#I Write Sins Not Tragedies episode 37

[incurableweeabootrash]

Top 10 Anime That Doesn’t Shamelessly Sexualise Women With Fanservice

The most awkward and annoying thing about anime is that little thing known as ‘fanservice’, moreso fanservice that creeps it’s way into shows otherwise focused on other things. It’s what I like to call ‘doing a Game of Thrones’.

In my experience there are honestly quite a few shows that actually have confidence in their own writing, and don’t feel the need to add softcore erotic moments disguised as jokes in order to desperately snag viewers and make their money back. But unfortunately, the shows that do have fanservice are now the predominant preconception of anime to outsiders, and female viewers especially can be turned off by this.

I’ll admit I’ve been guilty in the past of developing a ‘fanservice filter’ for shows like Kill La Kill, where I taught myself to tune out at certain moments until the show got back to showing the things I liked about it (The fights, the crazy fun tone, the characters, the intensity, and even the story eventually. It’s not my favourite show, but I cite it as an example of me overlooking and ignoring awkward bits because there were other aspects of the show that I liked). But not everyone is willing to do that, and it really puts a barrier up to new anime watchers who understandibly just aren’t comfortable with that. So with this unfortunate blight potentially lurking in any show to a new viewer, I thought I’d make this list to make sailing these uncharted waters a little easier. I'm going by memory, so apologies if any of these shows have something in them I've forgotten about. But here’s the top 10 anime that doesn’t have panty shots, breast-orientated ‘gag’ moments, or other ‘male gaze’ unneccesary sexual content. I’m also excluding shows that had a moment that made me uncomfortable with any attempted ‘funny’ moments that crossed boundaries, e.g. Meliodas’s inability to keep his hands to himself in ‘Seven Deadly Sins’. (Needless to say, I hated that character).

In no particular order:

1. Princess Jellyfish / Kuragahime

“Instead of becoming a princess, I became a freak.”

…Yes, that title sounds a tad dumb in English. But Princess Jellyfish is great character driven show about a young woman named Tsukimi with a passion for drawing and marine wildlife, specifically jellyfish, who feels that she hasn’t really blossomed into the beautiful woman she was told she would grow up to. Living  in the fashionable Tokyo district of Harajuku, Tsukimi sees people more beautiful than her everyday. But her life starts to be shaken up a little when she befriends a beautiful woman who isn’t all that they seem.

Princess Jellyfish has the advantage of being written by a woman for a grown female audience, so there’s no sexual pandering to teenage male viewers to be found at all here. It’s also only 12 episodes, although the manga continues the story further. I really do recommend it for it’s likable characters and it’s simple but effective narrative.

2. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

“In order for something to be obtained, something of equal value must be lost.”

FMA:Brotherhood is the story of two brothers living with the consequences of their failed attempt to bring their mother back to life with alchemy. Seeking to gain back what they lost from that attempt, Edward and Alphonse Elric join the military as State Alchemists, becoming a tool for whatever purpose the military desires in exchange for access to their expansive library on alchemy. However, they soon discover alot more than they intended to, along with some things they never wanted to discover.

Probably one of the most popular anime out there, with an exciting and twisting plotline that carries you through to the end of it’s 62 episode run. Now, that’s admittedly a lot of episodes, but I can safely say that the story is worth it. Be warned that you actually have to skip episode 1 due it being a filler episode designed only for fans of the original 2003 Fullmetal Alchemist. Yes, really. The very first episode is a filler, and it even contains a subtle spoiler. So yeah, skip it, as well the recap episode halfway through. It’s all on Netflix btw.

One slight flaw is how it occasionally jumps into a jarring cartoony art style whenever it tries to be funny, which doesn’t really fit with the rest of the show, but it depends on your sense of humour whether this is a problem or not.

I recommend this show if you like adventure, action, a bit of fantasy, and suspense and mystery.

3. Death Note

“This world is rotten, and those who are making it rot deserve to die. Someone has to do it, so why not me?”

Another popular and well known anime within the community, Death Note is the story of an overachieving high school boy named Light (it probably sounds less pretentious if you’re not English) who discovers a notebook that will cause anyone who’s name is written in it to die. With such power in his hands, Light decides to use it to reshape the world and rid it of criminals and injustice. But what he holds in his hands is a murder weapon, and prodigal young detective L is soon on his case in the hunt to find the cause of all these mysterious new killings.

Death Note is very much a psychological thriller. In fact, there’s basically no action scenes at all in it. The tension instead comes from the cat-and-mouse battle of wits between Light and L as they constantly try to outsmart each other. But what makes it interesting is the fact that you’re following the story of a protagonists who is pretty much a serial killer, and you actually weirdly kind of root for him. This show is also all on netflix, and is 37 episodes.

EDIT: It has been pointed out to me that the character of Misa, who works as a model, could be considered as sexualised at a few certain moments, although I would say she’s in control of her own sexuality. You’re welcome to your own opinions on this. But nevertheless, it’s a show that isn’t riddled with fanservice shoved in your face.

4. Golden Time

“Accident or amnesia, you can’t rewind your life and start again. If you struggle, you’ll just hurt yourself, and the people around you.”

Due to a tragic accident, Banri Tada is struck with amnesia, dissolving the memories of his hometown and past. However, after befriending Mitsuo Yanagisawa, he decides to move on and begin a new life at law school in Tokyo. But just as he is beginning to adjust to his college life, Mitsuo’s ex-girlfriend Kouko Kaga dramatically barges into Banri’s life, and their chance meeting marks the beginning of an unforgettable year. However, the buried memories of the Banri before the accident sometimes resurface, transforming him into the person he was before with none of the memories of his current self.

Golden Time is a great mix of drama and romance, with the drama not neccesarily revolving around the romance. What I also like is that the romance isn’t just a ‘will they, won’t they?’, as it actually shows how the relationship plays out and how it copes under the pressure of Banri’s problems with amnesia. Plus it’s just another good story set in real life. It’s 24 episodes

5. Attack On Titan

“And just like that, everything changed. At that terrible moment, in our hearts, we knew. Home was a pen. Humanity, cattle.“ 

Living in a walled city hiding from giant strange humanoid monsters known as Titans isn’t the cushiest of lives, but the struggle and fight to survive in this show is a thrilling ride. Honestly, it has some of the best action scenes that visual media has to offer, all brilliantly directed and animated. It’s 24 episodes, though most will tell you to get to episode 5 before you write it off.

6. Madoka Magica

“Remember this… and take it to heart: kindness sometimes leads to even greater tragedy.”

I literally can’t say anything about this without spoiling it, but make sure you watch until the end of episode 4 before judging it. It’s also only 12 episodes in length. The best part about watching this show is that you can then show it to other people and grin evilly as you watch their reaction to it…

As per the theme of this list, it doesn’t have anything awkward, sexual, or immoral. All you need to know is that it’s really quite a good story, and it’s a fun cute show about magical girls. Honest!…

7. Love, Chunibyo, and Other Delusions

"I am the eye of the wicked lord, member number zero, Rikka Takanashi!“

An entertaining show about high schoolers who’ve watched too much anime and now think they have superpowers, and have invented characters and backstories for themselves. This phase is known as ‘chunibyo’ in Japan. Also along for the ride is our protagonist Yuuta, who’s already grown out of that phase but still finds himself roped into the ‘Far East Magical Society’.

It all starts off silly, but there is actually a bit meat to the story as it goes along. Best of all, it eventually leads to a really sweet relationship in the second season that actually shows a very good demonstration of consent. Yuuta won’t do anything his girlfriend isn’t ready for, even if it means they can’t kiss or even hold hands initially. Her delusional ‘chunibyo’ state also adds an interesting element to the relationship. Basically, I came out of this show all ‘OTP’ for them xD

Love, Chunibyo, and Other Delusions is 24 episodes long in total, including both seasons.

8. Ouran High School Host Club

“Listen, Senpai, I don’t really care whether you guys recognize me as a boy or a girl. In my opinion it’s more important for a person to be recognized for who they are rather than for what sex they are. “

As the only lower class student in a school for the incredibly wealthy, Haruhi has nowhere near the money to pay for the vase they accidentally breaks in the schools ‘Host Club’. (a service unique to Japan where you can basically hire time with an attractive man at a cafe and have him treat you like a lady. Yes, really.) As such, Haruhi is contracted to work off their debt at the host club and is given the job of making the female customers swoon over them. However it’s only after Haruhi is hired that the rest of the men at the host club realise that Haruhi is biologically a girl. Nevertheless, the customers don’t seem to notice.

Ouran Highschool Host Club is a fun entertaining show with great likable characters, and Haruhi is the perfect neutral foil to all the personalities in the show. It’s actually kind of funny as well, though of course humour is highly subjective. The show seems to be quite popular with female audiences, but I would say that anyone can find enjoyment from this show. This anime is 26 episodes long.

9. Wolf Children

"You might think this sounds like a fairy tale. You might even laugh at my story. You probably think that stuff like this just doesn’t happen. But everything I tell you is true. This is the story about my mother, and the wolf man she fell in love with." 

An excellent film that’s great to just get lost in for the duration of it’s admittedly lengthy runtime. Wolf Children is the story of a woman raising two rather different children after a romantic encounter with a werewolf in human form. Unsure as to whether to raise these children as wolves or humans, the mother does her best to support them no matter the challenges. Honestly a really enjoyable movie. Recommended if you like Studio Ghibli.

10. Clannad

“I was only living because it was too much trouble to die. I got up in the morning, went to work, I ate dinner, and then I went to sleep at night. It’s like my body was doing it out of habit.”

Clannad is probably most well known for being most anime fans first experience with the ‘feels train’. The first season of delinquent student Tomoya’s adventures in helping out anyone he comes across in school while ditching class, and it’s all good slice of life stuff with the occasional good moments of drama. But most people will tell you that the second season, Clannad: After Story, is where it gets into the real meat of it.

Clannad is another character driven story, with drama, romance, and a slight hint of the supernatural.

And there we have it. Overall, it was an interesting challenge making this list. There are a lot more than 10 anime that fit this criteria, but I only wanted to include the ones I thought were in the top 10. The challenge came from the fact that I chose to exclude any show that had even one instance of an uncomfortable moment. By that logic, I had to exclude Future Diary even though I love it, as well as Steins;Gate despite it’s eventually thrilling story. I even had to exclude ‘Love Live! School Idol Project’ in spite of it mostly being the most innocent thing ever, all thanks to Nozomi’s imfamous ‘washi washi’ scene that was basically sexual harrassment disguised a ‘mischievious’ joke. (Fans actually complained about that and in response, she didn’t do it at all in season 2).

However, I still recommend those shows, especially Future Diary and Steins;Gate for their plotlines, but you have to be willing to overlook just a single awkward moment in each. (maybe 3 moments for Future Diary) Anyway, I hope this was helpful :)