The popularity of Japanese animation overseas was again highlighted in Anime Expo 2006 in California earlier this month, but a growing boom in the genre's pornographic segment is raising eyebrows among the world's fans of Pokemon and other less-graphic content.</PARAGRAPH> <PHOTO> <TABLE WIDTH='250' ALIGN='RIGHT' BORDER='0'> <TR> <TD><IMG ALT='News photo' BORDER='0' SRC='../images/photos2006/nn20060711f1a.jpg' WIDTH='250' HEIGHT='333'/></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><FONT SIZE='1'><B>AN ANIMATION figure doll priced at 73,500 yen is among other provocative character goods at Mandarake's toy shop in Nakano Ward, Tokyo. </B> JUN HONGO PHOTO</FONT></TD> </TR> <TABLE> </PHOTO> <PARAGRAPH>'The best-selling product overseas now is a pornographic makeover of 'Gundam Seed,' ' said Masuzo Furukawa of Mandarake Inc., referring to a popular Japanese animation.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>Mandarake, based in Nakano Ward, Tokyo, specializes in the sale of toys and used 'manga' comic books. The company and similar shops have seen overseas sales of sexual 'anime' grow in the last couple of years.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>'Up until several years ago, it was mostly just traders who came over to Japan to purchase this type of merchandise,' Furukawa said. 'But now, individual customers are willing to buy the products themselves.'</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>The expanding anime market on the Internet is one reason behind the trend.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>Mandarake's online division has customers in 26 countries, and adult products account for 30 percent of its international sales.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>The general intolerance toward pornographic animation and comic books in the West is another factor for overseas fans to seek out Japanese products, Furukawa said.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>'Fans in America seek something special in this anime, and reading them is cathartic,' he said.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>The pornographic anime boom has even made the word 'hentai' –

recognizable among anime fans worldwide. Hentai is now used overseas to describe anime with strong sexual content.

While Mandarake capitalizes on the kinky boom, other retailers are reluctant to export such products.

Satoshi Fukuda of Tokyo-based Animaxis Inc. said hentai began to gain currency overseas around 2001 and online shops saw a corresponding growth in sales of adult products. His company, however, has elected not to focus on the kinky goods and instead continues to provide a wide range of other merchandise.

"There have been proposals within the company to stock a larger number of hentai anime to gain more sales," Fukuda said. The company has opted not to because, he said, it would be "inappropriate."