Manyuu Hikenchou (2011) Ecchi Anime Review

This is an ecchi anime with the plot centered around boobs. I think I needed to mention this first above all else. It was recommended by a fellow anime degen who prefers shows on another side of the spectrum and I just went with it. I expect you to at least read the plot summary to get a grasp of what you're getting into. No heavy spoilers or images that are NSFW contained in this post.

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Plot:

It's alternate timeline Japan when it was ruled by the Tokugawa Shogunate and the entire culture places heavy emphasis on large breasts. Being well endowed brings wealth, high social status and fortune. The Manyuu Clan has consolidated great political influence in the country due to their operations involving selectively nurturing well endowed women in society aligning to their faction and eliminating potential political opponents in covert operations.

By eliminating potential threats, this could either mean assassinating well endowed women from the opposite party or targeting common folks that happen to be blessed. The Manyuu clan assassins know the sword techniques in removing and growing breasts. Being flat chested in this society automatically puts you at the bottom tier.

Chifusa Manyuu, the chosen future leader of the clan decided to rebel against the house and stole the secret scrolls containing the techniques of the Manyuu in the hopes to create new Japan where breast size isn't a source of discrimination. As the chosen leader, not only does she is able to take the breast from her targets but she also has the ability to incorporate the lost mass into her body making her own rack grow bigger with each opponent she defeats.

And if you're still here reading this plot trying to make sense out of it, I tried my best to explain the show with a straight face because it's one of those running gag shows you just have to see to get what I mean.

How much of the content is not safe for work? there's bare breast, breast groping, jiggly breast, accidental nip slips, intentional flashing and sorts of acts involving perverted breast but nothing else down there.

Despite the whole shenanigans centered around boob humor, I couldn't bring myself to laugh and just passively watched as the story builds up to answering what's the secret technique to bring back breasts stolen.

Chifusa serves as us with opened eyes seeing how absurd the world works around her. Her reaction to how ridiculous breast worship is the closest thing we can get to a normal character and in terms of Japanese comedy, she functions as the straight man in a duo with the world being her comedic absurd partner.

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My Guide to Watching These Kinds of Shows:

I'm no stranger to Japanese comedy and no matter how absurd these come, I keep an open mind and just suspend my disbelief until it's done and ready for processing. This show isn't my first review on the absurd ecchi genre with Hentai Kamen as an example. Just take the show as it is and see the world in the characters eyes.

You're going to see things like boob cutting techniques, breast worship philosophies, twisted versions of the normal culture be perverted to suit the breast narrative, and the characters here are seen in a straight face dialogue like all this absurdity is just everyday existence. In this kind of scenario, you as the audience making a chuckle is the one out of place for not getting immersed with their world building.

I'm joking. But if I had to substitute the focus from boobs with another important normal subject like money, secret techniques, and power struggles, the show will eventually be a old Edo Japan and there's nothing really funny or out of the ordinary there anymore. This is what I mean by suspending disbelief when watching these types of shows, the first few boob jokes may seem funny but they eventually lose their luster and suddenly you find yourself getting used to the drama which just happens to be centered around breasts.

Had the characters be motivated by something else other than breasts, this would have been a normal show but what's the point of being ecchi if it was normal in the first place? What I appreciate about the show is the form of art expression to tell a relatively taboo subject and turn it into comedic absurdity.

Another show of this genre I've seen but not yet made a review is Hip Whip Girl: Keijo which is a show about competing butts but that's another review in the future, maybe.

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Conclusion:

It's an average ecchi show from 2011. The animation and music production weren't even bad even when compared with today's production level. I don't think it deserves another season nor am I interested for the end conclusion.

The viewing experience started with curiosity that eventually died one fourth of the way and the rest is just spent on waiting for the unexciting climactic reveal of the secret technique for Chifusa to give back the breasts stolen. I wouldn't recommended it to none ecchi fans.

Image above is a screenshot.

Thank you for your time.