Sexy Anime and Why Queen's Blade is Here to Stay

Ah, Queen's Blade. A series which does not shy away from showing boobs 75% of the time. Where women just happen to lose clothes/armor/other things (like snakes) almost every time there is a battle. Even though it's somewhat excessive in its vulgar display, it's still a fun anime to watch. But of course since its over-the-top display of animated breasts and lack of any deep plot makes it an easy target to bash. People from all over the internet spared no time in making sure everyone is aware how tasteless and terrible this show is. Yet, despite all the negative reviews, the show is getting lots of attention in Japan and have become quite a cash cow. (So now as a consequence we have a OVAs, a second season, and even a PSP RPG). Media Blasters are probably gonna rake up a lot from releasing the DVDs here in the states.

Just love the contrast in this image.

However, this is actually a good reflection of the current state of the anime industry in Japan. Also, at the same time we have shows like Kanokon and Strike Witches which were also quite as daring as Queen's Blade in its exposé. (Well, the TV versions were quite censored.) The reason for why these shows sell so much is that the age of the average anime fan is rapidly increasing due to what might become a hikikomori crisis in the future. Since we were in an economic downturn, anime studios had to ramp down on production of artsy experimental shows to series that are guaranteed to make money.

Kanokon has fewer safe images on the net than Queen's Blade.

But all of this isn't quite new. The percentage of hentai anime has been steadily increasing for over a decade (from 15% to 20% (This figure is based from an 'expert' from a hentai panel at Zenkaikon)). And will probably keep increasing unless anime in Japan starts getting a large influx of young viewers.
Until then, Queen's Blade is here to stay whether you like it or not.