Hold On to Your Pantsu: A “Brief” History of Panties in Anime

If you’ve watched anime, you’ve seen an anime girl’s panties. These are just facts – and it’s nothing to be embarrassed about. 

Panties (aka pantsu) are one of the most common fetishes in modern Japan. And while it’s easy – as Westerners – to look at the trend and go, “hey, that’s weird,” that’s not why we’re here today. We’re here to get to the bottom (heh) of the kink. The ins, the outs, and just why so many anime and manga creators can’t stop looking up their main characters’ skirts.

A deeper history

The answer may hit a little closer to home than you expect. Panchira – AKA upskirts – didn’t catch on in Japan until after WWII. American colonization brought with it new culture, new trends, and new styles. Among those were panties, which were actually a newfangled thing in Japan in the ‘40s. Up until that point, Japanese women traditionally didn’t wear undergarments; in fact, a survey conducted in the ‘30s showed that 90% of the women went full commando!

Tsubaki from the Visual Novel IdolDays

Of course, this naturally led to some problems. Example: a massive fire broke out at the famous Shirokiya department store in Tokyo in 1932. Several women were trapped inside, and during their escape attempts, many of them were forced to cover their privates as they climbed down. This was a highly publicized event, and led to many conservative-minded Japanese papers publicly pressuring women to wear panties. 

It didn’t catch on until after WWII, however, when the Army set up bases and the CIA began to involve themselves in Japanese politics. The ‘40s and ‘50s were a time of unprecedented fascism, and many of the “norms” we accept about Japan actually take root there. American norms – exported both via legislation and imported media – were forced on Japan after their wartime defeat. 

The rise of pantsu culture

Fast-forward to the mid-50s, and American cinema is dominating the Japanese box office. A little movie called The Seven Year Itch starring Marilyn Monroe hits the silver screen. Itch is the movie you probably know Marilyn for – the one where she stands on an air vent and her skirt is blown up. The scene itself cemented the actress as an all-time starlet, and not just in Hollywood. Japanese audiences became similarly fixated on Monroe, and specifically on the panty-revealing sidewalk scene. For more about the production of that scene, last year’s dramatized historical pic Blonde is a great watch.

The scene inspired a game among Japanese boys and men to see who could score “points” by looking up women’s skirts. Magazines caught wind of this and began publicizing the best place to catch a glimpse of women’s panties.

Blue Snow the hentai thief in the Anime Shimoneta

As this caught on, Japanese artists and advertisers alike took note. Provocative manga artists like Go Nagai would spend the ‘60s pushing the limits of what was “decent” in manga – specifically by including full-frontal and panchira. This was faced with opposition from parents’ groups, but it did little good. It became an issue of “free speech,” even if that “free speech” was more than a little lewd.

Writers like Anne Cooper-Chen have pointed out that the proliferation of panty shots in manga comes from this initial period. After artists like Nagai put out their work and defended it – very publicly – by pulling the “sexual liberation” card, more of that ilk began to test the waters. Throughout the ‘70s, more risque manga meant for younger audiences became commonplace. Shonen magazines began to run sex comedies that dealt with mature subject matter, and were rife with panty shots. PTA groups were ineffectual, and framed by artists as puritanical, regressive, and just plain ol’ unfun. Feminist concerns were also lumped into with those critiques, which contributed to a negative perception of that movement in Japan. Panchira was here to stay – for good.

Pantsu in modern culture

That proliferation is what led to a wider boom in erotic anime and manga through the ‘80s and ‘90s. Loosened restrictions on home video releases – plus new manga magazines intended specifically for adults – meant that panchira was only the beginning. Artists like Suehiro Maruo and Toshio Maeda even dabbled in post-modern panchira by using WWII era motifs and sexualized violence to work through their own post-war trauma. More artistic freedom meant more strategic – and often far more sexual – deployment of panchira.

Mikoto and Juni in Sakura Fox Adventure

A fun part of panty fetishism is the variety and specificity some people get into. Panties are a broad category, with lots of colors, cuts, and styles to choose from. Some people might like the extra cheek of a thong, while others may need to see stripes to get their kicks. Jock straps, boy shorts, see-through mesh… there's no shortage of rabbit holes you can go down! Even panties with small ribbons are a thing popular with some folks.

If the type of panties is very important, panty’s play is also quite popular in various sexual acts and is often portrayed in hentai games. With fanservice becoming more apparent in anime and hentai games being more popular, panchira is now solidified as one of the most popular kinks.

To show or not to show, the debate is on!

For the past decade or two, panty shots have become a begrudging acceptance for many modern fans. Despite the history of the practice, being largely American, hardcore anime fans insist that it’s a tradition rooted in Japan (not true) and that criticizing them is disrespectful to culture (extremely untrue.) The other side of the debate argues that panchira is entirely regressive, and needs to be left in the past as manga takes more of the global stage.

Narumi Takeuchi Bazooka Cafe

Who’s right? We’re not here to tell you that – just to arm you with a few facts and invite you to do your own research! At Nutaku, we’re in the business of bras, panties, and everything that could possibly be underneath both. And one thing we do know is that without this several-decade fight for the right to bear pantsu, much of the hentai you know and love – and that we sell! – wouldn’t be possible. That would be a bummer, right?

Plentie of panties right here on Nutaku

Pantsu, panchira, and Marilyn Monroe – who’d have thought we owe a piece of hentai history to them all? If you’d like to browse our finest selection of panchira, Nutaku has a stash of premium pantsu goodness lurking in our game catalog! 

Project QT

Project QT is a panty-filled dream full of wonders and oppai girls. If you are into panties for the kick of seeing them on beautiful girls well, you will be more than satisfied. Project QT features a unique ascension system where every time you ascend a character you get a new naughty animation each one lewder than the next. Trust us, it won’t take long until you see all the panties this game has to offer and more if this is your desire!

Daraku Gear

If you want to see waifus in all kinds of various outfits including a myriad of some best panties you can find, Daraku Gear is for you! Filled with BDSM kinks and sexy content, Daraku gear is the ultimate RPG where you conquer Nymph and build your harem. Filled with perverse kinks and including a myriad of tools to enjoy your time with your girls, this is a game that keeps on giving!

Booty Calls

Booty Calls is the go to game if you enjoy collecting various pictures of girls in various sexy attire! Take a unique journey where you must go on multiple dates with girls and conquer their heart. Your sole purpose? Bring the girl to your bedroom and show them what you got all in the name of love! Each time you complete a date successfully you will earn various sexy rewards. From simple panty shot to full on masturbation, this game has everything for panty connoisseurs!

Hello, Goodbye

Nothing beats a good old classic like the visual novel Hello, Goodbye! This adorable story follows Toubu Kaito, a boy that has been tasked with infiltrating a special academy to learn its secrets. Little did he know that he would soon befriend beautiful girls and fall in love! What makes this game such a classic is that it features plenty of classic panty shots that are mentioned in this article. With a unique story and featuring a classic harem plot, Hello, Goodbye will keep you hooked!

Maid For Pleasure

Why contend yourself to only panty shots when you can have panty shots from a girl wearing a maid outfit? Yep, you read that right! Maid For Pleasure is a game that focuses heavily on maid servant relationships including some sexy service and BDSM kink. With a deep story with meaningful choices and some of the sexiest illustrations featuring maid and panties, this is one of the best VN you can find on Nutaku! 

These are only some of the few choices that are available for panty-lovers craving some sexy garments. That being said, most Hentai games feature at one point or another a fun panty shot or panty-play meaning that anything goes if you are into panties! In fact, to help you dwell even deeper into your panty obsession kink we did an article that dives into the various types of panties that exist, be sure to check it out!

So what are you waiting for, go on, explore and see why the otaku culture has been seeded with panties!