Non-fanservice fanservice tropes: Fanservice

Agree with assessment.

edited 17th Jan '12 2:09:02 AM by rodneyAnonymous

Naked Transformation Sequence is iffy I mean I can see Magical Girl Transformation Sequence more "trope worthy" as they are all done in the same style dating back to Cutey Honey and they are all Fanservice.

Anyway one issue I have with our Fanservice page is this line.

That is NOT what Pandering to the Base means and that trope is YMMV. We are missing an index somewhere.

edited 17th Jan '12 2:31:16 AM by Raso

So, should I ykttw a Magical Girl Transformation Sequence subtrope?

@Raso; I think that transformation sequences in general are often fanservice (in the broad, nonsexual sense): you can have lots of cool stuff happen, show off everyone's fancy outfit, blah blah. But the "let's have the girl be naked for a second during the transformation" variation is fanservice in the narrow sense and not necessarily a component of a Magical Girl Transformation Sequence. Especially not in shows that are actually aimed at little girls (which Cutie Honey was most certainly not).

One thing.

Someone said on the first page that "X trope cannot be a fanservice trope because it's about censorship, which is the opposite of fanservice". I thread hopped, so I apologize if this has been said before, but that isn't true. In many cases of censorship—especially in Japan—the censorship actually turns into more of a fetish than the thing it was censoring. For example, Naughty Tentacles and Panty Shot both started out as ways of censoring penises and vaginas respectively, but they've evolved into their own specific fetishes to the point that you have more porn that revolves around them than explicit sexual organs.

^ Which also bring up Getting Crap Past the Radar, so I concur with your point, in that fanservice can still be gained by getting around the censors.

I believe we discussed this in the previous page, but anyway, it seems we agree that Anime Anatomy does in fact belong in the fanservice index?

In the sense that it's squeezing as much nudity as allowed? That would definitely be sexual fanservice.

I wonder if it would be better to give all the fanservice tropes that are sexual in aim their own subtrope...

I think part of the issue is that people are labeling events as subtropes of this trope. This is not an event trope, this is a purpose trope. This is part of the Played For family with Played for Laughs and Played for Drama, you could call it Played For Titillation if you wanted to. Tropes only belong as subtropes of Fanservice if they are predominantly used for that purpose. If it's primarily used for humor, it does not belong on this index.

I agree with almost all entries in the original post, exceptions being:

Transformation Sequence: This, while also Stock Footage, is Fanservice. Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha and Transformers have both good examples of Technology Porn (which by the way should be in that index, along with Scenery Porn and Costume Porn IMNSHO). It's fanservice about how cool the character (and transformation) is, regardless of sexual content or other types of fanservice that's sometimes but not always included.

Fan Disservice: While it shouldn't be in the list, there should be a line at the end of the description like in many other examples listing contrasting tropes.

(Also, the page pic is hilarious.)

Question, given the dominance of sexual oriented "service", is "anything done for the fans" the proper definition we should be using? We need to ensure we get the right connotations.

While I do think most of those do deserve to be taken off the list, I feel like Fanservice itself is just slightly too narrow on this site. It's about appealing to fetishes, sexuality, or general attraction. Basically, it's most often sexual, but things like Dojikko definitely count as fanservice, as it is marketed so heavily in that way. Then again, the way it's described on the actual trope page is different, and the similarly treated Meganekko is described for the characyer type rather than the actual traits themselves.

So...I dunno.

"Everything done for fans" is not the definition of Fanservice. It is a definition of "fanservice." but it is not the definition of the trope we cover on the Fanservice page. Fanservice is "Gratuitous display of characters in skimpy clothing, or none at all, under the assumption that it will attract or "reward" viewers."

I think it should be clarified that we aren't using an off-site definition of fanservice, but our own more specific definition, then.

I don't think it's "everything done for the fans," though, but it's hard to define what exactly counts for the definition I've always used.

edited 20th Jan '12 6:59:14 PM by Feather7603

That's actually already there. Twice. (I've now removed the first and left the more detailed one.)

It's there, in paragraph 6.

"Characters in skimpy clothing, or none at all" might be too restrictive a definition of fanservice; about half the examples of Spank the Cutie, including some entirely gratuitous ones, would certainly not fit that definition.

On the other hand, that may mean Spank the Cutie is not fanservice. Because fanservice is not "anything that seeks to titillate the viewer." In fact, "any element of a story that serves to titillate the reader's erotic or obsessional sensibilities" is the current definition for fetish fuel. Fanservice is more narrow.

edited 24th Jan '12 10:48:58 AM by Routerie

I didn't know we still accepted that Fetish Fuel even had a definition. I also didn't say what's in those quotes.

I wasn't quoting you - I was quoting the Fetish Fuel page.

Fanservice is a pre-existing term. We should be defining it to include all the things it's used to describe, not just the titillating.

If you'd like to change our definition of "fanservice," you could certainly propose that. But that exceeds the scope of this thread, which is just about restricting the Fanservice subtrope list to subtropes of the trope described on that page.

It seems like people agree to removing most of the tropes I listed, though there's still some debate about Anime Anatomy. But even after removing them, we'll have a long, unwieldy list. Thoughts on creating a separate index for fanservice costumes?

edited 27th Jan '12 3:39:39 AM by Routerie

The easy solution if it's a debate about it is to just leave it in, unless it's a significant majority.

Let's see, a Fanservice Costume index? I've just taken the Fanservice list and cut out all non-costume tropes (and the discussed ones). I might've missed something, so feel free to check. Some of the character tropes can fit or not, depending on if it's the character type or the costume that's important. Naughty Nuns is one such trope. I've left those in.

Would probably look something like this:

• Absolute Cleavage
• Action Dress Rip
• Bandage Babe
• Bare Your Midriff
• Body Paint
• Catholic School Girls Rule
• Chainmail Bikini
• Cleavage Window
• Clothing Damage
• Dangerously Short Skirt
• Diamonds in the Buff
• Fanservice with a Smile
• Form-Fitting Wardrobe
• Fundoshi
• Fur Bikini
• Going Fur a Swim
• Hell-Bent for Leather
• Hot Chick In A Badass Suit
• Impossibly-Low Neckline
• Instant Cosplay Surprise
• Kimono Fanservice
• Lady in Red (sometimes)
• Leotard of Power
• Lingerie Scene
• Man in a Kilt
• Marilyn Maneuver
• Minidress of Power
• Modesty Bedsheet
• Modesty Towel
• Naked Apron
• Naughty Nuns
• Naughty Nurse Outfit
• Nubile Savage
• The Nudifier
• Opera Gloves
• Panty Shot
• Playboy Bunny
• Qipao
• Sarashi
• School Swimsuit
• Seashell Bra
• Sensual Spandex
• Sexy Coat Flashing
• Sexy Jester
• Sexy Santa Dress
• Sexy Whatever Outfit
• Sharp-Dressed Man
• Showgirl Skirt
• Slipknot Ponytail
• Stock Underwear
  • Black Bra and Panties
  • Of Corsets Sexy
  • Stocking Filler
• Stripperiffic
• Thong of Shielding
• Transformation Sequence
• Underboobs
• Vapor Wear
• Walking Swimsuit Scene
• Wardrobe Malfunction
• Who Wears Short Shorts
• Zettai Ryouiki

That's a good list. There's just a couple I'd take off it.

• Panty Shot - It involves clothes, yes, but the fanservice isn't the costume (which actually has its own underwear tropes). It's the shot.
• Instant Cosplay Surprise - Cosplay can be fanservice and an example of a fanservice costume, but I still say this trope is neither. It involves people in sexy costumes, which cosplay covers, but the trope is about the sudden, humorous costume switch.
• Stock Underwear - Not fanservice, unless its fanservice underwear.