Nénédie

Nénédie (Gylic transcription: nenedi) is a Gylian term for a genre of animation and comics, which focuses on depicting attractively self-assured women with large breasts.

The genre is imbued with eroticism and innuendo, but not necessarily pornographic. However, it has a significant crossover with pornography. It has had a notable impact on Gylian pop culture.

Etymology

The term is French in origin, and comes from a combination of néné, a slang term for a woman's breast, and comédie.

Other Gylian languages have developed their own terms for the genre along similar lines.

History

Nénédie emerged as a distinctive genre in the 1960s–1970s. It was initially a comics genre, and reached the screen with the development of animated pornography. It uses the aesthetics of Miranian anime and manga, and thus its works are generally classified as "Gylianime" and "Gylimanga".

The genre was fundamentally influenced by Rauna Næsve's films in terms of presentation, with the "in-your-face sexuality" of Les nouvelles aventures de la femme appelée Aurelia Nyşel considered a secondary inspiration.

Several public figures, some with "wicked" public images, have been identified as inspirations for the nénédette archetype, including Julie Legrand and Eðe Saima, Iulia Edver, Remi Ďana, Kaþi Mofat, Asuka, and Marie-Agnès Delaunay. Other fictional antecedents include Aurelia Nyşel from Kleptechne and Carmen Silva.

Characteristics

Two emblematic nénédie heroines: Liza Runecastle from Castle Bang, and Medaka Kurokami from Medaka Box

Nénédie as a genre revolves around a certain archetype of female heroine, referred to as nénédette. Nénédettes are extremely self-confident characters, who express this in an endearing and cocky manner, through bawdy wit and boastful one-liners. The depiction of nénédettes with large breasts serves as a visual shorthand for the entertaining arrogance that is their primary attractive trait.

Consequently, nénédettes are portrayed as appropriately larger-than-life and imposing characters, whose default facial expression tends to be a naughty or mischievous smile. They generally wear stylish and elaborate clothes that emphasise their physique, and can provide additional sources of visual humour and innuendo.

What distinguishes nénédie from other breast fetishism-oriented media, pornographic or otherwise, is that despite the prominence of large breasts, the focus is in fact on the character's personality. One common saying in the nénédie subculture acknowledges this: "Your breasts should be the size of your ego."

Nénédie works feature a campy and tongue-in-cheek presentation largely inherited from Rauna Næsve's erotic comedies. Animated works feature humorous and exaggerated depictions of bouncing breasts, to complement their heroines' swagger.

Each work includes a brief explanation for how a nénédette manages to have exaggerated cleavage without incurring inevitable real-life consequences. These are comedic, ranging from settings where gravity functions differently to giving heroines very strong backs; most common is a simple acknowledgement that the characters are fictional.

Plots are de-emphasised, and generally serve as only episodic justifications to show nénédettes engaging in impressive actions. Liza Runecastle from Castle Bang is emblematic in this respect, as the series comically portrays her as an extreme polymath who accumulates an increasingly hyperbolic list of skills, talents, and achievements, as every project she is involved in becomes another triumph that further increases her glory.

The genre has been compared to an adult version of slice of life anime, particularly the iyashikei subgenre. Cultural commentator Hanako Fukui notes that while iyashikei can be summarised as "cute girls doing cute things", nénédie would be "awesome women doing awesome things".

In contrast to "wicked" pornography or rezy anta, nénédettes are not portrayed with explicit reference to their morality — "wickedness" is not central to their self-assurance.

Notably, certain Gylian ethnic groups tend to be more strongly represented in nénédie, serving as an additional source of tongue-in-cheek pride for nénédettes. These include French, Miranians, Italians, Hellenes, Allamunnics, and Lusitans.

Both animated and drawn nénédie works tend to be short in length. The creator of Medaka Box joked that "the ideal length of a nénédie is that of a Ramones or Shonen Knife concert…it should hit like caffeine and finish before the audience can get bored."

Politics

While nénédie is a light genre with no aspirations beyond entertainment, commentators have identified feminist and political elements to it.

The portrayal of nénédettes as enjoyably arrogant and sexually forthright to the point of being intimidating are hallmarks of the genre, and are credited with avoiding objectification. Nénédettes explicitly embody fantasies of unlimited charisma and bravado, and thus serve as playfully exaggerated reflections of viewers' ideals or personal ambitions.

Radix comments that the genre comically portrays gender roles as socially created and performative, which accounts for its popularity among trans women and intersex Gylians.

Some reviewers have discussed Medaka Box as a metaphor for social privilege: Medaka is depicted as exceptionally multi-talented and charismatic, but strives to help others, and is careful with her language, using cocksure wit to entertain others without being snobbish.

Influence

Nénédie is a well-established niche in Gylian pop culture. It is credited with synthesising its existing cultural and real-life antecedents into a recognisable archetype — the attractively arrogant woman — which has achieved notable popularity and spread throughout Gylian culture.

Core's song "Big Girls Are Best" is a tongue-in-cheek celebration of the genre. The Ins & Outs' "I Must Increase My Bust" slightly predates the genre's emergence, but has still been embraced by the nénédie scene as an affectionate send-up.

The nénédette archetype has been an acknowledged influence on works with "wicked" or sensually self-assured protagonists, including Dreamwave Productions' Le recueil des faits improbables de Ryōko Yakushiji and Liquid Woman, and the oeuvre of Michiko Moreno. Some recent rezloi have explicitly borrowed from the genre in crafting their in-ring persona, both as prota and anta.

Other acknowledged influences include Dreamwave's Les Enfants Terrificques and Monster Squad, which humorously portray characters who are steered towards nénédette-like self-confidence to aid their integration in Gylias, and The Amazing Inflatable Girl, which borrows the campy aesthetics of nénédie and Rauna and applies them to an innocently bawdy heroine instead.

Crossover between nénédie and Gylian pornography is particularly evident in the "wicked" subgenre, which tends to portray similar playfully dominant characters are nénédettes, with the addition of an explicitly "wicked" twist.

Ironically, despite its formulaic nature, many nénédie creators and actors have jokingly observed it is a highly demanding genre, due to its focus on making charming and attractive traits that would ordinarily be considered negative, such as immense self-confidence bordering on arrogance.