Hand Holding

In anime, hand holding is an obscene act done by two impure, perverted characters by placing the palm of one's hand against that of another's. "Hand holding" in Japanese is called te-tsunagi 手つなぎ.

• te wo tsunagu
  手を繋ぐ
  To link hands. (literally.)
  To hold hands.

Left: Narumi Takayuki 鳴海孝之
Right: Suzumiya Haruka 涼宮遙
Anime: Kimi ga Nozomu Eien 君が望む永遠 (Episode 2, Cropped, Censored)

• Context: a boy and a girl hold hands in the second episode.
  • Lewd.

WARNING: this article contains obscene imagery. Viewer discretion advised.

• Definition
• Types
  • 恋人繋ぎ
  • 握手
  • 指切り
  • ハイタッチ
    • グータッチ
  • Unintentional
  • Protection
• References

Definition

In the anime fandom, hand holding is regarded as the single most hardcore act done by couples, the height of degeneracy. It really makes one wonder: what is anime teaching our children?

Anime: Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan 2 斉木楠雄のΨ難 2 (Episode 11, Censored)

• Context: Kaidou Shun 海藤瞬, red-faced, says a thing that (depraved) couples do when dating.
• hada to hada ga fure-au... sono... tee φ tsunagu-n-da yo!! iwasen-na!
  肌と肌が触れ合う･･･その･･･手ぇ繋ぐんだよ！！言わせんな！
  When skin and skin touch... [you know]... to hold hands!! Don't make [me] say it!
  • fureru
    触れる
    To touch. To make contact, deliberately or by accident.
  • au
    合う
    To meet. To join together.
  • fure-au
    触れ合う
    For two things to touch each other, in this case, for one's skin to touch someone else's skin and vice-versa.
    (compound verb.)
  • iwasen-na - contraction of iwaseru na.
  • iwaseru
    言わせる
    To make [someone] say [something].
    (causative form of iu 言う, "to say.")

Left: Asumodeus Viole, アスモデウスヴィオレ
Right: Asumodeus Lily, アスモデウスヴィオレ
Anime: Mairimashita! Iruma-kun 魔入りました！入間くん (Season 2) (Episode 12, Censored)

• Context: demonic children doing an akanbee あかんべえ while holding hands.

As with any disturbing fetish, it has its own subreddit, r/handholding, whose rules say:

Source: reddit.com/r/handholding/, accessed 2021-05-24

Fans of hand holding may try to justify themselves by saying things like "that's just a meme" and "there are worse things in anime." Please don't believe them. There are no worse things in anime.

Although the typical case of hand holding is heterosexual, there's also homosexual hand holding.

Left: Moritani Hiyori 森谷ヒヨリ
Right: Kotoura Haruka 琴浦春香
Anime: Kotoura-san 琴浦さん (Episode 5, Censored)

• Context: a character has depraved fantasies about two girls.
• yuri
  百合
  Lily. (as in the white flowers in the background.)
  A term for lesbian fiction.

Left: Usui Kenta 雨水健太
Right: Maaka Ren 真紅煉
Anime: Karin かりん (Episode 12, Censored)

• Context: a character has depraved fantasies involving her boyfriend and brother.
• bara
  薔薇
  Rose. (as in the violet flowers in the background.)
  A term for gay fiction.

Holding one's own hand isn't lewd. I'm sure there's a very good, logical reason for this, I just haven't found it yet.

Character: Ikari Gendō 碇ゲンドウ
Anime: Neon Genesis Evangelion, Shinseiki Evangerion 新世紀エヴァンゲリオン THE END OF EVANGELION (Movie)

• Context: a man touching himself.
  • See also: Gendo Pose, ゲンドウポース.

Although I'm not aware of any examples of this, holding hands with one's clone however would be lewd as that counts as self-cest.

Types

For reference, terms for types of hand holding.

恋人繋ぎ

The term koibito-tsunagi 恋人繋ぎ, "lovers' linking," or, since tsunagu means "hold" in the case of hands, "lovers' holding," refers to hold hands with fingers interlocked.^{(dic.pixiv.net:恋人つなぎ)}

• ラブ握り

This is mathematically lewder than the normal hand holding since the surface area of contact is greater.

Left: Azusagawa Sakuta 梓川咲太
Right: Sakurajima Mai 桜島麻衣
Anime: Seishun Buta Yarou wa Bunny Girl Senpai no Yume wo Minai, 青春ブタ野郎はバニーガール先輩の夢を見ない (Episode 2, Censored)

• Context: a couple of teenagers perform obscenities in public.

Attacker: Yoshikawa Chinatsu 吉川ちなつ
Victim: Akaza Akari 赤座あかり
Anime: Yuru Yuri ゆるゆり (Episode 5, Censored)

• Context: non-consensual hand holding.

握手

The term akushu 握手 translates to "handshake." It literally means "to grasp," "to grip," "to hold," nigiru 握る, hands. A handshake occurs when two people hold hands temporarily and shake them to signify agreement or approval. It's a ritual customary of decadent societies.

Left: Sig Curtis シグ・カーティス
Right: Alex Louis Armstrong, アレックス・ルイ・アームストロング
Anime: Fullmetal Alchemist, Hagane no Renkinjutsushi 鋼の錬金術師 (2003) (Episode 30, Censored)

• Context: two men remove their clothes and touch each other.

Character: Mio 澪
Anime: Tsuki ga Michibiku Isekai Douchuu 月が導く異世界道中 (Episode 10, Censored)

• Context: Mio witnesses the guy she likes holding hands with someone else and becomes extremely irritated with jealousy.

指切り

The term yubi-kiri 指切り, meaning literally "finger cutting," refers to a pinky promise, also called a pinky swear: the act of making a promise by interlacing only the little finger (the pinky finger). It's also known as yubi-kiri-genman 指切りげんまん, due to a phrase commonly said when doing it:

• yubi-kiri-genman, {uso φ tsuitara} hari φ senbon nomasu
  指切拳万、嘘ついたら針千本呑ます
  Finger-cutting, a hundred punches, {if [you] spew lies}, [I] will make [you] swallow a hundred needles.

Left: Makise Kurisu 牧瀬紅莉栖
Right: Okabe Rintarou 岡部倫太郎
Anime: Steins;Gate 0 (Episode 8, Censored)

• Context: a smol but nonetheless lewd hand hold.

By the way, in the past, yubi 指, "finger," could refer to "hand," te 手, so yubi-kiri meant te-kiri 手切り, "hand-cutting," which is said to have become another word when corrupted: chigiri 契, "pact," "promise."^{(日本大百科全書:指切り)}

ハイタッチ

The term "high five" in Japanese is hai tacchi ハイタッチ, a katakanization for "high touch." This is a wasei-eigo 和製英語, since "high touch" doesn't mean "high five" in English. A high five occurs when two people slap the palms of their hands together at head height or higher.

Left: Senkuu 千空
Right: Chrome, クロム
Anime: Dr. Stone, ドクターストーン (Episode 23, Censored)

• Context: a quick hand hold.

グータッチ

A "fist bump" in Japanese is called a guu tacchi グータッチ. Unlike the high five, the palms don't touch in a fist bump, so it's not lewd, and not hand holding.

• guu
  グー
  The act of making a fist.
  (mimetic word.)
  • guu, paa, choki
    グー・パー・チョキ
    Rock, paper, scissors.
  • janken
    じゃんけん.
    How to say "rock, paper, scissors" in Japanese, like in "to decide using rock, paper, scissors," janken de kimeru じゃんけんで決める.

Unintentional

Not all hand holding is premeditated. Sometimes, hand holding is accidental. It's a depraved act nonetheless, and it's often just blatant fanservice for yuri and BL shippers.

See also: fujoshi 腐女子.

Left: Katarina Claes カタリナ・クラエス
Right: Maria Campbell マリア・キャンベル
Anime: Otome Game no Hametsu Flag Shika Nai Akuyaku Reijou ni Tensei Shiteshimatta…, 乙女ゲームの破滅フラグしかない悪役令嬢に転生してしまった… (Episode 4, Censored)

• Context: the protagonist accidentally hold hands with her rival..

Top: Shindou Hikaru 進藤ヒカル
Bottom: Touya Akira 塔矢アキラ
Anime: Hikaru no Go ヒカルの碁 (Episode 3, Censored)

• Context: the protagonist accidentally hold hands with his rival.

Protection

Exceptionally, some characters have managed to protect themselves against hand holding.

Left: Ichii Tooru 一井透
Right: Momoki Run 百木るん
Anime: A-Channel, Ａチャンネル (Episode 4)

• Context: Tooru's overly long sleeves protect her hands from her immoral friend.

Left: Gojou Satoru 五条悟
Right: Jougo 漏瑚
Anime: Jujutsu Kaisen 呪術廻戦 (Episode 7)

• Context: Gojou's special ability is that he can stop enemies from holding his hand.
  • Begone thot.

References

• 指切り - 日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ) via kotobank.jp, accessed 2021-06-05.
• 恋人つなぎ - dic.pixiv.net, accessed 2021-06-05.