As anime grows in popularity worldwide, it plays an increasingly influential role in shaping how viewers understand gender, beauty, and relationships. While anime offers many empowering and imaginative stories, the frequent hypersexualization of female characters has raised concerns about how this affects the audience—especially young people. Hypersexualization refers to portraying women primarily through sexual traits or behavior, often emphasizing their bodies in exaggerated, unrealistic ways.

In recent years, anime like My Dress-Up Darling, Attack on Titan: The Final Season, Demon Slayer, and Spy x Family have gained global attention. These shows often blend engaging stories and powerful female characters with problematic sexual framing. This can confuse viewers about what it means to be strong, attractive, or valued in society. The psychological effects are complex but important to examine, especially as many anime fans begin watching during adolescence.

One of the worst things about fan service is that it sometimes makes bad behavior look funny. when a guy in an anime accidentally touches a girl,  or see them in the shower or changing—and it’s treated like a joke. These scenes are everywhere in anime and often come with a laugh track or shocked expressions. But the problem is, in real life, these situations are not funny—they’re inappropriate. When anime keeps showing this kind of thing without consequences, it teaches viewers that it’s okay or normal. That’s dangerous, especially for young viewers who are still figuring out what’s respectful and what’s not.

Of course, not all anime is bad at representing women. And not every fan watches uncritically. But it’s easy to take in these ideas without realizing it—especially when they’re presented as normal, funny, or cute. That’s why media literacy matters. This means learning to question what we watch, instead of just accepting it.

- Why is this character dressed this way?

 - Why did the camera zoom in there?

- Is this scene helping the story, or just showing off?

The way anime presents women doesn't just stop at the screen. It shapes the way people think, feel and behave. For girls, it can mean getting sexy or feeling bad about their bodies. For boys, it can mean learning to ignore or underestimate girls.

Anime can still be fun and beautiful - it just needs to be done better. That means more female characters with strong personalities, and stories that honor their strength rather than focusing too much on their appearance.