Ero guro

Not to be confused with Ero guro nansensu.

Ero guro (Japanese: エログロ) is an artistic genre that puts its focus on eroticism, sexual corruption, and decadence.[1] As a term, it is used to denote something that is both erotic and grotesque.

The term itself is an example of wasei-eigo, a Japanese combination of English words or abbreviated words: ero from erotic and guro from grotesque.[2] The "grotesqueness" implied in the term refers to things that are malformed, unnatural, or horrific.[1] Items that are pornographic and bloody are not necessarily ero guro, and vice versa. The term is often mistaken by Western audiences to mean "gore" – depictions of horror, blood, and guts.

  1. ^ a b Silverberg, Miriam Rom. "By Way of a Preface: Defining Erotic Grotesque Nonsense". Galley copy of the preface for Erotic Grotesque Nonsense: The Mass Culture of Japanese Modern Times. December 12, 2005. doi:10.1525/9780520924628-002
  2. ^ Tyler, William J. (27 Apr 2009). "Introduction: making sense of nansensu". Japan Forum. 21 (1 (Special Issue: Urban Nonsense)): 1–10. doi:10.1080/09555800902856932. S2CID 144905121.