I've read the entire manga and I will be using that knowledge to urge people to try watching Akebi-san despite the negative review. I want people to watch this anime, because it has so life and fun to offer.
Akebi-Chan No Sailor-Fuku is one of the most enjoyable, joyful, and heartfelt stories out there. The heart of the manga lies in its focus on Akebi and her classmates. Watch it expecting to fall in love with how earnest and charming Akebi is, and how wonderful each classmate is, because the story just glows with sheer optimism while Akebi shines like the sun at the center of it all.
Akebi! Akebi is not shallow. Oh my goodness shallow is about as far as Akebi is. God this girl is a golden retriever and she's in love with life and the what other people can bring into her own life. Each classmates get the attention and charming time they deserve. The story is so good at bringing taking the time to focus on each classmate and what makes them special. They aren't just "high school girls," they're people in this story. (And yes! Even the mother and the father and the little sisters are fully developed characters! The dad especially.)
It's true that the anime is ecchi. Expect that especially at first, but it reduces incredibly hard as we move forward. To be honest, I wasn't in love with Akebi-chan as much as I am until we moved past the overly cringe ecchi stuff (the accidental sexy shot Akebi's classmate sends her I did not enjoy). Beware! But stick around, I swear it gets great.
As for the idea that Akebi-Chan No Sailor-Fuku is sexist. God it's not. Sexism in writing erases the character and the individuality of women. They box women into stifling roles where they often become eye-candy while having little impact on the plot. I hope that what I've written about the character building above can convince you to give the anime the benefit of the doubt about the story being sexist. (Is ecchi and fanservice inherently sexist? I'd argue not, but even if you think so, there's a lot more the story offers than just ecchi. So much more. Of course, at some point the camera and lens we view characters through can be much too sexualized and that IS sexist, but this story didn't cross that line for me.)
In fact, I'd argue that the story has so many complex female characters and just girls doing sports and academics and whatever hobby they want succeeding and being ALLOWED to do so while also dealing with their internal issues but ultimately overcoming them,,, that the story is the kind of story a girl could read and feel liberated and seen.
That's all! I love this story. I hope I can convince you to love it too. Give it a shot. If you don't like it, too bad :(. But I hope don't want people to be discouraged from watching it because they think the story is shallow or sexist.
