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Content Warning! Content Warnings: Mentions and depictions of depression, violence, self-harm, and suicidal themes. |
"Menhera" (JP) is a term for a character who is emotionally unstable and in poor mental health. They are very emotionally fragile and experience extreme mental ups and downs and mood swings which can make them a bit difficult to be around. This can present itself in the form of a few different psychological mental disorders. They may have an unhealthy dependence on love or their partner, be a troublesome person who displays unexpected aggression and tries to dominate others, be easily hurt by the smallest of words, or have suicidal thoughts and think the world would be better off without them.
They are people who think only of themself which makes them very selfish and needy. They have a strong desire to be cared for by others and will do anything to get attention, sometimes even going to the extremes by threatening to hurt themself if their partner won't love them. They think very lowly of themself so they tend to become easily hurt by the smallest of words and if things don't go their way they have a tendency to hurt themself and isolate from others.
Etymology
Meaning of the Term
Menhera (メンヘラ) is a combination of "mentaru herusu" (メンタルヘルス), meaning "mental health", and the English suffix "er", which is pronounced in Japanese as "ra" (ラ). Altogether it translates to "mental healther".[3][2]
Originally, "menhera" was a generally term for "someone with some kind of mental health disorder", but increasingly began being reinterpreted as someone who suffers from psychological tendencies such as passive-aggressive personality disorder, narcissistic personality disorder, bipolar anxiety, is mentally unstable, or engages in self-harming behavior. But simply put, they are people who experience extreme mental ups and downs and can be a bit difficult to be around.[4]
It is often used in a negative light, so in these circumstances it could be translated as "lunatic", "nutjob", "psycho", or "mentally unstable person".[5]
Origin
Hitagi Senjougahara threatening Koyomi Araragi with a pen after suspecting him of cheating on her from Bakemonogatari
The term "menhera" originated on the Japanese Internet forum 2channel's mental health board sometime during the early 2000s as a nickname for its users. While it was originally coined by the mental health community as a way to discuss mental health care, it began to be used in a negative manner by outsiders due to the social stigma towards those suffering from mental health issues.[6]
The first character to be officially referred to as "menhera" in official media was Hitagi Senjougahara from the 2006 light novel Bakemonogatari, who introduces herself as a "menhera virgin" in the first novel due to the fact that her intense struggles with being mentally ill led to her never developing a romantic relationship. Although her personality is calm, she is extremely averse to relying on others, is not good at communicating with others, has a strong desire for possession, gets jealous easily, and has a tendency to threaten people with office supplies. Senjougahara helped form the early public image of menhera.[7]
History
Official Media
Kurumi Nanase crying from Menhera Shoujo Kurumi-chan
The first series to use the archetype of menhera as a central plot point was the 2008 manga series Menhera-chan (JP), which followed a girl named Menhera. Menhera was a junior high school student who suffered from severe depression and panic attacks and sometimes fell into an unstable mental state even in front of her closest friends. Menhera suffers from serious physical pain, negative thoughts that come from her illness, and a lack of understanding of those around her, as well as anxiety about burdening her close friends. As a result of her condition, she refused to go to school, having been absent since the middle of elementary school. At first, she was depicted with little facial expression and suicidal thoughts, however, as she became more involved with the two of her friends she began to be positive about living because she wanted to support them and gradually became more expressive. At the end of the year, she went on to a correspondence high school, and even though they were now going to different schools she decided to live with them while continuing to face her illness.[1]
A spin-off of the popular manga series Plastic Neesan (JP) titled Mememememememememememe Menheraa... (JP) was released in 2016 and followed the romance of Yamada and his extremely menhera girlfriend Yui Sasaki. Yamada initially asked Sasaki out because of her beauty, but he quickly learned that she was mentally unstable and threatens him and his family with violence whenever he tries to break up with her.[8]
The 2017 romance anime series Menhera Ayuri no Yamanai Onedari: Headphone wa Hazusenai (JP) follows Ayuri Utakata, an up-and-coming idol. Ayuri is successful, keeps getting depressed and trying kill herself. She constantly disparages herself, causes herself a failure, and thinks she can't do anything. The only person can help her feel more positive is her manager/boyfriend Keita. With the help of Keita, she is able to write songs for her idol career and become a lot more happy and cheerful, though she tells Keita that if he ever left her she would immediately kill herself.[9]
The character of Kurumi Nanase from the 2018 manga series Menhera Shoujo Kurumi-chan became popular online under the nickname Menhera-chan. Kurumi is a very loving and caring teenager, but is mentally unstable which earned her the nickname Menhera-chan. She has no bad intent meant in her actions but will go to extremes at times in an attempt to get what she wants. People often see her as a cute popular girl at school but those close to her, like her brother, are quick to point out that there is more to her.[10]
It has also been used in several visual novels released on the Nintendo Switch since 2021.[11][12][13]
Characteristics
Ayuri Utakata trying to kill herself after Keita "abandoned her" aka went to the office for the 5 minutes from Menhera Ayuri no Yamanai Onedari
The term "menhera" describes people who are dependent on love or their partner, troublesome people who display unexpected aggression and try to dominate others, and people who are easily hurt by the smallest of words. Psychologically speaking, a "menhera" is someone who is in poor mental health.
Traits
They are characters with intense mood swings and may suddenly start becoming moody over anxiety or things that are difficult to solve, which it very difficult to date them. Common traits include:[4][14]
- Extreme emotional ups and downs: They are not good at controlling their emotions and tend to get out of control. They get angry or cry over small things. The slightest thing or the casual words and actions of their love interest can quickly make them feel sad or moody. They will suddenly become irritated, sad, or lonely without even knowing why. Even if they were smiling a moment ago, they will suddenly get angry or upset if something irritates them because they can't control their emotionally unstable behavior.[1][9][10]
- Selfish: They have a tendency to think only of themself. They want someone to show them love, and they love themselves more than anything. They want people to understand them and there are times where they ignore other people's opinions and try to push their own opinions, or think that they are absolutely right. More than anything they fear being turned away from their existence, but they don't care about what happens to other people other than themselves.[9][8]
- Attention-seeking and very needy: They have a strong desire to be cared for by others and will do anything to get someone to pay attention to them. They will try to make sure that through partner, crush, or favorite friend is always thinking about them. They can't calm down, so they may contact them more than necessary, exaggerate things to get their attention, or post things on social media that make them feel uneasy. They have a strong need for approval.[9][12][13]
- Dependent and prioritizing love: They have strong dependency issues and when they have a crush or a lover, they prioritize love over friendships. Their lover's schedule takes top priority, and even though they think they might be dependent on them, they can't stop.[9]
- Extremely controlling: They will always put themself first and when asked about their views on love, they will reveal their true feelings of wanting to control their partner, such as "I want to delete all the contact details of women saved in my boyfriend's phone", "I feel anxious if we don't talk on the phone every day", and "My boyfriend is cheating when he goes out to eat with his female friends." They come off as very clingy and difficult to date.[8]
- Lack confidence and make negative comments: They have a strong sense of inferiority with negative thinking and have habit of making negative comments, such as "I can't do it anyway", "I'm just me", "I don't like myself", or "They must hate me now."[9][10]
- Self-harming and isolation: When they feel upset, they tend to hurt themself and isolate from others. They may even drop out of school or stop going to work. This can also come across in the form of manipulation and they may even hurt themselves or threaten to kill themselves for attention, such as if their lover won't do something for them or like them back. They will say things like "If you don't love me, I'll die here!"[1][9]
Sub-Types
Fashion Menhera
Momoka Sakurai from Risuka Henshin Sabukaru ✡ Menhera
- Main article: Fashion Menhera
Fashion Menhera is a sub-genre for character who over-emphasizes their menhera status as their own character. This presents itself in the form of "sick cute" aesthetics, which often features bright pink colors mixed with mental illness imagery that over-emphasizes their mental health issues. The aesthetic and style is an extreme and visual representation of mental illness, while at the same time showing mental illness in a more cute way aesthetically. They are used to represent mental illness in a more innocent way and counter the negative stigma of people suffering from mental illness.
Fashion menhera can also refer to people who aren't actually menhera themselves, but who want to look like one in order to attract attention.
Differences from Other Archetypes
Menhera is similar to other archetypes that also deal with mental illnesses.
Kichidere
Kichidere could be seen as a dere type variation of menhera, at least for the more extreme crazy ones, for those who start menhera and later turn deredere. This is because the term "menhera" has largely replaced the word "kichigai" when referring to crazy mentally ill people due to the word's banning from Japanese media.
The main difference of course is that not all menhera characters act crazy, they may just be very emotional or isolating.
Utsudere
Menhera is most similar to utsudere—characters who are normally depressed and gloomy all the time but becomes cheerful and loving when around their love interest—in that depression is also a type of mental illness, but it is generally a lot more extreme with themes such as wrist-cutting and suicide being prominent. Utsudere characters are also not necessary emotionally unstable and extremely needy just because they are sad. Utsudere is also additionally characterized by the character becoming cheerful, loving, and deredere when around their love interest, while menhera characters don't necessarily have to also have a cheerful and loving side. They may also be suffering from mental illnesses unrelated to depression.
Yandere
It is also often confused with yandere—characters whose love, admiration, and devotion to their love interest is so strong that it causes them to become mentally sick—but the biggest difference is the cause of their mental illness and how they deal with them.[14]
When looking at the things they have in common:[14]
- They both are not good at controlling their emotions and tend to get out of control. They get angry or cry over small things. The slightest thing or the casual words and actions of their love interest can quickly make them feel sad or moody.
- They often have a lack of self-confidence. Since the thought of "I don't ... myself" is at the root, they tend to have a strong sense of inferiority with negative thinking.
- They have a tendency to think only of themself. There are times where they ignore other people's opinions and try to push their own opinions, or think that they are absolutely right.
- Romance and interpersonal relationships are easily strained. They are restrained, dependent, and emotionally unstable, so they often have a hard time with those around them. It's easy for relationships with both lovers and friends to go wrong or get strained.
- They are prone to dependency. When being lonely, it is easy to depend on lovers, friends, or family.
When taking a look at the differences between yandere and menhera, the characteristics of each are listed below:[14]
- Characteristics of Yandere
- Their love interest is the top priority.
- They have a strong desire to help their love interest.
- They want to know everything about their love interest.
- When they feel upset they tend to be aggressive towards others.
- Characteristics of Menhera
- They put themself first.
- They have a strong desire to be cared for by others.
- They want people to understand them.
- When they feel upset, they tend to hurt themself and withdraw.
In contrast to the yandere who acts for the sake of their love interest, the menhera acts selfishly to satisfy their own desires. It may be easier to understand if you interpret it as "yandere" if you act for the other person and "menhera" if you act for yourself. The crucial difference between yandere and menhera is that "yandere" is targeted at others, while "menhera" is target at one's self.[14]
Similar Japanese Archetypes
- Kichidere: A term for a character who has gone insane and acts like a crazy lunatic, but whose romantic feelings toward their love interest are surprisingly cute and deredere.
- Utsudere: A term for a character who is normally depressed and gloomy all the time but becomes cheerful and loving when around their love interest.
- Yandere: A term for a character whose love, admiration, and devotion to their love interest is so strong that it causes them to become mentally ill.
Characters with this Personality
See Menhera/Japanese Characters to see characters from Japanese media.
See Menhera/Non-Japanese Characters to see characters from non-Japanese media.
Gallery
See Menhera/Gallery to enter the full gallery.
 Hitagi Senjougahara from Bakemonogatari  Midari Ikishima from Kakegurui  Hana from Menhera Marumaru Sasetemita  Yui Sasaki from Mememememememememememe Menheraa...  Rika Kawai from Wonder Egg Priority  Kosame Amagai from Mahou Shoujo Site |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Menhera-chan. Wikipedia JP (2008/11/01).
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Menhera. Japanese Slang Dictionary (2024/11/17).
- ↑ What is Menhera. Pixiv Encyclopedia (2011/06/21).
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 What does "Menhera" mean? What are the characteristics of women who tend to be labeled as "Menhera"?. No+e (2024/05/31). “The term "menhera" describes people who are dependent on love or their partner, troublesome people who display unexpected aggression and try to dominate others, and people who are easily hurt by the smallest of words. Psychologically speaking, a "menhera" is someone who is in poor mental health. The causes of this are related to psychological tendencies such as passive-aggressive personality disorder, narcissism, and bipolar anxiety, but simply put, they are people who experience extreme mental ups and downs and can be a bit difficult to be around. By the way, menhera does not necessarily mean woman.”
- ↑ Menhera. JP Dictionary (2024/11/17). “"メンヘラ" (menhera) is a Japanese term that combines the words "mental" and "health" to describe a person who has mental health issues, especially those related to depression, anxiety, and self-harm. The term is often used in a derogatory way to mock or stigmatize people who are struggling with mental health issues. Examples of menhera behavior might include: Engaging in self-harm, such as cutting or burning oneself, expressing suicidal thoughts or tendencies, struggling with extreme mood swings or intense emotions, isolating oneself from others or avoiding social situations”
- ↑ Spreading Positivity via "Menhera". Abema News (2018/10/13).
- ↑ Does Menhera Fashion Make Life Easier?. No+e (2022/08/01). “I first heard the word "menhera" from "Bakemonogatari. The main heroine of the work, Hitagi Senjougahara, called herself "menhera." Although she has a calm personality, her thoughts are logical and clear. Additionally, she hates relying on others, is not good at communicating with others, and has a strong sense of possessiveness. It is for this reason that she is attracted to the protagonist, who is willing to help people unconditionally. I've digressed, but I think it's safe to say that this character shaped the public image of menhera.”
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Mememememememememememe Menheraa.... Square Enix (2016/11/25). “The cookies she baked had a strong menhera taste. When my high school girlfriend turned 18, she asked for twin babies as a present. But is my girlfriend really a weirdo? By the way, the present she gave me on my birthday was a marriage registration certificate, which I had no recollection of. The "Story of Sasaki and Yamada" from "Plastic Neesan" has been re-edited into a heartwarming menhera story! "I love you so much, if you dodge my love hug again, I'll burn your face."”
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 Menhera Ayuri no Yamanai Onedari: Headphone wa Hazusenai. MyAnimeList (2017/06/30).
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Menhera Shoujo Kurumi-chan. AniList (2018/06/13). “A very loving and caring teenager, but is mentally unstable. This is why she goes by Menhera-chan. Menhera (メンヘラ) meaning "people who have mental problems." She has no bad intent meant in her actions but will go to extremes at times in an attempt to get what she wants. People often see her as a cute popular girl at school but those close to her, like her brother, are quick to point out that there is more to her.”
- ↑ MenheRafflesia Flowering Abyss. Studio Charon (2021/06/05). “A romance adventure game where you conquer menhera girls. Can you survive until the end?”
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Menhera Ensemble -Needy Girlfriends-. Nintendo Switch (2022/12/22). “A love that is too heavy and powerful. Life with a menhera girl. I want to be loved to death by someone. I want to experience it once, and this wish will come true. The story progresses as you are toyed with by three heroines. The kind-hearted protagonist is liked by many girls, but all of them are menhera. Even one heavy love piles up... and it becomes a tough heavy love relationship. It's nice to be fought over by girls... right?”
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Needy Princess Nerd Club: Menhera Ota-Hime Circle. Nintendo Switch (2023/07/13). “Kaoruko joins the nerd club full of boys so that she can receive attention from them. An nerdy princess with a strong need for approval goes wild! The men found the nerdy girl rare and treated Kaoruko like a princess while they fully enjoyed the club activity. However, Kaoruko wanted the attention of the people anytime and anywhere which gradually changed her behavior...”
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 What is Yandere? Introducing the similarities with Menhera, the differences, and how to improve them. Zexy (2021/10/28).