Ecchi isn’t for everyone. It truly does require a different mentality. Sure, there are a few ecchi series out there that work as comedy, and a few others that even work as storytellers. But for most ecchi series, the “plot” is really a thinly veiled mechanism for the writer to manipulate things in such a way that it sets up his next cheesecake display.
For most ecchi series, it’s clear everything is centered around the theme of beautiful female bodies. And really, is there any more surefire way of exploiting a male demographic than with naked girls?
So for most ecchi, you aren’t really watching for the plot, or for the characters, or for the humor. You watch because you are on titty spotting patrol. In this sense, watching ecchi is almost like playing a game, similar to finding Easter eggs or hidden Christmas presents. You never know what you’re going to get, especially pre-BD.
In the case of Sekai de Ichiban Tsuyoku Naritai!, the source manga has no nudity, and it really does attempt to convey a story. And though that story is farcical on the surface (Japan’s top Idol sets everything aside to be a pro-women’s wrestler simply for reasons of honor, in her own mind), the writer treats his own subject matter with dead seriousness. The heroine truly does want to be the best female wrestler in the world with all her soul, and the writing reflects that passion and determination.
But those factors don’t preclude nudity in the anime. Consider that Kanokon was essentially nude free in it’s manga, and the light novels of Ladies vs. Butlers only had a few nipple sightings in the entire collection. IIRC, OniAi was a similar story. It’s not uncommon at all for source material to be PG-13 in manga form, but jump to an R-rating in the anime.
It does appear that there will be nipples in this series, at least if you agree with me that those Loch Ness Monsters in shot #2 are in fact nipples. Further, it is produced by ARMS, who might be the most associated anime company in the entire industry for nudity.
Here’s the list of anime series helmed by ARMS that included or heavily featured nudity: Queen’s Blade series (5 total iterations), Hagure Yuusha, Ikkitousen: Dragon Destiny, Ikkitousen: Great Guardians, Kakyuusei 2, Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls, Samurai Bride, Elfen Lied(!), Mezzo DSA. Prior to Sekai de Ichiban Tsuyoku Naritai!, a whopping 13 out of 17 series made by ARMS had nipples in them. And if this anime gives the goods as expected on BD, the ratio becomes 14 out of 18.
Something else I noticed, the character design and art style is strikingly similar to Hagure Yuusha. Not just that, but the “sheen” on the characters skin and various surfaces too. Turns out, the director and character designer for this series also worked on Hagure Yuusha, albeit in a partial capacity. Given that Hagure Yuusha also had nipples, I’d say that’s a pretty strong indicator that Sekai won’t wuss out on BD. And if you see what I’m seeing in the picture I linked before, I’d say that even the way they draw nipples is pretty similar to Hagure Yuusha as well. ARMS tends to shy away from “added on” nipples and animates for them- blank boobs just isn’t something they do- so I wasn’t surprised to find them under the microscope when the steam was less than fully opaque.
As far as the series itself. I like it. Since there wasn’t any nudity in the manga, it makes future nudity on BD something to watch for in every episode. Every time I hear a shower running, I think “hell yes!” Every time those girls get to wrastlin’, I always think “what if?” If you can get yourself into that “perv mentality”, shows like this are great fun to watch, even censored. There’s also a very real chance of fanservice extras on BD. Oh the possibilities.
And though the premise truly is mockable, particularly for how seriously it takes itself, it hasn’t yet bored me, and I become bored so very easily. And hey, it’s not like there are a ton of female wrestler animes out there. So if nothing else, the novelty factor helps drive interest. The high probability of nudity on BD certainly doesn’t hurt, either.
