _Elfen Lied_ is a recurring trope.

Another thing is that historically, marriages between nephews and nieces have
been approved. Even now in some rural areas, fathers marry their daughters
when the mother dies. They are forced to do this as they follow old feudal
laws. Sometimes when both parents died, the brother ends up having sex with
the sister in order to end confusion.

There's also the common trope of brothers and sisters sleeping or bathing
together in anime and manga. This is easily explained as such things are still
prevalent in Japanese society. This doesn't necessarily lead to incest,
however, but there are certainly hints towards it.

The first manga that involves incest is _Cream Lemon_ , released in the 1980s.
So this isn't something new. It is also noted that incest is in mangas for the
_Shoujo_ demographics, which is mainly for females. In other words, people
might like incestuous anime and manga for the emotional relationship and not
the physical relationships.

The combination of Japanese history and the demographic's tastes may help
explain why incest is a popular trope in anime and manga. I could go on and
on, but it may take too long to explain, so if anyone would like to read more,
I have provided sources for others.

Sources:

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incest_in_popular_culture>  
<http://www.mangatherapy.com/post/1467868478/incest-in-anime-manga>  
<http://psychohistory.com/articles/the-universality-of-incest/>


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Can you name some titles that features "true" incest between biological
siblings? Incest is definitely a taboo at least in modern Japan. There are
only a few love stories about incest between biological siblings, and most
Japanese otaku do not like them.

However, a sibling-in-law is a notable exception. The Japanese law allows the
marriage of two siblings-in-law as long as they are not related by blood. For
example, at least legally speaking, a biological son of A and B can marry an
adopted daughter of A and B. This is prohibited in many other parts of the
world, and it is strongly frowned upon in reality also in Japan. But in
fiction, this works as an ideal setting for a Japanese-style romantic comedy,
where the author has to depict an almost never-ending unanswered/secret love
and provide many "service cuts".

One of the early works that successfully took advantage of this fact is
_Marmalade Boy_ , where an adolescent girl is suddenly forced to live with a
new handsome brother(-in-law), who she eventually falls in love with. People
enjoyed this legally-valid-but-ethically-forbidden love. It has become a
popular story trope, and many works including _Da Capo_ , _Sister Princess_ ,
_Kissxsis_ , _ImoCho_ and _Eromanga Sensei_ use similar settings.

**EDIT:** Perhaps it's worth taking a look at [the Amazon reviews of the last
volume of _OreImo_](https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B00I0LKNQW/), which is
undoubtedly one of the most famous light novels in the "little sister" genre.
You can see many readers were disappointed and turned off when the
relationship between the protagonist and his (biological) little sister turned
out to be "(romantic) love" at this point. It shows true unambiguous incest is
unacceptable even to many fans of this genre.

Reference:

  * [TV Tropes -- Little Sister Heroine](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LittleSisterHeroine)

> Despite the name, Little Sister Heroine attempts to mitigate the obvious
> incestuous fallout; they're usually either a step sister, adopted or, more
> rarely, technically a cousin or distant relation.

  * [TV Tropes -- Not Blood Siblings](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NotBloodSiblings)


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