As a long-time fan of anime, I am well aware of the blatant sexualization of women in anime. Although many times I’ve been able to rationalize those issues,there has been one anime this season that I just can’t ignore.
Released in January 2022, the anime “Akebi’s Sailor Uniform” or “Akebi-chan no Sailor-fuku” starts off as a light-hearted story about middle-school girls, ages 12 to 13, and their journey as teenagers.
This particular anime is licensed and promoted by Crunchyroll, a San Francisco-based streaming site that was recently bought by Sony in December 2020.
Akebi, the main character, grew up in the countryside of Japan and attended all her classes in one classroom.
Upon starting middle school, she realizes she stands out because she wears the sailor uniform her mother sewed.
Wearing that uniform has been her dream, especially since her mother wore a similar one in middle school. Even though Akebi knew she might be picked on, she wore her uniform with pride.
At this point in the story, I thought I’d found a gem. The whole concept of the anime was unique and the animation was amazing, with a very detailed depiction of a rural Japanese landscape, so I continued watching.
As the show continued, things took a turn.
There were some scenes showing Akebi’s feet in close detail that weren’t inherently sexual, so I didn’t notice them at the time. My perspective changed when Akebi met Kizaki-chan, her first friend in the anime.
Akebi met Kizaki alone in a classroom as Kizaki clipped her toenails then sniffed the nail clipper.
I was quite taken back by this scene.
Why else would a character’s feet be used as a plot device other than to excite those with foot fetishes?
But it only gets worse.
By the third episode, Akebi and her classmates decide to have a contest of who has the best legs. Akebi then asks Tanigawa, one of her quieter classmates, to show her legs.
While at first Tanigawa shuts down their game and calls it “indecent,” she ends up sending pictures of her legs to Akebi when she’s home.
The next scene begins in Tanigawa’s room, the camera panning down to her feet and legs. Tanigawa then proceeds to take a picture of herself and discovers that she actually enjoys taking revealing pictures.
Embarrassed by what she’s done, Tanigawa deletes the photos but accidentally sends the most revealing one to Akebi.
I can understand why this scene was used as a plot device. Tanigawa represents the Seiso, or clean and pure character archetype, so her taking pictures and discovering her beauty is an interesting take because this character archetype usually doesn’t deviate from the norm.
Sexualized child anime characters are called Lolis, a term taken from Vladimir Nabokov’s 1955 book “Lolita.”
Lolita is a novel about a French middle-aged man who becomes infatuated with and rapes a 12-year-old American girl after becoming her step-father. The novel is quite controversial but is considered a classic.
The characterization is popular in some anime, including the show “Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya,” a trending series in Japan about three prepubescent girls dressed in skimpy clothing who fight monsters.
These Loli characters are becoming increasingly popular, with at least one Loli character in each anime. While some think these characters may be harmless because they’re just animated, the fact that these characters were designed to have child-like bodies and mannerisms makes them dangerous.
The scene could have had the same effect if she had taken a mirror selfie with shorts on but the mangaka, or manga writer, and animators decided they needed to give the viewers fan service.
There shouldn’t be fan service in anime with children.
Fan service includes panty shots, bath scenes, and general nudity.
“Non Non Biyori,” another anime with characters in a similar age range, doesn’t have fan service at all and is a community favorite.
“Non Non Biyori” has a similar setting in rural Japan, following the lives of four elementary school children as they explore nature.
What type of fans are the animators trying to entertain with this type of imagery?
I’ve discovered these fans in the comments on the popular anime streaming site Crunchyroll. One user said, “Whoever assigned animating the feet. They should be awarded.”
People like this are dangerous because they obviously enjoy or feel aroused by the thought of a child’s feet.
Being attracted to an animated child is no different than a real child because both are children. One isn’t morally better than the other.
According to a 2020 study by the University of Oregon, Lolis are prevalent in Japanese media and they portray young and underage girls as sexually desirable.
With anime becoming more popular in America, I can’t imagine how anime will influence fans.
I believe Crunchyroll should remove this anime and similar anime including “Domestic Girlfriend” and my “First Girlfriend is a Gal” from its collection.
With how often underage characters are sexualized in anime, to the point where there is a separate genre for shows with them, I don’t believe that change will happen anytime soon.
