Nose bleeding in anime/manga

I used to not mind it, but the more ecchi anime and manga I read, the more it pisses me off. I understand that nose bleeds are for comedic effect, to give a sense of exaggeration, or even show how "pure" (or perverse) the character is. However, more often than not, the nosebleed just seems forced and over the top, or makes the character seem like an asshat (with the sole exception being side characters who are there for comic relief only).

This especially bugs me in harem series, where the main character is typically exposed to bras, breasts, panties, asses etc. on a daily basis. You would think that after so much exposure, the character would build up some kind of resistance, but no. It might just be the contrast between seeing the character develop so well in a series in all aspects, but completely not develop any sexual maturity, that makes me angry and disappointed.

One example is Nagasarete Airantou. This series is about a 15 year old kid who is lost at sea and ends up drifting onto Airantou, and island populated by only women and talking animals. Almost all the girls want to get into his pants cause he's the only male human on the island. As per usual, the main character is not used to the female body and prone to nosebleeds. Up to this point, I don't have any issue with the series' progression. But up to the latest chapter, he's been living on the island for 7-8 months already, and yet, at even the slightest sight of boobs (which you don't even get to see since this is a shounen manga), he'll pass out from a nosebleed.

Another example (and the one which finally set me off enough to make this topic) is Sore ga Kanojo no Seigi Nara. There aren't many chapters out since the series is relatively new, but from just reading those chapters, I was already intensely annoyed with the nosebleeding. The story is about a guy who has to move in with a family friend cause his parents are going overseas. The family he lives with is just a mother and 3 daughters (pretty typical of this type of manga), and the mother is an erotic novel author, so you can imagine the perverted stuff that happens. The issue that I have with this series is the how the nosebleeds, in my opinion, destroy the main character. The main character is the type of guy who has little to no experience with girls and has a scary face (think Ryuuji from Toradora or something). He is generally aloof and a nice guy. But at the sight of panties, he will pass out from a nosebleed. As a reader, this just feels like a huge indication that the character lacks sexual maturity. It's alright if it only happens a few times or only happens if it's something extreme, but in a manga where the main character can fucking pass out from just imagining it... I think it's wrong. As an aside, I might be wrong about this series since I've only read the first 5 chapters...

I don't know, maybe it's just trying to stick with the manga/anime tradition of young men getting nosebleeds due to female pheromones, or maybe the author is just lazy and can't think of something new, or maybe I've just been reading too much H-manga. Whatever it is, I just feel kind of cheated seeing characters not develop. I remember going through high school, it's the time when kids become more and more sexually aware, kids going through puberty and shit. I'm not asking for it be perfectly realistic (where nosebleeds wouldn't occur at all), but at least make the character a bit easier to relate to, a bit more realistic...


And my rant is done. I'm not gonna proof-read or edit this cause I can't be bothered to when it's 3:30 in the morning. I just wanna see what people's opinions are on this issue that's been nagging at me for a while. I also apologize if bits and pieces of my rant don't make sense.

It doesn't bother me. I see the nosebleed as a comedic effect tool and a euphemism for lust. The series that comes to mind that is loaded with them is Maria Holic. The nosebleeds in that series served their comedic purpose very frequently.

I think you are asking a bit much to have realistic characters get nosebleeds. I have never had nor seen anyone get a nosebleed the way it is shown to happen in manga and anime. The nosebleed is used to show lust without drawing an erection and/or wet panties while bringing comedy with it. Do not expect to relate too much to characters who can lose enough blood to pass out frequently and no one around them appears concerned.

Already watched the anime and read the manga + spin offs.



After getting some sleep and re-reading my original post, I see that some of my points didn't really make sense, but I guess what I wanted to say can be summed up to: "I feel that excessive nosebleeds in a longer running series interferes with character development".

I completely understand where you're coming from. I know that nosebleeds are used for comedic effect, and they act as a euphemism for lust particularly in shounen series where ecchi or more mature content is frowned upon. However, I'm just disappointed in it's overuse in some seinen series. I find the comedic effect lost more often than not. I'll give Maria Holic a read and see how I feel.

One series where I was fine with the nosebleeds was To Love-Ru. I think I enjoyed it because the nosebleeds were well placed, and as the story progressed, toned down. It gave the sense that the main character was developing sexual maturity after constant exposure to the female body.

There are some animes where they are completely overused, one example being baka & test, and more recently acchi kocchi, although it doesnt bother me at all when i see them.

I don't mind seeing it in series like those because those titles are focused almost purely on the comedic aspect rather than the ecchi/romance/etc aspect of the story.



I just read the first 20 or so chapters of Maria Holic (or however many chapters are available online...), and I agree with you completely. But I do draw the distinction that in Maria Holic, the nosebleeds do not disrupt the flow of the story compared to the examples I mentioned in my opening post. It's not like the main character passes out every single time (from what I've read, only once) she gets a nosebleed. The story doesn't suddenly jump after she has a nosebleed. I think this might be where I'm having the most issue with.

It feels to me that a lot of times, the author is using a nosebleed (and subsequently, falling unconscious) as a way of resolving ecchi situations, rather than letting the characters figure out a solution. It just makes me feel disappointed, like I've been cheated or something. Or I guess, to put it more clearly, it just seems to me that in a lot of series, the nosebleed is being used as a kind of deus ex machina or sorts.

Never really thought of it until now but Rito doesn't really get nosebleeds. He just gets really nervous, impending doom syndrome if you will, and embarrassed.



There were almost too many nosebleeds. It bothered me in this series only because all of the male main characters except Hideyoshi got them almost simultaneously at the sight of any fan service.

In Acchi Kocchi, I've only noticed Hime does it every time Io does something nice. That is definitely overusing it but she is sufficiently far "back" as a support character that it isn't bad.



That kind of nosebleed is the most irritating to watch. I dont recall seeing them very often though, which is good.

On what you mentioned about Maria Holic. A large part of the comedy in that series is Kanako being a pervert or Mariya messing with Kanoko. If Kanako did not get nosebleeds, she would come off as a much scarier kind of person. He frequent nosebleeds make Kanako funny and harmless which is good for the story.

On the other hand, a series like Baka to Test would benefit from not having nosebleeds at all. The series already had plenty of comedic material and a solid romantic storyline. In my opinion the nosebleeds detracted from an otherwise good series.

Well some series like Seitokai Yakuindomo for example, has less nosebleeds (there isn't any if I recall) and that still make up for the pure and innocently Tsuda, it's far better than overusing nosebleeds (depends on the storyline though)

Acchi Kocchi for example, it's okay to have nosebleeds in it, and yeah it was Hime.

Exactly, it's not often that you get the nosebleed as an issue solver, but when you do, it's damn irritating. And it just seems that I've had the misfortune of coming across several series with that issue, which prompted me to make this thread.

I fully agree with you on Maria Holic. I feel that with Baka to Test, it doesn't make a difference for me. The nosebleeds are often minor or even as an aside, I sometimes don't even notice them at all (or I do but just zoned them out).

I couldn't even sit through Baka & Test because of the massive amounts of nosebleeds. By the way some of the people were spraying, you would have thought there would have been some deaths due to major blood loss. Having one nosebleed per chapter/episode should be enough to get the point across.

I really didn't find too much issue with Baka Test.
You should know by now that people in anime have a lot more blood than the average human.

Now that I think of it, Maria+Holic had a ton of nosebleeds and Ikuto from Nagasarete Airantou graced us with some of the most epic nosebleeds.