<p>They don't.</p>
<p>It's sort of a running joke in the anime community that holding hands is a lewd and explicit act, and this in turn has spawned jokes about how hand-holding should be censored. I'm unsure how and why this joke evolved, but <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/OutOfTheLoop/comments/3i33lv/why_is_holding_hands_lewd/" rel="noreferrer">this r/OutOfTheLoop thread from 2015</a> indicates that it's been around for quite some time. Those liking and replying to the original comment are presumably in on the joke and going along with it.</p>
<p>I'm unaware of anyone who actually, sincerely believes that hand-holding should be censored.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-06-18T04:55:11.010Z
[Well, some people apparently took some things seriously :/](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU8kxc8ssQU)
Fumikage Tokoyami
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-06-16T18:13:02.643Z
2021-06-16T18:13:02.643Z
F1Krazy
<p>It's a meme that originated on /d/, 4chan's EXTREME hentai board.  The people on there really don't view any sex stuff as weird, because they have seen it all so often, but do get all squeamish about normal non sexual romantic actions because they rarely if ever see those kinda things.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-06-17T20:58:06.113Z
Can you go into more detail about *how* the meme originated?
F1Krazy
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-06-18T03:30:45.197Z
Hi, this looks like an interesting fact if it's true. However, while this answer introduced and explained what /d/ board is in general (I have visited this board many times back then, so I can say it's true), I'm afraid it still lacks evidences about this particular handholding meme.
Aki Tanaka
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-06-17T20:22:28.957Z
2021-06-17T21:20:24.280Z
2021-06-17T21:20:24.280Z
Anonymous
<p><strong>Warning: Text under spoiler tab contains NSFW terms</strong></p>
<hr />
<p>It's <strong>satire</strong> to the whole absurd censorship rules in the anime industry (see <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5meKq6X2RgI" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this video</a> to know more on these absurd rules). I did some digging and found exactly what I needed:</p>
<blockquote class="spoiler">
<p> Hand Holding is another act that is used in a similar manner to Consensual Sex in the Missionary Position. Threads with hand holding as the topic will often receive satirical replies usually criticizing how the original poster is sick or lewd. Related images of this at time feature anime characters with unnecessary censorship photoshopped over the hands to add further lewdness. (<a href="https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/consensual-sex-in-the-missionary-position" rel="nofollow noreferrer">source</a>)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>There are many reddit post discussing this meme (see refs.) all agreeing on the satirical take but sometimes there are some specific but very absurd reasons:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Many &quot;child-friendly&quot; books explained baby-making as &quot;when your parents love each other very much by holding hands and/or hugging very tight, mommy gets pregnant&quot;. This, however was considered too lewd for children and hence had to censor them. (See <a href="https://myanimelist.net/manga/1122" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Naisho no Tsubomi</a>)</p>
</li>
<li>
<blockquote class="spoiler">
<p> It's a mix between a generalized joke about the Japanese censoring genitalia in doujins as well as the fact that Romance series often end on hand holding and often without even a kiss, people started joking that handholding was too lewd for network TV. This joke was taken so seriously that even handholding was censored in hentai and borderline hentai giving up a notion that if you want to censor anything, censor everything (e.g. Dakara Boku wa, H ga Dekinai). Therefore, holding hands which is one of the purest acts of a romantic relationship is censored as if it's a filthy act just like censoring porn/guro making it somewhat hilarious.</p>
</blockquote>
</li>
</ol>
<p><strong>References</strong>:</p>
<ol>
<li><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/ism232/what_is_this_censored_hand_holding_thing_in_anime/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">What is this censored hand holding thing in Anime? -reddit post</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/2cimva/why_would_they_pixel_that/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Why would they pixel that? - reddit post</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/manga/comments/4mo2i1/what_started_the_censored_holding_hands_meme/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">What started the censored holding hands meme? -reddit post</a></li>
</ol>
<hr />
<p><strong>Bonus</strong>: Not only holding hands were censored as a joke, even the thoughts of holding hands and cuddling were satirized to be impure. This is a scene from <em>Oremonogatari</em>:</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/hiZ8y.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/hiZ8y.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p>This image is actually a part of <a href="https://i.sstatic.net/xI7Ig.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Tumblr post</a> where the poster made a cheeky remark (<em>Warning: Strong language</em>).</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-06-17T03:53:34.637Z
2021-06-18T05:01:03.793Z
2021-06-18T05:01:03.793Z
Fumikage Tokoyami
<p>On Crunchyroll, there is an anime called <em>TONIKAWA</em>. In the comment section of episode 5, someone commented that there was too much handholding that was uncensored, over 900 people have liked the comment, and there was a lot of replies supporting the commenter.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>10/30/20<br />
The 2 kisses are one thing, but there's so much uncensored handholding</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Why should handholding be censored? Isn't it just two people holding hands?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-06-16T18:03:43.573Z
this is probably a joke as far as i can tell without knowing context
hyperneutrino
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-06-16T18:08:37.950Z
Your probably right but it’s just weird that 900 people would agree and this thing is also being talked about in the internet
Kalifer
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-06-16T18:10:10.387Z
Well, that makes it all the more likely to be a joke - 900 people found it funny. Or just threw an upvote on it as they were passing by. It's being talked about around the internet because it's a somewhat widespread joke (at least from what I know) so it's not unlikely to show up in many other places.
hyperneutrino
<meme><censorship>
Why do some people think that handholding should be censored in anime?
# Why do some people think that handholding should be censored in anime?
Posted by: username_0 on 2021-06-16
On Crunchyroll, there is an anime called *TONIKAWA*. In the comment section of episode 5, someone commented that there was too much handholding that was uncensored, over 900 people have liked the comment, and there was a lot of replies supporting the commenter.

> 10/30/20  
> The 2 kisses are one thing, but there's so much uncensored handholding

Why should handholding be censored? Isn't it just two people holding hands?
**Tags:** meme censorship
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: this is probably a joke as far as i can tell without knowing context  
> **username_0**: Your probably right but it’s just weird that 900 people would agree and this thing is also being talked about in the internet  
> **username_1**: Well, that makes it all the more likely to be a joke - 900 people found it funny. Or just threw an upvote on it as they were passing by. It's being talked about around the internet because it's a somewhat widespread joke (at least from what I know) so it's not unlikely to show up in many other places.  
---
## 3 answers
### Answer by username_3 on 2021-06-17. Score: 11 | Accepted answer
**Warning: Text under spoiler tab contains NSFW terms**

---

It's **satire** to the whole absurd censorship rules in the anime industry (see [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5meKq6X2RgI) to know more on these absurd rules). I did some digging and found exactly what I needed:

> Hand Holding is another act that is used in a similar manner to Consensual Sex in the Missionary Position. Threads with hand holding as the topic will often receive satirical replies usually criticizing how the original poster is sick or lewd. Related images of this at time feature anime characters with unnecessary censorship photoshopped over the hands to add further lewdness. ([source](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/consensual-sex-in-the-missionary-position))

There are many reddit post discussing this meme (see refs.) all agreeing on the satirical take but sometimes there are some specific but very absurd reasons:

1. Many "child-friendly" books explained baby-making as "when your parents love each other very much by holding hands and/or hugging very tight, mommy gets pregnant". This, however was considered too lewd for children and hence had to censor them. (See [Naisho no Tsubomi](https://myanimelist.net/manga/1122))
2. > It's a mix between a generalized joke about the Japanese censoring genitalia in doujins as well as the fact that Romance series often end on hand holding and often without even a kiss, people started joking that handholding was too lewd for network TV. This joke was taken so seriously that even handholding was censored in hentai and borderline hentai giving up a notion that if you want to censor anything, censor everything (e.g. Dakara Boku wa, H ga Dekinai). Therefore, holding hands which is one of the purest acts of a romantic relationship is censored as if it's a filthy act just like censoring porn/guro making it somewhat hilarious.

**References**:

1. [What is this censored hand holding thing in Anime? -reddit post](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/ism232/what_is_this_censored_hand_holding_thing_in_anime/)
2. [Why would they pixel that? - reddit post](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/2cimva/why_would_they_pixel_that/)
3. [What started the censored holding hands meme? -reddit post](https://www.reddit.com/r/manga/comments/4mo2i1/what_started_the_censored_holding_hands_meme/)

---

**Bonus**: Not only holding hands were censored as a joke, even the thoughts of holding hands and cuddling were satirized to be impure. This is a scene from *Oremonogatari*:

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/hiZ8y.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/hiZ8y.png)

This image is actually a part of [Tumblr post](https://i.sstatic.net/xI7Ig.jpg) where the poster made a cheeky remark (*Warning: Strong language*).
---
### Answer by username_2 on 2021-06-16. Score: 15
They don't.

It's sort of a running joke in the anime community that holding hands is a lewd and explicit act, and this in turn has spawned jokes about how hand-holding should be censored. I'm unsure how and why this joke evolved, but [this r/OutOfTheLoop thread from 2015](https://www.reddit.com/r/OutOfTheLoop/comments/3i33lv/why_is_holding_hands_lewd/) indicates that it's been around for quite some time. Those liking and replying to the original comment are presumably in on the joke and going along with it.

I'm unaware of anyone who actually, sincerely believes that hand-holding should be censored.
> **Comments:**
> **username_3** (2021-06-18): [Well, some people apparently took some things seriously :/](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU8kxc8ssQU)  
---
### Answer by username_4 on 2021-06-17. Score: -2
It's a meme that originated on /d/, 4chan's EXTREME hentai board. The people on there really don't view any sex stuff as weird, because they have seen it all so often, but do get all squeamish about normal non sexual romantic actions because they rarely if ever see those kinda things.
> **Comments:**
> **username_2** (2021-06-17): Can you go into more detail about *how* the meme originated?  
> **username_5** (2021-06-18): Hi, this looks like an interesting fact if it's true. However, while this answer introduced and explained what /d/ board is in general (I have visited this board many times back then, so I can say it's true), I'm afraid it still lacks evidences about this particular handholding meme.  
---
