Opinions divided over traditional aesthetics versus modern sexiness.

So it’s not really a secret that Japan has an unabashed love for breasts. That goes double for anime breasts, but therein lies the source of Japanese illustrator and Twitter user @Rinco042’s dilemma.

Being a professional artist means that more so than what you want to draw, you have to draw what clients and consumers are willing to pay to see. Unfortunately for @Rinco042, there’s a pretty big difference between those two things when it comes to drawing women wearing kimono.

▼ The left drawing is labeled with “What I think looks beautiful,” and the right with “What people want me to draw.”

History is actually on @Rinco042’ side here. For generations, the popular opinion has been that a kimono, when worn properly, should eliminate the visible curves of a woman’s body. Hardliners insist that the obi (sash) should be tied high enough to have a flattening effect on the chest, and also positioned to minimize the arc of the hips. As a matter of fact, in order to conform with this standard, some Japanese women who have an hourglass figure will wrap a towel around their waist before tying the obi, in order to create a boxier silhouette.

However, with modern fashion being less conservative, non-kimono fashion in Japan has moved toward designs that accentuate the body’s contours. Since many anime franchises depend heavily on their characters looking cool, fashionable, and attractive, there’s a pressure to draw kimono clad women with their obi tied lower, cinching in the material around the waist and creating a shelf for the breasts to lay atop, making them appear full and perky.

However, @Rinco042 isn’t totally alone in his traditional tastes, as more than online commenter voiced such a preference.

“I like the left, but you’ll get a better reaction from audiences for the right since it’s easier to tell the character has a nice body.”

“If she’s got impoverished breasts, the left style makes her look beautiful.”

“Hmm…I can’t say one is absolutely better than the other.”

“I like them both!”

“The left drawing is correct. The right one is desirable.”

“Personally, I think it’s sexiest to have a girl who looks like the left drawing, but when she takes her kimono off it’s like ‘Wow!’ Maybe the one on the right feels just a little too overtly trashy? Man, it’s a tough call.”

With breasts continuing to be practically a genre unto themselves in the anime industry, however, the likelihood of anime women suddenly adhering to orthodox kimono protocol is as likely as all those dreamy anime samurai boys suddenly swapping their pop star-style hairdos for period-appropriate shaved heads and topknots.

Source: Wadai no Gazo ga Wakaru Site
Top image: Pakutaso
Insert images: Pakutaso