Futanari (二成, 二形; ふたなり; a compound word meaning "two form" in Japanese) can mean both the subjects of a special type of pornographic anime or manga (commonly known in the West as hentai), or the genre itself. Futanari depicts hermaphrodites, intersex or other individuals with female body-types and sexual organs resembling penises, whether or not those organs are in fact enlarged clitorises, or they possess both male and female reproductive organs. Technically, the term also encompasses male characters with both sets of sexual organs, but these are usually excluded.

Other common terms used to describe futanari characters are "dickgirls" or "shemales", although these are often considered vulgar. Futanari, along with "newhalf", are more polite terms having come into recent use, with futanari tending to refer specifically to actual hermaphrodites and "newhalf" tending to refer specifically to characters with female bodies but only male genitals.

Examples of artists that employ futanari in their works include Q (of circle Behind Moon), Haruki Genia (of circle Raijinkai) and even Western artists such as Kinky Jimmy and RXZ. In mainstream manga, the only example of futanari in a non-hentai context is in the manga Boku no Futatsu no Tsubasa ("My Two Wings") by Toshiki Yui.

Description

The term futanari is usually reserved for characters drawn in an anime art style. Female characters that share similar characteristics with futanari but are drawn in a Western style are usually simply referred to as "dickgirls". Male characters with both sets of sexual organs are usually referred to in the West as "vaginaboys" but are much less popular.

"Futas", as the female characters are often called, fall into several categories:

The traditional form of futanari in which the female character is depicted as having both male and female sexual organs (the penis and testicles sprouting out above the clitoris and vagina).
A variation on this form in which the penis takes the place of the clitoris.
A variation on the two above forms in which the testicles are omitted (i.e. the character will have a penis but no testicles).
Enlarged or hypertrophic clitoris in which the character has no set of male sexual organs per se. This is still arguably included under the blanket term futanari.
Shemale or newhalf style in which the character has a penis and testicles, but lacks a vagina. This is sometimes depicted as the result of a gender swap operation.
It is almost always seen that a person who enjoys futanari prefers one form of futa over another, and this is usually only a matter of personal preference. The same can be said of futanari artists, who will most often use only one form of futa in their work.

Futanari characters can be (and often are) paired with various types of partners. Most often, the futa is paired with an ordinary female. This is usually done in the same way other forms of hentai pair men and women. Variations on this theme include multiple futanari on one woman, futanari with other futanari, and futanari on male (often done for a femdom fetish, although more ordinary male/female sexual interaction can be depicted as well).

It is interesting to note that, in some cases, the futanari character is depicted as having a penis and/or testicles that have grown to a size which is physically impossible. This is somewhat similar to what is seen in some bakunyū characters, whose breasts are of a ridiculous size.

Another specific fetish involving futanari is the depiction of some object being inserted into the their urethra. In many cases, this is an inanimate object, and the futa derives sexual pleasure from this in a way that is similar to when female characters in hentai insert an object into their vagina.

However, when there is a pairing of two futanari characters, this urethral insertion can be done by having one futa insert her penis into the other's urethra. Then sexual intercourse occurs as though the penis of the first was in the vagina of the second.

In most types of hentai, there is some overlap between fetishes, and futanari is no exception. Futanari is often used with bukkake, BDSM, catgirl, lolicon, and tentacle sex.

Origins

There are many theories as to why and how the theme of futanari came into being. The most obvious one is the close relationship that the futanari fetish shares with Western shemale pornography. However, due to the way it is exectuted, futanari probably shares more in common with the yuri genre. Futanari can be seen as an extension of the lesbian theme where it is used instead of a strap-on or equivalent.

Shemales differ subtly from futanari in that they do not possess both sets of sexual organs, and that they were once men. However, only a very small subset of futanari characters arise due to male to female transformation and most arise by other more outlandish means from normal females. This allows story lines to take a more lesbian context which is more palatable to straight males.

Futanari may also be seen as a way in which male empathy can be inserted into a predominately lesbian scene. Obviously one of the main difficulties that male observers have with lesbian scenes is that it is difficult to empathise or see oneself in the situation. In the futanari fetish, this becomes possible and this may appeal to a separate subset of people.

In normal anime, the gender bender or cross-dressing storylines have always been popular, for example in anime such as Ranma ½ (in which the main character changes from male to female when he/she is splashed with water) and I My Me! Strawberry Eggs (which takes a more cross-dressing theme). Therefore, it could be hypothesized that the futanari hentai genre could well have sprung up from dōjinshi drawn about these series.