Wandering Witch creator bans anime series from featuring panty shots

Panchira fans will be disappointed with the new TV adaptation of Wandering Witch — The Journey of Elaina.

Based on the popular light novel series and its manga version, the anime is one of the highlights of the fall TV season in Japan. But its original creator wants to keep it clean and accessible to a range of age groups.

And this means no panty shots.

In an interview with anime magazine Newtype, Jougi Shiraishi talked about the conditions he set for the anime production.

“The only request I made was ‘Please do not, under any circumstances, show [the characters’] underwear.’ I’d like the series to keep a broad range of ages in its fanbase, and to be a show that people of a wide range of ages will watch. That was the only major request I made. Meeting with the anime staff was probably the most nervous I’ve ever been in my entire life…”

One preview shot does indeed tease fans but ultimately holds back from showing the character’s actual panties.

The first episode of Wandering Witch (known in Japan as Majo no tabitabi) will be broadcast on October 2 on AT-X and other channels. Funimation is streaming the series in North America and some other territories.

Panty shots are a staple of anime, manga, and games — even ones that are not adult-oriented (often known outside Japan by the catch-all term “hentai”), though there are games entirely devoted to the fetish. It can also crop up in TV dramas, too, as Rena Takeda showed us last year.

Of course, this has a real-life manifestation, where guys with cameras or phones try to snap young girl’s panties under their skirts. Escalators at stations are a particular danger zone.