It is interesting to think that back in 1982, this anime probably passed as a family comedy. Today I can only imagine the reaction to a series with so much sexism and inappropriate nudity among other unseemly themes. Actually, we’ve seen stuff far worse, but it didn’t come in a family sitcom type of package where most of the characters are little kids.
Torrent: Nyaa
Maybe the most fascinating aspect of this show was it’s very dated portrayal of women. The fact that it actually celebrated sexual harassment and even some behaviors that might get you a night in jail in most democratic nations. Obviously, there has been over three decades of social progress since this anime began, and it really shows. I’ll admit to being offended more than a few times, though that didn’t stop the show from being hilarious. Though if you take this kind of stuff very seriously it probably won’t be very funny to you.
Though there isn’t yet a translated version, I watched this entire series raw (obviously) and found it to be quite hilarious even though I probably only understood maybe a third of what was said. Most of the humor is slapstick, except that usually slapstick is repetitive and played out, a lot of the situations in this anime are very creative.
If nothing else, the anime is often funny just for how far they are willing to take a joke, in a way that you probably couldn’t pull off in 2014. In that sense, it’s kind of in the same category as old politically incorrect American comedies such as Blazing Saddles. Except instead of poking at race, it pokes at implied sexuality in a way that is so offensive it’s funny. Of course, whether it’s funny or just offensive depends if you are the kind of person who’s not too offended to laugh.
Overall, this was a pretty sexy show but in a really weird kind of way. Nipple sightings are frequent but until the final season they only draw them as basic pink dots. Some added detail is given to the nipples in the last 20 episodes or so, and I couldn’t help but notice that the nudity went up dramatically in the home stretch as well, possibly as a ratings ploy.
Because so much of the nudity is humor based and requires context, I ended up scrapping the non-nude section and just went for an “all fanservice” edit before repeating the good parts in the nude section.
Overall, this was a very unique project and was very enjoyable as an anime. I hope someday it gets translated and receives a cult following. It deserves one.
