Ask John: Are There Any Hentai TV Series?

Question:
There’s so many OVAs and movies for hentai, but those wouldn’t be shown on TV (unless maybe there’s a pay channel, like Playboy in America). It would be interesting to know of any hentai TV series out there. If there are, are they actually hardcore hentai or softcore?

Answer:
I’m not aware of any full fleged adult anime ever having been broadcast on Japanese television, but an edited version of the first 9 episodes of the 1996 Dokyusei 2 adult anime series did recieve a limited Japanese television broadcast in 1998. While Dokyusei may be an exception, as an adult anime series edited for later television broadcast, there have also been adult anime series that have been adapted into mainstream television shows. For example, the 1998 Elf Ban Kakyusei: Anata-dake wo Mitsumete OAV series was erotic anime, but the 1999 Kakyusei television series and 2004 Kakyusei 2: Hitomi no Naka no Shoujo-tachi television series were not adult anime. Likewise, the Septem Charm: Magical Canan OAV series from 2000 was adult anime, but the 2004 Magical Canan television series is not pornographic.

The most risqué anime series broadcast on Japanese television that I can think of is the 2001 Hanaukyo Maid Tai TV series that featured excessive nudity and quite overt sexual innuendo and imagery. But this original Hanaukyo Maid Tai anime is considered “ecchi” rather than genuine “ero anime.” The September 2, 2004 broadcast of Gantz episode 15 is, as far as I’m aware, the first ever instance of an anime episode actually depicting graphic sex. But while Gantz episode 15 may include the most graphic depiction of anime sex ever seen on Japanese television, Gantz is not primarily an erotic anime while the 2001 Hanaukyo Maid Tai television series is primarily a sex comedy.

Thanks to Chieko Cranley for assisting with this article.