I love the element of surprise. Nothing beats getting a nude scene you didn’t expect. This list celebrates the twenty-five most unexpected moments to show nudity in an anime TV series.
Before I get started, here are some of the anime that just missed the cut.
Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi unzensiert, Dansai Nunri no Crime Edge, Mashiro-iro Symphony ~The Color of Lovers~, Goshuushou-sama Ninomiya-kun, Itsuka Tenma no Kuro Usagi, Nakaimo, OniAi, He is my Master, Black Lagoon, Infinite Stratos, Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon II, Vividred Operation, Blue Gender, Noucome.
All of the above were anime that did not appear likely to feature nudity on their TV runs, but ended up adding nudity on blu-ray. None of them were mind blowing surprises- in fact two of them (Horizon II and Noucome) actually had minor nip-slips on their TV broadcasts- but nonetheless these were all pleasant surprises that gave us nudity from shows we wouldn’t have normally expected it from.
It pretty much goes without saying that this is only my opinion and it’s not as if I’ve seen every anime in existence, so I’m sure there are a few good ones I’m forgetting or didn’t know about. With that said, here my top 25 surprise nude scenes in anime history:
#25: Magi
Appearing in the mid-oughts, A-1 Pictures sprinted out of the gate producing several mega-hit titles and establishing itself as perhaps the most mainstream of all anime companies. Up until the winter season of 2013 they had never animated so much as a single nipple, but that ended with not one but two animes that season (the other being Vividred Operation).
To get any nudity from A-1 Pictures was a shocker, which is why Vividred Operation nearly made this list as well. The only reason it didn’t was because of the vague connections to Strike Witches, so when some light nudity graced the blu-ray versions, the reaction was more of a sigh of relief than some kind of coup.
Magi though, nobody really expected this. Though Djinn appears the same in the manga, her nipples are mostly faded out and it would be easy to assume that A-1 Pictures would change this in some way. They didn’t, in fact if anything they accentuated the nudity. There was no attempt at hiding them at all- her nipples were there to see in all their glory even in the original TBS broadcast version. Minds were blown.
#24: Brain Powerd
Brain Powerd was a fairly mediocre mecha anime from the late 1990s. But it did do one thing very right. Sixteen years later, it is more famous for what it did in its opening credits than for anything that happened in the actual episodes. And by that, I mean showing shitloads of naked women. Naked women flying all over the screen, everywhere. It’s as if they were going for some kind of James Bond intro while snorting a powdery mix of coke and viagra.
I haven’t watched Brain Powerd but I’ve been told the anime itself is non-nude, which makes the opening that much more mind-blowing.
#23: Rosario to Vampire
Based on a (at the time) non-nude cheesy shonen harem manga during a time when blank boobs still ruled the ecchi landscape, Rosario to Vampire seemed like an anime destined to tease but never pay off. The fact that the age demographic for the show was roughly middle school level certainly didn’t hint at anything too explicit either.
Expecting nudity from Rosario to Vampire back then would have been a lot like expecting nudity from shows like Negima or Zero no Tsukaima. Sure, the show may be ecchi, but don’t expect nipples.
It wasn’t much, but the original season did add nipples on blu-ray to the surprise of many. At first it was just some very subtle additions during Moka’s transformation scenes, but towards the end there was actually a very blatant shot of the Hill Witch completely exposed (see above).
Then the second season came along and ratcheted up the nudity ten-fold. The second season was pretty nice for service, which dulls the surprise of this series in retrospect, but at the time the nudity from the first season was considered a shocking development.
#22: W-Wish
Nudity is uncommon in anime, but finding nudity in anime that is based on a console video game is especially rare. W-Wish was originally a game for Playstation 2, and the anime itself was the kind that went out of its way to avoid showing nipples during the various fanservice moments.
Even the disk special omake teased with light beams or objects covering the naughty bits.
As you would expect. This project was based on a video game, and by going too far they risk hurting the image of the game they are basing the anime on.
Then the third omake happened, and suddenly we saw something new. Then the fourth and final omake came out and proved the third omake was no fluke.
It wasn’t much, but it was damn nice and I sure as heck didn’t see it coming.
#21: 11eyes
11eyes was a young demographic anime that never came particularly close to nudity during its TV run. There was some light fanservice here and there, but nothing worth getting hot and bothered for. This just didn’t feel like the kind of show you would expect nudity in, so none was expected when the final episode was released as an OVA.
The OVA starts off by granting the protaganist and ability to see through clothing. Naturally, this ability cannot see beyond bras or panties. After seeing that, I was more sure than ever that this show would never go for nudity. Then just minutes later, the youngest and least likely to be nude character walks right up bra-less (see above). Ta-da. Nipples. Did NOT see that coming.
The show would add two more nipple sightings at the very end during an onsen scene gone awry.
#20: Kodomo no Jikan
The manga is full of nudity, but the anime completely wimped out. That is, until the OVA gave us a token nude scene near the very end.
#19: Lupin the Third
On places like Reddit and 4chan, whenever you see the conversation strike up about unexpected nudity in anime, one series that is brought up A LOT is Lupin III: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine. It makes sense- 1970s Lupin episodes have been airing late-night on Cartoon Network since forever ago, and these Americanized episodes generally maintain a PG-rated status quo. The corny, old fashioned nature of the series almost makes it feel like an anime equivalent of Scooby-Doo. So seeing The Woman Called Fujiko Mine with all those bare boobs and adult situations was a big shock to many.
But here’s the thing, the R-rated content in a Lupin anime shouldn’t have been shocking at all.
I can’t comment on the original 1971 TV series, but I’ve read that the original TV show did go so far as to show nipples (you wouldn’t see this on Adult Swim, obviously). Further, there have been numerous Lupin movies that were released in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. And many of those movies showed nudity.
There’s a new Lupin coming out soon enough, and as pointed out by in the comments even the trailer shows a brief nip-slip (kudos to FrameFreeze for the heads up). So though the nudity has surprised many for this series, in reality nude scenes have long been a tradition for this franchise.
#18: Amaenaideyo
Amaenaideyo, aka Ah my Buddha!, was based on a manga that was perverted genius. A group of monks and mystics must exorcise powerful and dangerous evil spirits, but at times their only hope of victory is by unlocking a powerful subconscious alter-ego from within the main character. The twist is that the only way to “awaken” this super-monk is to sexually stimulate him, which basically results in the girls flashing him their titties, or perhaps the mammaries of an unsuspecting comrade who was standing nearby.
Though Amaenaideyo was actually a pretty good manga and worth reading by anyone with an open mind, let there be no mistake, everything and I mean everything centered around showing nipples. No matter what happened, everything always worked its way into a nude scene of some kind.
So when the anime came out, you would normally expect nudity to be part of the equation. Studio Deen had animated for nudity before (Maison Ikkoku, Ranma 1/2, Mouse) too. The thing was though, back in the mid-oughts nudity had almost vanished from TV series, and a lot of nude manga material was getting blank boobs in anime, even on the DVD.
Not only were the initial 12 episodes non-nude, but they teased the hell out of viewers too, making you think this would be the time it would happen, never to deliver. The actual TV episodes for the first season were categorically non-nude, one of the bigger ecchi travesties of all time.
Thankfully, and to my personal surprise, this changed when they released a 13th episode via a post-series OVA. And even this episode remained non-nude up until the final ten minutes. But once the girls climbed in the tub and the first pair was shown, it was pretty much a total fapfest from then on. Nude scenes one after another. The service levels basically jumped from Sora no Otoshimono to To Love-Ru in the blink of an eye.
The second season had just one ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ nipple sighting from the main TV episodes, but was otherwise non-nude. Thankfully the second season also had an after-series OVA that saved the day with a huge amount of nude service.
#17: Code Geass
Code Geass‘ iconic status on the anime landscape needs no introduction. From the start, Code Geass was a fiercely mainstream anime, the kind you could show your non-anime fan friends. This show undoubtedly won many converts to anime fandom.
As an anime original TV series there wasn’t any manga nudity to be obligated to, and though Code Geass is not the first or last TV original series to show boobs, generally speaking it is a pretty uncommon thing.
So when Kallen turns around in the shower in the blu-ray version of episode three and you actually see her nipples for a split second, it definitely surprised the hell out of me. Two more nude scenes would follow later in the series, three if you count the color-inverted CC from the second season intro. The disk specials for season one also added a bit of nudity too.
#16: B Gata H Kei – Yamada’s First Time
Though the title itself implies having sex and the manga was certainly R-rated, the B Gata H Kei anime struck a much more innocent tone through the first 11 episodes. Numerous chances for nudity were tactically missed, and the overall vibe of the anime was very kawaii and not very erotic.
Prior to this last episode, the various near-nudity moments almost felt like an unwelcome intrusion into an otherwise pure-hearted story. The two main characters were so cute, it’s one thing to show them making love, it’s another thing to show explicit elements during that scene. Given that the anime had established this cutesy/innocent tone throughout and had faithfully avoided nudity through 11 episodes, I figured the 12th would be no different.
Then the final scene happens, and yes, the anime producers had the balls to do it just as unabashedly as the manga had done. The slow, awkward pull away to reveal Yamada’s breasts during that scene undoubtedly had a lot of viewers holding their breath from suspense, and then, surprise. From then until the end of the episode, nudity would be free flowing, but up until that moment I didn’t think the anime producers had it in them.
Of course, I think this was the right decision as it pulled the viewers into the same intimate world the characters were living in during that moment. Without the nipples and the uncomfortable nature of that scene, the effect wouldn’t have been the same.
#15: Nurarihyon no Mago Sennen Makyou
An alternate universe ninja/samurai based action series, Nurarihyon no Mago Sennen Makyou was very much set in the shonen genre, fitting in well with fans of series like Bleach and Naruto. You wouldn’t expect to see nipples in those shows, and you wouldn’t expect to see them in Nurarihyon either. And for the first thirty-two episodes, you didn’t.
Then a bath scene happens in episode seven of season two, and well, you can see the results. This definitely surprised a shit-ton of people, as it’s not very often you will see an anime introduce nudity for the first time 33 episodes in, especially in a staunchly shonen genre series.
Down the road a post-series OVA would add a little bit more nudity, as well.
It’s worth noting that the manga for this series is non-nude.
#14 Jormungand
Jormungand was WHITE FOX’s hyped production encore to their massively successful breakout anime Steins;Gate. In recent times especially, companies that encounter huge success tend to avoid nudity like the plague, not wishing to spoil the good will of the mainstream otaku.
The source manga itself had nudity, and similar anime in the past had ventured into nude scene territory (anime such as Black Lagoon, which probably should have made this list too). But when WHITE FOX went for three straight gratuitous nude scenes in back to back to back episodes (11, 12, 13) it was a bit over the top, especially for a company that was not expected go to there at all.
#13: Mayo Chiki
Based on a manga with occasional nude service and animated by a company (feel.) that had done over-the-top nude-service before, Mayo Chiki having nudity in anime form shouldn’t have been a surprise. In theory.
But, for the first 11 episodes, there was zero nudity and only a few times when frontal nudity was even hinted at. It seemed apparent to me at least that Mayo Chiki was trying hard to market itself to mainstream audiences, and if an anime is non-nude up until the final episode, there’s a 99% chance it’s going to stay non-nude.
The final episode not only goes for nudity, but it does so in rather intense fashion, with the protagonist envisioning graphic sex scenes with Subaru that might as well have been plucked straight out of Yosuga no Sora (which coincidentally, was also made by feel.).
#12: Maburaho
Maburaho was animated by JC Staff back when they were among the nude-ecchi pioneers of the industry, and was directed by Shinichiro Kimura who had previously directed Popotan and Cosplay Complex. There were some reasons to think that Maburaho, a decently funny ecchi comedy, would have some nudity potential.
The manga, however, was nude free as best as I can remember, and the anime itself was non-nude through 18 episodes, passing up chance after chance after chance after chance. Every changing scene had obstacles, every bath scene had opaque water. After 18 episodes of intentionally avoiding nudity, it’s very rare to see a series change its mind after that point.
Then, quite suddenly and randomly, nudity occurs four minutes into the 19th episode. Kuriko and Chihaya are envisioned in the nude. The nudity is brief and was in both cases non-animated (a zoom out of a single image in each case).
Their nipples look fantastic; it’s enough to make you wonder how awesome this show could have been had they gone the Girls Bravo route for fanservice. Regardless, this sudden nudity was certainly a pleasant surprise which added a nice perk to an anime that was worth watching even without the cheesecake.
#11: Excel Saga
After going 25 episodes and keeping things non-nude the entire way, the 26th and final episode of Excel Saga added nudity on DVD. This was a huge surprise given its near-iconic status in the early 2000s. As with everything else in the show, the nudity is used in a humorous context.
It turns out that the inspiration for Excel Saga was a hentai doujin the mangaka scribbled when he was still in High School. Yet while the origins of Excel Saga are surprisingly explicit, the anime was anything but, that is until the final episode.
#10: Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid
While Full Metal Panic hinted at nudity and never went there (despite being animated by the nudity-friendly production company GONZO) and the sequel comedy season Full Metal Panic: Fumoffu teased the shit out of us but never went too far, the third season Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid , finally delivered, albeit only for a couple of the villains.
I’m not well versed in Kyoani’s works from over a decade ago, but as far as I know this is the only time Kyoto Animation has ever done frontal nudity.
#9: Utawarerumono
The year 2006 was when nudity in TV anime bottomed out after a strong start earlier in the decade. Almost every ecchi anime was based around blank boobs and opaque bathing water during this time. I’d have to look it up to be sure, but I think the entire year of 2006 might have had five anime with frontal nudity, and in every case it was a token amount. If I recall correctly, the most nudity from any 2006 series belongs to… Air Gear . And Air Gear had like four nude scenes in it.
Utawarerumono was based on an eroge and in many cases eroge adaptations tend to find ways to insert nudity into the anime. Unfortunately, Utawarerumono was adapted for TV smack dab in the middle of 2006, airing in the Spring and Summer seasons of that year. The TV series came and went without any frontal nudity, and in fact it wasn’t until the end of the first cour that there was even any fanservice at all. This anime was more about cuteness than sexiness, despite its eroge origins.
Utawarerumono sold poorly, yet for some reason it received a three episode OVA in 2009, a full three years later. You notice right away that the production values on this OVA are really high, almost movie quality. And just five minutes in, we are shocked by the sight of bare boobs in our face as the girls take to a public bath. This scene goes on for a decently long time and doesn’t hold back.
#8: Kore wa zombie desu ka?
As far as I know, the light novel and manga spinoff are without frontal nudity. The TV series teased nudity, but did so in the kind of way that you knew was just tease and nothing more. A follow up season (Kore wa zombie desu ka? of the Dead ) did the same.
After the second and presumably final season, Studio Deen released a couple of post-series OVAs, which included the nude scene you see above (credit to Aisle H for the image and GIF). Given that the series had gone two full seasons without nudity and seemed like the kind of anime that would never go there, even a small amount of nudity at the very end was a huge surprise.
#7: Sorcerer Hunters
Few 90’s anime epitomized the decade like this anime did. The deformed animation style, the almost 80’s style of music, the Engrish character names and the cheesy way that it put fun above all else, it was all so 90’s. Whether you like shows like this or not probably has a lot to do with how much you are into 90’s anime nostalgia.
The main anime itself went 26 episodes and featured a central character who only uses a thin pair of suspenders to conceal her huge bouncing boobs. There is a ton of sex appeal throughout the series from other characters too, but the show was very careful to never show nudity. Other series with a similar style of service at the time would usually make it a point to slip one or two nipple sightings in, but not Sorcerer Hunters , no matter how impossible the physics of those suspenders may have been.
Given that Sorcerer Hunters was a somewhat iconic action comedy at the time, the complete lack of nudity was to be expected.
Due to the popularity of the series, a small number of post-series OVA were produced. Back then nudity was fairly sparse on TV anime but was relatively common in OVA format, and the makers used this to their full advantage, giving the fans what they wanted (and probably didn’t expect) to see. And lots of it.
I’d like to have this even higher but that really wouldn’t be fair, considering that the manga is every bit as ecchi as the OVAs were.
Interestingly, Sorcerer Hunters was the production debut for Xebec, which wouldn’t do nudity again until 2008, over a full decade later. Since 2008, they’ve become arguably the top nude-ecchi company in the business.
![Kampfer_-_Shizuku_Shower_Omake_[BD_1080p_FLAC][691DA8E3].mkv_snapshot_00.58_[2014.07.21_14.56.03]](https://fapservice.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Kampfer_-_Shizuku_Shower_Omake_BD_1080p_FLAC691DA8E3.mkv_snapshot_00.58_2014.07.21_14.56.03.jpg)
#6: Kampfer
Kämpfer was one of those shows you just assumed would have nudity when it first began airing. Pretty much the whole reason to watch was service; it was sexy as hell, and it teased with highly suggestive censorship and at other times, blank boobs. Unfortunately, the BD version of Kampfer was a massive disappointment, removing none of the censorship and proving the series to be a total waste of time despite its massive potential.
The BDs did come with specials however, and the third such special even teased at the idea of showing nipples, but didn’t. Jerks.
By the time the fifth BD came out without nudity pretty much everyone had written this series off as a tease-only show.
The sixth BD failed to add frontal nudity to any of the episodes, but it did something rather epic in the final disc special. The final special was under a minute in length, but showed a random shower scene for Shizuku totally uncensored, with several slow panning, up close views of her nipples. In other words, unabashed fap material.
Though obviously you would have liked to see more than one 60 second omake, this bonus scene was one of the biggest pleasant surprises ever for an ecchi anime. The entire anime suddenly felt like a setup for this 11th hour outburst of awesome. As far as I know, this is the only anime ever to wait until literally the very last instant to show nudity.
#5: Natsuiro Kiseki
This nudity isn’t just surprising, it’s stealthy. Natsuiro Kiseki is a well known series, but very few people realize it had nudity due to some clever concealment by Sunrise. I had actually watched the anime myself and had no idea before reader Djisas pointed it out to me in an email.
If you haven’t seen this anime, it is well made and was actually pretty easy to get into despite the cliched moe motif. The best way to describe this anime is “sweet, cute and innocent.” Watching this anime, I totally did not expect to see nipples. Not just because the girls are young, but because it was at odds with the mood of the anime.
And yet, there they are. These were not added on blu-ray either. They aired in full view on MBS, and almost nobody noticed.
#4: Kiddy Grade
Kiddy Grade was a typical early 2000s action anime. Plenty of action, comedy, and sexy, but never TOO much sexy. Fanservice scenes were typically of the subtle “boing!” variety and not in the same realm as a show like Agent Aika .
But in episode 12, the mid-point of this two cour series, our heroines are suddenly captured and things take a disastrous turn. Suddenly and without warning, they are both transported into an out of body experience, and this time there would be no holding back. This is the only time in the series, including the manga and the spinoff season (Kiddy Girl-and ) that nudity would be shown.
What’s remarkable is that the one time this franchise opts for nudity, it occurs during the only serious, semi-disturbing scene of the entire series.
#3: Mai Otome Zwei
Another classic early-to-mid 2000’s action anime that blended action, comedy, and sexy. Moreso than Kiddy Grade , the Mai-Hime franchise actually hinted strongly at nudity, but was always careful to never go all the way in showing it.
This changed during the series’ eleventh hour, when the Mai Otome series finale OVAs finally broke the nipple barrier. It was quick, you might have missed it had you blinked at the wrong times.
After watching dozens of flirtatiously non-nude episodes, these sudden nipple flashes were a huge surprise to long time series fans.
#2: Read or Die TV
Back in 2001, Studio DEEN produced one of the best OVA short series of all time, Read or Die . It had wonderful animation and music, a highly creative concept, and the kind of agreeable characters and gender neutrality that made it easy to like for both male and female fans, and for both hardcore otaku and casuals.
J.C. Staff produced a full TV series spinoff in late 2003, and unfortunately it could not match the high bar set by the original three episode OVA. To those that haven’t seen it, the TV series emphasized slice of life aspects while occasionally mixing in action, and featured a cast that was mostly female and the story was generally portrayed from a female perspective. Most of the characters were girls and though it wasn’t shoujo genre, the TV show generally appealed more to the fairer sex during the early episodes. It also had pacing issues, which is a nicer way of saying it was pretty damn boring.
This was basically the last anime you’d expect a blatant nude service scene from.
But about sixteen minutes into episode nine, this is exactly what happens.
When searching a cave for a control panel, Drake Anderson and his lady compatriot eventually discover the location… unfortunately for them it’s in the midst of an underground lake.
Without hesitation, the might-as-well-be-nameless female sidekick strips completely naked and dives in. Rather than be modest, the anime capitalizes on this opportunity to turn her body into a sexy showcase, with plenty of lengthy closeups on her uncensored bare breasts. And this isn’t some hit and run fanservice either… the scene goes on and on, lasting almost two full minutes!
To make things even more awkward, this same woman is brutally killed off just moments after this scene ends.
I guess looking back, if you take this scene out of context, it’s sexy as hell. But in the moment given what kind of anime Read or Die was, this scene was both extremely surprising and also disturbing.
Adding to the shock value of this scene was that it aired uncensored on the original TV broadcast.
[image removed for copyright, lol]
#1: Dragonball
Bulma was one of the first famous fanservice girls in anime, but the DragonBall TV series was usually careful to avoid showing her nipples outright. There was one scene however, where her boobs can be seen in all their glory for exactly one frame. It is probably the most famous surprise nude scene in anime history.
This same scene was also in the manga, where it was drawn surprisingly well, and with less modesty. (I assume this pic is legit.)
Honorable mention: .hack//sign
After the conclusion of .hack//sign there was a bonus 29th episode entitled .hack//gift. During the ending credits, they add a still image of the girls at the onsen uncensored (5:35 mark in the video).
