G-Taste

G-taste (ジィ・テイスト) is an erotic manga series illustrated by the artist Hiroki Yagami/八神ひろき|Yagami Hiroki and serialized in Young Magazine Upper's. The "G" in "G-taste" is used symbolically as the letter between "F" (for "Fetish") and "H" (for "hentai"). The anime has been licensed in the US by Softcel Pictures. However the rights have since expired and now Critical Mass have since bought the rights. Not all of the series has been licensed as only the first five episodes have been released in the US. Episodes 6 and 7 have, to date, not been released in the US at all. An additional single episode OVA was released in 2010 bundled with the G-Best - G-Taste Best Selection compilation manga from Kodansha.

Hiroki Yagami places a great deal of emphasis on character design, and some of his female characters have become cult figures in Japanese anime. The G-taste comics consist of a collection of four scene erotic vignettes, which typically each focus on a particular female character. Characteristically, they feature very little male involvement in sexual acts, which contributes to the voyeuristic atmosphere. They are not usually very graphic, abiding by the Japanese legal restriction on not showing the lower genital areas. Some of the activities shown include masturbation, bondage, lesbian sex etc. Like most manga, it features female characters with highly improbable proportions. The comics seem to thrive on fetishes, and motifs of long legs, heels and short skirts are continuously recycled. Nevertheless, G-taste can be said to be artistic in terms of presentation, with slow and deliberate scenes showing close-ups of anatomy and of movement. Its art is relatively unique in Japanese anime.

The characters of G-taste include the stock figures of Japanese pornography, including the school girl, office clerk, secretary, nurse, waitress, receptionist, campaign girl, maid, doctor, teacher, wife and mother.

G-taste has also released a number of short films, mostly dramatizations of its comic stories. They are distinguished by realistic entourage. It has also spawned a number of computer games, including G-taste Mahjong for Arcade and PlayStation 2. But far and away the most successful part of the G-taste franchise is the resin figurines modeled on G-taste characters, which enjoy mainstream appeal in Japan and overseas. Some of the resin statues sell for up to USD $150 each. To an extent, the G-taste franchise demonstrates the crossover occurring between hentai, anime and comics.