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Well, of course I can understand how they feel. Men 'and' women. After all, I'm partially a man myself.
"Futanari" (JP), also known as simply "Futa" (JP) for short, is a term for a two-sexed hermaphrodite character that has both sexual reproductive organs. This includes having both male and female genitalia, as well as female breasts.
Etymology
Meaning of the Term
Futanari (ふたなり) is a combination of "futa" (ふた), meaning "two", and "nari" (なり), meaning "shape or form". It is typically translated to mean "to be of two kinds" and is used to refer to hermaphrodite characters who have both male and female genitalia in anime, manga, and other media.[1][2]
It is worth noting that this archetype does not refer to the real-life concept of intersex, which is referred to in Japanese as "haninyou" (半陰陽), and is entirely a fictitious phenomenon of hermaphroditism occurring in a human character making them both a biological male and a biological female at the same time, which is not possible in real life.[3][1]
Origin
The origin of the term "futanari" is said to date back to the 12th century from a picture scroll series called Yamainosoushi (JP), although its meaning has changed slightly over the years with its more modern meaning being established in the early 1990s.[4][5]
History
The first instances of futanari characters started to appear in the early 1990s in various manga and anime series. The first notable example is the 1993 erotic manga series Hot Tails (JP), which featured a girl named Kanomi Nakajima who was a futanari. This series, in particular, is also credited with popularizing the genre in the West.[6][7]
Due to the nature of this archetype, most series that feature futanari characters are erotic in nature, though this is not always the case. A good example is the character of Mill Varna from the 1995 fantasy manga series Chousekitan Maze☆Bakunetsu Jikuu (JP). Mill Varna is a futanari princess who is in love with the character of Maze, a female nantaika character who changes sexes into a male at night. Mill is deeply in love with both halves of Maze and is the perfect match for them. This fact, however, was changed in the anime adaptation where Mill was simply a normal female.
The archetype of futanari became most well-known after the release of the 2005 erotic manga series Futa-bu MIX (JP), a series set around a secret school club known as the "futa club" that featured (almost) exclusively futanari.[8]
It was also featured prominently in the 2019 anime movie KonoSuba: Legend of Crimson with the main antagonist Sylvia being a futanari.
Characteristics
Futanari are two-sexed hermaphrodite characters that have both sexual reproductive organs. This includes having both male and female genitalia, as well as female breasts.
Futanari are androgynous in appearance, though most tend to look either predominantly female or predominantly male from the outside (in almost all cases they tend to look primarily female). They are considered both sexes, but futanari characters may still identify more with their primary gender appearance (which again is typically female).
While most futanari characters are born this way, it's also not uncommon for normal female characters to temporarily become this by artificial means, such as magic.
Differences From Other Archetypes
In contrast to nantaika/nyotaika, where a character changes their biological sex back and forth, futanari differs in that it is both biological sexes "simultaneously".
Variations and Similar Japanese Archetypes
- Nantaika: A term for a female character that was magically transformed into a biological male.
- Nyotaika: A term for a male character that was magically transformed into a biological female.
List of Characters
Gallery
 Crimvael from Ishuzoku Reviewers  Crimvael from Ishuzoku Reviewers  Sylvia from Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Syukufuku wo!: Legend of Crimson  Sylvia from Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Syukufuku wo!: Legend of Crimson  Mill Varna from Chousekitan Maze☆Bakunetsu Jikuu  Mill Varna from Chousekitan Maze☆Bakunetsu Jikuu |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 What is Futanari. Pixiv Encyclopedia (2009/11/10). “This term refers to characters that have characteristics of both male and female sexes (mainly genitalia). In creative works, it is often expressed in the form of a character with genitalia of the opposite sex attached to a person whose appearance is clearly distinguishable as either male or female at first glance. The word "futanari" has been used in Japan since ancient times, but most likely refered to a person who is "haninyou" (intersex). The term "futanari" is often confused with the term "haninyou," but a distinction is made between "futanari" and "haninyou" with "haninyou" used to refer to actual cases in humans, such as sexually differentiated diseases, and "futanari" used to refer to attributes and physical characteristics of fictional characters in. In order to avoid confusion between the two, they tend to be segregated.”
- ↑ What is Futanari. Nico Nico Pedia (2008/08/12). “Futanari refers to a girl who is "attached" (in the major sense of the creative genre), although it is not clear if it was born from such an idea... or not. *We are dealing here with futanari as a fantasy sex. It is in many ways different from the real-life "haninyou" and "sex differentiation disorder", so please go there for more details. The base of the body is female, but "growing out". Of course, since the base of the body is female, she is a woman in terms of personality, and of course she has breasts and a separate female genitalia, making her the ultimate in fetish and romance, fulfilling such a dream. However, because of this characteristic the term "futanari" has a very wide variety of classifications, interests, and links with other attributes.”
- ↑ What is Haninyou. Pixiv Encyclopedia (2012/01/25). “It is a characteristic in which the sex cannot be identified simply by looking at the external genitalia. The term "futanari" is sometimes used to refer to a haninyou woman, but while a futanari woman has more than one reproductive organ of a different gender, a haninyou woman has only one reproductive organ. Because of this characteristic, the commonly called futanari is a product of fantasy that exists only in fictional works.”
- ↑ The History of Futanari. Irodori Comics (2022/04/10).
- ↑ Futanari Meaning. Dictionary.com (2018/03/01). “Meaning "hermaphrodite" in Japanese, futanari especially refers to pornographic characters in erotic manga or anime, known as hentai. Futanari is sometimes shortened to futa. According to Onnagata: A Labyrinth of Gendering in Kabuki Theater, futanari appears as a medical condition in a 12th-century scroll, The Book of Disease. Here, futanari describes a person with male and female genitals, which we might now call intersex. In Japanese, futa means "two" and nari means "figure", which refers to such a person’s perceived dual nature. Futa hentai became popular in the 1990s. The Japan Times describes the typical futanari character as "endowed with feminine curves, voluptuous breasts and a virile penis." Today, futanari is used by anime and manga fans to refer to hentai about fantasy characters with male and female features as well as to the characters themselves. When referring to actual people though, the terms used in Japan to describe those who are intersex are haninyou, meaning "both yin and yang" or intasekkusu, a rendering of the English word.”
- ↑ Futanari. Wikipedia (2003/02/07).
- ↑ Hot Tails. Wikipedia (2010/07/08).
- ↑ Futabu! Mix. Amazon (2018/02/08).
| v • eAndrogynous Archetypes | ||
|---|---|---|
| Female |
Bokukko ♡ Dansou no Reijin ♡ Ikemen Joshi ♡ Orekko ♡ Otenba Musume ♡ Otoko Masari | |
| Male |
Bishounen ♡ Josou Danshi ♡ Okama ♡ Otokonoko ♡ Nekama | |
| Both | ||