I’ve been wondering for a really long time now, what makes a Good Ecchi? Or rather what makes an Ecchi that grabs your attention and creates dedicated rabid fans? I’ve asked numerous Fapservice contributors to get some kind of consensus.
Of course everyone is going to have differing opinions, but that which we can agree on and find common-place surely can be an indicator of what all the great ecchi shows have, right? At least on average.
What follows is my analysis of contributing opinions, and explanations of the parallels that can be drawn from them and the best ecchi.
These quotes are exact to maintain honesty, forgive any grammatical errors. In your own words, what makes a good ecchi?
“actually something to think on but I’ll say story doesn’t really matter all that much to me if the it has excellent service, the story can be the dumbest thing ever. also 9 times out of 10 an ecchi has to have nudity of some kind. very few anime which I would consider ecchi that don’t have nudity like heaven’s lost property (sora no otoshimono) or trinity seven… there are more but those just come to mind” – No Fap No Life
Biggest take-aways here, don’t let plot get in the way of PLOT, and nudity is essentially a Must. Of course the nudity desire is a given in my world, and I completely agree that story should know its place in ecchi.
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“a good ecchi for me is defined for the quality of it’s content but also for a story, sure we’re all here to see tits, nipples and asses but at least I want some sauce to eat the freaking burger. and yes, ecchi shows are known to have shitty plots, but as long as the story stays interesting and somewhat fun then it’s a must watch for me, otherwise it’s pretty much watching it for the ecchi factor solely which for me… it’s not so good. take for example rakudai vs asterisk, both shows had ecchi but rakudai had superior story (even tho it was cliche), therefore it was more enjoyable for me” – Kranesh
Much the opposite of the previous opinion, a great ecchi must include some context. Taken with NFNL’s comments, it seems that the best ecchi walk a fine line between too much or too little story.
When something like High School DxD introduces too Much story in its 3rd Season (especially a Meh one) we separate from what drew us too the content in the first place. Yet when the second seasons of both Maken-ki and Seikon no Qwaser include too Little story, it’s harder to connect with their characters and settings, making you think “what’s the point” besides the Fapping… of course.
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“The desire to be teased without the need to masturbate. For the main character to be dominated and/or also dominate. Well done facial expressions. That’s the magic of ecchi” – Chaotic Thinker
I certainly fail on the first front and don’t really agree, I feel like ecchi’s fapability within the higher budgetary standards of Anime is one of its Strongest points.
The “time” invested into an ecchi is so much greater than a hentai that we can really see character growth, and this is one of the reasons why good ecchi is so effective at perversion. The longer we get to know a character, the deeper the connection – the deeper the connection, the greater effect perverted scenes with that character are going to have on us.
The Maken-ki manga is a terrific example of this, wherein Aki (the nurse who everyone wants perverted shit to happen to) is currently going through a fucking Massive ringer of perversion in what is likely the final act. She (a noted mature virgin btw) gets kidnapped and within 3 chapters is getting fully mind-broken complete with ahegao face in a series of payoffs that Takeda must have been waiting the WHOLE SERIES to do. You can tell he absolutely loves her, and we as fans love her as well because we’ve had 90+ chapters to get to know her, so ANY perversion at this point means so much more than a 22 page doujin or 20 minute hentai.
I do agree with Chaotic’s opinion on well-done facial expressions; they are what make ecchi magical. Never understood the emotionless doll Rei fetishes, it’s like fucking an ATM.
Luigi Secret: I never watched the first season of Maken-ki seriously until yesterday, not even finished yet…
I bring this up to make my current point, when talking about facial expressions I find myself falling for Haruko. Maybe it’s also due to the appealing character designs, but the way she reacts to things is just adorable, soft, and believable. The key word being “React”. The motivations she has and the feelings she feels clearly show on her face, throughout 1 single episode each emotion she has is obvious and aesthetically pleasing. Many lead ecchi girls happen to share this trait.
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So don’t waste the audience’s time essentially. Always have ecchi centered in the show even if nothing too bold is happening.
A fantastic way classics and a few newer ecchi have accomplished this is by having girl’s nipples stick out even when nothing necessarily “physically perverted” is happening. Keeps things consistently in the ecchi spectrum. Having “bodily reactions” to stimulus is also a great idea, if characters are aroused their bodies should be drawn as such (sweating, drooling, blushing)
Exhibit 1A: That “Dat Body” Body
As Wiz said, anticipation and payoff are key, setting up your big moment and delivering the goods for the fans. Having good art is of importance to me, but I have seen scenes that nail ecchi or perversion in general so well you can’t really give a fuck.
An example of this anticipation and payoff dynamic can be found in one of my favorite ecchi episodes ever, Seikon episode 21. To summarize, leading lady Mafuyu is kidnapped for a bit, the protag finds her with the enemy, the enemy use her for a ritual which increases her breast size, then a loli teases her and ends the episode sucking her tits.
This works in many ways, 1. Mafuyu is teased over the course of the series for her breast size, which pays off when she gets a breast expansion. 2. Mafuyu is established as being against perversion, which pays off when her nipples are teased in front of everyone. 3. The story comes to a head in the final arc and Mafuyu happens to be right in the middle, changing from being a bystander in episode 1 to being a pivotal character in the enemy’s plans.
20+ Episode payoff
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“I prefer ecchi that has service that is sexual in nature. Ideally I would want actual sex to occur (such as in the case of Yosuga no Sora or even the ovas of Koe de Oshigoto, Aki Sora or Rescue Me) as those are what I would want the most of but since that doesn’t happen often I would be fine with service that has some kind of sexual action to it. For example I consider kissxsis one of the best ecchi made because it contains service that is of a sexual context. Scenes like the girls humping a teddy bear is the kind of stuff I want to see in ecchi more often than just innocent bath scenes or clothing destruction with no sexual context. Shows such as Shinmai, Valkyrie Drive or Masou Gakuen HxH are other recent examples of the stuff I would want to see an increase in as they go beyond just simple nudity and into sexual activity which is what I want more of in ecchi.” – IHNN
Depending on the show, certain scenes can be quite creative with how they hide perverted acts, in a way the tease can be even sexier than the act itself. Of course too much or all tease and no payoff is a recipe for rage so there is one more thing to add to our growing list of elements requiring a delicate balance.
Although HxH and VD aren’t on my best list, they were much more hands-on with their character interactions and I think that’s what IHNN wants. I often quote the scene from Seikon where Hana goes down on Katja and just enough is shown with a subsequent facial reaction from Katja that you are immersed in the scene. I think a greater point about having proper/tantalizing sound effects can be made here, as well as getting a seiyuu to really work her magic (ala every ecchi lead ever when she lets out an Immodest Orgasm).
Definite shout-out to things like Seikon back in 2010 for first starting on-mass usage of realistic breast flopping sound effects, this trend would follow into Manyuu, Kagaku, Maken, and even Musume.
Although I despise loli, Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya is a terrific example of a studio handling an ecchi scene so perfectly that you can make ME like loli for a brief period. From the setup of Chloe’s need for mana, to the sexual and teasing nature of how she gets it… Fate/kalied is a fantastic example of yuri ecchi even if it isn’t the focus of the show.
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“Ecchi to me is what appeals to a dirty sense of humor ala the Skinmax classic The Benny Hill Show.” – Scissors
So always be sure to have some levity with perversion is what I interpret this as. Even the most perverted ecchi often include jokes or visual gags at times to keep the mood fresh and changing.
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“A good ecchi manages to capture what an audience regards as “erotic”. This process incorporates several different factors to manage this effectively. One such factor would be the fanservice in a series not being held back. Nothing ruins an ecchi more than shots that were clearly censored, and remain that way in the BDs, or even the specials of an ecchi series having little-to-no fanservice. Another such factor would be having an appealing cast, as the characters providing ecchi for a series can only garner the audience’s attention (and of course, their lust) if their design and personality grant them the necessary components to be considered attractive/desirable by the audience (e.g. big/small/medium-sized chest, big ass, shy/tomboy/energetic personality, erotic outfit). One of my preferred factors would be providing sufficient fanservice for the desirable female characters (because I sure as hell don’t want to see an OVA/special on some old lady with saggy tits to troll the audience), which can be frustrating when characters that have clearly been designed to be lusted for by the audience end up with simply nudity (cough Torino cough), or in worse cases, nothing . An optional, but nonetheless helpful factor would be a perverted character (hopefully not some obese, bald, and hairy old man that would commit NTR though, lol), especially one who actually manages to commit sexual acts on the female cast.” – Anon
Utilize your “assets” I could say, make sure your major ecchi players don’t get thrown to the wayside. Having aesthetically pleasing characters all around is a good idea, even when talking about male characters. Physical interaction perversion is more intense than “observable” perversion, the difference between a panty shot and groping I guess.
Taking in all the data available, what information can we draw from it?
Conclusion:
Above all, a Great Ecchi must not waste the viewer’s time. Quality detailed art, thoughtful sound effects, motivated voice actors, perverted/competent staff members, and fluid animations are a Necessity. Careful attention must be placed on designing emotive and/or soulful characters that grant you a deeper connection to them. A tight balance must be maintained between “plot” for context and character investment, and “PLOT” for sexual attraction and emotional investment (think fandoms).
Great Ecchi must utilize its greater budget and running time over Hentai to craft a more varied and professional offering of perversion. While red-lines do exist for Ecchi, it is the unique and creative skirting of that line (between “Naughty” and “Too-hot-for-T.V.”) which makes the Genre special. The Audience must be kept between a steady stream of Anticipation -> Tease -> Payoff. To put it in simpler terms, the Audience must never be kept waiting too long or too often for the Payoff.
The final quality top Ecchi must have is the ability to know and cater to a specific Audience. Variety is all well and good, but trying too hard to be a jack of all trades only makes you a master of none. Having specific fetishes in mind and creating content to satisfy those specific fetishes is key. To simplify, having diverse characters and perverted scenarios is necessary for maintaining overall freshness… but trying to appease everyone is suicide. A final delicate balance must be struck between creating new and unique content, and catering to the desires of your Core Audience. Yuri caters to Yuri, Bakunyuu caters to Bakunyuu, Vanilla caters to Vanilla, Ass caters to Ass, S&M caters to S&M, and Loli caters to Loli.
What say you? Have we gotten to the bottom of what separates the generic Ecchi from the Legends? Everyone has their own opinions, so comment below, what makes a superior Ecchi to you?
