Ryona (リョナ), is a Japanese term for a sexual complex where a female character is, usually sexually, attacked or tortured by either a man or another female character(s). The term "ryona" comes from "ryonanī" (リョナニー), a portmanteau of "ryōki" (猟奇, "Seeking the bizarre") and "onanī" (オナニー, masturbation).
Ryona as a fetish revolves around a victim, almost exclusively a humanoid female, being physically assaulted or psychologically abused by an offender. It differs from sadism in that it is a voyeuristic fantasy fetish with focus towards fictional characters from video games, anime, comics, TV and movies that include battering, abusing or otherwise killing women. Characters from movies and TV series represented by live actresses are becoming more common as less stigmatism is attached to violence being inflicted to women in media. Because the fetish is so broad it often incorporates other, more common, fetishes such as humiliation, rape, and BDSM depending on the preference of the individual. Often the victim is any combination of physically fit, well trained, or strong of will as many find ryona more appealing the greater the gap between the victim and offender's usual power.
In case the victim is male it is often labeled as gyaku-ryona (逆リョナ). Fairl popular among females, and even some males especially when the assailant is a female.
When ryona is taken to the point of lasting physical harm resulting in bleeding or death, it is generally referred to as guro (グロ). This came from the word gore, so seeing guts, inner entrails or organs and parts is expected.
Ryona is also sometimes tied to Vore or Vorarephilia depending on the context. Vore (捕食) is usually associated with creatures that swallow victims (mainly females) whole.
Another form of ryona is Onna Zako (女ザコ, "female cannon-fodder"), which generally means 'weaker' generic female enemies or 'cannon-fodder'. This can be doing the attacking and the receiving as well.
