The operator of Tokyo’s subway system has back-tracked on a radical makeover for its promotional character after the new anime incarnation of Michika Ekino was deemed more than a little inappropriate.
Described as the “eternal 23-year-old” station attendant for the Tokyo Metro, the Ekino character first appeared in 2013 as a conventionally two-dimensional character in the brown uniform and a blue hat of subway employees.
In an ill-advised effort to “sex-up” her character, however, the designers seem to have got a little carried away.
Her dress was also redesigned - to the point where it has become virtually transparent. Ekino’s thighs are visible through the sheer material and it appears that her underwear can be seen.
Unveiled as part of a campaign to encourage children to visit stations and collect different stamps, which is scheduled to start in February, the new-look Ekino prompted a storm of comments on the Internet - including one commentator who suggested that the way she is crossing her legs suggests that she needs to urgently visit the toilet.
