Zettai Ryôiki

Zettai Ryôiki is a selective fetish of the otaku scene. Zettai Ryōiki refers to the area of skin between a mini skirt or shorts and overknee socks (thigh high socks) and is also applied to this clothing combination. The term originally comes from otaku slang and is a moe attribute there, but is also used outside otaku slang in Japan.

The ratio between the length of the miniskirt, the skin and the stockings above the knee is optimised at 4:1:2.5 with a tolerance of 25%.

Origin

The term itself originates from the anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion (NGE) from 1995, although not yet in its current meaning. In a booklet accompanying the VHS cassettes, the term Zettai Kyōfu Ryōiki (絶対恐怖領域, ‘absolute field of terror’) was used as a translation for the English term A. T. Field (A.T.Field) used in the series. T. Field (A.T.フィールド, A.T. Fīrudo) used in the series, a concept of a protective shield referred to within the series as a ‘sacred area where no one is allowed to enter’ (絶対怖領域). (「何人にも侵されざる聖なる領域 ‘nannin ni mo okasarezaru seinaru ryōiki’」) or ‘Wall of the Soul’ (「心の壁 “kokoro no kabe”」);[4] but also the short form Zettai Ryōiki, as in the manga Neon Genesis Evangelion, in which it is mentioned as furigana to A.T. Field.

Starting from this sacred zone, which no one is allowed to enter, the new coinage then followed in the modern sense. This can be traced back to a blog entry in March 2001 describing the clothing style of Mayura, a character from the computer programme Ukagaka (伺か), which can be used to create desktop mascots.

前から言っているけどミニスカートとニーソックス(?)の間の空間は無敵だ。神の絶対領域とでも言おうか」

‘I've said it before, but the gap between miniskirt and knee socks (?), this space is unrivalled. It should be called divine Zettai Ryōiki’.

The term spread quickly in the otaku scene, where it is now part of the specialised vocabulary and frequently appears in discussions, amateur and publishing magazines, but also beyond this subculture and was included in the general Daijisen dictionary. Within the subculture, Zettai Ryōiki is still sometimes divided into different levels.

The Japanese company Banpresto, which produces NGE video games, attempted to protect the 絶対領域 trademark on 13 February 2006, but this was rejected on 26 June of the same year without examination due to unpaid fees.