Happy Pantsu Day! Today, August 2nd, can be read as pantsu through a trick of Japanese phonology that’s usually lost on non-Japanese. So today has been designated as International Pantsu Day in Japan. In today’s post let’s celebrate the glory that is pantsu in anime!
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Happy Pantsu Day! What’s the History of Underwear in Japan?
Back in the Meiji Era, Japan was importing Western ideas and technology from the outside world. Western underwear didn’t exist yet, and Japanese women were generally going commando under their kimonos. There’s an urban legend that the deadly Shirokiya Department Store fire in 1932, during which some women supposedly fell to their deaths rather than let the men down in the street see up their kimonos, caused a movement to Western-style leg coverings called “drawers.”
After WWII, Japanese fashion became more and more Westernized. The 1955 Marilyn Monroe film The Seven Year Itch made a big impression on the Japanese of the era. It didn’t take long for men to realize the joy of catching a glimpse up a girl’s skirt, and the word panchira (a quick view of a girl’s panties) was coined.
Japan takes many cues from Britain, including using the word “pants” to refer to underwear, which entered anime vocabulary as pantsu thanks to that famous episode of Chobits. Americans, of course, use the word “pantsu” for trousers, and might embarrass ourselves if we go to a country that uses the British usage. In addition to pantsu, the Japanese also call female underwear panties, “shorts” and the Japanese term for all underwear, shitagi.
What Are the Best Kinds of Pantsu in Anime?
Some shows are absolutely defined by the fun camera angles of pantsu they provide, like Agent Aika, which offers choice views of female characters in almost every shot.
There are a lot of anime clips of girls putting on or removing their pantsu to get dressed, and on Twitter I have one of these for my followers pretty much every day. (Source: Hyakka Ryōran.)
Like it or not, panty fan service is an important part of modern anime. Often there’ll just be a quick scene, like this from episode 1 of the Wake Up Girls! idol anime, to get fans’ attention, then nothing else for the rest of the series.
Then there are works that give us incredible camera angles, like Kill la Kill. Did they keep this in the broadcast version in your country?
There are so many kinds of underwear to enjoy on Pantsu Day. Pure white is always a classic. (Source: Agent Aika.)
Then there are shimapan, the striped panties that became a staple of anime from the early 2000s. (Source: Goddess Dormitory.)
Another kind of female underwear to enjoy are ichigo pantsu, or strawberry-pattern panties. I can’t get enough of these. (Source: Dragon Ball.)
If you want bear panties, then there are plenty of anime for you to explore on Pantsu Day! (Source: Kiss x Sis.)
You can even mix and match. Stockings over pantsu is always enjoyable. (Source: Maken-ki!)
Getting a view of a girl’s pantsu as they protrude from her shorts will always make our day brighter.
There’s something about windy days that can make us smile. (Source: Ikki Tousen.)
Some fans complain that fan service is “ruining” anime, when it’s been a part of anime from the very beginning. Here’s a classic scene from the outstanding Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro.
You could make the argument that anime wouldn’t have reached its present level of worldwide domination without the visual fan service, which is how Toei got boys to tune in to a magical girl anime like Sailor Moon, considered a genre for girls previously.
Thanks for reading this blog post about Pantsu Day in Japan, a day to celebrate the frilly and soft panties of girls. What was your first view of panties in anime, and how did it make you feel? Tell us in the comments below!
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