Modern Love's Silliness

Modern Love's Silliness, known in Japanese as Anime no Ai Awa Awa Awa (literally "Anime Love Bubble Bubble Hour") is an anime anthology series produced by Studio Gainax. The series consists of 3 love and relationship-related comedy segments aimed at women, one of which became famous for its controversial subject matter:

• Oruchuban Ebichu ("Ebichu Minds the House" or "Ebichu the Housekeeping Hamster") is by far the best-known, and raunchiest segment of the show. Based on the manga by Lisa Itou, this segment chronicles the life of Ebichu, a hamster that tends house for a very pretty (and, by Japanese standards, nearly over the hill at 25, so she desperately wants to get married) office lady and her good-for-nothing, cheating boyfriend. This series stretched the very limits of what could be shown on Japanese network television (much like South Park did in the US), with heavy doses of violence (Ebichu gets beaten bloody at least once in every episode), dirty jokes, and surprisingly explicit sex scenes. It's very twisted humor, and the "wrongness" of it has made it very popular among anime fans in the US.

• Other segments in the series included Ai no Wakakusa Monogatari (Little Women in Love) and Koume-chan ga Iku! (Here Comes Koume), both of which are quite a bit tamer than Ebichu, and so far haven't received much exposure in the US. Please add to this if you've seen these!