Beach Episode - Television Tropes & Idioms

alt title(s): Pool Episode

EVERY anime has a beach episode, Alex!

—Roger Van Der Weide

Art: Why does every anime series under the sun have to have a fan-service episode? An episode in which the cast all wander around in swimwear or less for no real reason? It's so low-brow.
Pip: Shall we confirm that by watching it again?
Art: Absolutely.

— Sequential Art

Simply put, an episode where the cast decided to take a break and go to the beach or a swimming pool for some wet and splashy fun.

Often combined with or immediately following a Recap Episode, the Beach Episode exists solely for the purpose of getting the female (and sometimes males too) cast into bathing suits. Sadly for the fanboys, beach episodes are usually extreme examples of Filler and treated accordingly.

Naturally, it also acts as a Breather Episode in arc-heavy stories.

Common in, but hardly limited to, anime series. Often shows up in Side Story Bonus Art.

Cousin to the Hot Springs Episode, which usually takes place in highlands. Often, the actual beach also gets replaced by a swimming pool.

Note: It sometimes occurs that the Beach Episode is interrupted by the actual plot of the story. For example, the heroes are taking their well deserved beach trip when the villains decide to show up and cause trouble.

Sometimes you'll meet the Surfer Dude here. Also a good spot for a random Beauty Contest.

Examples

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Anime and Manga

Ai Yori Aoshi - had a two-episode beach arc, which also included a Furo Scene and a festival scene.
Asatte No Houkou - has this as its first episode.
Axis Powers Hetalia - Germany, Italy and Japan get shipwrecked on a tropical island, and don't seem to mind too much. They actually enjoy themselves. In another strip, America and England are both stranded together, both being themselves.
Azumanga Daioh - had several, though as a Slice Of Life series, they weren't filler. One even provided the infamous scene of Osaka waking Yukari up with a knife.
- And Nyamo's drunken lecture. And Yukari's driving. Heck, a good chunk of the memorable things about Azumanga Daioh were from the beach episodes.
Beach Stars - The sports-manga is mostly a Beach Episode-manga as the sport in question is beach volleyball.
Bleach - conveniently has a Beach Episode that pops up right in the middle of a major arc. The twist: It's canon.
- Episode 228 of was a Beach Episode focusing on the Shinigami Women's Association. Such highlights included skimpy bikinis, Matsumoto teaching Orihime how to use her breasts as a bucket, and a watermelon/tentacle monster hybrid.
Blue Drop - There is one in the anime, leading to an important turning point in the relationship between Mari and Hagino.
Boys Empire - The sixth issue of has Hitomi leading Makoto to a beach her family knows about and considers fairly private... only to find Ikki and Those Two Girls already on it. Then Ikki declares it a nude beach, and... well, it's a Hentai.
Burst Angel has a beach episode with very skimpy swimsuit. And a tentacled Squid Monster.
- Made even better once you find the ''dirty'' hidden commentary on that DVD
Busou Renkin- also involved such an episode. In the manga, it is stated that Nobuhiro Watsuki originally did not plan to do it, but insistent letters from fans and encouragement from his staff eventually won him over.
Chobits anime series - one of the many deviations from the manga is a Beach Episode. Completely useless for the plot and hammered in without fear of splinters ...
The Daughter Of Twenty Faces - has a Beach Episode that furthered both plot and character development, and the actual beach scenes were rather short and almost completely devoid of fanservice. Unless you're into conservative 1950's style swimsuits or something.
- You are into that sort of thing, aren't you?
Excel Saga - Lampshaded. The show's creators introduced one episode by saying that they needed better ratings, and as a result there would be no men in the episode, and all the women would be wearing swimsuits.
Full Metal Panic! contains several subversions. Twice, Kaname gets primed and ready for a beach vacation only to end up having Sousuke drag her somewhere else (once to a submarine, once to a military festival) instead. When Kaname does go to the beach for a vacation in the middle of the series, the episodes focus almost entirely on Sousuke's mission in the Middle East instead, with only a few brief cuts to Kaname showing her bored and worrying about him.
- An actual Beach Episode, meanwhile, takes place in Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu.
Genshiken - had fun with this type of episode, as most of the cast were otaku and thus not the sort to go to the beach on a regular basis. ("What the hell am I doing in a place like this... Isn't it embarassing to go to ComiFes with a tan?".
- Also notable was Cosplay Otaku Girl Ohno, who wears some fairly risque things, being shy enough to cover most of her outfit with a long shirt.
Great Teacher Onizuka: The double beach episode is an opportunity for two of Onizuka's students to deal with their UST.
Gun X Sword had a plot episode where they needed to kidnap a character living in the Kingdom of ~~Mizugi~~ Missoghi, a port which only woman wearing swimwear could enter. In a solid effort it managed to provide fanservice and plot at the same time. With a nice dose of Fan Disservice in the closing moments.
Hana Yori Dango- The anime and manga continuities of have two beach plot arcs, one during a summer break and one on the Domyoji private island.
Haruhi Suzumiya - (picture above) also had a Beach Episode with a twist, a parody of a Locked Room Mystery that had been set up, Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre-style, to keep Haruhi from getting bored. And since it was taken directly from the novels, it is not filler but canon.
Hajime no Ippo had one featuring not only humor, but also some degree of plot as the guys went there not just to relax and have a good view of girl booty, but to train. In fact, Ippo realizes one of his early flaws (lack of leg strength) there.
Hayate No Gotoku had its Beach Episode set in an artificial beach constructed inside the Sanzenin property.
Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni had a beach arc (one day),which was adapted into a one episode.
- In the anime,it's a pool arc. Also,the manga has a few swim suit omakes,and their are quite a few beach/pool official arts.
Hitohira has a dramatic beach episode in which Nono and Risaki beat each other up until they collapse.
Ichigo Mashimaro - has Nobue take the girls to the beach one summer break; slightly parodies the trope, as Miu comments that her friends should have "sexy" swimsuits like hers.
I"s - Yep, there is one in this manga.
Katekyo Hitman Reborn! Of course there is one! Who remembers the part when Tsuna has a lifeguard job with his friends?
Keroro Gunsou - Once a year the anime tries to balance the fanservice by throwing in a comedy contest, whereas the original manga was a straight-up swimsuit contest. Involves at least one girl losing her top in front of many geeks, who are there for the Gundam models as much as the swimsuit models. Inverted in the manga with a women's skiing contest during a trip to the mountains, and in an episode of the anime featuring a man-only beefcake contest.
Kimagure Orange Road - The pilot was a Beach Episode. There was another one later heavily based on it. Both of these episodes were based on the same story in the manga, with the second one (set in a skiing resort) being the accurate one.
- Even more surprising was that during these two episodes, things between Kyosuke and Madoka progressed somewhat, especially without Hikaru around as much to be a Clingy Jealous Girl.
K-ON has two beach episodes... out of a grand total of 12 episodes.
Lamune is, apparently, a beach series.
Love Hina - did this twice, extending the second into a miniarc.
Lucky Star - also features a Beach Episode, complete with characters bemoaning the lack of interest from guys, the protagonist's attempts to be more appealing with an inner tube, and a scene picking apart the trope of vacation food actually being pretty terrible.
Macross 7 - never accused of being the most plot heavy of series early on in its run, had one as well...only an emergency related to an attack by the Varuta caused Basara and Mylene to get trapped in between two emergency bulkheads and nearly freeze to death in a rather ironic subversion.
Mahou Sensei Negima - The manga has several chapters taking place at beaches. The original Marshmallow Hell incident occurred at one of them. Also notable that most Beach Chapters do have important or at least notable events occur during them.
Mai-HiME - Fanservice and plot advancement in a Beach Episode? Yep. Episode 9 of Mai-HiME managed to get (most of) the girls in bathing suits, but also included a B-story that delved into Natsuki's past (and there was the whole Laser Hallway subversion, too).
Mai-OtomeSubverted in Episode 9 looks like a Beach Episode on the surface, but the beach actually serves as the starting point for a survival test (that later goes horribly wrong).
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha - The third Megami Sound Stage which took place in a beach, parodied the tendency for this trope to be used as an excuse for Fanservice when Hayate cheerfully announced that she, Nanoha, Fate, and Vivio were doing the recording in swimsuits. When everyone else reacted in surprise at her comment, saying that they're all in uniform, Hayate explained that since this is an audio media, she's sure everyone listening was imagining them in swimsuits regardless of what they're wearing.
Mars Daybreak manages to get one despite the fact that there aren't any beaches on Mars: The pirates found a spot on the planet where The Federation's satellite surveillance system was blind for one day out of the year, and so take advantage of the situation to open up a swimming pool on top of their sub.
Mazinkaiser - The OVA even had a classic Beach Episode with explicit Fan Service that may have given Kouji's perverted little brother a permanent... yeah. The Professor's shapely twin assistants need someone to oil them, for starters.
Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch - Practically every episode had the beach in it, though as expected for the demographic a lot of fanservice was male. There were more traditional Beach Episodes, though, such as the "Mermaid Contest" episode, where the girls try to show off talents and compete with the Dark Lovers in a beachside beauty contest. In the manga, Lucia even wins by inadvertently flashing the audience when her bikini top comes undone.
Martian Successor Nadesico has both a bonafide Beach Episode early in the series, and a swimsuit contest onboard of the titular spaceship later in the series.
- And even so, things still occurred that were quite amusing, and didn't end up as something that 'never happened.' Especially with the Admiral's fate in the first of these two.
Naruto has yet to have a Beach Episode (or have anything set anywhere near a beach). However, at the end of the third movie, there is a beach scene. And yes, Sakura is the focus of the scene.
- Shippuden also has a Beach Ending Credits.
Ninin Ga Shinobuden The 4th episode is parody of these. It doesn't even take place at a beach.
Nodame Cantabile - In the OVA the main characters go to the beach, offering Nodame a chance to show herself off in a bikini.
Nogizaka Haruka No Himitsu - had a Beach Episode as the prelude to the titular character's birthday party. On a island that her father had bought for her especially for the occasion. Is canon, as a VERY important plot character is introduced during this episode Haruka's grandfather, a man that even when retired, causes industrial giants to cower in fear
Onegai My Melody even puts the plush bunnies in bikinis for its Beach Episode.
Onegai Teacher - for the honeymoon.
- And later on in Onegai Twins for...well, just a vacation, really.
- The Onegai Twins OAV also qualified, given the greater prevalence of swimsuits and absence of plot or character development.
Ouran High School Host Club - there is a Beach Episode that features guys in bathing suits, but the one main female character is of course in a tshirt and shorts, as she cannot reveal her gender. This was compensated for by having the club's customers prance about in swimwear. Hilarity Ensues? Well, not really. Instead, Kyouya acts like a creepy sexual offender, and Tamaki teaches Haruhi a vaguely sexist lesson.
Outlaw Star had the wonderful Hot Springs of Planet Tenrei in which the crew of the ship visit an entire planet that was turned into a resort. Rather unusually it was cannon since Gene collects some rare caster shell bullets from some of the monks that made them in the past.
Pokemon - had an episode named "Beauty and the Beach" that was — you guessed it — a Beach Episode with a swimsuit contest. It was originally cut from airing outside of Japan, but later aired as a lost episode with the most questionable part cut out: James entering the contest in a skimpy bikini with inflatable breasts.
The Prince of Tennis - Inverted in where the main characters take a break to play in an unofficial beach volleyball tournament. Male ass is revealed, and the only woman in a swimsuit is pushing 50, resulting in severe nausea when she tries to be seductive.
- Also a parody, since this episode was an Alternate Continuity version of PoT where the cast played beach volleyball rather than tennis. When Inui realized the truth and tried to tell the others, the word "tennis" was censored out, as if some cosmic force were trying to stop him...
Prunus Girl has a beach trip in the second chapter. Kadoyama is eager to see what Aikawa picks out to wear, but it ends up just being shorts and a hoodie.
RahXephon - Subverted in episode 8 is set up as a Beach Episode, with everyone wearing swimsuits, but... it's Christmas, it begins to snow, and the rest of it is played more or less like a typical Christmas episode.
Ranma 1/2 - did almost an entire movie as a Beach Episode as well as a regular one. An interesting note is the transition from manga to anime actually removes one as the setting was changed from a beach to a ski resort (though it also adds one as filler).
Saber Marionette J - does not have a true Beach Episode in its TV run, but it does feature a contest with several of the female characters in swimsuits instead. Also, the manga version has an actual beach chapter, complete with two beach voleyball games.
Sailor Moon - This shojo anime had at least one Beach Episode per season. Notably, the one for Sailor Moon R was absent not only from the dub, but also from the uncut DVD release; the incident is often presented as "the creators didn't like it", however it's possible that DiC simply decided to not even bother with this episode and didn't acquire it (ADV apparently used the same masters). The episode is rather silly: it isn't a part of the season's main storyline, and involves Chibi-Usa and what appears to be a baby plesiosaur.
School Rumble - the beach episode had an awkward moment for Eri and a very naked Harima.
Sonic X - Even this had a beach episode, for those of you who like to stare at Amy Rose in a swimsuit (yes, she has a prominent focus in this episode).
Tenchi Universe - had a beach episode once with the obilgatory bikini contest. Funny considering every other episode IS a Hot Springs Episode
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann - plays with this. When the crew arrive at the sea for the first time and the the girls demonstrate the connection between beaches and skimpy outfits, almost everyone turns expectantly to Yoko. After "voicing" her dissatisfaction, she appears in a beach outfit that is rather more conservative than her usual attire. Considering that she normally wears a string bikini and daisy dukes, if it got any skimpier she would just be naked.
- It's also not so much a filler episode, if I recall correctly, since the episode did end with Adiane dying.
This Ugly Yet Beautiful World - had one right after a Hot Springs Episode.
Tokyo Mew Mew had a Beach Episode that focused mainly on Lettuce trying to help a little girl learn to swim and learning to swim herself.
Uta Kata takes place in the Japanese town of Kamakura, known for its beautiful beaches, so the occurrence of a Beach Episode is almost inevitable. In fact, there are two of those and both of them are relevant to the plot.
Wedding Peach - averts the filler part by having the beach episode in the first part of the OVA, and it's where their new enemy appears.
Yoku Wakaru Gendai Mahou - Episode four was actually a pool episode.
Zero No Tsukaima - may be set in a medieval European fantasy world, but that does not stop it from having a beach episode. It helps that Headmaster Osmond is a Dirty Old Man who will make up whatever excuse he can to get the girls into swimsuits that have somehow appeared from our world.

Comic Books

Live Action TV

Astonishingly, a textbook example can be seen in the Star Trek Deep Space Nine episode "Let He Who Is Without Sin...". Taking place of Pleasure Planet Risa, It's played straight as an arrow, the episode takes place square in the middle of a story arc involving the emergence of the Jem'Hadar from the Gamma Quadrant and the threat of imminent war. A full review detailing point by point its awfulness can be found here. Even the writer admitted the idea was one of the worst ideas he ever had, and said that what was on his mind when writing it was "Please don't let this suck. Please don't let this suck."
Commonly seen in the first few seasons of Power Rangers, though it got both the males and females into fanservice outfits. Which explains one of the reasons why older fans of either sex may have loved the show so much. While these episodes were almost always filler as usual with the trope, it must be noted that 85% of any given early season of PR was filler anyways.
- You see a lot of the beach in Ninja Storm, what with it being New Zealand and everything.
  - Meanwhile, all the New Zealand-filmed seasons afterwards have had practically no beach episodes. Assumedly the producers wanted to use as much of the new location novelty as they could at the start, before it wore off.
  - That, and they probably didn't want to wear out the excuse that Ninja Storm used - that one of the Rangers is a surfer in her off hours.
Due to location, as many as half of all CSI Miami episodes qualify.
- This troper remembers an episode where they not only had a beach volleyball match (women's, naturally), but they managed to get a camera angle where the brand of bathing suit was clearly visible. That Jerry Bruckheimer! Always thinking!
The episode "The One at the Beach" in Friends, and its counterpart "The One with the Jellyfish", respectively the last episode of season 3 and the first of season 4. Many cast members appeared in beach clothes. Joey was given sand boobs.
- And Chandler pissed on Monica's leg after she was stung by a jellyfish. BEST EPISODE EVER.
In Saved By The Bell, there were a few episodes taking place at a beach club where the whole gang had jobs there.
Actor Jensen Ackles likes to joke that he's been trying to pitch the "Demon Surfer" episode of Supernatural so they can film in Hawaii and have a Beach Episode. Strangely, this tends to happen in a lot of Supernatural Fan Fic.
The short-lived Falcon Beach was pretty much nothing but this. How did this show not survive? Oh, right, Screwed By The Network, which gave it a horrible time slot. And no, this wasn't FOX's fault. Actually, FOX would be a logical place for this show...
Scrubs had The Janitor's and Lady's Wedding set in the Bahamas
The Hercules: the Legendary Journeys episode "The Apple" featured our heroes at a beach. It's heavier in plot than most beach episodes, but the fangirls get to see Hercules and Iolaus almost naked. And Iolaus invents surfing!
- Are you kiddin'? Nearly every Hercules episode, and certainly every Xena episode, was overflowing with fan service out several wazoos. How about Herc posing nude for an artists' charity benefit? Atalanta flexing her muscles for the "Olympian" Games? Let's not forget the trio of nude, go-go dancing Gabrielles, and of course Xena just being Xena. I realize the parent entry specifically addresses the trope and these additional examples do not; I'm just saying the writers never needed a beach as an excuse to dish out the eye candy.
The Office had an episode where they went to the beach. Or rather, the side of a lake. Subverted in that hopes of beachy fun and Pam in a two-piece were dashed as Michael used it as an excuse for a Survivor style event to pick his successor, and the episode features some of the best character development to date.
It can be argued that Baywatch was nothing but an endless series of beach episodes.

Video Games

Dead Or Alive: Extreme Beach Volleyball and its sequel are the video game equivalent of this.
There is a set of "vacation" missions set in Costa Del Sol in Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core, with Fan Service for both the girls (Zack in swimming trunks) and the boys (Cissnei in a bikini).
Bikini Karate Babes is an entire video game made of this trope! More specifically, a large group of motion captured women get stranded on an island and have to wait for a rescue boat to come. So how do they pass the time? By fighting in front of each other. The winner gets to rip off either the top or bottom half of her opponent's bikini. Yes, this is a real game, and no, it's not very good.
Late in Tales Of Symphonia, there is a sidequest that allows you to get some beach-based alternate costumes for some of your characters. It takes a minimum of three plays to get all eight characters' costumes.
- In the same game, there is not one, but two Hot Springs scenes.
Being a game masterfully covered in Anime Tropes, Persona3 has one of these taking place at Yakushima. A transvestite and robot are involved.
Valkyria Chronicles has a feature that lets you purchase extra chapters- some are just story, some have missions that can gain you extra cash and XP. The most expensive of all of these? "Squad 7's R&R", where they all head to the beach...
"Goodbye, Shingala," Chapter 4 of Dark Cloud 2, is set at the beachside village of Veniccio. The action segments take place in the Ocean's Roar Cave dug into the nearby cliff.
Averted with Wii Sports Resort. While the game's events take place at an island resort, most of the events take place on land or indoors. The only ocean events are powerboating and wakeboarding, and the only event occurring on a beach is tossing a frisbee to a dog.
Romancing Sa Ga 3 had Great Arc, a large tourist spot on the beach, where the heroes can get directions to Pirate Black's Treasure. The Old Man at the port holds the correct map; Said old man is Pirate Black
Super Mario Sunshine is set on the tropical Isle Delfino. Two of the stages are calm, relaxing beaches (one of which even has a hotel).
If you get a high enough total score in Elite Beat Agents, you can unlock a picture of the agents at the beach with some rather fanservicey material for both genders (J surfing with a dolphin, Spin playing volleyball with Missy, and Chieftain apparently checking out Foxx's body). The tenth stage is also on the beach, essentially, with lots of Gainaxing.
Xenosaga, being a game of cutscenes, has a beach "episode" around the half-way point of Der Wille zur Macht. Also sprach Zarathustra quickly gets a scene of Shion in a bikini on the beach.
The school trip to Alohaha is an example of a Beach Episode gone horribly wrong. How wrong? Criminal Wizards steal various character belongings, the Evil Duo corrupt the Wizard in charge of the environmental system, said corrupted Wizard starts an earthquake that threatens to sink the island and everyone on it, and it all ends with one villain killing three separate characters, one of which is human!
- She ends up okay though.

Webcomics

Film

Web Original

Real Life

Western Animation

WITCH has one in the second season episode I is for Illusion where the girls go to the beach to relax on summer vacation, though unlike other examples it's anything but filler as The Chessmaster Nerissa attempted to sow seeds of discontent amongst the girls, and very nearly managed to steal Will's Heart of Kandrakar. In the very next episode, "J is for Jewel," Irma is still at the beach with her family as they decided to stay a few extra days while the other girls leave, which leads to a big problem when she's needed to help fight and is separated from the rest of the girls.
One Season 3 episode of Avatar The Last Airbender is entitled, "The Beach." ...If you hadn't already guessed, yes, it is indeed a Beach Episode, featuring Ozai's Angels (+Zuko) in swimsuits. The preview images, particularly Ty Lee's, erupted into quite a scandal in the fandom.
- The Grand Finale also had a brief scene at a beach. Sokka tries to get everyone to chill out, only to be derailed by Zuko's Stop Having Fun Guys attitude. ...and fireballs.
Ben10 does this in both series. In the first, they're children, and it's summer vacation, so there's nothing surprising or scandalous about them going to the beach (and a water park). In Alien Force, they're teenagers, and it's apparently later in the year (as everyone's normal day clothes have long sleeves, a jacket, etc), but they still find a reason to go to a lake and splash around for five minutes. The boys wear typical swimtrunks, but Gwen's swimsuit has gone from a high-necked one piece to a very revealing white bikini in the style of Ty Lee's up there...
The Backyardigans had an episode about surfing, but the surfing was left for the near end, since they were looking for the perfect waves. Bonus points go for Austin and his "Mystery Lifeguard" song.
- "Legend of the Volcano Sisters" was also a beach episode.
Several episodes involving Shego in Kim Possible, since she does enjoy sunbathing during her vacations. Come to think of it, she doesn't even need a beach...
Although several Chip And Dale Rescue Rangers episodes involve beaches, the one true beach episode is "Shell Shocked" because Gadget is wearing a swimsuit. A one-piece swimsuit with attached skirt, but a swimsuit.
The Futurama episode "The Deep South" is primarily a beach episode, and the movie Benders Big Score features a prominent scene with everyone at a nude beach (also highlighted in the DVD packaging).
Actually Hey Arnold had one (Summer Love, a.k.a. Beach Story). It helped to develop Arnold and Helga's UST and throw some fanservice by the character-of-the-week, appropriatedly named Summer.
Winx Club: There was plenty of beach fun in season four but never a full episode of it. Instead, there was a 3-D music video called "Mambochiwambo" that fulled the role, more or less.
Phineas And Ferb has a few. In one episode they make a beach, and on another occasion they go to a genuine one to find a lost goldfish, and then in a later episode they return to search for Atlantis.