How do you feel about "fanservice"?

I am specifically talking about sexually oriented fanservice. Something that is included mainly for the purpose of arousal or titillation. This can include revealing outfits, large breasts, suggestive dialogue, or in some cases even (non-hardcore) sex scenes. Obviously, this doesn't apply if we're talking about something that is intended to be outright porn.

Do you feel that it is okay to include fanservice? Is it only okay in some cases? Or, should it never be included? Do you feel that its more acceptable if the fanservice is more "equal", i.e. made to appeal to both genders instead of just men? Or, what if the fanserice is only made to appeal to women, and not men? Does that change things?

It's not my thing but I also don't feel too strongly about it as long as it doesn't overpower the work to a degree where everything is just beefcake and cheesecake. A little is fine. Some dollops here and there.

It depends.

I'm somewhere on the Asexual spectrum^note Probably aegosexual, so it doesn't really affect me much. If it's not excessive, I'm usually just able to Ignore the Fanservice or just accept that it's there.

Particularly excessive/gratuitous fanservice (like examples of Sex Starts, Story Stops) does tend to bother me, though.

I have no problem with it.

I like it. :)

It’s alienating and a reason “normals” scorn anime. People are missing out on good media because of this standard they hold.

As for me, unless there’s a funny joke tied to it, I find it repugnant.

Edited by ChicoTheParakeet on Aug 15th 2023 at 10:01:45 AM

Depends on a lot of factors since "fanservice," even sexual fanservice, covers a broad range. I actually like sexual fanservice on paper and I even sometimes search series specifically to try to discover obscure works that have fanservice, and lose interest if it loses the fanservice over time. But even I have limits.

I don't like the whole MMORPG/fantasy genre thing of men getting full suits of armor and women only getting metal bikinis. Specifically, "Oh the women are just scantly clad here" is okay if the work is specifically making that part of its identity, but if it's trying to pass itself off as a "serious" fantasy for "non-horny" audiences then it feels incredibly tasteless to have womens' costumes to all show more skin than the mens' (compare ecchi fantasies focused all on women who have like three strips of cloth over them to the more standard Chainmail Bikini, the former at least doesn't try to pretend it's something reasonable at all). But this alone isn't a hard deal breaker for getting in to a series or anything. I would be fine for a more "serious" work that would also have men in metal bikinis too, though, as long as the dress code is equal.

I'm moreso not a fan of how often fanservice comes from at least one of the characters being made uncomfortable. Gimme me characters like Bayonetta or Lucy who 100% willingly strip and flaunt themselves around even though they don't "need" to and less of "Oh no I normally don't like people so much as seeing my ankles but an extremely contrived series of events left me naked in Times Square for the fifth time today I'm going to cover myself and scream to the heavens." Again this isn't an automatic deal-breaker of a series, though I might stop if the focus on a character's shame gets super excessive.

Probably my hottest take is that I do not believe that having an explanation for it or making it "important to the plot" somehow makes it less-bad, if at the end of the day the character wouldn't otherwise be wearing the outfit or doing the scenario willingly. If anything it's a bit creepier because the author went out of their way to make up a scenario (there's virtually no realistic situation where someone would have no other choice but dress down) that calls for nudity but also calls for the character being "totally uncomfortable with it, don't worry, this isn't a woman actually proud of her sexuality or anything hahaha." If there's a reason at all I firmly think the best reason is "This is just how the character wants to look/they don't care about modesty."

I absolutely hate groping/peeping/general sexual harassment being played off as fanservice/humor though. This has turned me off of more than one series. (I don't actually consider getting near-nude in of itself to be this, unless the character is deliberately trying to flash others and be an annoyance like that. It's why I'm fine with aformentioned Bayonetta and Lucy.)

TLDR: I like the Shameless Fanservice Girl trope (and the Innocent Fanservice Girl trope I... guess? As long as it doesn't get infantalizing-y) but hate the Reluctant Fanservice Girl trope, but very little is a straight-up deal breaker unless there's something like a "loveable hero" that gropes others. That about sums it all up.

I agree. Japanese anime seems to have this obsession with humiliating the characters, particularly the girls. I think its because in japanese culture women are supposed to be modest and chaste, and not want sex. But many japanese men are still horny as any other culture, and want to see them in revealing clothes, or in sexual situations. So, they come up with scenarios where the girls will be forced into those situations against their will. That way, the guys watching get their fanservice, but because the girls didn't want it that means the men can still respect them. I don't think its a healthy attitude, but that's the way it seems to be. I know anime isn't the only area this happens, but it does seem most common there.

Anyway, it is better if the character is willingly showing off. I know that in recent years there's been this push to have female superheroes in less revealing attire. People argue that its not necessary for them to show off their legs or chests, and there's no reason they can't dress the same as the guys. I have mixed feelings about this.

On the one hand, I agree that not every female character needs to be sexualized. And it wouldn't make sense for certain female characters to wear revealing clothes anyway. But I also don't think that you should never be allowed to sexualize a character. Its fine if it makes sense for that character, and fits their personality. Some women do like showing off their bodies, and wearing revealing clothes. They do exist in real life, so there's no reason they can't exist in fiction too. Again, if it makes sense for the specific character. Like, I don't think you necessarily need to justify Power Girl's "boob window". Maybe she just likes showing off her breasts.

I'm fine with male characters wearing revealing outfits too, but its hard to do that these days without people saying the character is/looks gay. Which is fine if they are, but sometimes they aren't. Like, Lion-O from the original Thundercats probably had a more revealing outfit then any other character on that show. Same for He-man. You wouldn't see that now.

Edited by JunkAction on Aug 14th 2023 at 11:42:33 AM

I generally don't care for Fanservice - The way it's commonly handled just leaves me rolling my eyes, as if the creators don't have faith that people will find the piece of media interesting enough on its own, so they throw in some boobs and ass in the hopes that the guys (or girls, I guess) will stick around.

But of course, it depends on how it's handled.

I'm... torn... on how shows like Keijo!!!!!!!! handle it. Because it is a very thought-through sport, so much so that people have been able to have actual tournaments with it in real life... but you can try to justify it all you want, ultimately it's about watching hot chicks rubbing their boobs and butts against each other. Justified Fanservice is still Fanservice, after all. But on the other hand, the show is also self-aware of just how ridiculous its own premise is, so... it's harder to hate for me, I guess...?

good lord not Keijo!!!!!!!!

The only fanservice I like is some (not all) outfit-related ones and. That's it.
Other than that, I just ignore it.

I don't mind it but there's such a thing as "just too much"

Bingo.

I'm pro naturism. Sometimes I think Fanservice helps sometimes I think it makes it worse.

Yeah, basically. I'm cool with it most of the time, though I don't want it to be overwhelming or in my face. I also do want it to feel natura, and not completely shoehorned in.

It's just a matter of taste to me, but I'd like it if sexual fanservice no longer existed. And yes, I'm asexual.

You're pro-naturism? Well, I'm not comfortable with seeing naked bodies irl, but I'd like it if society stopped associating nudity with sex. Though, to be fair, I do enjoy being naked in the shower.😊

Edited by CosmosAndChaos on Aug 15th 2023 at 7:56:31 AM

I'm asexual too, so I often don't even notice. If it gets to the point where I do notice, it's often so excessive it's gross.

It’s OK if it’s with adults.

Adults in anime? Blasphemy.

You know, maybe I'm exaggerating, but I'll say that one thing I despise about Fanservice is this:

It feels like, 9 times out of 10, girls with large breasts will be almost exclusively used for Fanservice purposes.

This crops up in a good chunk of media, but I hate the handling of it in anime in particular: If a girl has large lady lumps, you bet your ass that she'll literally be introduced boobs-first with an excessive amount of jiggling.

Like, it feels like women with large breasts are never allowed to just exist in media, like the size of a woman's boobs is automatically associated with sex. And I feel like that might contribute to society's weird Doublethink attitude that large breasts on women are desirable, but also inherently obscene. I remember a Christian camp I went to (I wasn' religious per se, but it was a LARP-ling camp, so the focus on Christianity wasn't the focus - It was mainly a way for nerdy kids to spend their summer vacation) when I was in my mid-teens, and a game we played one evening was one where you get he name of a character or celebrity pasted on your forehead, and you're supposed to figure out who you are based on how others in the room react to you. Well, I got Pamela Anderson... And one of the other kids' reactions to that name was to say "You fucking whore!" to me.

I have no idea if that kneejerk reaction was mainly because they didn't actually know anything about Pamela Anderson, but I have a strong suspicion that the size of her boobs at the very least contributed to it.

Long story short: I wish big-breasted ladies were allowed to just exist and not inherently be associated with sex. Some of us can't help it in that department, you know?

Depends.

honestly im more of a Fan Disservice type of guy

in all seriousness i feel like fanservice is annoying, and if it involves loli i am not going to watch your anime ever

Edited by riptideRuptur on Aug 16th 2023 at 8:11:38 PM

Yeah, I tend to like Fan Disservice better as well. And Naked People Are Funny, because... well, the trope name says it all.

I did not like Kana being the object of lust of the other toddlers. People that age should not have sexual thoughts. I quit after the implied panty shot and am glad I never went back.

I never got the appeal of Ms. Kobayashi's Dragon Maid, it was so bland. I never found it progressive, it kept pandering to male viewers.

Edited by ChicoTheParakeet on Aug 16th 2023 at 1:26:15 PM