Anime Recommendation - Chu-Bra

I admire the use of cleavage to detract from
horrendous headgear

I often feel like I belong in a very small niche of anime fans: firstly being female means I'm already in a minority. Add in my unhealthy love of ecchi, and I probably fall into 2% of the otaku community. This is probably because these shows are primarily aimed at males with raging hormones (you know who you are). But every so often, a show comes along that has a more feminine spin on a perverted genre and in my opinion Chu-Bra is one of those.

Even the credits aren't safe from perversion

Telling the story of Nayu, a middle school student with an unhealthy obsession with underwear, the show is certainly not backwards in coming forwards. Our panty-fanatic femme fatale spends her days using her Terminator-like vision searching out poor girls who have poorly fitting bras. Not only does this help to get her delicates fired up, but Nayu is a girl who lives to see other females in skirts being caught out by a mischievous gust of wind. Maybe this is just a device for the writers to saturate each episode with various pairs of panties, but it gives the protagonist a fun, yet creepy side. Somehow, this unusual girl manages to make some friends and coerces them into starting up an underwear appreciation society...

Panties and duckies - a winning combo!

Now, why I say that this show is predominantly for females is because of that horror we have all experienced when shopping for our first real bra. Not those poxy little cropped tops, but your first under-wired booby holder. Standing nervously in the shop as the older lady finds her tape measure, ushers you into the changing room only to remove your top and measure you with her cold hands is certainly unforgettable. And somewhat traumatic. Chu-Bra, however, puts the fun back into the fun bags, showing that underwear shopping doesn't have to be quite such a depressing experience.

So near, and yet so far...

Other than that, the characters are cute and come in all shapes and sizes - even fans of DFC are catered for. Sure, there is plenty wrong with this series, such as the ages of the girls parading around in their skivvies, but it does have more than a few redeeming qualities. A sterling vocal cast, slick animation and a plot that is certainly unique may appeal to a few. Sadly, it also suffers from a fistful of fatal flaws that will turn off the casual ecchi viewer. Then again, it's only 12 episodes: what's the worst that can happen?

(apart from being caught watching middle school girls frolic in their underwear?)