My Top 5 Favourite Ecchi Anime of All Time

Okay, it's been a very slow month for anime. Most of the good anime have ended their current seasons and there is a noticeable drop in quality of the newly released anime (especially the scarcity of good ecchi anime). So here I am, giving you a list of my top 5 favourite ecchi anime of all time (most of them premièred within the last 2 years so the list is relatively fresh).

Ecchi is defined as 'sexually suggestive' in the world of anime. As such, the following content is for audiences of 15 years and above (it is not mature-rated as there are no hardcore pornographic scenes). Most ecchi anime contain the usual sexual overtones such as upskirts, cleavage, suggestive poses etc. but some of the better ecchi anime may contain partial nudity of the breasts and nipples (but rarely female genitalia and never male genitalia). 

I will mark each of the following titles with asterisks (*) based on the degree of ecchi they contain as follows:

Light (*)         : contains no nudity (upskirt, downblouse, suggestive situations, suggestive clothing)

Moderate (**) : contains partial nudity (exposed breasts, all of the elements of Light (*) ecchi)

Heavy (***)    : contains full nudity (exposed genitalia, all of the elements of Moderate (**) ecchi)

Note that a good ecchi title is not solely defined by its use of fanservice, but rather how the fanservice is incorporated into the rich storyline and background to make an already excellent anime truly legendary. The art style and quality is also important in determining what makes a good ecchi title.

Top 5 Favourite Ecchi Anime of All Time (as of 26/7/2012)

1. Vandread (*)
2. Highschool DxD (***)
3. Highschool of the Dead (**)
4. Ladies versus Butlers! (***)
5. Ikkitousen (**)

As you can see, fanservice used in the right situations can propel certain anime to great heights. Vandread just barely scratches the surface of ecchi (the only ecchi element here is suggestive clothing), yet the use of ecchi coupled with its rich plot and background makes it one of the best anime of all time across all genres.

Here are some other ecchi titles for you to check out if you've already watched the above list. These titles contain varying degrees of ecchi elements, but did not make it into my top 5 either due to slow story progression, unimaginative plot, bad art style,unmemorable characters or just plain boring. The one similarity they all share is that they all contain fanservice. 

If I put 'n/a' next to the title, it means 'ecchi rating not available', as in I have not watched far enough to know the degree of ecchi due to any of the aforementioned reasons.

Other Ecchi Anime to Check Out

• Chu-Bra! (*)
• Kiss x Sis (***)
• Manyuu Hiken-cho (***)
• Moretsu Pirates (n/a)
• Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt (**)
• Queen's Blade (***)
• Ranma 1/2 (*)
• So I Can't Play H? (***)
• Training with Hinako (*)