SHIMONETA: A Boring World Where the Concept of Dirty Jokes Doesn't Exist

Episode 9

SHIMONETA has always been a show which determinedly gives the (censored!) middle finger to any concept of good taste, but some of its routines are more tasteless than others. I consider this week's episode, which focuses on the supposed allure of unwashed panties and shorts, to have the most tasteless content yet – yes, even over the guy who uniforms himself completely in panties and sips from a glass in which panties float in some kind of liquid. But mileage may definitely vary, and good taste is hardly a requirement for entertainment value in any case.

It's also a little important to understand why this episode exists. While panty fetishists can probably be found in almost any first-world country, Japan is especially notorious for them. (The origins for this are a little complicated, but one big factor is that the only Japanese women who could afford to wear Western-style undergarments in the post-WW2 reconstruction period were high-class prostitutes, hence wearing panties got associated with sexual promiscuity in a way that didn't happen elsewhere. See this NSFW article for more.) Within that subculture in Japan, the selling of used panties is a “thing” big enough that there are even stores and vending machines which specialize in that. Hence this episode is undoubtedly either an homage to, or (more likely) a rip on, that seedy side of Japan's erotic underbelly.

The issue comes up because using the smell of Tanukichi's unwashed shorts to lure out members of Gathered Fabric is a key part of Ayame's plan to show that SOX does not stand with Gathered Fabric – or at least so she says at first. In actuality, Tanukichi's shorts are intended to keep Anna distracted while the operations are going on, and they do their job quite effectively. Saotome's panties instead end up getting used for the actual bait-and-capture maneuver, which proves very effective. During that process, though, Tanukichi also accidentally subdues Tsukimigusa and discovers that “she” is really a “he.” He also learns that Tsukimigusa has such a robotic mindset that he defines himself based on whatever he's told to do, hence references being made to Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics and the title of the episode being an allusion to the Philip K. Dick short story “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” Tanukichi then has to use the shorts he's wearing to escape from Anna, who arrives on the scene. Meanwhile Kosuri has been taking her own initiative to further the cause, though she is bitterly disappointed when her methods are classified as counterproductive. The episode ends with SOX being called out to a midnight meeting with the leader of Gathered Fabric.

Tsukimigusa's behavior last episode now makes more sense, though what is revealed here does not detract at all from one theory that has been raised about him: that he is intended to represent the rather arbitrary nature of online pornography filters. This fits too well for the comparison to entirely be a coincidence. On another front, Kosuri's behavior throughout the episode suggests that she may soon become disillusioned enough with SOX's more moderate approach and jump ship for a more extremist group, and Gathered Fabric is the most likely candidate; one strong sign of this is the way her hairdo deflates in one late scene as she has an internal monologue reviewing her disappointment. Anna's steady deterioration also continues apace, and once again we are reminded that Tanukichi is remarkably buff as leading men in fan service shows go.

While the ribald language powering the show may eventually get old, it has yet to do so, and the artistic quality and storytelling advancement remain consistent. Hence the grade dip is entirely reflective of me finding this particular subject matter less palatable. As a final thought, while Funimation has yet to announce a dub for this one, I see one as being inevitable, and I look forward to hearing Funimation's voice actors taking this one's dialog and running with it.

Rating: C+

SHIMONETA: A Boring World Where the Concept of Dirty Jokes Doesn’t Exist is currently streaming on Funimation.com.