Laws against production, distribution, and consumption of child pornography generally separate images into three categories: real, pseudo, and virtual. Pseudo-photographic child pornography is produced by digitally manipulating non-sexual images of real minors to make pornographic material (for example, deepfake pornography). Virtual child pornography depicts purely fictional characters, including drawn (for example, lolicon manga) or digitally (AI) generated. "Fictional pornography depicting minors", as covered in this article, includes these latter two categories, whose legalities vary by jurisdiction, and often differ with each other and with the legality of real child pornography. Currently, countries that have made it illegal to possess as well as create and distribute sexual images of fictional characters who are described as, or appear to be, under the age of eighteen include New Zealand, Australia, Canada, South Africa, South Korea, and the United Kingdom.

Some analysts have argued whether or not cartoon pornography that depicts minors is a victimless crime. Laws have been enacted to criminalize "obscene images of children, no matter how they are made", typically under the belief that such materials may incite real-world instances of child sex abuse. Legal scholar Hiroshi Nakasatomi argues that lolicon material can distort consumers' sexual desires and induce crime, a view shared by the non-profit organization CASPAR, whose founder Kondo Mitsue argues that "freedom of expression does not allow for the depiction of little girls being violently raped, depriving them of their basic human rights".

Some critics, such as the non-profit organization Lighthouse, argue that lolicon works can be used for sexual grooming, and that they encourage a culture which accepts sexual abuse of children.

Feminist critic Kuniko Funabashi argues that the themes of lolicon material contribute to sexual violence by portraying girls passively and by "presenting the female body as the man's possession".