History Main / KimonoFanservice

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* Tobirama offers a RareMaleExample in ''Fanfic/UmeiNoMaisUnchained'', as his Lord-Wife Izuna really enjoys buying him expensive outfits, seeing him wear said outfits and unwrapping him from said outfits.

* This trope played out in at least three episodes of ''Manga/MaicchinguMachikoSensei''. One episode featured the main character acting in a historical drama,another was set during the Lunar New Year, and the third took place during a festival. In keeping with the tradition of the anime, she lost her kimono every time.
* In ''Anime/MaiHime'', after Shizuru rescues Natsuki from Nao, she's seen wearing a purple kimono and gives Natsuki a light blue one. Shizuru continues wearing the kimono for most of her PsychoLesbian rampage, but it eventually gets torn in places, and she changes back into her StudentCouncilPresident [[CustomUniform uniform]] by the time Natsuki confronts her.
* In episode 11 of ''Manga/MissKobayashisDragonMaid'' most of the cast wears kimono when going to a New Year's festival. Notably, [[MsFanservice Lucoa's]] obi is tied in the front.

* [[MoeAnthropomorphism Japan]] from ''Webcomic/AxisPowersHetalia'' doesn't really fit this trope canon-wise, fitting KimonoIsTraditional better... but does fandom put him into yukata and kimono a ''lot'' more often than canon does? And use them to play up his YamatoNadeshiko and/or {{Moe}} traits? You betcha.
** Played completely straight when Ukraine and Belarus were drawn in kimonos, as per fan request.

* After a PottyFailure in episode 6 Mayu from ''Anime/DeathParade'' changes into a kimono. Harada hits on her now that she isn't wearing a lot of makeup and looks more homely. She returns back to her normal attire next time we see her.

* Most anime only have girls wear kimonos in {{Festival Episode}}. ''Anime/{{Free}}'' thrives on having a CastFullOfPrettyBoys and thus Rei and Nagisa wear kimono during the festival episode.

* Ryougi Shiki of ''LightNovel/KaraNoKyoukai'' hardly ever wears anything else. [[LadyOfWar And she kicks lots of ass, too.]] It's not usually used for fanservice with her, partially because she tends to wear a jacket over it, but this [[http://abload.de/img/takeuchi_takashi0063ucni.jpg official image]] and these [[http://abload.de/img/141644444fb11a5c5fb49ebc8e.jpg concept sketches]] do come to mind. Rrrr.

-->'''Amasawa''': "Cute?"
-->'''Koganei''': "[[DistractedByTheSexy Yeah]]...I mean NO!"

Due to its complexity and obscurity to modern, and foreign, folk, it's also constantly subjected to research failure-induced UnfortunateImplications (right flap over left means you are dead and soon to be cremated) and AccidentalInnuendo (in modern era costumes, obi tied in front signify a ''working girl''). Kimono wearing in itself has suffered from TropeDecay; a single man can be blamed for today's tubular kimono fashion, its rigid rules, and the death of the more fluid style of pre-WWII times. As per RuleOfCool, many of those rules get kicked out the door in fiction, and heroines won't get accused for "abusing a national symbol" by a mob of angry aunties.

* ''Manga/TanakaKunIsAlwaysListless'': When told that Echizen is wearing a yukata to the spring festival, Ohta's ImagineSpot of what she might look like puts her in a [[ShipTease risque, off-the-shoulder yukata with done-up hair and sultry make-up].]]

Kimono Fanservice comes in two types, which can and do overlap (please note that straight fanservice, where the garment simply happens to be a kimono, but could just as well be a bathrobe or a shirt or whatever, is simply {{fanservice}}.)

* ''[[Franchise/ShinMegamiTenseiPersona Persona]]'':

* [[TearJerker Cruelly and dramatically]] subverted in ''Manga/OniisamaE''. During a flashback, we see [[spoiler:Kaoru Orihara]] wearing a yukata during a date with her boyfriend [[spoiler:Takehiko Henmi]], and she strips naked in front of him... [[spoiler:to show him her physical scars after her [[IllGirl breast cancer]] caused her to have a mastectomy. She then breaks up with him, because [[DontYouDarePityMe she doesn't want to be a load to her loved ones]].]]

* In ''LightNovel/HighSchoolDXD'' this is Kuroka's (Koneko Toujou's older sister) standard attire, with an ImpossiblyLowNeckline to boot. And with the series being very much an {{Ecchi}} series, it's played for {{fetish}} as she's also a ShamelessFanserviceGirl. She eventually reveals that she [[GoingCommando wears absolutely nothing under her kimono]] as she takes it off and dives into the Hyoudou residence swimming pool, naked.

!!!Examples:

* In ''LightNovel/HighSchoolDXD'' this is Kuroka's (Koneko Toujou's older sister) standard attire, with an ImpossiblyLowNeckline to boot. And with the series being very much an {{Ecchi}} series, it's played for {{fetish}} as she's also a ShamelessFanserviceGirl. She eventually reveals that she [[GoingCommando wears absolutely nothing under her kimono]] as she takes it off and dives into the Hyoudou residence swimming pool, naked.

* In ''Manga/{{Chihayafuru}}'', the main characters usually wear kimono to karuta competitions at the behest of Kanade, whose family owns a traditional clothing store. It's noted many times how gorgeous Chihaya and Taichi look in them - in fact, when they promote the club at the beginning of their second year, they deliberately put the two of them in kimono to speak to the school to invoke this trope. Kanade exemplifies it best, though - while she's normally considered cute more than beautiful ([[BuxomIsBetter and, uh, busty]]), when she wears a kimono she becomes a full-on YamatoNadeshiko, dignified and refined and graceful, and enthralling to watch.

* The racier U.S. [[PulpMagazine pulp stories]] of the Thirties would often have a Western character wearing a kimono as an "at-night but not actually in bed yet" garment; the fashion took a sudden nosedive in the Forties for [[UsefulNotes/WorldWar2 reasons that should be obvious]].

Kimono are also a specific type of Japanese {{fetish}}, in ways not easily explained to the uninitiated. Firstly, people are expected ''not'' to wear western-style lingerie underneath, as a bra would ruin the bustline (which should be smooth), and pantylines are a definite no-no. Secondly, the whole body being wrapped in one lovely package typically spells out (in the case of a girl) "youthful", "innocent", "proper", "charming" and "eligible" in kimono code. Few people in Japan know enough about kimono to detect every nuance, but the message seems to trigger some subconscious level of understanding. The idea of getting to open up such a prettily-wrapped present thrills many a mind, similar to [[OfCorsetsSexy corsets]]. There's also the fact that, no matter how much of the body is covered, the Ultimate and Most Bewitchingly Sensual Mystery of the Female Body (i.e. the nape of the neck) is revealed for all to see. Add to that the long shape and restriction of the garment forcing one to adopt a lady-like elegance (or, for guys, a tall and dignified posture) and, well... what's not to like?

* ''VideoGame/AmnesiaOtome''
** The series has the heroine and most of the characters working at the ''Meido no Hitsuji'' café, which is a [[MaidCafe maid and butler café]]. It uses kimono as the uniform for the [[https://mysticalcrimsonsky.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/chara_s00b.png waitresses]], counting on this as being part of its maids' appeals.
** ''Amnesia: Memories'' has a [[FestivalEpisode fireworks festival]] going on in the first half of August. The heroine wears a yukata for two routes, with those routes' boyfriends complimenting her. [[TheCasanova Ikki]] plays this straight by admitting that he isn't just looking forward to seeing her in one, but also that she looks beautiful and sexy in it.
** ''Amnesia: Later'' has every character in its introductory section ''New World'' dressing in yukata while searching for some fireflies. Several characters comment on one or another. Special mention goes to Toma, when he [[ItMakesSenseInContext has to hide under a desk with the heroine on his lap]], and rather embarrassingly mentions that yukata are pretty thin.

** ''Amnesia: Later'' has every character in its introductory section ''New World'' dressing in yukata while searching for some fireflies. [[note]]Except for manager Waka, who wears a traditional Samurai outfit[[/note]] Several characters comment on one or another. Special mention goes to Toma, when he [[ItMakesSenseInContext has to hide under a desk with the heroine on his lap]], and rather embarrassingly mentions that yukata are pretty thin.

* In ''LightNovel/HighSchoolDXD'' this is Kuroka's (Koneko Toujou's older sister) standard attire, with an ImpossiblyLowNeckline to boot. And with the series being very much an {{Ecchi}} series, it's played for {[fetish}} as she's also a ShamelessFanserviceGirl. She eventually reveals that she [[GoingCommando wears absolutely nothing under her kimono]] as she takes it off and dives into the Hyoudou residence swimming pool, naked.

** In ''VideoGame/Persona5'', the girls wear yukatas during the Fireworks Festival.

-->'''Yukiko''': ''I'm wearing a kimono because I'm filling in for my mom at the inn we run.''
-->'''News Reporter''': ''Yukiko Amagi is wearing a kimono because she's filling in for her mom at the inn they run.''

* In a live action western male version, ''Blonde'', a Creator/MarilynMonroe biopic, is mostly notable for featuring Patrick Dempsey and Creator/JensenAckles in a threesome. It also is notable for having Ackles swishing around in a kimono, much to the pleasure of fangirls (and probably a few [[EvenTheGuysWantHim fanboys]] too).

In Japan, kimono hold a very special place in people's hearts, and are a medium of a thousand symbols. For more information about kimono, see the [[{{Kimono}} useful notes]]. For its use as a visual cue for tradition, see KimonoIsTraditional.