Lolicon (ロリコン, rorikon?) is a slang portmanteau of the phrase "Lolita complex". The phrase is a reference to Vladimir Nabokov's book, Lolita, in which a much older man becomes sexually obsessed with a twelve-year-old girl. In Japan, the term is used to describe an attraction to girls below the age of consent, or an individual attracted to such a person. Outside Japan, the term most often refers to a genre of manga and anime where childlike female characters are depicted in a sexualized manner or engaged in sexually explicit acts. The equivalent term for the sexualization of or attraction to young boys is shotacon.

Some critics claim that lolicon can contribute to actual sexual abuse of children,though this stance is also refuted by others. Several countries have attempted to criminalize lolicon's sexually explicit forms as a type of child pornography. Others disagree, citing research that suggests a correlation between increased availability of pornographic material in Japan from the 1970s onwards and a decrease in reports of sexual violence, including crimes by juveniles and also the number of assaults on children under 13.

In Japan

Generally, lolicon is a term used to describe a sexual attraction to a girl who is under the legal age of consent, both perceived and actual pedophilia and ephebophilia, or has underdeveloped secondary sexual characteristics. Strictly speaking, Lolita complex in Japanese refers only to the paraphilia itself, but the abbreviation lolicon can refer to an individual that has the paraphilia as well. Lolicon is a widespread phenomenon in Japan, where it is a frequent subject of scholarly articles and criticism. Many general bookstores and newsstands openly offer illustrated lolicon material, but there has also been police action against lolicon manga.

The "kawaii" style (which in Western terms could roughly be translated as "tiny is cute") is extremely popular in Japan, where it is present in all the manga/anime styles.[5] The school-aged girl in a school uniform is also an erotic symbol in Japan, comparable to the image of a woman in a mini-skirt in the United States. Burusera shops cater to men with lolicon complexes by selling unwashed panties, men can make dates with teenagers through terekura ("telephone clubs"), and school girls moonlight as prostitutes in Tokyo.Together, these create the "strange collusion which exists in Japanese culture between the hentai (pervert) and the kawaii (cute)."Conversely, the great cultural respect associated with old age would make it incompatible with portraying ecchi behavior in manga, except in a greatly exaggerated farce context (typical examples being "Dirty Old Men", Dragon Ball's Muten-Rôshi, Master Happosai in Ranma 1/2).

Sexual manga featuring children or childlike characters are called lolicon manga. These are generally legal in Japan, although child pornography was outlawed in 1999. Lolicon manga are usually short stories, published as dōjinshi or in magazines specializing in the genre. Common focuses of these stories include taboo relationships, such as between a teacher and student or brother and sister, while others feature sexual experimentation between children. Some lolicon manga cross over with other hentai genres, such as crossdressing and futanari. Kodomo no Jikan is an example of a series that, while not pornographic, draws on lolicon themes for its plot.