Boku no Piko, one of the most well-known and controversial hentai titles in history, as been out for 20 years since its release.
Origin
The hentai is an original story by Natural High, a label under Soft On Demand.
SugarBoy released its only episode on September 7, 2006.
Story
During summer vacation, Tamotsu is on break from work happens to visit a particular café. It is at this café that Tamotsu meets Pico, who works there for his grandfather. Tamotsu instantly falls for Pico, believing that Pico is a girl because of his feminine appearance. However, to his disbelief, Pico claims he actually is a guy. Undeterred, Tamotsu pursues a sexual relationship with Pico, to an extent where he even persuades Pico into wearing girl clothes. When Pico asks what is he to Tamotsu, he finds himself unable to answer…
Reception
Boku no Piko was very well received in Japan, selling more than 10,000 copies through Amazon Japan alone during its year of release.
It also gained significant popularity overseas, especially after unauthorized copies were translated into English and distributed online.
Despite its resounding success, Boku no Piko was widely criticized for its storyline and sexual scenes involving underage characters.
Trivia
- The hentai was animated by Blue Cat and directed by Yatabe Katsuyoshi.
- Boku no Pico was promoted as “the world’s first shotacon hentai anime.”
- The hentai has two sequels: Pico to Chico, released on April 19, 2007, and Pico x CoCo x Chico, released on October 9, 2008.
- On November 11, 2007, Pico: Boku no Chiisana Natsu Monogatari was released. It is an edited version of Boku no Pico presented as an alternative suitable for viewers under 18, as it contains no sexual scenes.
- In 2010, Pico to Chico – Shota Idol no Oshigoto was released, an eroge featuring an alternate story in which Pico and Chico are idols.
- Hikaru Ikeda, the voice actress for Pico, is also known for voicing Ren Nanase in Night Shift Nurses, and Emiko in Taboo Charming Mother.
- Between 2008 and 2012, it became popular as a prank to recommend Boku no Pico to people who were just getting into anime without telling them what the OVA was actually about. The prank gained popularity again in 2016 following the release of My Hero Academia, as the similarity between the titles caused search engines to display Boku no Pico among the results for people looking for information about My Hero Academia.
- Around 2015, reaction videos of people watching Boku no Pico became popular on YouTube, including those by the famous YouTuber PewDiePie. However, most of these reaction videos were removed from the platform after YouTube tightened its content policies and guidelines.
- It is said that there were plans to distribute the hentai overseas, but due to its controversial content, these plans ultimately could not be carried out.
- In 2024, a 16-year-old boy murdered a family in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. According to investigators, the teenager showed a strong interest in Japanese culture and hentai content, including Boku no Pico. After these details became known, speculation arose about a possible negative influence of this type of content on his psychological state.
- Due to its homosexual content and sexual abuse of minors, Boku no Pico is considered one of the most controversial hentai titles in the history of the genre.