Nudity in Anime

One of the more unique aspects of Japanese animation has always been the tendency for certain series to feature nudity, whether it’s an occasional bit of skin visible in a “hot springs” episode, the silhouetted transformation scene in most any “magical girl” series or a deeper level of fan service in shows that exist for that purpose. Back in the early 80s, when anime wasn’t part of our national cultural awareness as it is now, it was big surprise to see the “Zero-G Love” shower scene in Macross: Do You Remember Love, though of course such scenes exist in anime for the same reason they do in Hollywood films: for entertainment and to tell a certain kind of story. Fans of my era responded to Japanese animation in part because it was a “free” medium in which any story could be told by the animators, including ones involving dramatic death and love, violence and planetary destruction, and yes, maybe a tasteful scene of females talking in the bath, if it improves the story. In a way, the presence of nudity in anime series signaled to fans of the day that the stories and characters wouldn’t be dumbed-down like most other forms of popular culture, which immediately made it seem more authentic — trust me when I say that young people in the West have really benefited from the fresh ideas they’ve been exposed to thanks to the popularity of anime. Of course nudity and fan service can easily be carried too far, but I for one am glad animators are free to include it if they want. So, what’s your opinion on nudity in anime?

What do you think of nudity in anime?