Those who grew up watching anime a couple of decades ago surely remember the pure panic when a risqué scene appeared on screen just as a family member walked into the room. In the Heisei era, Japanese TV had much more relaxed regulations than today, causing several series aimed at all audiences or aired on Sunday mornings to include fan service moments that would now be unthinkable outside of late-night slots.

One of the most memorable examples of this phenomenon was Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. The story of Simon and Kamina fighting for human freedom already drew attention for Yoko Littner’s revealing outfit and camera framing focused on her figure. However, the sixth episode took it further with a plot centered on a hot spring trip. The originally aired TV version had to cut several scenes and replace them with recap clips, but the later home release revealed that the animation team included mosaic censorship within the narrative. The production team later admitted that this episode was designed before the network decided it would air on Sunday mornings, confirming they would have altered the content if they had known earlier.

The situation becomes even more absurd when revisiting Zettai Karen Children, a series aired on weekend mornings following three girls with high-level psychic powers. The production recurrently included sequences in baths and showers, plus an episode where a villain froze students to peek under their skirts. In another chapter, an enemy hypnotized the adult protagonist to perceive the girls as adult women, creating questionable physical proximity moments using steam and shadows to bypass censorship.

Years later, the samurai action series Mushibugyo stumbled over the same issue during its weekday afternoon broadcasts. From its first episode, the story presented a tea-house girl tied with giant spider silk and covered in a strange white liquid. Throughout its run, women’s clothing constantly tore during battles or routine movements, showing how directors of the era mixed action, drama, and lewdness without considering the mixed child and adult audience.

The Heisei era spanned from 1989 to 2019, a period of radical transformation for Japan’s animation industry. During these decades, children’s and youth programming shared space on open TV without the strict self-regulation norms implemented later. This allowed huge creative freedom for animation studios but also left a catalog of embarrassing moments for viewers of the time.

Do you remember any anime scene that made you feel awkward in front of your family?