Fanservice and its place in anime
I read with interest tjhan's thoughts on harem series and several closing thoughts on the fanservicey Ninomiya-kun. No matter what others may say, I firmly believe fanservice has its place in anime even though it has been abused all too often, undermining its true purpose.
There are broadly 3 views on fanservice.
1. Fanservice is bad and for perverts.
2. Fanservice is good because I'm a pervert.
3. Fanservice can be good, bad or perverted.
View 1 are for those who either don't understand or haven't seen a good application of fanservice or don't appreciate the female body which is wonderfully and fearfully made. View 2 are like the Singaporean who douses chilli on everything he eats, overwhelming the exquisite taste which the chilli is merely meant to accentuate. View 3 are those who understand that fanservice, like most of modern technology, takes on the expression of its application.
Fanservice is not an end but the means. There are 2 main classes of peoples whom I imagine to enjoy fanservice purely for the sake of fanservice - young boys whom haven't discovered the vastness of free internet porn or jaded perverts who wants to take a break from those in-your-face hardcore stuff. (I overgeneralise. There are possibly honourable classes which I have yet to discover.)
Most right-thinking folks who enjoy good fanservice do so because it's a most excellent vehicle for humor or highlighting character charm if well-executed. Good fanservice makes a bishoujo sexy, not slutty. Good fanservice comes in small doses so as not to create one-dimensional and often forgettable characters that dwell merely on physical attraction. Good fanservice is never the main theme. Some of the funniest anime moments in my memory include partially-naked bishoujos and a lucky harem dude, for example in Onegai Twins and Full Metal Panic Fumoffu. Priceless gags. Series like Girls Bravo are way on the other end of the spectrum where blatant baring boobies does not as much stir my attention much less my loins.
Indeed, fanservice is like chilli. Too much and it drowns out taste. Have none of it and some bite is lost. However, an appropriate amount can enhance taste and add dimensions to an otherwise ordinary dish.
And so I urge all to embrace fanservice with the right perspective and dosage. Don't write them off just yet but learn to work them into the enjoyment of your anime. Assuming they are well-employed of course.
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December 25th, 2007 - 10:09
I blogged about this once and pretty much came to a similar conclusion: as long as it’s used in a way that supports the rest of the show, fanservice is good.
For example, I’m not much for shows that just like to shove girls in our faces and go “Look, breasts!”, but if they can make a genuinely funny joke out of it, or have it contribute to the plot in some way (somehow, I can’t imagine), then I’m fine with it. I think Minami-ke has some good examples with Haruka, for one.
Short story shorter, I agree with you. XD But on the note of Ninomiya-kun, is it worth watching? I’ve sort of written it off as a show that’s too heavy on the proverbial fanservice sauce, but a few people have been saying it’s actually pretty funny.
December 25th, 2007 - 10:10
i agree with your views…
and i think that those who view fanservice in terms of view 1 can also be those who have only watched(partly or fully) shows filled with fanservice and are thus they generalize that fanservice is for perverts when in fact they actually have the thought that “to much fanservice is not good anime too watch, maybe only perverts watch this” but they just stick with the first definition since it’s easier to explain that way…
i for one am in the 3rd view of what fanservice is and believe that with the right hint of fanservice it can make a good show better… even bamboo blade and clannad have some fanservice here and there but they aren’t too blatant that they overshadow the whole show…
December 25th, 2007 - 10:21
I agree with the chili analogy.
There’s also a 4th view I’d like to add. “I enjoy fanservice and I don’t care what others think about it”
.
December 25th, 2007 - 10:36
Fanservice is birthday cake compared to your prime time TV shows (in the US anyway). Is there one prime time TV show where the characters aren’t having giant, frivolous sex orgies? Nopers. I don’t see mainstream (non-anime) people complaining about that too much.
December 25th, 2007 - 11:02
This post is made all the more awesome by having Fate at the header.
December 25th, 2007 - 11:43
Loli Yuri Fanservice FTW.
December 25th, 2007 - 13:25
Doesn’t that depend on the show? Minami-ke… well, I can’t see how the show I’ve been watching is able to really USE fanservice, minus the one beach scene in episode 5. Others, like most any harem series, are prety much vehicles for them, if you subscribe to the ‘it must support the series’ school of thought. Some shows, however, no amount of fanservice can save….
December 25th, 2007 - 15:14
Yeah, Ninomiya was far less than I hoped it might be. But my standards can be considered pretty low. For me, anime is meant to be entertaining, and if that entertainment comes through some cheap laughs at overdone gags with ecchi content, I’m OK with that. I won’t enjoy it as much as a higher quality anime, but I’ll still watch it (I did watch cabbage love to completion). I just require some sense of continuity between episodes, and characters who don’t irritate me (see school days).
Next season looks to be decent, definitely looking forward to Rosario Vampire and Major, plus a few others which I’ve seen some manga for (and then a couple game-based ones as well).
December 25th, 2007 - 15:56
Echoing Kurogane, Ninomiya-kun is now chili-flavored cup noodle anime.
I think people progress through 1, 2, and 3 in that order. At first when you’re six, girls are gross. Then they become hot, and you wonder how you went through grade school not knowing that. And then you get slapped around a few times and then realize the equilibrium that fanservice can achieve.
December 25th, 2007 - 19:10
CCYoshi: I need to restart on Minami-ke
For Ninomiya kun, actually I dropped the series at ep 3. I like Mayu’s character design, being pink haired and all but found the setup cliched so didn’t go beyond that.
kaz3phyrous: Those folks are probably the same people who make sweeping statements about harem/bishoujo series
Haven’t noticed much fanservice in Clannad though I know what KyoAni is capable of having seen Tessa’s OVA. Now that’s art! XD
Kurogane: I’d like to say I’m view 4 too except I actually do care when my wife start asking questions about the half-naked loli prancing on TV XD
Zeroblade: I’m still wondering if that’s 15 yr old or 19 yr old Fate XD
Zyl: Loli stash! You better turn them in over to me when you return if you don’t want to be a striped Zaku
Haesslich: Yes, it depends on the series since chilli, wonderful it may be as a spice, is just incompatible with certain dishes, no matter how skillfully administered.
Icteridae: I’m still pretty much caught up in Fall season with several of the series I’m catching going beyond 13 eps. I need to get myself up to date with hashihime’s Winter post.
Crisu: LOL! That’s a typical journey of manhood I suppose
December 25th, 2007 - 22:20
Stripey: Watch Minami-ke. Also, I linked some presents for you on your brother’s page… with siscon. I figured that’d be up your alley, so….
December 25th, 2007 - 23:42
I remember my friend and co-blogger Selera tell me once before… that there’s a disparity between shows which are simply peppered with fanservice, and other ones whose comedy is done through fanservice, which other fans might find distasteful or offensive (especially the “shoved in your face” kind of ecchiness).
Ninomiya falls on the latter category, and I’d have to say it goes over the top with some of its ecchi jokes. And though I found it enjoyable, I thought it wasn’t going anywhere so I still dropped watching it anyways =[
December 25th, 2007 - 23:50
lol Stripey so true, fanservice can either be used for good or for the complete destruction of MANkind by melting our brains with complete dribble..
I laughed quite a bit at point number two of the views for fanservice.
CCYoshi and Stripey: Seriously continue to watch Ninomiya-kun, it does get better, well at least I though it did. Plus it tried to have a plot apart from the random fanservice.
December 26th, 2007 - 04:26
Haesslich: Heh, thanks, will do. I stopped after ep 1 since I didn’t like any of the sisters. But I hear they get fleshed out as the series progresses.
usagijen: It’s interesting that the ojou meido character whom I typically like in such setups fell totally flat with me. Mayu was only saved by good character design. Although I believe Ninomiya fares better than Girls Bravo with a strong male lead.
holyman282: With so many series vying for attention and the winter season at our doorstep, I’m not sure I should be backtracking on Ninomiya-kun.
December 26th, 2007 - 13:25
Great post – couldn’t agree more, the series where it’s fanservice and nothing else always fall flat for me, but when it’s thrown in on top of a good story, characters, etc. then I don’t see anything wrong with it. Beowulf Lee had a good point, anime fanservice is nothing compared to your average prime-time American teen drama on TV anyway, where half the cast is having sex every episode.
December 26th, 2007 - 17:31
Nice assessment and metaphor on the blog article. Sometimes fanservice (or at least ero-inducing imagery) is sublime. Other times its just annoying. For lack of a better word, its often slapstick and immature. Occasionally, its knock ‘em dead worship the goddess stuff. When a character can just *look* at you with a slight shift in weight and you want to marry them, have their babies, and defend them against the world….. that’s fanservice of unspeakable power (as opposed to, say, the unpleasant rancid nature of much of that last episode of Shuffle! Memories …. eels in the pool with their own daughters and friends to whom their care was entrusted??? wtf? and the rest, o never mind).
The Fate header is… nearly sublime though it would have been just as killer if her pants had been an inch longer. Its the eyes and stance that make it.
December 27th, 2007 - 06:42
suguru: Indeed, fanservice along, to overuse my analogy, is like eating an entire bowl of chili. It’d surely kill all if not some of your braincells XD
vexx: Agreed about Fate’s eyes in that header. Incidentally, that is how the girls in my high school wear their bloomer equivalent back then. I still remember my parents faces when they visited one fateful day (pun intended)… XD
December 27th, 2007 - 10:29
Fanservice is fine in decent-sized doses. Nudity/sexually suggestive material every single episode just for the sake of having it (see: Elfen Lied) just gets on my nerves, though, especially when the story is good enough that it doesn’t need to use it as a crutch.
Then again, my opinion could have something to do with the fact that I’m a girl…
December 27th, 2007 - 15:54
aye… back in the 70s….Fate’s skin exposure was pretty standard fare for not only the gym but mini-skirted dress. Its rather funny/sad to watch my son’s peers and their Puritan-esque views. Heck, my *son* refuses to wear any shorts that don’t cover his knees
In high school, my wife wore some pretty amazing miniskirts and since her hair came down to her knees then …. I was unable to do anything other than worship her
(yes, we were high school classmates)
December 27th, 2007 - 20:41
What do the ladies have to say when it comes to fanservice assuming they are not into yuri?
Maybe its up to the production’s draft on the type of audiences they want.
“We shall ensnare the perverts this round!”
Or its one of those artists burning desire to share with us the “prettier” side of their creation.
Anyway, I was mainly skimming thru Ninomiya-kun and it was funny for me. Gotta say that the impression I get is that the “wack parts” are much more well inserted than Hayate butler.
December 28th, 2007 - 11:49
Venneh: I agree totally. Excessive fanservice just draw airtime away from proper plot/character development. Stories with very thin plot or cardboard characters tends to hide the lack of substance with plenty of fanservice… much like how lousy food need a generous dose of chili or pepper to mask its adequacies.
vexx: Woah! Osananajimi-classed wife!
*envy* Having hair longer than the skirt must look like she walked out of anime *double envy* 
crimson: Hayate no Gotoku is hanging by a sliver on my watching-list. Hinagiku is the reason.
December 28th, 2007 - 19:53
Stripey: There’s more Hina to come, and Hayate in trap-mode again, apparently. Some series WORK for fanservice… but others fail, especially when we start sneaking into quick territory or the series is kinda boring otherwise (I’m thinking about a certain harem series on an island for the latter, whose name I’ve blocked out).
Again, check out a few other links I’ve posted if you want a certain type of fanservice which WORKS (and it should take care of your siscon needs). It’s manga, though.
December 30th, 2007 - 08:23
Thanks Haesslich! Will be checking out those links. Manga is fine as long as certain needs are fulfilled XD
December 30th, 2007 - 20:19
I figured anything that had someone crying ‘nii-sama’ worshipfully would get your attention. Let me know if you can’t find the link, and I’ll just give you a more direct link to the material.
January 2nd, 2008 - 20:46
OH GOD FATE IS HOT
Fanservice is fine. I mean, Hollywood does the same thing, just differently in obvious ways. But when all a show has is fanservice, that’s when I have a problem with it. ie: Ninomiya was fanservicy and dumb; Umisho was fanservicy and hilarious.
January 3rd, 2008 - 10:02
oh yes, I wanted to print out and hang this picture of Fate in my room but was veto-ed XD Looks like I need to check out Umisho.