Favourite Ecchi Anime (30 Days of Anime – Years 1 to 5) – Day 20
It’s no secret that I enjoy ecchi anime. I love the humour, the outrageousness of it, and yes, the girls! So, it’s time for the category everyone has been waiting for – my Favourite Ecchi Anime of the last five years!
Favourite Ecchi Anime (30 Days of Anime – Years 1 to 5) – Day 20
This is going to be a hard category to complete. Ecchi is possibly the fourth most used tag on The Otaku Author behind Action, Comedy, and Fantasy, and there’s a good chance that many of those overlap. I grew up in England where nudity in fiction is treated in a similar way to the way the United States treats violence in fiction. Basically, it’s just there and people aren’t overly bothered about it. So, when I discovered anime and found that there were shows that took a similar approach, I jumped straight in and didn’t look back. Anyhow, after much deliberation, these are my favourite ecchi anime from each of the last five years.
Year 1 – Cat Planet Cuties (Season One)
When you see the title Cat Planet Cuties, you can be forgiven for thinking that this is just another goofy ecchi harem comedy with cat girls. In a sense, you would be absolutely correct. However, there is so much more to this series than just hot cat girls. Cat Planet Cuties is a science fiction story too and it makes sure you remember that with quotes from classic science fiction and ideas that you probably wouldn’t expect to find in an ecchi series. I love this series. It’s one of my absolute favourites and I can watch it anytime, no matter my mood. Surprisingly, my favourite thing is how well this series develops Manami and Aoi’s characters.
Year 2 – Valkyrie Drive: Mermaid (Season One)
Valkyrie Drive: Mermaid is utterly bonkers. It’s about an island where girls who have contracted a very specific virus have been quarantined. This virus makes some girls turn into powerful weapons while only another girl with the virus can use the weapon. Oh, and they activate the transformation by getting aroused… Despite these things, this series has a fun story and we get to watch a cute relationship develop between the main characters, Mamori and Mirei. I love how completely insane this series is, how incredibly well-endowed many of the girls are, and also all the Yuri fun. I’ll freely admit that this series is not going to appeal to everyone, but if you like ecchi anime, there’s a chance that you’ll love it too!
Year 3 – Mother of the Goddess’ Dormitory (Season One)
Mother of the Goddess’ Dormitory is as close to a modern ecchi classic as I think you’ll find. It pulls the protagonist, Koushi, a twelve-year-old homeless boy into a college girls’ dormitory where he becomes their caretaker. There are awkward situations aplenty and lots of embarrassed faces at every turn. However, this series also has a lot of heart. Ultimately, Koushi would have died had they not taken him in. It’s also surprisingly sweet seeing how well they all get along and how their friendships develop. Also, and I say this fairly flippantly, but I doubt there are many twelve-year-old boys who wouldn’t jump at the chance to live with five college girls. Koushi is living the dream. Anyhow, this series is less crazy than the first two in this list, but the girls do their very best to keep up with them. I loved this one and still have the OP and ED in my regular playlist.
Year 4 – Harem in the Labyrinth of Another World (Season One)
Harem in the Labyrinth of Another World was a fascinating series. It had a lot of very dark moments such as when Michio slipped into a thieves’ den and killed them all as they slept. Then, there was the fact that the girls in this series were bought by Michio. That’s right, they were slaves. Now, Michio’s intentions in the beginning were admirable, but it’s a device that the story could have avoided entirely and still had a similar story. That said, I really enjoyed this series and wish that there were more. Annoyingly, it’s another series where there isn’t an official English translation of the light novels or the manga. It’s certainly one that I will be watching for, especially as I loved the way Michio and Roxanne’s relationship developed. It certainly didn’t feel like he forced her into anything.
Year 5 – Highschool Of The Dead (Season One)
I mean it had to be Highschool of the Dead! This is my favourite anime of all time so there was no way that I could leave it out of a list of my favourite ecchi anime. For the record, this is also my favourite zombie story, regardless of medium. Of course, I think Highschool of the Dead is most memorable to most because of two scenes. Firstly, there was Saeko Busujima standing on top of a moving Humvee in an apron and thong ensemble. Then, there was the infamous bullet-time scene where Saeko dodged a bullet in a spectacularly ecchi manner. This series hits on all fronts. It has action, comedy, fan service, amazing characters, and zombies. I absolutely love this series and will probably continue to watch it annually for the rest of my life!
Final Thoughts!
Amazingly, there are a lot of well-known ecchi anime series that I haven’t seen. There are also plenty that I have seen but never got around to reviewing. I think that’s going to change in the near future as I attempt to catch up. Now, there’s no denying that a bad ecchi anime can be terrible. If they don’t get the balance between the fan service and the story right, it can fall on its face. Get it right and it can be a lot of fun. Given how much I enjoy ecchi anime, I’m prepared to take the risk of disappointment on the off-chance that I encounter something spectacular.
That’s the first two-thirds of my 30 Days of Anime challenge completed. I’ve had a lot of fun revisiting all these shows and with the final ten categories still to come, I think there’s still lots of fun to be had. Next up is my Favourite Mystery Anime! So mysterious… Thanks for visiting.
Other Posts in the Series
30 Days of Anime (Years 1 to 5)
I think my first echhi is Ranma 1/2. Then I watched DearS followed by Rosario Vampire.
I’ve no idea what my first was. Back in the day, there was nudity in almost ever anime… I’d need to do some research to work out what was my first actual ecchi anime. That sounds like a project worthy of my time. Thanks
you’re welcome :3
Nice post 🌅🌅
Thanks