This is the first post in my new weekly blog post where I will discuss all things Anime. Sometime it will be a review of a particular anime movie or series old or new, and sometime it will be discussions of Anime related topics. This week I start things of with a discussion on "Fan Service".
To start this discussion of let me first provide a definition of what fan service is: Fan Service - The inclusion in a work of fiction of any material, especially racy or sexual material, which has no relevance to the storyline, but is designed merely to excite the viewer.
Now I would be a liar if I said I did not enjoy a little fan service when watching anime, however I have had a number of anime I enjoyed almost ruined by extreme amounts of fan service an example would be Rosario + Vampire. Now Rosario + Vampire is a Harem/Romantic Comedy Anime series so Fan service to to be expected in such an Anime, however there is a good show in there which you are distracted from by all the pantie shots and bouncing boobs featured in the show. So in the end what I am saying is I believe Fan service can be enjoyable and enhance an Anime IF used in moderation and not shoved down your throat.
There is a line of thought that goes in a Good Anime Fan service is Gravy, and in a Bad Anime it is the Main feature. I say that in a Fan service can turn a Good Anime into a Bad one if over used! So this is my view on the topic let me hear what you think!
Given that I can see all the bouncing and jiggling I want (which isn’t all that much) on real females, watching it in a Japanese cartoon at 8 frames per second really doesn’t do much for me…
“Fan Service – The inclusion in a work of fiction of any material, especially racy or sexual material, which has no relevance to the storyline, but is designed merely to excite the viewer.”
So Fox News is a Fan Service?
Fan service is a sad distraction from good story-telling, and it can be in any kind of television/movie-type media – not just anime. That is my opinion.
Having said that, I must admit that I have most definintely watched shows just for fan service. :-S
When I notice it, I usually hate it, because I feel insulted. It’s like if the producers were saying to me “You’re so dumb that, whatever our show’s quality, you’ll watch it if we show some cleavage”.
Not that I’m immune to it, of course, but I have that kind of temper 😀
That, and, when you think about it, it’s quite sexist, especially in live shows, considering that it’s mostly designed for a male, heterosexual audience.
The amount of fan service (good name, btw) is going to be as subjective as any love of style / genre, subplot quantity, literary device, etc.
You ARE right about too much being too much. But I doubt there’s ever going to be too much agreement. Frankly I haven’t seen enough well-written stuff established to be a fan of what’s available for sale. I’ve gotten to the point that I write my own instead of read most of the time–and it can be a drag.
Look, I like boobies as much as the next guy, but if I want them, I’ll go find them myself, thank you very much.
And this is my main problem with Highschool of the Dead, an otherwise great series, which mixed martial-arts with Zombies, something I always wanted to see. Sadly, there were so many panty shots and instances of OTT Gainaxing (thankyou TV Tropes) that it could off-putting instead of sexy.
Look, I don’t have a lot of experience with breasts, but I’m pretty sure they don’t move like they were bags of jelly. One or two, I would have been fine with, but there is at least a minute’s worth in EVERY SINGLE EPISODE.
I came for the Zombies, not the boobies…