Violets are blue.
This show's about panties.
Colorful is a 1997 manga created by Torajirō Kishi of Maka-Maka (2003) and Otome no Teikoku fame, and was serialized in Weekly Young Jump; and was later adapted into a short anime in 1999 by Triangle Staff and was broadcast on TBS (16 episodes, each about seven minutes long).
It is about males and their obsession with panties (and sometimes breasts). It's quick-paced with little to nothing in the way of actual plot, focusing instead on delivering ecchi humor in whatever way it can.
Not many characters show up more than once, and those that do lack depth. Among the recurring ones are Hirokawa and Itani (two college students), Yamamoto (a cute athletic girl), Yamamoto's coach, the English teacher, Steve (an American transfer student obsessed with photography), and Shimoi (a TV reporter).
As The Other Wiki says, "Anime fanatics tend to either love or hate the series as it is considered either wildly funny, or tasteless and depraved."
Not to be confused with the Japanese animated film also titled Colorful.
Tropes:
- Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: In one episode, there is a movie about a giant man with a camera. He shrinks back to normal when he spots a pantyshot. In a later episode, there's a 50 foot high school girl.
- Diegetic Soundtrack Usage: The theme song plays on TV in one episode.
- Obliviously Evil: From casually dropping her empty Pocky box onto the road to shattering windows thanks to her cellphone ringing, the 50-foot tall high school girl seems completely unaware of the damage that she causes to the city she's visiting.
- Phenotype Stereotype: Steve (an American exchange student) and the school's English teacher are both blond-haired and blue-eyed.
- "Shaggy Dog" Story: The last episode plays out as a fanservice-free Out-of-Genre Experience, with the reporter character Shimoi presenting a special about a mysterious psychic, who appears at the end to display his powers. The psychic chants and gestures dramatically, there's an uncomfortable pause... and Shimoi's skirt falls down. Cue close-up of her underwear.
