Kabedon

Submission 21,142

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About

Kabedon, translated literally from Japanese to English as "hitting a wall," is a trope or cliche in manga and anime in which a character pins another character to a wall with their arm. Depending on the context, it is generally portrayed either as a threatening or romantic gesture. The trope has inspired a bevy of fan art depicting characters in the situation, as well as a humorous trope where characters perform the trope with their leg instead of their arm.

Origin

The term "kabedon" was purportedly coined by voice actress Ryoko Shintani in 2008^[1] when she dubbed it "a lovely situation," though it's unclear if that information is accurate. The romance manga LDK by Ayu Watanabe, which ran from 2009-2017, has been credited with popularizing the trope in the genre (example shown below).^[2]

Spread

The trope has been widely discussed among the anime and manga community, as while it's often portrayed as romantic in fiction, it's also thought of as an unwise thing to do in real life. Publications including Yabai^[3] and Duniagames^[4] have both published pieces advising readers to not try "kabedon" in real life because it could be considered sexual harassment.

The trope has led to a bevy of humorous fan art depicting characters from various media reenacting the pose. For example, on December 17th, 2015, Tumblr user yokoshimako^[5] posted art of Sans from Undertale doing Kabedon to the much-taller Papyrus, gaining over 2,100 notes in eight years (shown below, left). On September 17th, 2016, Tumblr user tsumire0301^[6] posted a humorous image of Peridot and Lapis Lazuli from Steven Universe in the pose, gaining over 5,100 notes in seven years (shown below, right).

"Kabedon" has also inspired videos on TikTok with the hashtag "#KabedonChallenge,^[7] where users will reenact Kabedon in real life. For example, on November 21st, 2022, TikToker @chelsea_teves posted a video in which her classmates tried it out, gaining over 4.1 million likes in less than a year (shown below, left). On August 17th, 2020, TikToker @readchoi posted a video that gained over 218,000 likes in three years (shown below, right).