Trap

Trap is a slang term used in English-language online anime communities to describe a biologically male character with an attractive andrognynous or feminine appearance, and is often performed by voice actresses. In Japan, a term called otokonoko (literally meaning "male daughter") is used to refer to a real-life or fictional man who expresses himself in a culturally feminine manner and appearance. Note that in order to be called a "trap", the character must be explicitly described as biologically male; characters whose gender is officially unconfirmed or have no biological sex do not count.

The word trap carries unfortunate implications however, as it implies that their femininity is used to "trap" (i.e. deceive) men into becoming an object of their desires, only to find out that the "girl" they want is a man all along, which makes them "gay" - and therefore undesirable. It doesn't help that many of the archetype's examples are highly sexualized by both creators and fans. The term gained some controversy in Reddit when the moderators of a highly-upvoted subreddit called /r/Animemes banned the usage of the word "trap", essentially treating the word as a slur. Naturally, the decision was met with near-universal derision from its users.

Since "trap" pertains to males who look like girls, the female counterpart is called "reverse trap", or in other words, females that look like men.

In the context of this wiki, traps have historically performed well in the International Saimoe League tournament because of their highly moe characteristics that are normally attributed to females. In fact, the 2014 male exhibiton was exclusively contested by traps in a 32-man single-elimination bracket, which was won by Hideyoshi Kinoshita, an iconic example of the archetype and a 2-time runner-up prior to the 2014 edition.

Characters[]

ISML 2014 Male Tournament Participants[]

ISML 2014 Trap Exhibition Participants
Name	Series	Image	Remarks
Hideyoshi Kinoshita	Baka and Test		2014 Scepter Winner.
Shidou Itsuka	Date A Live		2014 Runner-up. Entered because of his alter-ego Shiori Itsuka.
Ruka Urushibara	Steins;Gate		Arguably his most defining trait. At some point in the story, his biological sex actually changes into a woman for plot reasons.
Mitsuka Souji	Gotta be the Twin-Tail		Transforms into a female Twin-Tail form, but clearly appears as a male otherwise.
Ryuunosuke Akasaka	Sakurasou
Keima Katsuragi	The World God Only Knows		Entered because of his maid cafe outfit and androgynous appearance
Kamito Kazehaya	Blade Dance		Has an alter ego named Ren Ashbell.
Hayate Ayasaki	Hayate the Combat Butler		"Feminine face" and youthful art style
Syaoran Li	Cardcaptor Sakura		"Feminine face" and youthful art style

Other[]

Other Characters
Name	Series	Image	Remarks
Felix Argyle	Re:Zero		Reached Ruby period in ISML 2017.
Hideri Kanzaki	Blend S		Should be obvious what the "Surprise" actually is
Nagisa Shiota	Assassination Classroom		2-time pendant winner and ISML 2018 quarter-finalist. His most famous outfit is a black off-shoulder dress, a red plaid miniskirt, and black thigh-high stockings, which when combined with his slim physique makes for an effective "female" disguise.
Rider of Black aka Asstolfo	Fate/Apocrypha		currently the poster boy of the archetype. Reached the playoffs in ISML 2018.
Saika Totsuka	Oregairu		Had a successful run in ISML 2020 when he won the amethyst exhibition gem and reached the playoffs.