Perpetually-Shiny Bodies



In a lot of animated shows and comic books, characters that are supposed to have particularly "tight" bodies will be depicted as having a constant high-gloss on their exposed skin, even when they're supposed to be completely dry. This could be to emphasize their muscle tone, or to draw more attention to a woman's bosom or legs. If done well, it will give the impression of youthful elasticity and sturdiness. If overdone, it might lead to characters looking more like inflatable dolls, which might or might not be the the desired effect.

Anime and Manga

 * All Dogs Go to Heaven starts with Charlie breaking out of a dog pound, the whole sequence of which is treated like a typical jailbreak scene. In the next scene, another dog comments on Charlie's return with "Ain't you supposed to be on Death Row?"
 * Played with in Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. The wild horses see stables as a prison, or like them being taken for slaves. The humans in the movie are treated quite reasonably though, but the horses point-of-view is different from the reality.
 * Finding Nemo did this with a fish tank.
 * Ikki Tousen
 * Rio -Rainbow Gate!-
 * Queen's Blade
 * Saki
 * Parodied in Excel Saga, where in an episode parodying fanservice anime they turn up the contrast and brightness of the show to achieve this effect.
 * Masamune Shirow (an example of whose work is pictured at right) became the absolute master of this trope when he started drawing highlights on his characters with Color Dodge layers in Photoshop.
 * The works of Satoshi Urushihara, as seen in this image of characters from Super Robot Wars Alpha.

Comic Books

 * Most DC and Marvel characters have undergone this, depending on the artist. Especially the female ones.
 * Many western comics during the Dark Age of Comics utilized or imitated the style of the Liquid! coloring studio, which emphasized heavy use of bright, primary colors and more light sources than a Thomas Kinkade painting.

Video Games

 * Dead or Alive

Web Comics
""You will remain stripped to the waist with your muscles oiled at all times, for no apparent purpose. See the oil steward if your skin becomes dry for any reason.""
 * The Order of the Stick parodied this in the strip introducing the gladiators.

Web Original

 * The works of DP Ragan, particularly due to his tendency to go for Dressed All in Rubber as well.

Real Life

 * In Real Life, it's not particularly unusual to see people oiled up precisely because of this trope. Some even take it one step further and rub oil onto the intimate parts as well.