I don’t know about you, but I choose not to openly advertise certain aspects of my fandom. There are some things I don’t go on and on about since I feel slightly ashamed of them. These are my anime guilty pleasures.

What’s an anime guilty pleasure? It’s the things some of us have reservations about liking but still like anyway. It’s the jiggly boobs, the hot men, the gratuitous blood and violence and all the other critters and whatnot we go gaga for but keep to ourselves. It’s the anime we publicly deride but secretly watch when we’re alone. It’s the battles we mock and sneer at openly, but are cheering for behind closed doors.
For me, it’s pretty boys. Yeah, it’s out now. I like pretty men. However, I keep my fangirlism to myself, mostly. Poor David, however, is sometimes witness to those rare fangirl moments of giddy clapping. That’s my fangirl thing: I clap and smile like someone who’s been out in the sun too long. Oh, and I hop. And squeal. But like I said, it’s rare. At cons when I see pretty men, I just smile. A lot. All the pictures of me with a fave character feature me smiling like a turnip farmer who just won the lottery. Special.
Pretty men are my anime guilty pleasure. That and the occasional blood spattered volume of Hellsing. I’m not a huge fan of gratuitous violence, but for some reason, Hellsing also makes me smile and clap. Oh, and I forgot to mention my ultimate guilty pleasure: shoujo manga. I have no clue why someone with my preferences, who hates romantic comedies, loathes chick flicks and detests soap operas, would like shoujo manga. I think the gods of anime have a wicked sense of humor….
I also like random comedies and anime cats, but those aren’t guilty pleasures. Everyone knows about those.
Do you have a fave something in anime you keep from your anime friends? Is there a series your friends hate but you love, yet you chime in when they say they loathe it? Is there a fanservice device you feel dirty for liking? Do you like panty shots? Giant mechs? Pretty boys? Magical girls? What’s your anime guilty pleasure?
Feel free to share your anime guilty pleasure below. Let this be your anime confessional!


My current guilty pleasure: Akane Maniax OAV. Combines boy x girl romance, comedy, and mecha. If you haven’t seen it, then be sure to.
Keroro Gunsou is one of those shows which, were it on a local TV station, I’d watch. It’s humorous but not challenging or daring.
Prince of Tennis is an ultimate guilty pleasure. Very little plot, and lots of drawn-out matches. Part of the fun was thinking up “OTPs” between random characters.
I’ve been poring through shounen romance manga lately, trying to find gems. Iinari Aibration is quite the guilty pleasure, ’cause it’s absurd and poorly written and WRONG yet restrained.
@dork at large, I don’t know why, but I dig shoujo romances. What’s the difference between a shounen and shoujo romance? More violence in shounen romances? Kiss me before I destroy the world baby?
My guilty pleasure….
well, probably the anime-type which I don’t openly advertise that I watch would have to be the magical girl genre. Shugo Chara, Nanaho and that ilk.
OMG, my guilty anime pleasure? I would have to say my obsession with Sailor Moon and my desire to really want to cos-play one of the characters, but never having the guts to do it! ^^;;; Oh, that and anime guys with long hair…I gotsta have those long locks *yum*. Oh and yeah, I grew up loving Ronin Warriors and Voltron…so there! Make fun all you want about those things, but that won’t change my obsession w/them =^.^=
-TL
Well, like Tiger Lily, my guilty anime pleasure is also anime guys with long hair XD I only realized it recently actually, so I’m getting used to it LOL But I can’t stand overly bishounen guys with long hair, they give me the creeps >_O Like those kind you find in shoujo harem, gawd I get the chills when I see them LOL! So it’s kinda usually in shounen anime, where thankfully the guys are not overly-prettified (…my own language thank you XD)
My guilty pleasure would have to be shoujo anime; I haven’t watched a lot of it but I do enjoy anime from the genre. I also love School Days just a bit too much.
First off, great screen cap Rachel, ha ha… What i have realized is that most of the titles i enjoy contain romance. I sigh like a teenage girl when the couple finally realize their feelings for each other. Dont get me wrong i like shonen violence but the sexual tension and mixed emotions give me goose bumps and usually is what makes the story. Fairy tale endings… im so weak.
I supposed my guilty pleasure is watching the cutest character get hit for being too cute. Those moments are awesome and anime needs more of them, IMHO.
BL-ish animes and mangas (shounen-ai only please), as well as shoujo smut full of bishies +__+, are my guilty pleasure. But I’m not ashamed of that, coz it’s but normal for a girl to go fangirl crazy over these XD
I don’t know If I hide my fan-girl-ness, I DO hide, on the other hand, anything inapropriate from my family. I know they wouldn’t be comfortable with me watching the gore of Hellsing or the melancholy of Haruhi-grope-fest. Frankly I don’t like watching much of that anyway but if I’m not sure if something randomly innapropriate will pop (Haruhi is a wonderful example…well most anime are) up I watch it “away” from them.
My one and only anime pleasure is Major Motoko Kusanagi. And I’m not guilty about it. Why The Major you may ask. Because she’s super-smart and kicks major whoop-ass. And I’m also a great fan of Shirow senseis’ work.
Haru wo daiteita. I just can’t get enough of that yummy yaoi!
My guilty pleasure… Lucky Star.
well mine is Elfin Lied cuz well she is naked most of the time and covered in blood cuz she is a crazy psycho killer so yea that is kinda like a turn on, blood on naked chicks hot
@Kidan, nothing wrong with magical girl anime!
@Tiger Lily, lol, yeah, I dig long hair too, but I’m an equal opportunity bishie lover; short hair, long hair, if they’s gots the hots it don’t matter about the locks!
@CherylHew, the men you’re talking about are the ones too perfect too exist, that’s why they’re creepy.
@IcyStorm, I don’t like shojou anime, but I really like certain shoujo manga.
@Andrew, you do know chicks dig a guy with a romantic streak? Dude, good for you.
@Caitlin, didn’t that happen a lot in Azumanga Daioh?
@usagijen, “…shoujo smut full of bishis…” lol, awesome line!
@Marie Turner, well anime is like any other medium so it’s gonna have those awkward moments we wish to shelter our loved ones from. I say expose ‘em to it and show them it’s not all Pokemon and Yu-gi-oh. Bwhahhaaa!
@ghostjacker, the Major is most awesome and a fantastic character, plus, it doesn’t hurt she walks around in leotard….
@Hera, and there’s plenty o’ yaoi to go around!
@Fishtub, still haven’t seen LS, must look into it.
@elitesnipeyman, “…blood on naked chicks hot” I don’t know what to say.
hey rachel guess wat no one cares wat u think this is not intended for you to judge so screw u this a guilty fantasy not lets judge everyone fantasy so go to hell
oh yea and rachel wat the hell r u judging for shoujo romances suck at least elfin lied has a good background story
@elitesnipeyman, uh, no, I wasn’t judging you, I honestly didn’t know what to say. But yes, Elfen Lied had a good story and was well told.
well im sorry slight overreaction u know skool sucks and i have a headache but for an explanation well i am a teenage straight violence loving kinda guy so u know that is why i like elfin lied and the story but the graphical content is nice to
@Rachael: Yeah, Azumanga Daioh rules. Definitely awesome and one of the ones I love watching again.
I tried Haruhi and thought that would be my next guilty pleasure… but didn’t really enjoy it as much… or at all. So that was a big let down… I need another guilty pleasure series.
@Fishtub, I won’t even try Haruhi. I’ll stick with my pretty men and thumb through Mars when I really wanna get my guilt on.
watch this its realy good http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiO1mVr1Yvk