Like them or not, episodes are one of the oldest traditions in anime. Though they may look like a cheap excuse for fanservice, the best beach episodes actually advance the plot or, more importantly, give characters tons of development in a stress-free environment.
That's not to say all beach episodes are necessary; in fact, some stretch their audiences' patience thin despite the copious amount of pandering. Though their beach episodes are innocuous, these anime could've been better off without them.
10 The Saga Of Tanya The Evil — The 203rd's Beach R&R Was Another Of The Anime's Many Jarring Tonal Inconsistencies
To be fair, The Saga Of Tanya The Evil had a beach scene, not an episode. That said, seeing the Aerial Mage Battalion chug booze on a beach is just one of the anime's many jarring tonal whiplashes. Said beach is part of a recently colonized country, and Tanya's side is the alternate-universe equivalent of Imperial/Nazi Germany.
Before Episode 11, "Resistance," this supposedly serious war story indulged in anime tropes like a brief school arc where Tanya studied her world's history, or having Tanya (a middle-aged man reincarnated as a young girl) play dress up. Every time Tanya's tour of duty was about to actually get dark, it broke its own immersion by perpetuating anime clichés.
9 My Hero Academia — The Heroes' Beach Mission Felt More Obligatory Than Anything
In Episode 104, "Long Time No See, Selkie," Ochaco Uraraka, Tsuyu Asui, Nejire Hado, and Sirius are chosen for a seaborne mission by pro-hero Selkie. Conveniently, the mission required the four women to patrol a beach where they'd intercept smugglers who were transporting illegal drug components.
While waiting, the four hang out on the beach because Selkie believed it was good for morale. Calling Episode 104 a "beach episode" is charitable, though, since the beach scenes only lasted about half the runtime before the action took center stage. That, and the episode was little more than a set-up for the movie My Hero Academia: World Heroes' Mission.
8 One Piece — The Spa Island Arc Left A Lot To Be Desired
With one of the biggest anime episode counts in history, the still-ongoing One Piece getting its own filler beach arc isn't surprising. What may be unexpected, however, is the fact that the Spa Island arc episodes are considered to be some of the otherwise strong anime's weakest episodes in general.
Episodes 382 to 384 saw the Straw Hats going to Spa Island for a much-needed break following the Halloween action and horror of the previous Thriller Bark arc. Not much of value happened here, with the women providing the obligatory fanservice before participating in a slapstick showcase of powers that demolished the entire island resort.
7 Fairy Tail — Team Natsu Skipped Training For Some Beach Fun
Fairy Tail has more than one beach episode, but Episode 153, "Song Of The Stars," was one of the most hilariously distracting. Shortly after declaring that they would train seriously for the upcoming Grand Magic Games, Natsu, Lucy, and the rest of Fairy Tail high tail it to a beach resort and party like there's no tomorrow.
Shortly into their vacation, Fairy Tail visited the Celestial Spirit World to save it from some danger. It's only after spending yet another day partying in the ethereal realm that they realized that one day in the Spirit World equates to three months in the human world. This means that Fairy Tail wasted a whole three months partying instead of training.
6 A Certain Scientific Railgun — The Beach Was Just A VR Photo Booth
Even more so than its predecessor, A Certain Magical Index, giving a beach episode to A Certain Scientific Railgun seemed inevitable. Yet for some reason, the anime used technicalities to skirt around a regular beach episode. Instead of the beach, Mikoto Misaka, Shirai Kuruko, and friends went to a VR photo booth with a pre-loaded beach.
In Episode 13, Misaka and company were roped into being the Tokiwadai Swimming Team's replacements for a photoshoot. The inconsequential anime-only story's conflict centered on the girls choosing which swimsuit suited them best and surviving the interactive VR photobooth, which kept switching the environment at the worst moments.
5 Yu-Gi-Oh! GX — One Episode After Being Brainwashed, The Chazz Played A Children's Card Game In The Name Of Love
Comically serious characters using card games to decide serious outcomes is par for the course in Yu-Gi-Oh!, but GX took things to a romantic extreme at the beach. In Episode 47, "Chazz-anova," The Chazz developed a crush on Alexis. Her brother Atticus then suggested that The Chazz get her attention by challenging her to a card battle.
What makes this otherwise run-on-the-mill beach episode both unnecessary and unintentionally hilarious is that literally one episode ago, Jaden freed The Chazz, Alexis, and Atticus from the villainous Prof. Lyman Banner's mind control. One episode after Jaden saved reality from evil incarnate, his friends were goofing off on a beach as if nothing happened.
4 Bleach — The Shinigamis' Beach Trip Was An Animated Adaptation Of A Fanservice Spread
Bleach Chapter 193 opened with a two-page color spread featuring the cast's women at the beach. This was little more than some good-natured fanservice starring the story's most popular female Shinigami, so of course, it was enough to inspire an entire filler episode, namely Episode 228, "Summer! Sea! Swimsuit Festival!!"
The harmless episode occurred before the Zanpakuto Rebellion filler arc, but it was still pointless. Not helping was its paper-thin plot that barely justified the Shinigami Women's Association buying and wearing skimpy swimsuits before fighting watermelon Hollows with tentacles in the episode's climax.
3 Highschool Of The Dead — The Survivors' Beach Escapade Was More Adult Movie Than Zombie Apocalypse
Highschool Of The Dead was always unapologetic about its fanservice-driven zombie apocalypse, but even its OVA Drifters Of The DEAD was pushing it. The special is basically a beach episode where Takashi, Rei, and their survivor's group wound up in an adult comedy situation and occasionally fought some random zombies.
The island is conveniently swamped with hydrangea leaves, which released a natural aphrodisiac and caused the cast to experience sexually charged hallucinations. While they engaged in raunchy shenanigans, zombies stumbled in from the mainland through a previously unnoticed underground tunnel to remind audiences that this is still a zombie anime.
2 Higurashi: When They Cry: Rei — Keiichi & Friends' Beach Hijinks Contradicted The Anime's Signature Horror
Higurashi's third season, Rei, is as harrowing as expected, which is why its harem-styled debut episode can be a bit jarring. "Shame Exposing Chapter" is practically an alternate universe, where Keiichi donned a pair of magical trunks that made him popular with women while Rena, Mion, and the other girls try to strip him naked before the power gets to his head.
Unlike the similarly foreboding horror anime Another, Higurashi's beach episode did nothing to advance the plot, character relationships, or central mystery. In its defense, Rei's first episode was the disarming beginning of the dark Dice Killing Chapter arc, but, in hindsight, it still feels misplaced in Higurashi's grim big picture.
1 The Prince Of Tennis — The Deliberately Farcical Beach OVA That Nobody Asked For
While not the first of its kind, The Prince Of Tennis was undoubtedly one of the most influential BL-leaning anime of its era. For the longest time, fans begged for a beach episode starring Seigaku's tennis varsity team players. Fans got their wish in Episode 7 of the National Tournament Saga OVAs, which made them regret their desires.
Seigaku's beach trip was a parody of the typical beach episode, where the fanservice was reserved for the nerdy Inui's butt and two of the episode's oldest characters, including Coach Ryuzaki. Near the end, Inui discovered that the episode was a parallel universe where a higher power replaced the existence of tennis with volleyball. Said higher power kept this status quo by censoring Inui every time he tried to say "tennis."