Top 10 Best Anime Beach Episodes

“Blue Exorcist” (2011)

Just because you are going to the beach doesn’t mean you can’t get some work done. Rin and company are sent to the beach on a mission, if you could call it that, to get some R&R. A major excuse to have fun and goof off, the cast slip into their swimsuits and have a ball, giving fans plenty to watch. While this is interrupted by the appearance of a Kraken off-shore, this just adds to the overall appeal. Who doesn’t love exorcists fighting in shorts and bikinis?

“Haganai” (2011-13)

Nothing is better than laying on the beach and taking in some rays with your friends or at least until things get a tad crazy. On a mini-vacation to their beach house the Neighbour’s Club decides to hit the beach, and make things a little interesting. One member proposes humiliation play, which means each character humiliating another. This reults in a handful of rather provacative scenes, such as a massage on the beach turning into a foot rub with just a tad too much lotion. It’s certainly the definition of fanservice, and hits all the points fans could hope for from a beach episode.

“School Rumble” (2004-06)

If there is one take-away from this show it’s that nothing goes well for Harima. After a relaxing session of practicing martial arts in the nude, Harima is mistaken for peeping on the ladies in the spa. Of course things escalate and this case of wrong place wrong time provides fans with the awkward and funny moments the show is known for. Even after he is cleared of all wrong doing, things continue to go from bad to worse for our unfortunate hero. It’s unfortunate too because we all know who the real pervert in this show is.

“K-On!” (2009-10)

Determined to train for their upcoming comeback performance, the light music club decides to practice at a beachside villa. Things have been pretty stressful for the group lately and it’s really important to the show’s audience that the girls get a chance to unwind in their swimsuits. However, due to the nature of the show, the fanservice in this episode is actually pretty tame, and instead, audiences get a lot of heartfelt and honest moments between the characters. Even Mio opens up in this episode, and Ritsu learns the hard way not to get on her bad side.

“Guilty Crown” (2011-12)

It doesn’t quite make it a hot and romantic beach day without a confession of some kind. On this trip to the sandy paradise, our heroes travel to a beach resort to try and unlock Shu’s void, a genetic weapon with special properties. What follows is a hilarious yet romantic encounter as Shu tries to confess his love to Inori, all while Souta tries to prevent the encounter at all. While Souta does succeed, it isn’t without a few mistakes and hilarious moments for the viewer. Will Souta live this down? Probably not.

“Free! Iwatobi Swim Club” (2013-14)

Now here is a real challenge, how can you make a fan service beach episode when the characters are already barely wearing anything to begin with? Well “Free!” pulled it off. In order to practice long distance swimming, the Iwatobi decides to practice in the ocean, Makoto’s mortal enemy. The episode is already hilarious to begin with, but the stakes are amped up with a near kiss between main characters Haru and Makoto. It may had just been a tease...but so close. What? They’re good lookin’ dudes.

“Gurren Lagann” (2007)

When you need down time for repairs, the ideal place to relax is at the beach. Just a mere stop on their way to the Beastmen’s captial, Team Dai-Gurren decide to wind down with some beach games. Unlike most beach episodes, the plot actual develops and the team is ambushed under dire circumstances. Yoko, one of anime’s sexiest characters of all time is actually wearing a fairly conservative swimsuit and teaches the audience a lesson in trust as she takes a shot no other sniper could have made. As far as beach episodes go, if you’re looking for fanservice, look elsewhere, but if you want a solid, story driven episode this one lands top marks.

“Bleach” (2004-12)

Even shinigami need to unwind once and awhile. In desperate need of a vacation, the Soul Reaper Association decides to relax at, you guess it, a beach. They begin with a typical sand castle building contest, but that gets rudely interrupted by a group of watermelon monsters. The team is forced to defend themselves against this new, rather strange enemy. Despite the common beach episode tropes, the episode also reveals a reapers major weakness... that they are nothing without their weapons. As long as you don’t take this episode too seriously, it’s actually a lot of fun.

“Highschool of the Dead” (2010)

For a series that pushes sexual objectification to the limits, it’s kind of hard to even imagine what a beach episode might bring to the table. This infamous OVA follows our main group as they escape to an supposed zombie-free island. After Takashi accidentally burns hydrangea leaves to make fire, all of the characters suffer hallucinatios of, shall we say, a sexual nature. Just like straight out of fan fiction, each of the characters start pairing up and hooking up. It combines fan service with comedy very well, as Takashi believes that all four girls who want to be with him turn out to be zombies.

Before we play in the sun with our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

“We Are Friends, Aren’t We?”
“Persona 4 the Golden Animation” (2011-14)

“At the Beach”
“Nisekoi” (2014-15)

“Me, Everyone, and Swimming in the Ocean”
“Baka and Test” (2010-11)

“The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya” (2006-09)

No one really does a beach episode quite like Haruhi Suzumiya. Instead of taking the normal approach of providing an excuse for the main cast to step into something a little more revealing for mindless fun, we get an interesting murder mystery on a remote island. With obvious references to famous detective anime such as “Detective Conan”, this episode makes sure you get both the suspense of an intriguing mystery as well as all the fun in a day in the sun. You can’t stop the S.O.S. Brigade from having a blast.