The earliest English use of the term traces back to the boards with a 1990 post concerning Happosai of Ranma ½ and the first discussion of the meaning in 1991.
A 1995 glossary on the boards contained reference to the Japanese usage and the evolving definition of hentai as 'pervert' or 'perverted sex'. The Anime Movie Guide, published in 1997, defines ' ecchi' ( エッチ, etchi) as the initial sound of hentai (i.e., the name of the letter H, as pronounced in Japanese) it included that ecchi was 'milder than hentai'.
