Zettai ryōiki
area of bare skin in the gap between overknee socks and a miniskirt or shorts
Zettai ryōiki (Japanese: 絶対領域; lit. 'absolute territory') refers to the area of bare skin in the gap between overknee socks and a skirt or shorts. It can also be used to describe the clothing combination. The term first became widespread in otaku slang as one of the attributes of moe characters in anime and manga, but it is now used by the general public in Japan.
Classification and ideal proportions
The ideal zettai ryōiki ratio for the length of the miniskirt, the exposed portion of thigh, and the over-knee part of the socks is 4:1:2.5, with a tolerance of 25%. The ratio has also been referred to as a golden ratio (黄金比, ōgonhi) among fans.
Zettai ryōiki fans have also assigned letter grades for the ratio variants, from grade E (too much leg is seen, the skirt is also too long) to grade A (short skirt, high socks, short exposed area). Some fans have conceived of a grade S character which adds the criteria of a twintails hairstyle and a tsundere (cold on the outside, warm on the inside) personality.
Origins
The term originates from the 1995 anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion, where it was used with a different meaning. In an insert leaflet that came with VHS cassettes, the expression "Zettai Kyōfu Ryōiki" (絶対恐怖領域; lit. 'Absolute Terror Field') (Ryōiki both translates to 'field' and 'territory') was used as a translation of the English-language term "A.T. Field" (A.T.フィールド) from the anime into Japanese.
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This entry incorporates text from “Zettai ryōiki” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.