The aim of this paper is to present Japanese comics (manga) and cartoons (anime) with sexual content called hentai. I briefly review some history of Japanese art and culture, in which sexuality has always been a legitimate subject for art and which forms the cultural underpinnings of manga. I summarize the erotic themes and visions of manga with sexual content, including female and male homosexuality (yuri, yaoi), heterosexuality (ecchi, bakunyū/kyonyuu), BDSM (kinbari), transvestitism (futanari), children (lolicon, shotakon). In conclusion, I pose the question of the need to adopt the right perspective to understand the often surprising manifestations of Japanese sexuality.