This season has potentially no full length episode blue-ribbon ecchi series, but an unprecedented number of short form ones.
Here are some of the more noteworthy anime this season for fanservice:
Kenja no Mago
Silver Link
Source material eroticism: Sexy but non-nude
Service level expectation: Typical anime service levels
This is based on one of those manga that you can’t wait to read because the cover art is so sexy, only to be disappointed every time. Silver Link is really good with series like these, and you might enjoy it, as long as you don’t expect too much.
Kenja no Mago begins airing on April 10th.
Bokutachi wa Benkyou ga Dekinai
ARVO Animation x Silver
Source material eroticism: Some sexual based humor and harem antics
Service level expectation: Typical anime service levels
This is the first of two mildly ecchi harem anime this season centered around the idea of a lead character being too ‘distracted’ to study.
Bokutachi wa Benkyou ga Dekinai begins airing on April 7th.
Nande Koko ni Sensei ga!?
tear-studio
Source material eroticism: More nudity than most hentai
Service level expectation: Asa Made Jugyou Chu!
This series began as an erotic doujin, one with no plans of ever becoming a long running manga, much less a TV anime. However, the art style immediately gained a substantial fanbase. Fans were drawn to the the soft, feminine character designs as well as their uniquely styled buxom.
While there is sufficient diversity for fans of different body areas, the manga places a very clear preference on the breasts. The male lead gets to do all kinds of things with them, in a way that feels directly inspired by Hiraku Kaneko’s works.
It’s fitting then, that the anime would be directed by none other than Hiraku Kaneko himself. While I don’t place Manyuu Hikenchou on as ultra high of a pedestal as some do, I do think that series achieved greatness in large part because it gave a genius director the absolute perfect material for him to work with. Nande Koko ni Sensei ga!? looks to be the best match Kaneko has found since then.
The production is being handled by tear-studios, a new company. Some of the better ecchi anime of all time came from new studios, there’s something to be said about a company with a new vision and maybe a more idealistic outlook.
An uncensored airing is confirmed on AT-X. You’ll have to wait an extra four days after the censored airing to see it though.
Like all of the best offerings this season, this series is short-form. Each episode will take up a 15 minute block of air time, though the actual episode length may be a bit less due to commercials.
Nande Koko ni Sensei ga!? begins airing on April 8th. Uncensored version airs 4 days after.
Midara na Ao-chan wa Benkyou ga Dekinai
Silver Link
Source material eroticism: Bras, blank boobs
Service level expectation: nudity is a long shot
A girl studies hard for university, but she can’t escape the legacy of her pervy erotic author father. While she tries to push impure thoughts out of her mind, she’s still her father’s daughter.
Basically, this is another “can’t study because of sex-thoughts” manga getting an anime this season (it’s even being produced by the same anime studio).
Midara na Ao-chan wa Benkyou ga Dekinai begins airing on April 6th.
Kono Yo no Hate de Koi wo Utau Shoujo YU-NO
feel.
Source material eroticism: Explicit sex scenes (visual novel), nudity (manga adaptation)
Service level expectation: Island (worst case), Grisaia no Kajitsu (best case)
Yu-No is the biggest X-factor this season.
Optimistic view: This series is based off a popular and influential 90s erotic visual novel, one of the first to pioneer the medium. The franchise would later get a manga adaptation which ended last year. The manga has plenty of nudity and fanservice. The production is being handled by feel., a company with a rock solid track record on ecchi anime.
Pessimistic view: The anime is being produced to promote a Playstation game. There are rare exceptions (Valkyrie Drive, Senran Kagura), but in the vast majority of cases, an erotic IP that is being used to promote a Playstation game will typically tone down the eroticism to normie levels. Additionally, Yu-No is a two-cour series. There have been very few consecutive two-cour anime series ever to be nude ecchi, and the most recent example is nearly a decade old (Seikon no Qwaser).
Additionally, the story is considered to be a real strong point for this series, which has caused some to worry that the anime will focus on story at the expense of the erotic elements. The series also lacks a “parental lock” airing, and the first episode (which aired earlier tonight) already seems to be minimizing sexual content.
But, if we get lucky, this could turn into one of the better ecchi series of the year, and have a good story to boot. I’m trying not to get my hopes up because I’m leaning pessimistic on this one, but the potential at least makes this series interesting.
And if it does deliver, it will likely be the only anime with nudity this season to have the full 24 minute episode format.
This series has already begun airing.
Nobunaga-sensei no Osanazuma
Seven
Source material eroticism: Slowly increasing levels of nudity
Service level expectation: OniAi
The manga starts off as a typical harem romantic comedy with a zany premise. The first two volumes were without nudity, and by that point this series seemed like just another normie friendly harem show. However, that all changed abruptly when the third volume of the manga started having nude scenes, and the early chapters of volume four seem to be continuing that momentum.
Thankfully, the series is produced by the ever-trustworthy Seven, and even has a parental lock on AT-X. Both of these factors strongly indicate that this series will be a must-watch this season, even if it comes in the mini-episode format (10 minute episodes).
Nobunaga-sensei no Osanazuma begins airing on April 6th.
Araiya-san! Ore to Aitsu ga Onnayu de!?
Magic Bus
Source material eroticism: Hentai / Adult R-18
Service level expectation: same as above
After suffering through a boy’s love R-18 series this past season, Magic Bus is back to its usual hentai-for-TV ways.
Araiya-san! Ore to Aitsu ga Onnayu de!? begins airing on April 8th.
Joshi Kausei
Seven
Source material eroticism: panties, booty shots, tastefully shown bathing / clothes changing
Service level expectation: slightly ecchi but nudity unlikely
While nudity isn’t super likely, the manga is unequivocally focused on fanservice. If you love panty shots, then you will probably enjoy this series.
Joshi Kausei begins airing on April 6th.
Strike Witches: 501-butai Hasshin Shimasu!
Giga Production x acca effe
Source material eroticism: none as far as I know
Service level expectation: read below
Based on a 4koma manga, this slice of life comedy spinoff is getting the anime treatment. The anime even borrows heavily from the 4koma manga’s art style, which hasn’t exactly impressed some people.
I haven’t been able to read the manga other than a couple chapters I’ve found for free. But, in my experience 4koma manga are extremely unlikely to have nudity. Maybe 3% of them do. And so in all likelihood, this will be the first Strike Witches series to be nipple free. Of course, I hope to be wrong.
Strike Witches: 501-butai Hasshin Shimasu! begins airing on April 10th.
Chou Kadou Girl ⅙: Amazing Stranger
Studio A-Cat
Source material eroticism: nudity
Service level expectation: Renkin San-kyuu Magical? Pokaan
If Yu-No is the biggest X-factor this season, then Chou Kadou Girl ⅙ is my pick for this season’s sleeper. Not that it will be a “hit” or make tons of money. Oh hell no. But it has a very strong chance of delivering quality fanservice on almost a regular basis, if the anime stays true to the original.
The manga was created by an artist named ÖYSTER. He has a unique throwback art style and a similarly throwback approach to nudity. His manga tend to portray female nudity in a casual and innocent manner. While nudity isn’t confirmed in the TV airing, it would be a substantial betrayal of the original material if the nudity is left out. Hopefully there are some fun changes on blu-ray to look forward to.
This series will run in 15 minute blocks, similar to Nande Koko ni Sensei ga!?
Chou Kadou Girl ⅙: Amazing Stranger begins airing on April 6th.
Notable OVA
Strike the Blood III
Volume three releases on May 29th, the fourth on July 24th, and the final volume on September 25th.
Miru Tights
This is an anime original OVA that looks to be all about school girls showing off their legs and feet while wearing stockings. This OVA will air on May 11th.
Bean Bandit
Bean Bandit was the prototype manga for Gunsmith Cats way back in the day, the latter being a manga series with plenty of fanservice and nudity, which itself got a few OVAs way back in the mid-90s. A release date for this OVA was targeted for April, but no date has yet been named officially.
Zoku Owarimonogatari
Fans of this series should know what to expect by now. The latest iteration came as a theatrically airing OVA series. You can also catch this show via a TV airing starting on May 27th.
Trinity Seven Movie: Tenkuu Toshokan to Shinku no Maou
Though technically there are now rare nipple sightings in the manga, I wouldn’t expect anything like that in the movie. Should still have a ton of fanservice though. The blu-ray releases on May 31st.
Grisaia: Phantom Trigger The Animation
It used to be that adult visual novel to anime adaptions were a lock for nudity, but in recent years this has tragically not been the case. One of the shining exceptions was the Grisaia “trilogy” anime series which aired from 2014-2015.
I’m not familiar with the Visual Novels, but I have read the existing three volumes of the manga adaptation and it is loaded with nudity just like you would expect.
The movie has actually been in theaters in Japan since March 15th, and according to Myanimelist’s ratings, it’s scored really well (by ecchi standards). The animation from the PV is gorgeous, and most important of all, the movie is listed with a “nudity” warning. Fuck yeah.
As far as I can tell there is no word yet on a blu-ray release date.
Lupin the IIIrd: Mine Fujiko no Uso
The last time a Lupin the Third movie had “Fujiko Mine” in the title, some very good things happened.
Let’s hope history repeats itself.
Overall Thoughts:
Given that ecchi themed anime have been struggling financially for several years now, it was natural to wonder if the genre would evolve by going with OVAs or shorter episodes. When Bikini Warriors was as surprise hit in 2015, it seemed like that time had arrived, but it’s only just now that we’re really starting to see this new reality begin to take hold.
Of the ten anime worth highlighting for fanservice potential this season, a whopping seven of them are shortform (Nande Koko ni Sensei ga!?, Midara na Ao-chan wa Benkyou ga Dekinai, Nobunaga-sensei no Osanazuma, Araiya-san! Ore to Aitsu ga Onnayu de!?, Joshi Kausei, Strike Witches: 501-butai Hasshin Shimasu!, Chou Kadou Girl ⅙: Amazing Stranger).
It’s such an overwhelming amount, it makes you wonder if there has been a sea change in the industry or if this is just a fluke.
Another interesting thing about this season is that once again the OVA/Movie releases are stronger than usual. If the Grisaia and Lupin films lived up to their potential they could make this season memorable all by themselves.
Lastly, there’s been a big trend in 2019 of ecchi anime getting greenlit thanks to the efforts of fans through crowdfunding. A short while ago we learned that Tsugumomo would be getting an unexpected second season thanks in part to a crowd funding effort. The same thing occurred with the horror/ecchi Kyochuu Rettou series. And just last month the Grisaia movie hit theaters after being crowdfunded in 2018.
So while it may be true that the current generation of anime fans might not be so keen on buying blu-rays, they definitely aren’t shy about Gofundme. Lets hope this momentum continues. Maybe if we are lucky, it could lead to a second renaissance for the ecchi genre.
Until then, we’ll just have to enjoy our short little ecchi TV anime.
