For anime characters, does the term bishojo have a specific age range?

One thing nobody's mentioned is that the term's roots in anime and manga culture come from the "bishojo" character archetype that started back in the 70s and 80s, like with Lum from Urusei Yatsura or Madoka from Kimagure Orange Road. Those characters were mostly teenagers but the label stuck as the industry grew. In Akihabara's Mandarake complex, you'll see figures of characters like Rei Ayanami tagged as bishojo even though she's 14, right next to one from K-On where the girls graduate high school and are still called that. It's a branding thing for the whole "cute female character" market, not a strict age bracket.

arrow_drop_up 4 arrow_drop_down

chat_bubble Reply ios_share

/

Reply

fwiw the term's been around since the 70s and the "young" part in the kanji is really about the vibe not a hard number. if you browse the figure section at yodobashi camera in akihabara you'll see it on boxes for characters from stuff like the fate series where some are canonically like 25 or older. lucy's fine, the label just means "cute female character design that sells" at this point

arrow_drop_up 3 arrow_drop_down

chat_bubble Reply ios_share

/

Reply

you're right that lucy starts at 17 and ends around 20, but the term bishojo doesn't really track age like that. in japan you'll see it on figure boxes for characters from evangelion or sailor moon where some are 14 and others are 28, it's purely about the design being cute and feminine. the figure promos for fairy tail just use it because it sells, not because they're trying to make a statement about her canon age. if you walk past the gachapon machines in akihabara near the radio kaikan building you'll see it on stuff for characters who are clearly adults, it's just a marketing label

arrow_drop_up 3 arrow_drop_down

chat_bubble Reply ios_share

/

Reply

if u have a costco membership the kirkland thick cut is the move, 4 packs of 500g for around 2500 yen and it crisps up proper in a cold pan. for smaller runs, precce in azabudai hills & the basement at isetan shinjuku both carry imported US & danish brands in the chilled case, just read the label for "thick cut" or "smoked" and not "loin". also worth knowing japanese bacon is often wet-cured so pat it dry before frying or it steams instead of crisping

arrow_drop_up 4 arrow_drop_down

chat_bubble Reply ios_share

/

Reply

kaldi coffee farm is hit or miss but their smoked bacon from denmark shows up pretty regular, the 200g pack runs about 600 yen. what actually works better for me is asking the butcher counter at peacock or life to slice the block bacon thick, like 5mm, they do it for free and it crisps way better than the pre-packed stuff. also fwiw cheap bacon crisps faster, the fatty supermarket kind at 300 yen a pack works fine if u cook it from cold in a dry pan and pour off the fat as it renders.

arrow_drop_up 2 arrow_drop_down

chat_bubble Reply ios_share

/

Reply

tbh the gyomu super store brand bacon is surprisingly decent for crisping up, its not thick cut but if you cook it low and slow it gets pretty crunchy. the key is the dry cure vs wet cure thing, wet cure steams. also check hanamasa if you have one nearby, they sell big packs of american style bacon thats actually smoked and firm.

arrow_drop_up 2 arrow_drop_down

chat_bubble Reply ios_share

/

Reply