What does Ikemen mean?

It has been a while since I last added to the anime dictionary. It has always been sitting at the back of my mind and after drafting up a quick, basic yearly plan for the blog, I decided to re-kick start the feature and do one term/word per month.

This month is Ikemen!

Definition of Ikemen:

Simply put, an ikemen is a good looking guy.

The term itself first came about in the year 2000 and has since gained popularity and use.

Ikemen often focus on “feminine” qualities of the character that manages to balance out the masculine qualities of a good looking man. They are also usually depicted as being patient, gentle and are shown to be willing to sacrifice themselves for the woman they love while being able to express a wide range of human emotion.

Ikemen characters are seen in various genres of anime and manga, especially in dating simulations and visual novels for women (also known as otome games).