Ah, such the philosophical debate. On the surface many fans and non-fans alike will say, "Yes, it is." Why? Most will simply state that it contains the essential element of pornography: gratuitous and often copious amounts of sex. Okay, point taken. Hell, even the live video pornography trying to pass muster as an "adult thriller" only includes a lame and uninspired story as filler around what everyone bought it for in the first place … the gratuitous and copious amounts of sex. If there is anyone who does actually buy porn for the story, you don't belong here.

However, hentai does, occasionally, break that mold, sometimes wonderfully, sometimes pathetically, but always interestingly. But for anyone who hasn't seen more hentai than the oft-vilified "Urotsukidoji," keep reading for a little insight.

First, there is "La Blue Girl," the story of Miko Mido, who was trained in the art of ninja sexcraft to protect her clan's heirloom from evil demons called shikima. You can guess how opponents fight each other. Probably the most well-balanced hentai show out on the market, it tells a well-developed story line with intriguing characters while also dishing out a greater lion's share of male/female, female/female, and female/tentacle sex than the box cover art will allow. The story spans eight episodes in two different series ("La Blue Girl, 6" and "Lady Blue, 2"). Through each of them, just about every major character sticks around for several episodes, enabling well-developed character arcs to span the narrative and promoting the kind of familiarity that inspires a vicarious connection. As an added bonus the title is rife with in-story jokes and humor, neither forced nor obscene.

Down the spectrum a little, there is the 6-episode series "New Angel." Keisuke, your standard fare high school kid with unstable hormones and a wildly indecent imagination, is trying to win the affections of a girl with whom he is friends. Sorry, no tentacles here, but you do get a decent amount of storyline that emphasizes the sex scenes. Somehow, Keisuke always winds up "knockin' da boots" with someone else, but it's never for his benefit, which sounds hypocritical in theory but plays out rather humorously as the show progresses. Like "La Blue Girl," the characters of "New Angel" stay around for just about every episode, but there is far less development in them, and just about every sex scene is gratuitous. At least the storyline in "La Blue Girl" was developed to accommodate sex scenes.

Nearing the bottom of the barrel we have the cult saga "Urotsukidoji." This is not a series to be seen by anyone who is offended by Nazis, gluttony, the profane, the occult or violent and abusive sexual scenes. Point blank, that "18 and over" label isn't a suggestion, it's a mandate. While the tone and theme of the series, about this demon that rises every 3,000 years to destroy the Earth to have it rebuilt, sounds epic and grand, it comes off more as blatantly over-violent, serving up every sex scene for pure fanservice with nary a thought for the story or the characters. This series also comes off not so much as hentai but a violent war movie with sex scenes splashed in for effect.

The above titles only offer glimpses at the cornucopia of hentai out there. Like every other genre of film out there, hentai has its good and bad selections, just be wary of which you choose, and ask someone if unsure. There are some really, really huge stinkers out there.

Imma Youjo © Pink Pinapple / Critical Mass.

New Angel © Softcel Pictures.