Anime What is Bisho(u)nen, really?

Okay, I realize this is probably a stupid topic and most likely has been done, but what does it take to be a bishounen? See, what brought this up is someone and myself getting into a little debate over who's a bishounen, what it takes to be one, etc. Example; he says Vash (Trigun), Larva (Vampire Princess Miyuu (sp?), Enishi, Sanosuke, Soujirou, and Aoshi (Rurouni Kenshin) for example can't be bishounen because they don't have long, flowing hair like Himura Kenshin (Rurouni Kenshin) and Sephiroth (FFVII). Then it went into him saying how bishounen means "beautiful youth", because he said Vash is an "old guy", so can't be one for that point. I pointed out people like Kenshin, Vincent Valentine (FFVII... mm... oh, anyway) and such are older (Kenshin is 28 I believe and Vincent is... something). And he said it's because they look young. We came to the conclusion that it was more of an opinion, the meaning. -.- So anyways, after that long tidbit of nothingness, what's your people's inputs?

 

Hmmmm well let me be the first to imput into this, methinks that it means like a pretty boy ^.^ you know someone who is quite pleasing to the eye but not big and muscular like Mamoru from Sailor Stars

 

Bishounen..is basically the entire Male Populus Anime and Real.
Pretty much it's every guy that fangirls find themselves squealing over... they can't be tall and geeky unless they look hot w/out their glasses or whatever... i don't think there is an actual definiton of Bishies... it's more of a personal thing.. like.. i say that "Ken is a Bish" and someone else might think ken is fugly (not true tho. every fangirl i know thinks Ken izza Kyutie.)

it's a personal thing.. BUT the magazine "Animerica" dubs Bishies as the main guy in a series. @_@ but they have NO clue what a bish is suppost to be.. cuz they peg some NASTY doods as "Bishounen"

FYI Vash IS a Bish. as long as he keeps the shirt ON. cuz...w/out it... *shudder* no one wants to see that hun. keep the clothes on... or get some surgery...

 

You don't really know what is a bishounen?!
Okay, you can tae a look at bishounen.com

 

bishounen? haha any girl-looking-guy, i guess. ^_^

 

I think a bishie can BE nasty, Komugi-chan, as long as they don't LOOK nasty. Since they're meant to be pretty boys they shouldn't look too mature but bishie has ended up meaning any droolworthy guy. It's a western otaku term, I'm assuming. I can't see a Japanese person calling them 'bishies' but I could be wrong.
Vash is definitely too old, moreso than Kenshin, since he's over 100 years old! In the manga I think Vash and Legato get called 'Iro otoko', which seems to mean somewhere between good-looking and 'ladies' man'.