Introduction

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, one of the most popular keywords in eromanga was “little sister” (imōto). What came to be known as little sister works depict romance between older brothers and their younger sisters. Naturally, as eromanga, they also include sex, and can thus be positioned within the larger subcategory of incest. This is ultimately a personal impression, because I have not conducted proper statistical data gathering and analysis, but it seems that there is more material focusing on little sisters than all the other forms of incest combined. Little sister works stand out in a significant way. Other than big brothers and little sisters, there are many works devoted to big sisters and little brothers, as well as mothers and sons. Following these are fathers and daughters, aunts and nephews and uncles and nieces. Although big and little sisters and aunts and nieces exist as combinations, it is often the case that they appear in scenes of group sex. In the incest subcategory of eromanga for men, pairings of fathers and sons, uncles and nephews and big and little brothers are very rare. In this chapter, I would like to consider how the classic taboo of incest is taken up in eromanga, as well as address the question, “Why all the little sisters?”

If There is Love, Even Close Relatives Cannot Stop It

How do you feel about incest? The most common answer is surely, “It’s gross.” We can probably describe this as an almost physiological disgust. Interestingly, the reaction tends to be more prevalent and stronger among those who actually have siblings. The second they hear the word incest, a familiar blood relative comes to mind. There are even manga artists who assert that, “From the perspective of someone with a real little sister, little sister works are incomprehensible!” I myself am an only child, which means that it would be impossible to carry out a relationship with a sister related by blood. For me, that is in the realm of fantasy, pure and simple.