On Fri, 21 Feb 1997, Caroline Seawright wrote:

I don't quite agree with the thing on Yaoi is to Hentai.  I don't think Yaoi
is a lesser degree or synonymous with Hentai.  Hentai is something that is
downright sickening and perverse.  However, I don't see Yaoi as perverse,
Actually, I thought Yaoi was the Japanese term for slash stories...guys

But 'yaoi' is a term that comes from shoujo manga. Girl's manga. I

[snip good response about yaoi]

Aha!  Two cents time.  Yaoi is definitely male/male romance, usually not
involving graphic sex.  The graphic male/male sex manga is a different
genre according to what I have heard and read from those who appear to
know what the difference is.

"Downright sickening or perverse" is perhaps a little strong for "hentai",
which I have always thought of as simply "pervert", in the same league as
"ecchi", though perhaps a little stronger.  Full-blown nastiness is
"sukebe".  The one explanation I have received was that sukebe is
generally used for your older hardcore pervert, while "hentai" or "ecchi" 
more often get used for teenage boys.

Just listening to anime, "ecchi"  usually shows up for something like the
scene from Koko wa Griinuddo (oh, alright, This is Greenwood) where the
director for the movie is wandering around trying to find some girls to
were some skimpy outfits and act in the movie.  On the other hand, Ranma
gets the hentai label most regularly (poor guy :).  I don't think I've
ever heard anyone called sukebe in an anime, but hentai and ecchi get used
often (and pretty much about boys by girls, though there is that one SM
scene where Chibiusa as somehow turned gravity off for a while in her
latest effort to return to the future, and all the girls are floating
around in the air, and someone accidentally is orientated to see up
someone else's skirt and gets a "hentai" remark, if I remember correctly -
hmm, I'll have to figure out which episode that was and rewatch it, I
can't remember which two girls were involved). 

There's a neat scene in Only Yesterday (Gomen!? um, Omido Poroporo I
think, but I displays my ignorance in public.  sigh :), where the boys
have learned a new trick to bug the girls with in 5th grade (get a running
start then flop down on the floor and slide underneath a girl and try and
get a peek as you go by - don't ask me, from my memories of 5th grade,
girls where these terrors that were big time into social stuff, pulling
poor boys in on one side or the other of some fight without explanation
between the girls whether or not said boys wanted to join :). I don't
remember if the girl uses hentai or an ecchi.  Hopefully someone else will
remember, but it gets one or the other, actually, I think several girls
are watching at the time, so perhaps both words are used.

Of course all this is IMHO and I'm definitely not Japanese nor much more
than a first year student of Japanese, so I defer to anyone with a better
grasp, um, er, hold, well, um, <blush>, er . . . Comprehension! of the
situation.  Ja ne!

Charles K. Hurst - ImageNation Corp. Wage Slave/Employee - RPI graduate-MechE
Chocolate and Anime Forever!  1 year, 9 months a fan and counting.
MI = eps. 96  MB = eps. 76 - 0/0 episodes each to utter boredom or Fushigi!
FY = eps. 32  Escaflowne = eps. 26 - 24/0 to my next bout of depression. ^ ^