This Week in Anime
Jigglefest 2025
by Coop Bicknell & Steve Jones,
Steve and Coop explore the exciting and outlandish world of anime boob physics...or should that be "physics?"
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the views of Anime News Network.
Spoiler Warning for discussion of the series ahead.
Momentary Lily, Eiken, Fatal Fury, Bang Brave Bang Bravern, Gunbuster, Keijo!!!!!!!!, Code Geass, Gundam Build Fighters, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Fairy Ranmaru, Myriad Colors Phantom World, Valkyrie Drive: Mermaid, and Occultic;Nine are streaming on Crunchyroll.
Highschool of the Dead is streaming on Hulu.
Gundam Seed is streaming on YouTube.
Godannar is streaming on HIDIVE.
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Coop
Some weeks, the topic for this very column is dropped into our unsuspecting laps. On other weeks, something comes to jiggle loose stuff in our brains especially when it's a strong pair of (Go)hands doing the shaking.
©GoHands/SHOCHIKU MOMENTARY LILY
This week, we're talking about some of the jiggliest, gravity-defying, logic-breaking, and ridiculous donbonhonkeros ever committed to animation, Steve! True crimes against humanity!
And my sleep paralysis demon too...
Some weeks, the topic for this very column is dropped into our unsuspecting laps. On other weeks, something comes to jiggle loose stuff in our brains especially when it's a strong pair of (Go)hands doing the shaking.
©GoHands/SHOCHIKU MOMENTARY LILY
This week, we're talking about some of the jiggliest, gravity-defying, logic-breaking, and ridiculous donbonhonkeros ever committed to animation, Steve! True crimes against humanity!
And my sleep paralysis demon too...
Steve
In preparing for this column, I'm pretty sure I've experienced whatever the equivalent of semantic satiation is for massive mammary momentum. I'm numb to it now. I don't remember how bodies work. I don't remember how physics works. All I know is this. I mean these.
© SEIJI MATSUYAMA • AKITA SHOTEN / EIKEN Committee
In preparing for this column, I'm pretty sure I've experienced whatever the equivalent of semantic satiation is for massive mammary momentum. I'm numb to it now. I don't remember how bodies work. I don't remember how physics works. All I know is this. I mean these.
© SEIJI MATSUYAMA • AKITA SHOTEN / EIKEN Committee
I'd be lying if these images DIDN'T conjure memories of how Dead or Alive Xtreme 2's marketing focused on a single sales point: each boob has its own set of ragdoll-esque physics... I also realized that for some of these shows.
© 2010 Hiroyuki Yoshino, Ken-Etsu Satao, Akitashoten/Seikon no Qwaser An empress's portrait Partners
Cause...uh... Seikon no Qwaser GOES places.
© 2010 Hiroyuki Yoshino, Ken-Etsu Satao, Akitashoten/Seikon no Qwaser An empress's portrait Partners
Cause...uh... Seikon no Qwaser GOES places.
I'm impressed you managed to find a Qwaser GIF tame enough to include here! My search bore no fruit—or rather, too much fruit.
For better or worse, ridiculous boob motion goes hand-in-hand with the public perception of anime as an art form. I'd love to dispute that, but there are too many series I know only for how they've been able to innovate in this aesthetic space. So let's explore that and see if we can't find some more profound truths to grab onto.
For better or worse, ridiculous boob motion goes hand-in-hand with the public perception of anime as an art form. I'd love to dispute that, but there are too many series I know only for how they've been able to innovate in this aesthetic space. So let's explore that and see if we can't find some more profound truths to grab onto.
Welp, to take a cue from Street Fighter 6's introduction of Mai from King of Fighters, there are way more than two big reasons to start by highlighting the works of Masami Ōbari.
Not content to be just the "cool robot sword pose guy," Masami Ōbari is something of a "boob pioneer" in the world of anime. From his work on Fatal Fury, Voltage Fighter Gowcaiser, Virus Buster Serge, and more than a few adult works, Obari's all about being a dynamic mover and a shaker! And as demonstrated by last year's Bang Brave Bang Bravern, he's an equal opportunity chest employer too!
I admire Obari as he's used his vast experience to weave in and out of varied projects. He's got that "Boobs? Robots? Something else? I'll do it all!" kind of workman attitude you might notice among creatives who've been in the industry for a long time. Like even if boobs are going crazy, you can tell that it was animated by someone who wanted to come in, do a good job, have a little fun, and move on to the next thing.
Not content to be just the "cool robot sword pose guy," Masami Ōbari is something of a "boob pioneer" in the world of anime. From his work on Fatal Fury, Voltage Fighter Gowcaiser, Virus Buster Serge, and more than a few adult works, Obari's all about being a dynamic mover and a shaker! And as demonstrated by last year's Bang Brave Bang Bravern, he's an equal opportunity chest employer too! 
I admire Obari as he's used his vast experience to weave in and out of varied projects. He's got that "Boobs? Robots? Something else? I'll do it all!" kind of workman attitude you might notice among creatives who've been in the industry for a long time. Like even if boobs are going crazy, you can tell that it was animated by someone who wanted to come in, do a good job, have a little fun, and move on to the next thing.
Obari is a great example! The dude is obviously at the peak of his craft in terms of mechanical design, and he could probably rest on those laurels if he wanted to. Yet he still made filth and had a good time doing that.
© スタジオG-1NEO／エンジェルブレイド製作委員会
If we want to go back to the origin of this phenomenon, we need to look no further than its colloquial name: the Gainax bounce. It takes a special kind of studio to get a type of tit animation named after you.
© スタジオG-1NEO／エンジェルブレイド製作委員会
If we want to go back to the origin of this phenomenon, we need to look no further than its colloquial name: the Gainax bounce. It takes a special kind of studio to get a type of tit animation named after you.
And even before that when Hideaki Anno and company created the DAICON IV opening animation in 1983! The Daicon Bunny Girl might've just fired off the first bounce heard around the world before it reverberated into time!
© DAICON FILM
© DAICON FILM
I love, too, how downright modest these examples are. This is where we started. Animation as a medium is all about communicating motion and momentum. And the fact is that breasts can indeed move! It makes sense if you're aiming for realism. I bet it makes extra sense if you were part of the legion of talented horndogs who founded Gainax.
I agree, those could be called chaste in comparison to more modern examples of the bounce. As you said, there's an attention to detail that can't be easily dismissed. Speaking of modern examples, I can't even begin to fathom how much of a headache this was to pull off.
© DAISUKE SATO • SHOUJI SATO / FUJIMI SHOBO / H.O.T.D. Project
This moment is absurd. However, once you consider the dance between the CG bullet and the swaying layers of boob that's going on here, it's incredibly impressive on a technical level.
© DAISUKE SATO • SHOUJI SATO / FUJIMI SHOBO / H.O.T.D. Project
This moment is absurd. However, once you consider the dance between the CG bullet and the swaying layers of boob that's going on here, it's incredibly impressive on a technical level.
It's legendary for a reason! That GIF is literally the only thing I know about Highschool of the Dead. That and the forum post where somebody calculated that her breasts had to be flapping at several times the speed of sound to pull off this maneuver.
The million-dollar question is how do we get from Noriko in Gunbuster needing a slightly better sports bra, to a woman's chest breaking the sound barrier? Or are we comparing apples to a pair of very large and potentially helium-filled oranges?
© SEIJI MATSUYAMA • AKITA SHOTEN / EIKEN Committee
The million-dollar question is how do we get from Noriko in Gunbuster needing a slightly better sports bra, to a woman's chest breaking the sound barrier? Or are we comparing apples to a pair of very large and potentially helium-filled oranges?
© SEIJI MATSUYAMA • AKITA SHOTEN / EIKEN Committee
The million-dollar question, indeed... There's part of me that goes "Oh there's comedy in the absurd nature of unnaturally huge gazongas." Then other times, I ask, "Why didn't you guys just make a porno?" The first Eiken GIF I found led me to ask that question ad nauseam. But that might be Eiken itself more than anything else.
© SEIJI MATSUYAMA • AKITA SHOTEN / EIKEN Committee
© SEIJI MATSUYAMA • AKITA SHOTEN / EIKEN Committee
Eiken is an experience more than it is an anime OVA. We've been down this road at TWIA before. It's grotesque. It's abject. It's permanently lodged in my brain.
I heard James knows a good counselor who specializes in that field. I think her name is Dr. Lytta or something like that.
Let's not be too dramatic. Eiken is nowhere near a GoHands-level cognitive hazard. You hit the right point earlier, because Eiken is fundamentally a comedy. Whether it's a good comedy is up for debate, but it deliberately wields the absurdity of its anatomy for the sake of ribald slapstick. It's a shameless exercise in juvenile humor. And I'd say that many of the more ridiculous examples of jiggle physics fall in that category.
When it comes to T&A-based comedy, the bit of Keijo!!!!!!!! I've seen some of the most effective laughs in my book.
© Daichi SORAYOMI, Shogakukan/Keijo!!!!!!!! Project
What sells that comedy is how straight Keijo!!!!!!!! plays its butt-and-muscular combat. When you're playing something nonsensical with all the seriousness in the world, the result will conjure a few chuckles at the very least.
The scraps of Eiken I've witnessed kind of scream "BOOBS SO HUGE" and just keep repeating the joke without much variation.
© Daichi SORAYOMI, Shogakukan/Keijo!!!!!!!! Project
What sells that comedy is how straight Keijo!!!!!!!! plays its butt-and-muscular combat. When you're playing something nonsensical with all the seriousness in the world, the result will conjure a few chuckles at the very least.
The scraps of Eiken I've witnessed kind of scream "BOOBS SO HUGE" and just keep repeating the joke without much variation.
Keijo!!!!!!!! (thank you for using the proper number of exclamation points) might as well be Hamlet compared to Eiken. Even without the comparison, it's one of my favorites. I could do a whole column on how well it applies the usual anime boob superpowers to the wide world of sports.
© Daichi SORAYOMI, Shogakukan/Keijo!!!!!!!! Project
Keijo!!!!!!!! is also a notable example for its focus on both boobs and butt physics. How cosmopolitan!
© Daichi SORAYOMI, Shogakukan/Keijo!!!!!!!! Project
© Daichi SORAYOMI, Shogakukan/Keijo!!!!!!!! Project
Keijo!!!!!!!! is also a notable example for its focus on both boobs and butt physics. How cosmopolitan!
© Daichi SORAYOMI, Shogakukan/Keijo!!!!!!!! Project
So this is what they meant by "bouncing your way to victory."
I made so many GIFs this afternoon. It's difficult to choose my favorites. Keijo!!!!!!!! was a tireless innovator in this space. Every battle brought something new and beautiful into this world.
© Daichi SORAYOMI, Shogakukan/Keijo!!!!!!!! Project
© Daichi SORAYOMI, Shogakukan/Keijo!!!!!!!! Project
Now those are some powerful glutes.
Looking back to earlier in our chat, it's fascinating when one considers how the Mecha genre has more-or-less grown up alongside the bounce. An example that springs to mind right away is, for better or worse, one of the most popular entries in the Gundam franchise—Gundam Seed.
© SOTSU • SUNRISE
SEED's many mid-battle bounces have become infamous, especially in mecha circles. Gundam Build Fighters even poked fun at these moments by recreating them in a scene where an old man shares why SEED is his favorite series.
© SOTSU • SUNRISE
It's honestly refreshing when a franchise with as storied a history as Gundam can step back and laugh at itself.
Looking back to earlier in our chat, it's fascinating when one considers how the Mecha genre has more-or-less grown up alongside the bounce. An example that springs to mind right away is, for better or worse, one of the most popular entries in the Gundam franchise—Gundam Seed.
© SOTSU • SUNRISE
SEED's many mid-battle bounces have become infamous, especially in mecha circles. Gundam Build Fighters even poked fun at these moments by recreating them in a scene where an old man shares why SEED is his favorite series.
© SOTSU • SUNRISE
It's honestly refreshing when a franchise with as storied a history as Gundam can step back and laugh at itself.
Putting that in a "serious" space opera is laughable, but you also have to ask: would SEED have been better with less titillation? The obvious answer is yes, but I'm not so sure it's as cut and dry. I think, when you're younger, seeing horny stuff in a bigger narrative like this can give it an illusion of illicitness and maturity. If there's something a little transgressive about it, then you might latch onto it harder. Eventually, you grow up and learn to laugh at it.
I could see some kid catching a glimpse of this on TV and then think, "Wow, this is a mature and serious show" with all the earnestness in the world.
© SOTSU • SUNRISE
© SOTSU • SUNRISE
For a similar example from our friends at Sunrise, take Code Geass. Would it be as popular without its proclivities? I don't know. I think that probably added to its over-the-top appeal.
As someone who was a hormonal teen when Code Geass aired on Adult Swim, I can tell you that Kallen was the primary draw for many of my friends in addition to the cool robots.
That's a huge factor! We have to remember that lots of anime is aimed at teenagers, who are, by and large, a cacophonous soup of hormones who possess a tenuous grasp on reality and even less of one on what's sexy or not. I know. I've been there. I'm glad I'm out.
At the same time, it's fun to laugh back at the mistakes of one's youth like Gundam!
Like the over-the-top floppiness of Burn Up W! A title from my FYE-rat days that I chuckle at now that I know it's one of Hiroshi Negishi's many 90s flopfests.
© 1996 AIC / MRC
If his name sounds familiar, Negishi has also directed Tenchi Universe (the best Tenchi), Divergence Eve, and my sleep paralysis demon, Amazing Nurse Nanako.
Steve, have you ever seen a DVD menu that jiggles?
© 1996 AIC / MRC
If his name sounds familiar, Negishi has also directed Tenchi Universe (the best Tenchi), Divergence Eve, and my sleep paralysis demon, Amazing Nurse Nanako.
Steve, have you ever seen a DVD menu that jiggles?
No, but I'm frightened you're going to show me one.
You guessed right, my compadre.
© 2000 Save Our Nurse Project
And all three volumes do it too...
© 2000 Save Our Nurse Project
And all three volumes do it too...
There is much to be said. About technology.
On the other hand, you can argue that these ridiculous physics and proportions are better suited to overt ecchi and porn titles because exaggeration is already baked into the genre. It's the proliferation of Gainax-ing throughout the rest of the anime-sphere that runs a greater risk of giving people wack ideas about how women's bodies work.
On the other hand, you can argue that these ridiculous physics and proportions are better suited to overt ecchi and porn titles because exaggeration is already baked into the genre. It's the proliferation of Gainax-ing throughout the rest of the anime-sphere that runs a greater risk of giving people wack ideas about how women's bodies work.
This isn't how most bodies work last I checked.
© 2000 Save Our Nurse Project
© 2000 Save Our Nurse Project
There's also nothing remotely close to gender parity here. What's the male equivalent of jiggle physics? I've seen people argue for pectoral flexing in super muscly dudes, but I'm sorry, that's not the same thing.
© Hiromu Arakawa/Square Enix, MBS, ANX, BONES, dentsu 2004
© Hiromu Arakawa/Square Enix, MBS, ANX, BONES, dentsu 2004
You might see a freshly fried piece of man's breast every so often (Bravern and Fairy Ranmaru are examples that come to mind), but it's rare to see the same level of over-exaggeration applied to the male form. Well, maybe except for the gigantic bulges that show up once in a while. If the readers can think of any examples, I'd love to see them in the comments.
I believe Fairy Ranmaru is the only recent show that gets close. If you ask me, the male equivalent of boob physics is ball physics. I need to see those family jewels swinging around like they're in Newton's cradle. And while Fairy Ranmaru doesn't go quite that far, it doesn't fear the bulge.
© 馬谷たいが／F蘭製作委員会
You can practically see this guy's scrotum. That means we're finally getting somewhere.
© 馬谷たいが／F蘭製作委員会
You can practically see this guy's scrotum. That means we're finally getting somewhere.
The sheer malevolence of that scrotum.
There's a gotta be a dude whose booty is too big to fit in the robot, right?
© 2003 Project GODANNAR
There's a gotta be a dude whose booty is too big to fit in the robot, right?
© 2003 Project GODANNAR
Surely. If you have evidence out there, please let us know.
That said, I don't think we're going to solve the jiggle gender gap overnight, so in the meantime, I don't see anything wrong with highlighting a few more favorites. Valkyrie Drive: Mermaid is a lesbian sleaze classic, as well as another innovator. Its giantess episode is one for the ages. Talk about more bounce to the ounce.
© Valkyrie Drive Partners
That said, I don't think we're going to solve the jiggle gender gap overnight, so in the meantime, I don't see anything wrong with highlighting a few more favorites. Valkyrie Drive: Mermaid is a lesbian sleaze classic, as well as another innovator. Its giantess episode is one for the ages. Talk about more bounce to the ounce.
© Valkyrie Drive Partners
I've never been more astonished and taken aback at the same time before.
It's the kind of genius you only see in the greatest of trash. We'd also be remiss to omit the limbo scene from Myriad Colors Phantom World. KyoAni might be good at tricking you into thinking they're an arthouse studio, but they can get down in the muck with the best/worst of them.
© 秦野宗一郎・京都アニメーション/無彩限の製作委員会
© 秦野宗一郎・京都アニメーション/無彩限の製作委員会
This was one I couldn't stop laughing at for the sheer absurdity of it all. All things considered, it's well thought out as a gag.
Maybe they're an arthouse studio after all...
© 2000 Save Our Nurse Project
Regardless, Nanako still haunts my every waking moment. I don't know what semblance of gravity (if any) those balloons work under.
© 2000 Save Our Nurse Project
Regardless, Nanako still haunts my every waking moment. I don't know what semblance of gravity (if any) those balloons work under.
Speaking of gravity defiance, I have to mention the moon-bounce mammaries of Occultic;Nine, if only for its one degree of separation from Eiken. Did you know that Masashi Ishihama, one of my favorite directors, both did the OP on Occultic;Nine and character design on Eiken. That's an Obari-esque spread of talent if you ask me.
© Project OC9／Chiyo st.inc
Circling back to how we got here, with great power comes great responsibility. Gainax's bazonga zealotry may have changed the face (and torso) of anime forever, but that doesn't mean every example is a slam dunk. Stray too far from God's light, and your face might melt like that one dude in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
© GoHands／松竹・もめんたりー製作委員会
© Project OC9／Chiyo st.inc
Circling back to how we got here, with great power comes great responsibility. Gainax's bazonga zealotry may have changed the face (and torso) of anime forever, but that doesn't mean every example is a slam dunk. Stray too far from God's light, and your face might melt like that one dude in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
© GoHands／松竹・もめんたりー製作委員会
Or you'll find yourself questioning your own sanity within a review on an anime website... The dangers are real.
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