All that noseblood...

[Wilcon]

The noose-bleeding has something to do with the japanese myth about a virgin who sees a naked girl get nooseblood.

[Kyuven]

Originally Posted by Wilcon

The nose-bleeding has something to do with the japanese myth about a virgin who sees a naked girl get noseblood.

it may have STARTED like this, but people probably thought it was so funny they applied it to non-virgins, and they didn't need to be naked (Maburaho, episode 11, rock paper scissors competition between evil Yuna and that other guy)

[ky_khor]

you mean most of the man nose bleed when they having sex for the first time?

[Kyuven]

...nooooooo

[Shii]

Originally Posted by ky_khor

you mean most of the man nose bleed when they having sex for the first time?

wtf mate? ^^;

[hobobaggins]

asians have weak nasal membranes. they bleed often. i am no exception.

[roriconfan]

I resu(e)rrect this topic as I saw it being spoken on MAL.

Where does the nosebleed thing comes from originally? In wives' tales. It is quite similar to what they say in the west "don't masturbate too much or you will go blind".

It has indeed a dose of truth in it as the blood does move faster through the body when you are suddenly scared or shocked. And if the individual happens to have weak nasal area, he may indeed have a nosebleed by the increased blood pressure. It is the stereotype of the wimp who always has asma and bleeds all the time for no reason.

Anime turned this to an in-joke classic, pretty much like the hammer someone pulls out of nowhere and hits the other on the head. I even made a joke about is as such:
Nosebleeds - a painless and even pleasing form of blood donation...

It is understood to be used in previous decades when genitalia where not allowed to be shown. With all the fan service modern anime have, it is stupid to still use this sort of anime law. Just give the guys a boner and having their hands covering the crotch. That is far more hilarious to watch than a guy feinting or whatever. Plus it is more realistic.

And it is not even too bold. How is the oversexualization of the body just fine to show but not an erection, sensored by clothes and hands? It's just stupid.

[TinyRedLeaf]

As usual, I don't understand half of what you're trying to say, but you do raise an interesting question about the origin of the nosebleeding cliche.

For your information, the cliche is not limited to anime, nor to Japan only for that matter. It's commonly seen in many live-action Asian movies as well, particularly in low-brow Hong Kong comedy movies.

Meaning to say, the meme is taken for granted in East Asian societies. Why that is the case, though, I don't really know — I've yet to come across any serious study on the matter. But if I were to speculate, it has possibly something to do with traditional medical practises common throughout the region.

Traditional Chinese medical theories, in particular, share some similiarities with the ancient Greek theory of "four humours", "which are in balance when a person is healthy".

Sexual arousal is commonly believed to stimulate excessive levels of "heat" in the body. This is evident in the kinds of aphrodisiacs traditionally used in East Asia, which have what people here call a "heaty" effect. Traditionally, too much "heat" can lead to ailments like fevers, sore throats and cracked lips. In severe cases, such problems can even lead to internal or external bleeding.

So... linking one idea to the other, it doesn't take a stretch of imagination to see how excessive blood flow from sexual arousal came to become associated with nosebleeds in East Asian entertainment. I suppose blood could also burst out through the mouth, but that would be appear more "gross" than "perverted". Moreover, it's more usual to believe that someone coughing up blood is suffering from tuberculosis rather than high levels of sexual arousal, so the only other orifice available is, you guessed it, the nostrils.

(Well, it could also come out from the other end of the body, but that would be immediately be associated with hemorrhoids... let's not go there. )

[DragoZERO]

It was my understanding that they used nosebleeds because they couldn't show erections. Nothing more.

Originally Posted by kj1980

It's a "Japanese cultural thing" just like getting hit by an anvil is "an American cultural thing" that I don't understand (i.e.: why an anvil, instead of something more heavier like a car?).

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Anvilicious

[Haak]

Originally Posted by DragoZERO

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Anvilicious

That's a different thing isn't it? Or is that some sort of joke i didn't get?

[DragoZERO]

Originally Posted by Haak

That's a different thing isn't it? Or is that some sort of joke i didn't get?

No, it's the origin of the anvil falling. It got more popular due to cartoons, such as Looney Tunes, because it was more funny than poetic. But more than just anvils fall, pianos are classic too.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by DragoZERO

It was my understanding that they used nosebleeds because they couldn't show erections. Nothing more.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Anvilicious

Prohibitions against directly showing erections didn't prevent animators from using creative means to allude to perky protrusions. Anyone who's read or watched City Hunter would well remember the number of times Ryo's magnificent maleness was portratyed on screen and paper.

So, no, I highly doubt that it was Asian prudishness that led to the prevalence of profuse blood loss through nasal orifices. Of course, I could be verily mistaken, but then I'm too naughtily perverted to care.

[C.A.]

One of the most important principles of animation: Exaggeration. If its not over the top, the expression doesn't carry through. If someone is happy, make him very happy, if someone is psycho, make her a yandere etc.

It has nothing to do with showing erections or not and I don't know why its related to the trope of 'Anvilicious'. I think I just found out why tropes are not credible in this thread. Because people are not looking at the mediums from the fundamental principles and elements, instead, they are looking at the surface and grouping them up.

Anyway on the topic of this thread:

Remember when the many times a character's eyes seem to pop out of their head when they see something shocking? Or their hair standing straight up and their whole body vibrates?

When someone's angry and starts yelling at the others, her head blows up like a balloon, eyes turn white and teeth becomes fangs.

All these expressions and more, they all fall under the same principle of exaggeration as nosebleeding.

In the west characters upon seeing someone hot, their hearts beat so hard it literally pops out of their chests, their eyes will pop out of their sockets, tongues rolling out and dropping to the floor. This is exactly the same as nosebleeding, sometimes they just show some blushing and eyes widening from happiness.

Is there any need to show a boner? Is a boner the only way to show attraction?

Both eastern and western animation don't show erections, there's no need to. And because of different cultural contexts, they express attraction in different ways. In the west, people would probably say something like "my heart is popping out of my chest" which leads to the the same exaggerated expression in animation. Here in Asia, saying that we're nosebleeding means the girl is really hot. Whether its animation influencing real life or the other way, it doesn't matter, it has become part of our cultural context.

Tropes and memes are layman terms and they don't properly describe and justify the mechanics of the mediums.

[janipani]

Haha.. nosebleed is weird thing, but you get used to it. There is also other nose related 'hentaism' and that would be sniffing while perverted thinking or when hottie walks by.

By the way, what do you think about obsession that mangas do have with panties.

[TsumeBlue]

Originally Posted by nooc

A lot of anime have characters bleeding noseblood. Why? Is it something that occurs in the real world?
I mean, if blushing results in a bleeding nose, it probably means there is a serious problem.

It's symbolic of sexual arousal. I used to wonder who got it in their head that nosebleeds were synonomous with being turned on, you know, besides the obvious "blood rushing to one place instead of the other".

[Full Metal Coast]

i dont mind watching a decent nosebleed but im not a huge fan of the complete gushing one.

my favourite nosebleed in a series ever would have to be Sora No Otoshimono. easily the best.

[Ending]

I just find it awkward. While it may be true that "asians have weak nasal membranes" or "arousal increases blood pressure", it's old. Too many series use the same trick and really need to come up with something original. >.>

[VampiricButterfly]

Hehe, I asked my sister that question once and she said because of the pressure, they can't handle it and they go nose bleeding. >.>

[-Sho-]

I didn't see it in all my life (except the anime) but I think this happens a lot in Japan and mostly their country .

[Uchiha Soul]