Fanservice - It's not all about the jiggles.

Well, this is a pleasant surprise:

Sekirei The Complete Series, featuring voluptuous vixens, sold out at retail in its first week following its release on November 23. The title ranked #1 for new anime series releases for Nielsen VideoScan First Alert Week Ending Nov 28, 2010!

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Original article at Funimation Update Blog 

With the pitiful state that the anime industry is in, news like this is always welcome. One of Funimation's newest DVD releases, Sekirei, sold out at retail only a week after its release on November 23rd. This is great news, especially when it's a new title and not a remake of a series that already has a strong following, such as Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. It just so happens that I was one of the few anime fans that were able to get their hands on this series before it sold out. I was, however, a bit skeptical as to whether or not the series would appeal to me.

Recently the anime industry has been marketing many of their licenses by focusing on how much nudity there is and how jiggly the breasts are. Now, while nudity and breast jiggle is all well and good, there is a point where it gets to be too much. I know several of my friends who didn't buy the series specifically because they didn't want to watch yet another anime that had its story completely squashed beneath the copious amounts of fanservice.

Luckily, despite Funimation's attempt to convince me otherwise, Sekirei was not all about the jiggles. While the series does contain a lot of fanservice, it does not detract from the plot. I'd go as far as to say that, at times, the fanservice even contributes to the plot. It's a lot like product placement, in that respect. When it pulls you out of the story, it's done wrong. When you don't notice it, or if it contributes to the story, then it is done right.

I'm glad Sekirei sold out, but I hope that the reason it sold out so fast was not because of the short skirt and large breasts on the box. I hope that it was because people who watched it told their friends that it was a great series. I want the industry to survive, but not if the series that get licensed are chosen because of the amount of T&A they contain. At that point, we might as forget about storyline and stick to licensing hentai.

Don't be a parasite....even if it is just for the breasts.