Year of the Rabbit (Girl)

February 7, 2011

So, cute and cuddly rabbits don’t do it for you? How about cute and (not so) cuddly girls dressed as bunnies? Yes, not only does manga like the furry bunnies, it also like the playboy versions. Here are some bunny girls from both manga and anime, who aren’t quite so playful, but will be a handful.

Dragon Ball – Yes, it’s back to the original quest. Bulma and Goku are traveling with Oolong, and Bulma needs a change of clothes. Of course, with Oolong wanting to be a playboy himself, the only thing he has that fits Bulma is a playboy bunny outfit. She’s not happy about it, but with no other choice, she changes into it anyway. The costume does come in handy at the beginning of the Monster Carrot chapters.

Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi – Haruhi isn’t the shy type. When she’s looking to get cases for the newly formed SOS Brigade, she of course goes for the most attention grabbing outfits she can think of. Bunny Girl suits for her and the unfortunately very shy Miruku. Coerced into the outfit by Haruhi, they stand at the front of the school passing out flyers until the administration shuts them down. Haruhi later appears in her Bunny Girl outfit at the school festival.

Daicon IV Opening – Old School anime fans like myself will never forget their first Bunny Girl. The girl from the Daicon IV opening animation done by the guys who would later go on to form the animation studio Gainax. Back in the 1980’s, it was really impressive to see this animation, even on an “nth” generation video tape recording, knowing it was done by a bunch of fans on their own. Even now, it’s an impressive piece of work, spanning Japanese anime, manga and tokusatsu genres, as well as science fiction movies, comics and books. And the star of the animation is an unnamed girl in a playboy bunny suit. I never get tired watching it, trying to catch all the references they threw in.

Densha Otoko: The TV Series – The opening credits to the  TV series is an homage to the above mentioned Daicon IV opening. While it was animated by rival studio Gonzo, the opening makes several references to scenes from the original opening, as well as featuring a different bunny girl. Miina is the main characters of the meta anime series created for the TV show, that Train Man is obsessed with at the beginning of the series.

Getsumen to Heiki Mina – This is the name of the fictional series created for the TV serier Densha Otoko mentioned above. Only, it became less fictional as it was given both its own anime and manga series. In this series, humanity is the only culture in the universe to create sports, so now Earth has become a place for aliens to come and unfortunately, disrupts, sporting events. The Rabbit Force, a group of rabbit-themed, transforming girls are responsible for enforcing the treaties between humans and aliens and capturing the offenders. The series isn’t available in the US, but at only two volumes, why not?

Am I missing any more Bunny Girls? I’m sure I must be. Leave a comment and let me know!

2 Comments

  • Komori February 7, 2011 at 3:47 pm

    Probably quite a few, since just about every series likes to get at least one girl into a bunny girl suit at some point, but the one that jumps to mind for me is Rabi~en~Rose from Digi Charat.

  • Heather February 7, 2011 at 7:56 pm

    Awesome bunnies, but I would add my favorite anime bunny epsisode as
    Urusei Yatsura’s OVA – Inaba the Dreammaker, bunnies everywhere 😛

    Other animated bunnies I have enjoyed are:

    Sonic – Cream
    Tenchi Muyo – the girls have appeared as bunny girls and of course there are the cabbits
    Otaku no video – Misty May – one of the most infamous bunny girls

    and in America I would add – Jessica Rabbit 😛

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