Shimoneta: A Boring World Where the Concept of Dirty Jokes Doesn’t Exist (下ネタという概念が存在しない退屈な世界 Shimoneta to Iu Gainen ga Sonzai Shinai Taikutsu na Sekai) is a 12-episode satirical ecchi comedy produced by J.C. Staff, based on a light novel series by Hirotaka Akagi. The anime adaptation was written by Masahiro Yokotani and directed by Youhei Suzuki.
Synopsis
Shimoneta takes place in a dystopian future where the Japanese government has cracked down on any content or behaviour that could be perceived as lewd. That hasn’t just resulted in a ban on pornography and risqué art; the very concept of sexual education has been banned from the scholastic curriculum. In an effort to regain the favour of the society that shunned him, Tanukichi Okuma, the son of a famous “sex terrorist,” joins one of the country’s elite “public morals schools.” However, fate has other plans for him: he may soon be drawn into the world of sexual terrorism himself!
Appeal
A comedy can get pretty far on the quality of its jokes – and Shimoneta‘s are great – but the show has a lot more going on under the hood. Firstly, it has really fun characters with surprising depth. Tanukichi mostly plays the role of straight man, which makes sense, given his backstory, but there’s a subconscious part of him that agrees with his father and wants to carry on the man’s legacy. Student council president Anna Nishikinomiya, Tanukichi’s crush, is supposed to be demure and morally upstanding, but she has a hidden dark streak that she thinks is also morally upstanding (more on that in a bit). Finally, there’s student council vice-president Ayame Kajou, who takes great pleasure in being vulgar when there are no personal stakes for her, but clams up when emotions get involved. These subtle character shadings, brilliantly brought to life by the voice cast, add richness to what could otherwise be a pretty straightforward satire.
For many people, however, the main appeal of Shimoneta is its biting social commentary. Although it was created for a Japanese audience, the story has a lot of applicability for any jurisdiction where decision-making is guided by sexual conservatism. The series doesn’t shy away from depicting the dangers of abstinence-only sex ed: the show’s characters don’t just misunderstand sex; they have zero conception of what sex or consent even are. That leads to some characters, like Anna, failing to grasp that their actions might not be wholly pure. And that also leaves behind a vacuum for unscrupulous people to exploit: what happens if there’s no distinction between harmless fun and sexual exploitation? How does one fight the real villains then? This could be difficult thematic material for a mere sex comedy to tackle, but for the most part, Shimoneta does so with aplomb.
Downside
A lot of the show’s humour comes from dirty puns, which are hard to translate. The subtitled version does the best it can by rewriting some of the puns, but there are limitations. If you want a smoother viewing experience, the dub may be the way to go.
There are two other major downsides. The first is that there are a couple of gross-out sequences. I found them hilarious, but they’re definitely not for the squeamish. The second is that [SLIGHT SPOILER INCOMING] one episode depicts a sexual assault in a sequence that’s best described as an extremely dark joke. The butt of the joke isn’t the victim, but it may still be extremely uncomfortable for some viewers.
Conclusion
Weeb level: 3/10. There’s nothing here that really relies on a knowledge of anime, but you might get a bit more of out of some subplots if you’re familiar with a few anime and manga tropes.
Fanservice: 4/10. Surprisingly for an ecchi show, Shimoneta doesn’t really do fanservice until the final episode (which is more or less a riff on the standard anime beach episode). The show doesn’t aim to titillate, because that would detract from its commentary. However, I’ve put the fanservice rating at a 4, because there’s one scene that features substantial nudity.
Quality: 8/10. Weirdly enough, this is actually the show that got me back into anime after a decade-long hiatus, so it’s difficult for me not to see it through rose-coloured glasses. That being said, it’s a solidly funny show, it has great characters, and it has a remarkably progressive outlook on sex and sexuality. Shimoneta certainly isn’t for everyone, but there’s nothing quite like it out there.
Where to Watch: All 12 episodes are available to watch subbed or dubbed on Funimation. The sub is slightly better voice acted, and the dub irons out the awkwardly translated jokes. You can’t really go wrong either way.