Machiko

Machiko Mai was a fictional female character originally appearing in Takeshi Ebihara's Maicching Machiko-sensei (まいっちんぐマチコ先生), a manga series published in Shōnen Challenge magazine (1980-1982). The character's unprecedented popularity resulted in a 95 episode animated series (Studio Pierrot, 1981-1983). followed by eight live action films between 2003 and 2009.

Set in a Tokyo elementary school staffed by ninnies and perverts, ''Maicching! Machiko Sensei was a milder version of Go Nagai's Harenchi Gakuen.'' Panchira was employed as a major plot device in the series; virtually every female character was shown disrobed at one point or another. One of the story's running gags involved the incessant rivalry between the school's male and female students, yeilding an unending supply of skirt-flips, 'Marilyn' shots and similar panty-gags.

Background
The 1980s saw an expansion and diversification in Japanese animated media, establishing anime as a recognized artform within Japan. Targeting a more adult demographic, various studios began pushing the limits of mainstream fanservice. Prime-time television series - including children's cartoons - could now be unambiguously sexual, engaging in farcical humor and patently ribald scriptwork. The debut of ''Maicching! Machiko-Sensei'' in 1981 took fanservice to an entirely new level, offering an endless parade of double entendres, gratuitous stripteases and nude shower scenes.

Phenomenonally successful during its three year run, Machiko-sensei opened the floodgates on ecchi comedy.