It is, at present, No Nut November, and those participating whether it be for the meme or for the actual good cause may be in need of some distraction. In all honesty, anime may not be the best place to turn. These days, many series come with fan service. There is just no stopping it now. However, if you are looking for something good, but with out fan service to avoid temptation or just because you kind of hate fan service, you have options.
Typically if you want to avoid fan service, you will want to lean towards slice of life series or series with younger characters because even Japan won’t try to sexualize them…Mostly. However, while those sort of series are on the list, we have also offered you up some action series if slice of life isn’t really your sort of genre.
As there is actually a lack of female characters in Vinland Saga, there isn’t a lot of room for fan service. Mostly, it is just Vikings fighting.
ErasedAs mystery about murder, child abuse, and trying to change a series of events that happened when the character was a little boy, there isn’t a whole lot of room for fan service to be wedged in here. Too much intrigue.
Mob Psycho 100The creator of Mob Psycho got all his ecchi out on One Punch Man. What was left over for this series was some visually stunning fights and a show that is able to have a nice mix of action and school life comedy.
Natsume’s Book of FriendsIf you are looking for something lengthy that can really distract you for a solid month, this series and its six seasons can take you away. This is a strictly slice of life series so it is low action and super wholesome about a boy helping various spirits around him.
Legend of the Galactic HeroesAt first you might think mecha series like Gundam would be pretty good to get away from fan service, but you would be wrong in many cases. A solid alternative is Legend of the Galactic Heroes which places a huge emphasis on the politics that caused the conflict of the series. They really spend a lot of time building the characters and throwing in some random T&A would make absolutely no sense.
Higurashi When They CryPart of me just wants to put “HAHAHAHA” here and leave it at that. This series is full of women and even some bare skin, but it is a pretty good boner killer. As a horror series, you can watch this harem of women pretty much terrorize the singular male character as you also try to unravel the mystery as to why they are doing it.
The Promised NeverlandThe Promised Neverland is not only a horror series, but it follows very young children. It has two things that are resistant to fan service, and considering that they live on a human farm and are trying to escape it, fan service just wouldn’t work.
Psycho PassPsycho Pass explores a world in which the police and technology can assess your likelihood of committing crime. In most cases, the person is arrested or killed, but sometimes they are used as weapons by the police. It is a bleak dystopia where everyone is serious and no one takes their clothes off ever.
Violet EvergardenViolet Evergarden is one of the most visually stunning series out there, and also features a poignant plot. While it can become a little dull at times if you are waiting for the action to start, if you are looking some something that really shows what animation can do, this is it.
MoribitoMoribito flips the script on a lot of tropes. It follows a female mercenary who ends up guarding a naive young prince. There is no romance, some action, and this woman ends up teaching the prince about the world in a way that will eventually make him an excellent ruler.
Attack on TitanIn a world about the last remnants of humanity being pushed back behind a series of walls that protect them from giant (naked but not remotely sexy) flesh-eating Titans, there is not a lot of room for fan service, much less happy emotions. People die often and horribly, and later in the series the world becomes unexpectedly more complex.
Death NoteUsing a Death Note dropped from the shinigami world that kills whomever has their name written in it, a teen boy seeks to stop crime by writing the names of criminals in it. Of course, vigilante justice isn’t justice so the series them becomes one of the most legendary games of cat and mouse between this teen series killer and a teen genius detective.
Hunter x HunterShounen anime series, despite being marketed towards younger males, are actually pretty bad about their fan service. Not Hunter x Hunter, however. As the core group doesn’t have any female members and the women in the show aren’t exactly attractive, there is nothing to distract from the epic action and the occasionally traumatizing arcs.
ShikiThis is another horror series about vampires, but they aren’t sexy despite one really trying to be. Instead, you follow characters as they slowly realize there is something very wrong when a bunch of people start dying suddenly in their rural mountain town.
TrigunStrangely enough, Trigun has a lot of opportunity for fan service, but it really never took advantage of it. Instead, the series focuses on Vash and his hunt for his insane murderous brother on the wild west themed world that is the new bastion for humanity whose ark crashed on it.
Rurouni KenshinIn a similar vein to Trigun above, they could have made this series lewd, but it isn’t. This series features sword fighting about a samurai that doesn’t want to kill anymore. The fights are interesting, the back stories are gritty, and the Meiji era costumes definitely prevent sexiness.
Steins;GateLike with its science and its time traveling plot, Steins;Gate is clever with its fan service since none of it is actual fan service. In fact, sometimes the most attractive character in the show is a trap. Regardless, the plot moves fast and there is a lot of dialogue and no time for people to be taking their clothes off.
Do you have any other anime series with no fan service for fans that don’t want it? Let fans now in the comments section below.