Keijo!!!!!!!!: Weaponized Sexiness

People that describe Keijo as "just a fanservice show" or anything similar to that, don't seem to understand the point of fanservice. It's been almost two years since the show aired and people still don't get it. With Keijo it's like someone hears a joke, doesn't get the setup or punchline, and then heckles the comedian and audience.


Keijo is the titular water sport where girls stand on a small floating arena and compete against one another. The aim is to push the other contestant off of the arena into the water, but players are forbidden to use their limbs. They are only allowed to use their hips and chests to fight. However, they are freed to launch their attack to any body parts of their opponents, including their opponent's face and vital points.

Now don't get me wrong, the characters in Keijo are very, very sexy but what makes the series not fanservice is in the the way the girls frame and discuss their body parts. The cast of Keijo has diverse array of body ranging from slim like Sayaka to Nozomi gymnast-athletic build to muscular like Atsuko. It's the entire figure of a character in Keijo that's highlighted first instead of the boobs and/or butts. After all, the Boobs and Buts in Keijo are weapons.

Take a good look at the above image. The character's butt dominates the entire frame just like it's dominating her opponent's face. Now if this were a fanservice anime aiming to get excitement out of the viewer, the butt would be framed softer and more appealing. But Keijo is a sports series, a Battle Shonen in fact so her butt is illustrated the same way a punch would be; with emphasis on contact and impact.

Now I can't speak for everyone, but I don't find Cerberus imagery being portrayed from a girl's posterior sexy. That doesn't do anything for me and it probably doesn't get most viewers' blood flowing down under. Still, I don't speak for everyone, somebody might find that hot, but if you've even seen one clip from a race in Keijo and honestly think that people are watching this for some sort of tease; what's wrong with you? I have to ask this because the attacks in Keijo are so over-the-top that it's nearly impossible to see it as fap material.

Due to the nature of the sport Keijo creates interesting fight sequences by putting characters against people with similar or different body types. In the match-up between Sayaka and Rin where both girls have small, slim builds, it becomes a contest of speed.
Whereas the aforementioned muscular Atsuko, who hardens her body ends up losing to Non's "Soft Buns". Keep in mind this is a battle Shonen. This is competitive sport. So the stakes in the story escalate and so do the battles and moves.

Gate of Bootylon isn't sexy. Horny teenage boys aren't getting their jollies watching this. This is an over the top, signature move a character is using in order to win. It could be read as hilarious but it's played completely straight. The training arcs, power ups and victories also played straight. The cast spends a lot of time exercising and competing so it all feels like a genuine anime.

It's a parody and when it's not humorous it has honest value as a sports series. It's not ruining anime, it's not a mistake. It's a show with a concept and aesthetics that flew right over the heads of people due to a buzzword and how they directly associated it with a series' quality. Don't be like those people, watch Keijo.