Okay, so admittedly, sexy, or bikini, armor may be a pretty self-explanatory idea, but that doesn’t make it any less worthy of a “What is…” article! Plus, it’s an important part of so many anime, and one of the unique things about anime that can set it apart from many other Western animations, and certainly from live action programmes. So let’s start with the basics. Sexy armor in anime is used to define clothing worn by (usually) female characters that, while it may be in the form of nothing more than a bikini, or pieces of more traditional armor that barely cover the necessities for a girl to maintain her dignity, it somehow keeps them safe in battle.
Of course, from a realistic perspective, rushing into a gun fight, a duel with swords, or a magic battle, one should probably wear appropriate attire. Typically that would mean at least leather, if not metal or even chainmail armor – or in a more modern setting, a bullet proof vest or something similar. After all, one doesn’t want to die, so one should protect his or herself however one can. But this is anime we’re talking about, where realistic logic can be thrown out the window in favour of fan-service and fun. And that is exactly what the idea of sexy armor does! Instead of covering up the beautiful bodies of these fighting heroines with realistic and protective armor, they’re left on display for the viewer to enjoy. And yet, somehow, these girls hardly ever get injured despite the life-threatening situations they find themselves in.
Looks like that bikini was the safest choice after all.
The Bikini Heroine
A popular character set-up in many action anime is a large group of mostly male characters, and one or two females. In many series, these females are strong and badass alongside their male counterparts, making them important and awesome members of the team, but they are also often the subjects of a bit of fan-service for the viewers. The bikini heroine is exactly that character! Sometimes, the girl in the group will not just be wearing short shorts and a tight-fitting or low-cut top – sometimes, she might be wearing just a bikini or a similar kind of sexy armor! Thus we present the concept of the bikini heroine – one beautiful girl, wearing only her bikini despite the danger to her body, and continuing to fight on anyway!
1. Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (Gurren Lagann)
- Episodes: Count: 27
- Aired: Apr. 2007 – Sep. 2007
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where humanity has been driven to living underground by a race called Beastmen, who freely roam the surface fighting in their war machines known as Gunmen. Simon and Kamina begin the story as typical underground civilians, working to excavate the Earth for a living – until they stumble across the key to an ancient weapon, which they dub Lagann. When they suddenly find themselves attacked from the surface, they fight back using Lagann and with the aid of a surface adventurer named Yoko. Now that Kamina and Simon have seen the surface, they begin a new journey to help fight against the Beastmen alongside Yoko to save humanity!
In the desert setting of Gurren Lagann, most of the characters are not wearing a lot of clothes – the men are often shirtless or at least have open shirts, and as for our heroine Yoko, she’s just wearing a bikini top, short shorts, and boots! Yoko is quite an iconic character in anime, and many fans know her even if they have never watched Gurren Lagann – she is one of the most well-known bikini wearing fighting girls in recent anime! Yoko faces intense explosions, fights against giant robots, and survives in a post-apocalyptic environment wearing her bikini armor. And of course, it always keeps her safe. If you prefer a more adventure anime plot with a lot of action, but are still interested in a bikini clad female alongside all the men, (and trust us when we say that Yoko’s bikini does wonderful things for her figure), Gurren Lagann is a great choice.
The Bikini Small Group
Maybe just one bikini-wearing girl isn’t enough for you. Maybe you’re not feeling satisfied still mostly looking at men and only having a few opportunities to gaze your eyes upon all that beautiful, exposed skin in your action shots. Fear not, because there also exists the Bikini Small Group! In these anime, there is not just one, but a few sexy armor-wearing girls getting into the action and fighting wearing only the minimum! Get ready for these bikini girls to be interacting with one another and with other characters, and getting down and dirty in the brawl as a group!
2. Bikini Warriors
- Episodes: Count: 12
- Aired: Jul. 2015 – Sep. 2015
Bikini Warriors begins with an age-old plot for a fantasy anime – darkness is taking over the world, and the protagonists have to fight to save everyone. However, this anime is anything but typical! The four main females – one mage, one paladin, one fighter, and one dark elf – just can’t seem to get along with one another, and are rather inept at being adventurers in general. If they want to actually save the world from the incoming darkness, they have to learn to take care of themselves and work together as a team first. Are these girls up to the challenge?
How could we write an article about bikini armor and NOT include Bikini Warriors, especially with a name like that? As you maybe have been able to guess by now, all four of these useless girls are clad in little more than bikini-style armor! They’re still wielding weapons and raiding dungeons (or well, trying to at least…) but they hardly have enough armor to actually protect their bodies. And yet, miraculously, they are safe from harm! Bikini Warriors even has a sequence poking fun at this genre of anime, where the group of girls ask another character if he really thinks their armor is very protective. Bikini Warriors is a really fun look at the sexy armor kind of anime, not taking itself seriously at all and understanding how ridiculous the concept is but running with it anyway. So if you’d like a laugh, and to see a small group of bikini-clad warriors facing the rest of society, give Bikini Warriors a try as a fun look into this idea!
The Bikini Army
Does even the small group leave you unsatisfied? Would you rather eliminate other characters completely, or at least give them a minimal role? Are you left lusting after more and more fighting, bikini girls? Well fear not, the Bikini Army is here! In this concept, nearly every character in the show – or at least, a large number of them – are girls wearing sexy armor. This means you can expect them to not only be fighting the enemy, but even fighting other girls also wearing bikini armor! Everywhere you look, you’ll see bikini girls fighting, and of course, not taking any damage with the miracle protection of their sexy armor!
3. Queen’s Blade: Rebellion
- Episodes: Count: 12
- Aired: Apr. 2012 – Jun. 2012
Queen Claudette rules through tyranny, oppression, and persecution – and a ruler like that almost always incites a rebellion. Thus begins Queen’s Blade: Rebellion, the story of a group of women who are ready to fight back against the Queen! While the Queen may have her own powerful army, it doesn’t get in the way of this band of rebel warriors who are willing to put everything on the line in order to try to save their kingdom from oppression.
Queen’s Blade has created an entire world where nearly every single character in it is a sexy armor-wearing girl! The ladies on both sides of the war are wearing bikinis that are based on medieval, fantasy-style armor – they look like they’re made from metal or leather, and include elements like capes, boots, and gloves. However, they cover only as much skin as a typical modern bikini would, leaving exposed legs, armors, stomachs, backs, and of course, a fair amount of boobs too. The women are fighting on another with a variety of medieval weaponry, and yet, their minimalist armor keeps them quite protected even against swords! So if you want to be overwhelmed by the sheer number of sexy armor girls fighting against one another and coming from every direction, Queen’s Blade: Rebellion is definitely what you want to check out.
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, anime is always going to be different from Western animation and live action TV shows, and one of the many reasons for this is that it has so many unique concepts in it that just don’t exist outside of anime. The idea of the bikini warrior is one of those wonderfully unique things that we love about anime. Who doesn’t love seeing an action anime full of great fights and awesome characters, with the added bonus of a sexy girl showing off some great attributes while she pulverizes her opponents? And of course, we never want to see her get hurt – and luckily her bikini armor protects her!
What is your favourite bikini wearing heroine or anime from this idea? We would love to hear your love for these sexy girls and their clothing (or lack thereof)! Is there another concept you would like us to explore in another “What is…?” article? Please let us know in the comments below! And until then, keep watching these amazing ladies kick ass and take names.
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