Perhaps the success of Gushing over Magical Girls and Chained Soldier will mean more series like that in the future?
Summary:
Ecchi anime used to be widespread, but that trend slowly died out.
We have barely got any ecchi anime in the past few years — before getting multiple in Winter 2024.
There doesn’t seem to be a trend, but we will continue to get them every now and then.
The 00s had a lot of ecchi anime. Even anime not focusing on fanservice often had a lot of it — and many fans felt that it often was excessive and took away from the actual story and characters.
While fanservice always existed in anime, the 00s definitely had the most of it. After the early 2010s, however, the amount of ecchi anime decreased. We still encounter them every now and then, but even then, the fanservice now feels much tamer than it used to be. Or, at least, that was the case before this season.
Are ecchi anime coming back?
A lot of fans feel that ecchi anime are coming back. They aren’t becoming mainstream again, like they used to be before — but there are enough ecchi anime this season that fans feel this niche is relevant again. As such, some expect ecchi series to become widespread in the future once again. Others are not that optimistic, though.
The ecchi genre has always been somewhat controversial. Many don’t want to see much fanservice and nudity in their anime — while others feel that it just makes the show more entertaining. That said, we definitely didn’t have many ecchi anime in 2023 — and in just one season of 2024, we have multiple somewhat relevant series.
Multiple ecchi series this season
The most notable ecchi anime of Winter 2024 is Gushing over Magical Girls (Mahou Shoujo ni Akogarete), which, honestly, is somewhat revolutionary. While there have been ecchi parodies of the magical girl genre before, this is the first take on magical girls that actually fully embraces the genre.
The anime is also much more fanservice-y than even the manga, pushing the boundaries. That approach seems to be successful.
Another somewhat relevant ecchi anime of the season is Chained Soldier (Mato Seihei no Slave). It is a bit more controversial, with fans feeling that the production values are lacking — but as an ecchi series, it still offers a lot of fanservice, so it does its job well.
The other two ecchi anime this season are mostly overlooked — and expectedly so. Tales of Wedding Rings (Kekkon Yubiwa Monogatari) does a lot of things, but none of them are executed very well.
Isekai Onsen Paradise (Meitou "Isekai no Yu" Kaitakuki: Around 40 Onsen Mania no Tensei Saki wa, Nonbiri Onsen Tengoku deshita) is a 3 minute short that is heavily censored — nothing more to be said here.
It’s not a trend
There doesn’t seem to be any particular trend for ecchi anime. Yes, we might occasionally get series like Gushing over Magical Girls in the future — anime that rely on fanservice alone, appealing to ecchi fans only — this proved to be a successful approach.
After all, the niche is underrepresented in anime at the moment, and we’re bound to get some anime that fill it — but we probably aren’t getting many of them.
Perhaps the success of Gushing over Magical Girls and Chained Soldier will mean more series like that in the future?
Summary:
Ecchi anime used to be widespread, but that trend slowly died out.
We have barely got any ecchi anime in the past few years — before getting multiple in Winter 2024.
There doesn’t seem to be a trend, but we will continue to get them every now and then.
The 00s had a lot of ecchi anime. Even anime not focusing on fanservice often had a lot of it — and many fans felt that it often was excessive and took away from the actual story and characters.
While fanservice always existed in anime, the 00s definitely had the most of it. After the early 2010s, however, the amount of ecchi anime decreased. We still encounter them every now and then, but even then, the fanservice now feels much tamer than it used to be. Or, at least, that was the case before this season.
Are ecchi anime coming back?
A lot of fans feel that ecchi anime are coming back. They aren’t becoming mainstream again, like they used to be before — but there are enough ecchi anime this season that fans feel this niche is relevant again. As such, some expect ecchi series to become widespread in the future once again. Others are not that optimistic, though.
The ecchi genre has always been somewhat controversial. Many don’t want to see much fanservice and nudity in their anime — while others feel that it just makes the show more entertaining. That said, we definitely didn’t have many ecchi anime in 2023 — and in just one season of 2024, we have multiple somewhat relevant series.
Multiple ecchi series this season
The most notable ecchi anime of Winter 2024 is Gushing over Magical Girls (Mahou Shoujo ni Akogarete), which, honestly, is somewhat revolutionary. While there have been ecchi parodies of the magical girl genre before, this is the first take on magical girls that actually fully embraces the genre.
The anime is also much more fanservice-y than even the manga, pushing the boundaries. That approach seems to be successful.
Another somewhat relevant ecchi anime of the season is Chained Soldier (Mato Seihei no Slave). It is a bit more controversial, with fans feeling that the production values are lacking — but as an ecchi series, it still offers a lot of fanservice, so it does its job well.
The other two ecchi anime this season are mostly overlooked — and expectedly so. Tales of Wedding Rings (Kekkon Yubiwa Monogatari) does a lot of things, but none of them are executed very well.
Isekai Onsen Paradise (Meitou "Isekai no Yu" Kaitakuki: Around 40 Onsen Mania no Tensei Saki wa, Nonbiri Onsen Tengoku deshita) is a 3 minute short that is heavily censored — nothing more to be said here.
It’s not a trend
There doesn’t seem to be any particular trend for ecchi anime. Yes, we might occasionally get series like Gushing over Magical Girls in the future — anime that rely on fanservice alone, appealing to ecchi fans only — this proved to be a successful approach.
After all, the niche is underrepresented in anime at the moment, and we’re bound to get some anime that fill it — but we probably aren’t getting many of them.
