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The three different ways to draw clothing over anime breasts, and what to call them

Casey Baseel Nov 21, 2017
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Japanese artist shares illustrated field guide to busty anime visuals such as the “boob bag.”

As with many things in anime, anime breasts are different from real-life breasts. Most obviously, they’re often larger and more bulbous than their real-world counterparts, while ironically being far perkier, as though busty characters’ torsos are constantly in the center of a localized anti-gravitational field.

The unique properties of anime breasts also affect anime fashion. With chests being so large and protruding, artists have to put a lot a lot of thought into how clothing will fit over a busty character’s upper body, and for reference illustrator and Twitter user Moyugen has prepared a visual comparison of the three most tried-and-true aesthetics, as well as a name for each.

https://twitter.com/moyugenn/status/932186749605781504

Starting on the left, we have what Moyugen calls the chichibukuro, or“boob bag.” Far more common in anime than in real-life apparel, the chichibukuro snugly cups each breast individually, even wrapping around underneath the bust.

Next, in the middle, is the chichi tent (“boob tent”), in which the expanse of fabric needed to cover the chest also results in more material throughout the torso, with the shirt being tucked into the waistband to create a single peak that’s less pronounced than with the chichibukuro.

Finally, at the far right is the chichi curtain (“boob curtain”), which could theoretically be the same shirt as the one from the chichi tent illustration, but this time it’s left untucked, resulting in a blockier silhouette as the material hangs straight down from the chest with no tapering.

Some might question the need to spend so much time on this wardrobe decision, under the not entirely unreasonable hypothesis that many anime viewers and manga readers’ minds will simply register “girl with big boobs” when they see the character. But seeing Moyugen’s three designs side by side like this, each one definitely gives off a very different vibe. The chichibukuro is clearly the most salacious, especially since the shirt would have to be purposely cut in a manner to accentuate the chest. Meanwhile, the chichi curtain seems like a common-sense choice for a character who simply happens to be large-chested but doesn’t want to draw attention to her bust. In a media like anime and manga, where creators have total control over the characters’ appearance, those little visual cues can go a long way towards creating a tone for a character or series, and so a familiarity with the styles Moyugen demonstrates is actually a pretty useful skill for manga/anime industry professionals.

Source: Twitter/@moyugenn via Otakomu

Follow Casey on Twitter for more vocabulary they don’t teach you in Japanese class.