Buruma (ブルマ) refers to tight-fitting gym bloomers worn by female students in Japanese schools, commonly depicted in anime and manga as part of the classic school sports uniform—usually featuring a pair of short, snug, navy-blue shorts paired with a white T-shirt—evoking both nostalgia and controversy due to their visual prominence and eventual fetishization in media. Once a real-life staple of Japanese school life, buruma eventually became an anime icon before disappearing from most schools due to changing cultural norms and growing discomfort with how they were portrayed.

Origin and Meaning

The word buruma is a Japanization of “bloomers,” originally a Western invention from the 19th century meant to allow more freedom of movement for women.

In Japan, the term evolved to refer specifically to the tight, high-cut athletic shorts introduced in the 1960s as part of girls’ gym uniforms, especially in junior high and high schools. While originally meant to promote athletic performance, their form-fitting nature became a visual symbol in media—especially anime, manga, and eroge—starting in the 1980s.

Design and Visual Tropes

Standard buruma designs in anime usually include:

  • Color: Navy blue is the most iconic, though red or black sometimes appear
  • Fit: Very tight, often hugging the legs and hips snugly
  • Paired with: White gym shirt, often with a name tag or school logo
  • Silhouette: Emphasizes lower body shape, becoming a visual focal point in character design

In animation, buruma are often used during:

  • Sports festival episodes
  • PE class scenes
  • Flashbacks to “classic” school days
  • Fanservice sequences involving movement or stretching

Cultural Context and Fetishization

Buruma became increasingly fetishized in anime, games, and doujinshi, often associated with:

  • Innocence paired with exposure
  • Voyeuristic framing (e.g., upskirt angles during exercises)
  • Situational comedy or accidental embarrassment
  • Cosplay culture and niche subgenres of visual novels and hentai

As a result, buruma gradually became less acceptable in real-life education due to increasing concerns over:

  • Inappropriate attention toward students
  • Shifting gender norms and student discomfort
  • Their portrayal in otaku-oriented media

Decline and Disappearance in Real Life

By the early 2000s, most Japanese schools phased out buruma in favor of longer, looser gym shorts (or skorts), citing:

  • Student complaints
  • Parental concern
  • Media influence and association with fetishism

Today, buruma exist mostly in media nostalgia, cosplay, or as a deliberate retro trope, and are rarely used in school uniforms anymore.

Media Usage and Tropes

In anime, buruma remain a visual shorthand for:

  • Classic school girl era (especially 80s–90s nostalgia)
  • Old-school gym settings or PE tropes
  • Subtle or overt fanservice
  • Occasional comedy sequences (e.g., mistaken identity, awkward exposure)

Examples of buruma appearances in anime:

  • Azumanga Daioh
  • Lucky Star
  • Dragon Ball (Bulma’s name is a pun on “buruma”)
  • To LOVE-Ru
  • Keijo!!!!!!!!

Legacy in Anime Culture

Though largely phased out in schools, buruma live on as:

  • A cosplay staple at conventions
  • A fetish niche in doujinshi and eroge
  • A visual symbol of retro anime tropes
  • A cultural shorthand for early-2000s otaku aesthetics

Their controversial place in anime reflects broader tensions between nostalgia, stylization, and objectification in how school life is portrayed in Japanese media.

  • Fanservice – Buruma are often used as soft-core fanservice
  • Gym Uniform Trope – The whole PE outfit ensemble is an anime trope
  • Moe Design Elements – Buruma can be one of many used to emphasize cuteness or vulnerability
  • Bloomers (Western) – Original term, completely different design and meaning in the West

Buruma may no longer be common in the real world, but they remain one of anime’s most distinct and instantly recognizable visual artifacts—forever linked to the medium’s unique lens on school life, youth, and stylized femininity.