Megane danshi are young men who wear glasses. Though specs were once a telltale sign of an unfashionable geek, they are now the hallmark of a man with a cool demeanor, intelligence, sensitivity, and warmth - somebody, in short, very attractive to women.

The appearance in comic books and animated cartoons of a large number of good-looking boys wearing glasses paved the way for this turnaround in perceptions. And the spectacular popularity of the bespectacled South Korean actor Bae Yong-joon, as well as boy-wizard Harry Potter, cemented the trend.

Declarations by Japanese women of their feelings for men with glasses can be found around the Internet, and there is even a web community called "Spectacled Guy Lovers." Meanwhile, a publication profiling 120 men with glasses is selling well, particularly since it was featured on an NHK TV program.

Girls wearing glasses can be found in manga and anime, and otaku-type men (who are crazy about manga and anime) are big fans of them. But meganekko, as the girls are known, exist in print and not, like megane danshi, in real life. (March 17, 2006)