We all remember that first hot springs episode, when we watched anime characters take off their clothes and get into a bath. Today, showing characters in the bath has become a common way for animators to insert fan service into the action and delight fans. In this post, let’s rank the top 15 anime bath scenes that really made an impression on fans!
J-List has not one, but two new offers for you! First, we’re running an 18% sale on all books and magazines, including all hentai manga and doujinshi from Japan, and all sexy JAV photo books. Then, in order to combat the rise of No Nut November, we’re giving you a rare $40 coupon off orders of $200 or more in awesome onaholes, ero lotion, and more. Two ways to save with J-List! Both sales end November 11th.
Why Do Animators Insert So Many Bath Scenes in Anime?
It’s not hard to see why showing anime characters bathing makes sense for an anime studio. We all take baths every day, and no one in Japan believes there’s anything “dirty” about depicting nudity. Showing characters naked in the bath allows viewers to connect with them and receive a shot of that sweet, sweet dopamine. Often, the bath scene will go viral on the internet, bringing in even more fans.
It’s fun to think back to that first anime nude scene we all encountered. For me, it was the Macross: Do You Remember Love film, which showed Minmei in a “zero-G shower scene.” For others, it will have been the late nudity scenes from Love Hina, or perhaps watching Kagome slip into the bath in InuYasha. It’s fun to think back and remember how amazed we all were that the medium of animation was okay with showing characters getting naked. We might live in sexually repressed societies, but here was a medium that could express these themes with total freedom!
The Top 15 Bath Scenes in Anime
Okay, enjoy our rating of the most iconic anime bath scenes, including gratuitous hot springs episodes!
Ranma 1/2 Introduced Fans to Japanese-Style Bathing
The original Ranma 1/2 was a huge gateway into anime for a lot of fans, who weren’t prepared to see so many nipples. Back in those days, most of us were members of anime clubs, so we watched the episodes during monthly meetings, surrounded by many other fans. This allowed us to feel a sense of wonder and joy every time Ranma’s boobs came out.
No One Could Resist the Anime Bath Scenes from High School DxD
Fans of the era found it impossible to resist falling in love with Rias, Akeno, and all the other characters whenever fans were blessed with anime bathing scenes. How couldn’t we fall in love with them?
To Love-ru Brought Us Many Bath Scenes
The To Love-ru series proves that well-executed ecchi anime is superior to full-on hentai, since we get animation that’s incredibly beautiful and great sexy set-ups like this one.
The Bath Scene from Highschool of the Dead Was Over 9000
The show is full of sexy fan service moments, but the episode where all the characters took a bath together was the highlight of the show.
Fans Loved the Sexy Anime Bathing Moments from Strike Witches
The only thing better than seeing the Strike Witches girls’ pantsu from sexy camera angles is seeing them get into the bath together. Don’t judge me!
Maken-Ki! Was Pure Fan Service
The show had so much visual eye-candy for fans, it could have given us all diabetes. I loved every minute of it.
If you’re a fan of Maken-Ki! we’ve got lots of doujinshi, artbooks and hentai anime by artist Hiromitsu Takeda in stock for you!
Nagatoro-san Accidentally Sharing Her Video Was the Best
I love Nagatoro-san, who always teases Senpai, then ends up going too far, embarrassing herself in the end. The episode where she accidentally turned on video sharing while talking with him in the bath was comedy gold.
Doing Battle for Love in an Anime Hot Springs
The hot spring episode in which Louise and Henrietta both declared their love for Saito. What better place to resolve a romantic love triangle than while taking a bath together!
Shizuka Is the Most Peeked-at Girl in Japan
Doraemon is the story of a robot cat from the future, who has a magic pocket full of gadgets. The characters inevitably use his advanced technology to peek at Shizuka while she’s taking a bath.
While some fans fret that anime studios might be tempted to listen to Westerners calling for censorship of scenes like this, I’m happy to report that anime studios are strongly resisting this pressure, and every new iteration of Doraemon has a new scene of Shizuka in the bath, almost as a F.U. to Western busybodies who want to change what makes Japan unique.
Kagome’s Bath Scenes Were a Game-Changer for Anime Fans
I really like InuYasha because it was the first Rumiko Takahashi anime that brought her much-deserved financial success in international markets. I’m sure many fans discovered the joy of obsessing over two characters as they slowly fell in love thanks to this anime. And many were shocked at the Kagome bath scenes.
Using Bath Scenes to “Flesh” out Characters
A bunch of characters bathing together in a hot springs episode is a great vehicle for highlighting each character’s personality. The bold girl who stands up, not caring who sees her boobs, stands out in contrast to the shy elf girl who hides her nude body in the water.
Anime Bathing Scenes Bring Sisters Together
It’s quite common for anime to depict sisters taking a bath together, having a heart-to-heart and discussing what’s on their minds. The Japanese have a word for this kind of close emotional contact: “skinship.” I just love that word so much.
Plastic Little Showed Us What Was Possible in Ecchi Bath Scenes
In 1994, Satoshi Urushihara’s legendary ecchi anime Plastic Little emerged on the scene. We’d all seen anime nipples here or there before, but nothing like the extreme level of detail that Urushihara-sensei brought to the table.
We’ve got the uncensored artbooks by Satoshi Urushihara-sensei in stock for you!
Finally: Anime Bath Scenes Provide Humor
Although anime bath scenes provide visual gratification to fans, they often do something else: lighten the story with humor.
Thanks for reading this blog post about the 15 best anime bath scenes. What was your first scene of characters taking a bath, and how did you react to it? Tell us in the comments below!
Let’s Chat
You made it to the end of this post! Thank you! As a token of our appreciation, enjoy an extra 5% off your next order with code BLOG at checkout. Also, don’t forget to follow J-List on all our platforms!
- Twitter/X, where Peter posts anime booba for you.
- Megumi Channel is our new YouTube channel, where Megumi-chan discusses all things anime. Please give us a follow!
- Bluesky, where we post several times a day.
- Facebook, where you can find our blog posts… though the site has become hostile to anime memes and other fun content.
- Discord, if you want to chat with other J-List customers of culture.
J-List has not one, but two new offers for you! First, we’re running an 18% sale on all books and magazines, including all hentai manga and doujinshi from Japan, and all sexy JAV photo books. Then, in order to combat the rise of No Nut November, we’re giving you a rare $40 coupon off on orders of $200 or more in awesome onaholes, ero lotion, and more. Two ways to save with J-List! Both sales end November 11th.
