Let us all say thanks to every anime illustrator that brings our dreams and ideals to life. Well, in the case of gainaxing, one can say they really made it alive. Oh sorry, I meant "them".
Feb 21, 2016 10:49 PM (PST)
by llezur17
| 368,399 views
Gainaxing refers to the unnatural movement of anime boobs (jiggle physics) when responding to a minimal stimulus in a pleasingly exaggerated way. Such stimuli can be walking, running, a strong breeze or even just standing (examples below). Gainaxing can be asynchronous sometimes. This image from Gravion for example, if the left boob is bobbling up and down, the right can be spinning or swaying in a ridiculously different direction. The absurdity of this mammary motion caught several watchers' attention, so much so that they have created a particular word for it.
A Brief History of Gainaxing
Gainaxing is a product of the great minds in Studio Gainax - hence the name. It was in 1988, in their OVA Top wo Nerae! Gunbuster, that the word was believed to be first inspired. However, the word was not coined until 1993 after it was widely released in America. Since then, it spread throughout the entire anime industry like wildfire. Fortunately for Gainax, it was already branded to them before studios began adapting it.
There were non-studio gainax anime like the 1981 Maicching Machiko Sensei that exhibited gainaxing way before gunbuster was released but it's pretty tame in comparison and therefore, fans didn't need to create a specific word for it (although the anime itself was quite controversial since it features a female teacher always getting stripped by her young elementary students).
With the growing popularity of the source idea, fans decided to create yet another term for measuring gainaxing. Based on a character in the gainax anime Otaku no Video, the word Misty May was used to measure one full bounce.
Now how does gainaxing happen in the first place? It can be triggered by any of the actions below.
Some Causes of Gainaxing
1. Running/Walking/Jumping - This set of actions are the basic triggers of gainaxing. They're very common in anime and in real life. In this gif for example, Haruka from Rail Wars! displays quite a bounce!
2. Exercise - Also a common cause of gainaxing. On the left we can see Hinako from the OVA Training with Hinako showing side wiggles from demonstrating squats.
3. Wind - Wind gainaxing is usually for large buoyant breasted girls like Yoko from Gurren Lagann. They're very unlikely in real life yet still common in the anime world. Girls with light clothes are more prone to wind gainaxing.
4. Dancing - And yet another common cause of gainaxing. And look! Even grandma from Blue Seed can do it - and she's clearly enjoying it (my eyes burn... but still!).
<i>The image below may appear distorted</i> <a href="" target="_blank"><i class="fa-solid fa-arrow-up-right-and-arrow-down-left-from-center" aria-hidden="true"></i></a>5. When used as an armrest for firing a rifle - Only seen in High School of the Dead. Due to the intense gainaxing caused by the gun's recoil, Rei felt pain in her boobs for the next 2-5 days.
6. When dodging bullets - This time from classic anime Cowboy Bebop, Faye Vaentine shows off her impressive reflexes causing wild gainaxing!
7. Vibrating machine inside clothes - Most intense gainaxing I have ever seen is from last year's Shimoneta. It's caused by a vibrating device inside Anna's school uniform and was apparently set to maximum level. Is this still healthy?
Other Terms Related to Gainaxing
・Pec Flex - A man's version of gainaxing. This involves jiggling of the pectoral muscles in a man's chest. The purpose of a pec flex, though, is different from gainaxing since it is not used as a fan service. It is used to present comedy in demonstrating manliness. For example, on the side we can see the mighty Alex Armstrong from Full Metal Alchemist doing one hell of a pec flex!
・Jiggle Physics - Jiggle Physics doesn't necessarily mean boob movement. It is a broad word about the computer generated motion made by soft bouncy objects. Jiggle physics can be applied to balls, hair, clothing, and etc. This is mainly used in today's games and sometimes in movies.
To summarize the article, here's two scenes from Highschool of the Dead and D Frag! that are full of gainaxing demonstrations. If only we can utilize this outrageously gratuitous motion into something more usable. Now that's what you call a million dollar idea! Want more examples for your "research"? Here's an article on MAL full of anime with gainaxing!