The Blend of Serious Action and Sexual Fanservice in shows like Strike Witches

[Write]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

I watched two episodes of Strike Witches, and the fanservice ruined the show for me. I'm pretty confident I would have enjoyed the show if not for fanservice being in its action scenes.

This. This right here.

There are just some instances where the blend does not work and Strike Witches is one of them.

[RRW]

So guys what do you think about this

[VTHokiePride]

Agreed, but I think 11eyes also used a lot of fanservice especially with Yuka and Misuzu towards the end. Fanservice doesn't work with me overall in serious anime. If it's something like Dog Days, I'm okay with it, but for an anime such as Fate/Zero, no.

[Write]

Originally Posted by RRW

So guys what do you think about this

The scene is absurd in and of itself, the lady shots just made it funnier.

This would be an instance of comedic value.

[totoum]

Originally Posted by Traece

Sure, it's entertaining to some people, but not to critics and not to vocal viewers..

I'm part of those "some people" and the "critics" can go to hell as far as I'm concerned I love HoTD.
It wasn't made for them.I'm part of the masses,I don't feel one bit guilty about it,I've had this conversation a few times with Pocari Sweat,I personally don't have any guilty pleasures (my parents and friends know I watch stuff like Sora no Otoshimono)

And yes,fanservice is to strike witches what fabulousness is to jojo,it's what gives the show its flavor,same with HoTD.

That being said,I perfectly understand the notion that fanservice can be distracting.And I'm sure creators do too.

Take nazo no kanojo X, in one scene of episode 11 the protag is surrounded by 2 naked girls,the scene was censored when it aired on TV and was kept censored on the Blu-ray because the creators felt the point of the scene wasn't to see two girls naked.

[Midonin]

Originally Posted by Write

The scene is absurd in and of itself, the lady shots just made it funnier.

This would be an instance of comedic value.

I'm not sure the scene was trying to be comedic. A better term is "thrilling", or "exploitative". Again, there's multiple varieties of fanservice/action/comedy/seriousness, at all points along a graph that I'm not going to draw because I really hope I'm expressing this well enough with words.

[totoum]

Originally Posted by Midonin

I'm not sure the scene was trying to be comedic

I can go look for a link if you want but the director himself stated the intent was comedy.

[Write]

Originally Posted by Midonin

I'm not sure the scene was trying to be comedic. A better term is "thrilling", or "exploitative". Again, there's multiple varieties of fanservice/action/comedy/seriousness, at all points along a graph that I'm not going to draw because I really hope I'm expressing this well enough with words.

Well I doubt they were being serious because the scene made no kind of sense. I felt like it was more surreal humor than just "holy shit that was cool!".

Originally Posted by totoum

I can go look for a link if you want but the director himself stated the intent was comedy.

:golfclap:

[Random32]

Yeah I'm not going to respond to that lol.

If you want to make an actual counter argument to what I was saying, be my guest.

So let's try to make myself more clear

What if I want to enjoy the popcorn and the game?

Both magical girls fighting, and fanservice. Not going to be satisfied with just magical girls fighting (going to the game and not eating popcorn), or just fanservice (eating popcorn on my couch).

Anyway, it’s not an option anymore if the fanservice shots are shoved down your throat (or in this case, they slapped it in front of your screen). Trying to ignore it is like trying to ignore the giant robots in Gundam fights. You know how futile that can be. All that said, I already said in my earlier post that my opinion that I posted is for myself and not trying to force it to others.

Fate/Zero?

They are only being shoved down your throat since you chose to watch series with extensive fanservice. It's like watching YuruYuri and complaining about all the girl on girl.

That variety is already ensured by the Ikki Tousens of the world.

Is that the same balance as Vividred? You yourself said it wasn't.

I watched two episodes of Strike Witches, and the fanservice ruined the show for me. I'm pretty confident I would have enjoyed the show if not for fanservice being in its action scenes.

1. Strike Witches has it's own combination of traits. Changing it fundamentally alters the show. I probably would have liked it even in it's changed state, but I also like it in its current state.
2. Saying that fanservice ruined the show is like complaining that faulty science ruined the show. It's a fundamental part of the show, the fact that it ruined the show for you doesn't mean it's bad.

There are just some instances where the blend does not work and Strike Witches is one of them.

For you, it didn't work.

So guys what do you think about this

Matrix tits

lol'd so hard there...

Not really a fan of tits that large though.

EDIT: I noticed everyone were using nice comments with links and names. I'll try for my future posts...

[Write]

Explain how fanservice is necessary in Strike Witches. I'm not saying it's not, but I'd seriously like to hear how.

You also contradicted yourself/prove my point while trying to disprove someone else's, but I'll let that go.

[Midonin]

Originally Posted by Write

Well I doubt they were being serious because the scene made no kind of sense. I felt like it was more surreal humor than just "holy shit that was cool!".

It can be both! When "makes (almost) no sense" and "sexy action" are put together, "exploitation" is often what ensues. There used to be a whole movie industry based around this kind of thing. It has tradition. Maybe not a proud tradition, but it's part of filmmaking too.

[Random32]

Originally Posted by Write

Explain how fanservice is necessary in Strike Witches. I'm not saying it's not, but I'd seriously like to hear how.

You also contradicted yourself/prove my point while trying to disprove someone else's, but I'll let that go.

Do note that I have a lot of hypothetical "I"'s. I do contradict a lot of those statements, but I try not to contradict my points.

Fanservice isn't necessary in Strike Witches. You could have a Strike Witches without it, but it's fundamental to Strike Witches. You could have a Strike Witches without it, but it wouldn't be the same Strike Witches anymore. One of the several traits that makes Strike Witches Strike Witches is fanservice.

[Write]

Originally Posted by Random32

Fanservice isn't necessary in Strike Witches. You could have a Strike Witches without it, but it's fundamental to Strike Witches. You could have a Strike Witches without it, but it wouldn't be the same Strike Witches anymore. One of the several traits that makes Strike Witches Strike Witches is fanservice.

I said this in a earlier post, but it's fans who make that a reality. You're choosing to focus in on the fanservice even though the series only benefits from it in a vague way.

[Midonin]

Originally Posted by Write

I said this in a earlier post, but it's fans who make that a reality. You're choosing to focus in on the fanservice even though the series only benefits from it in a vague way.

Well, yeah. Power to the fans. Our community experience shapes the way an anime is received as much as what the producers do.

[Random32]

Originally Posted by Write

I said this in a earlier post, but it's fans who make that a reality. You're choosing to focus in on the fanservice even though the series only benefits from it in a vague way.

The fans do make it a reality. The series was made with a certain group of people as it's primary target, since the group of people like fanservice, it was made with fanservice.

The series benefits from it's "science" fiction aspects in a vague way. What was the benefit of going the scifi route instead of the fantasy route? Maybe if they went the fantasy route, physics majors could have enjoyed it more since they could brush of the setting as pure rubbish easier.

Of course they didn't. The producers chose a variety of traits. Those traits, even though they could easily be changed and still result in a good series, are fundamental to what the show is.

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

What strawman?

Perhaps it's just a twisted analogy in this case. In your Hawaiian shirt analogy, I pointed that things stop being distracting when it's the established norm in the world in question. You said, you don't want to get used to a world where this is the norm, and want to live in a world with more variety. But just because one show does something doesn't mean that all shows will do the same. And just because you're okay with something being done one way in one show, doesn't mean that you'd consider it equally okay in every other show regardless of overall theme, tone, style, approach, etc. So that is the straw man, but maybe you just misunderstood the intended context of my original reply in this case.

Originally Posted by Triple_R

That variety is already ensured by the Ikki Tousens of the world.

And so we can also have the Strike Witches of the world. It's not like they're one and the same either.

Originally Posted by Triple_R

And who is to say that they wouldn't have?

How many people who liked Strike Witches also liked Nanoha StrikerS? The core appeals of both shows are fairly similar, but one has less fanservice in action scenes than the other.

Again, the two don't necessarily equate. You can like one show that does something a certain way. You can like another show that does something a different way. That doesn't mean you'd necessarily like Show A more (or the same) if it were more like Show B. There are of course also people who like Strike Witches and not StrikerS, and vice-versa. I'm not prepared to say that changing the way fanservice is presented in the show would be for some sort of "Greater Good". I could also argue that the fact that the fanservice is presented throughout the show is one of the the reasons it actually sticks out less.

Either way, it's not like anything we say at this point is going to change the way Vivid Red Operation is made. Each person will have to make their own decision about whether it's a show for them or not, and whether they can accept whatever they do in this area or not.

[Write]

Originally Posted by Random32

The fans do make it a reality. The series was made with a certain group of people as it's primary target, since the group of people like fanservice, it was made with fanservice.

The series benefits from it's "science" fiction aspects in a vague way. What was the benefit of going the scifi route instead of the fantasy route? Maybe if they went the fantasy route, physics majors could have enjoyed it more since they could brush of the setting as pure rubbish easier.

Of course they didn't. The producers chose a variety of traits. Those traits, even though they could easily be changed and still result in a good series, are fundamental to what the show is.

Mind you I haven't seen the series, but aren't the science-y elements integral to the series?

[Random32]

You could throw out all the "science" elements and you'd be left with a fantasy series.

Of course, it wouldn't be same Strike Witches.

[NoemiChan]

Originally Posted by RRW

So guys what do you think about this

No problem if it's declared as Ecchi in the first place. If it isn't then there is a problem. HighSchool of the Dead is Ecchi.. and Strike Witches is Ecchi? I doubt it... But they add fanservice.. so thats a problem... It should've been prewarned

Again, it doesn't excuse a series where in the ecchi is too much already and an obstruction to the fight scenes. Like they say... You have been warn...

[Traece]

Originally Posted by GenjiChan

No problem if it's declared as Ecchi in the first place. If it isn't then there is a problem. HighSchool of the Dead is Ecchi.. and Strike Witches is Ecchi? I doubt it... But they add fanservice.. so thats a problem... It should've been prewarned

Again, it doesn't excuse a series where in the ecchi is too much already and an obstruction to the fight scenes. Like they say... You have been warn...

I sort of agree here. It's one thing for the fanservice to be done to an extreme for the sake of comedy in an almost parody fashion. When fanservice is done so excessively that it seems like they're making fun of other anime, it's funny.

But with Highschool of the Dead, and with that scene, it's just too much still. Even though there are scenes where the fanservice is clearly supposed to be more for humor, it still feels like too much. The way they animate the breasts bouncing around the bullet and such is just overkill. It's funny, but it stops being funny when they've tried so very hard. With that gif, I got to a: "I'm sorry, but that's just stupid," point. There has to be some moderation even if you're going for hilarious-level fanservice. At least have the fanservice be animated tastefully!