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Art is a very funny thing since it is totally subjective. That being said, one man's art might be another man's "what the fuaaa?" moment. Calling women’s tights a work of art is questionable at best but today I would like to introduce you to someone who has elevated the concept to be a respectable item to admire. Yom, also known as Yomu(よむ) is a prolific Japanese artist whose style is highly detailed and focuses on legwear, particularly tights. 

Yom's illustrations often showcase the texture and patterns of tights, as well as the way that they drape and stretch on the legs. With Yom's passion for legwear being a defining feature of their art, it has carved out a unique and distinctive voice in the world of Japanese illustration. Over the years several art books have been produced and art gallery events held focusing on Yom’s favorite article of clothing. Yom may be the main star when it comes to tights, but other artists join in and pay homage by crafting their own legwear masterpieces. 

Yom has worked on a variety of projects like creating the cover art for The Journey of Elaina light novels, illustrations for anime like Grisaia: Phantom Trigger as well as manga titles. While these are notable achievements in themself, Yom’s dedication to women’s legwear in their own original doujinshi series is where the true success story lies. Two of their own original creations became big multimedia projects that include manga series, anime adaptations and web series! If you haven’t guessed already, I’m talking about Miru Tights and Ganbare Douki-chan!

Miru Tights - When sometimes you don’t watch anime for the plot

Miru Tights which can be literally translated to “watch tights” is the first original creation from Yom that exploded in popularity. Starting as a manga which began serialization in 2017, it quickly got an anime OVA which aired in 2019. A web series followed shortly thereafter. The project centers around the daily lives of three high school girls and the focus is on the various types of tights they wear… Yes it sounds sketchy… But officer! I swear it’s art! Miru Tights has gained a following among fans of leg culture in Japan (Yes, it's a thing…). Despite some initial controversy surrounding the series due to its suggestive themes, it has been praised for its ability to showcase the beauty and variety of legwear, as well as its portrayal of the female form in a respectful and tasteful manner. This also comes through fairly well on the figures relating to the series.

A Stylish Sensei

One of the most popular teachers at the school Miru Tights takes place in, we have Yuiko Okuzumi. The series portrays her as very dedicated and passionate about teaching, however at times her passion leads to trouble... This figure from Union Creative International Ltd does a great job of capturing her mature elegance but simultaneously showing what kind of trouble she may get into. The full title of this figure in Japanese is “May disease? Can the teacher fix it?” In Japan, April is the beginning of a new fiscal and academic year, so people will feel relatively fresh in April and somewhat optimistic about their future. By the next month, however, after confronting the many difficulties in their new life, they realize that it is not as exciting or blissful as they expected. As a consequence, they suffer from “May disease,” a feeling of dullness or a lack of motivation that one experiences in May. Don’t worry, Sensei knows how to motivate you!

The pose for this figure exudes confidence and poise, while simultaneously allowing the sculptor's attention to detail truly shines through. The flowing contours of her attire are highlighted from all sides and every detail is carefully crafted. It is an excellent representation of Yom’s work and highlights the theme of the series well!

The hair and face are simple yet detailed enough to look realistic and painted quite well. The clothing is the main feature and from all angles it looks absolutely fantastic. The way they recreated how it would cling to her body and all of the creases and wrinkles take this from just another bishoujo figure to a centerpiece for a collection.

The desk, chair and shoes that were added are a nice touch and just as well painted as the rest of the figure. While the design of this figure may initially grab attention to the upper half due to the contrasting exposed skin, the legs, tights and feet still manage to be a big presence. This is what leg culture is all about!

School Uniforms and Tights

Okuzumi sensei is the only official character from Miru Tights to become a figure, probably to try to minimize some of the controversy surrounding the show. She was so popular, she even got a bunny girl version but the series would need a figure with a school uniform to be complete. A work around was the alternative Yomu Tights, Futotta which is wholly designed in the spirit of Miru Tights. With futotta meaning fat in Japanese, we get a figure of a blushing girl questioning if she gained weight while looking in the mirror. Originally released back in 2019, this illustration created a lot of buzz on twitter having cosplayers recreate the pose and other illustrators using their own characters in a similar pose. The hype led to the creation of yom tights palette doujinshi art book, placing the art side by side with the cosplayer version for a variety of their illustrations. There is a second version sporting a blue uniform top and white tights if black ones are too mainstream for your liking.

As with most of Yom’s art, it is clean and well-defined, with a balance between simplicity and intricacy. The face on this figure does a very impressive job in capturing Yom’s signature style. The expressive eyes convey the worry and possible disappointment at the notion of gaining weight. Like the previous figure, we have very delicate facial features with the nose being depicted with minimal detail. Typical of Yom’s art, it is often drawn as a small curve or simple line. The clothing is well sculpted and there is a good attempt to give it a sense of texture with some nice shading. 

If you were hoping for something a bit more spicy, check out the very NSFW Haiume Masoo cast-off figure. The character design was done by Yom and is also very Miru Tights-esque. 

Ganbare Douki-chan

Ganbare Douki-chan follows the daily life of Douki-chan, a young female office worker who has a crush on her co-worker, Douki-kun. Douki-chan is depicted as a cute and attractive woman who is admired by her co-workers. She is often seen wearing form-fitting clothes that accentuate her curves, which is one of the defining features of the series. Douki-chan frequently finds herself in embarrassing situations as she tries to get closer to Douki-kun, and the series features a mix of comedic and romantic moments. Yom's illustrations in Ganbare Douki-chan have been praised by fans for its art as well as its humor. The series has become widely loved for its lighthearted adult-oriented content that is not explicit or graphic. With anime and manga being inundated with the same high school love story, one that focuses on office romance is a nice change of pace for those with more life experience. It was no surprise when the anime OVA was announced since the series is consistently listed in the top 10 best sellers from the biggest doujinshi shops Toranoana and Melonbooks. 

In this series Yom showcases their skill in depicting facial expressions and body language, which elevate the comedy and romance elements while creating very memorable scenes. You’ve just got to love them Douki faces and luckily the nendoroid mimics them perfectly!

Douki-chan, Kouhai-chan and Senpai-san

No character in this series has a name. They are all named after their relationship with the faceless MC, so you can self insert to your heart's content. With the setting being an office based romance, all of the characters wear pretty traditional outfits for working professionals in Japan. On the surface, the costume design is nothing that surprising but Yom and these figures do a great job of portraying personality through facial expressions, poses and subtle differences in clothing choice. The way the clothes fit the girls body is also quite alluring. Not interested in OL? There is also a line of swimsuit figures for each of the girls! For Douki-chan herself, we have a figure that does an exceptional job of capturing her frequently worried look that Douki-kun is being whisked away from her.

It might be impossible for Yom to get away with an illustration without tights at this point but here they are clearly not the focus. The pose for this figure was designed to maximize Douki-chan’s… features. With her chest pushed out and rear exposed, the form fitting clothing highlight and accentuate what Douki-kun might like. 

We have similarly designed figures for Senpai-san and Kouhai-chan. With the older Senpai-san taking on a more mature, confident and stylish look and the younger Kouhai-chan being a bit more playful. The trio makes a great combination of heroines but each stands out on their own.

As with Douki-chan, the pose on these figures do their best to allow the details in the clothes to accentuate specific body parts. Senpai-san has very good arm placement to give herself a lift while the cute Kouhai-chan is learning forward, giving her trunk a bit more junk. Even though there is very tight clothing and provocative poses, these figures are still classy and dont need to be hidden when relatives come over (mmmm…. On second thought, maybe hide them anyway).

With the doujinshi series still going strong and maintaining its popularity, I think a season 2 may be on the horizon. The ratings may not have been the highest for the show but if Iyapan can crowdfund a season 3, Douki-chan should have no problems doing the same.

Thank you for reading!