Fan service: Good or bad?

[JERI]

I'm sick of fan service in my manga, sometimes it's got genuine comedic qualities, but most of the times it's just a tasteless page filler. Fortunately, most of the good mangas I read never or rarely make use of this device.

If I want nudity or panty shots, I can get those in my porn, but I read manga to enjoy some quality story telling thank you.

[100demons]

Fan service is a problem. This is just my opinion. I dont get turned on by animated characters. I have a roommate who would rather look at animated breasts then touch the real thing. That is a problem. 90% of the anime he buys is fan service related. Most of the stuff I see best buy and the like selling are fan service animes. I'm sick of it. I just think there is more out there than what these big american companies are selling us. I go to conventions, and use animesuki, and research things on the net because it gives me more of a choice. I'm not saying its altogether bad, I'm saying no more fan service for me please.

Now would someone please fansub the devilman tv show? please? hello?

[NoSanninWa]

LOL! Devilman TV has plenty of fanservice, yet you just said that fanservice is a problem. I suggest you make up your mind.

Oh and by the way, Devilman TV is already being subbed by ILA Fansubs. It just isn't on BitTorrent right now. Their tracker is being renovated, so get it on irc or wait for them to put it up again.

[noibauten]

I dont mind fan service , sometime it can be pretty funny

[Laryx]

Now I have nothing against fanservice. Panty flashes, falling towels, gratuitous cleavages. All fine and great. In fact real life should have more fanservice However!!!! (there`s always a downside isn`t there?) It`s getting a bit ridiculous. Fanservice is suposed to be a bit of extra service to fans. These days plot seems to matter less than fanservice and we`re constantly bombarded by sexual innuendo. At least AIka could pretend to be a parody, a luxury a series like yumeria cannot afford. One positive change within fanservice is the inclusion of nipples. Nipples! What a smashing word. What would breasts be without them? lumps of fat really. So why has it taken so long for non anime hentai to include them. There was always a hand, a branch, a puff of smoke, or some soap bubbles obscuring thjem or they were simply left out completely. However starting this year I`ve seen them included. Midori no hibi was the first series I noticed this in and I`ve been seeing it in other series now too.

[DaFool]

Originally Posted by Laryx

One positive change within fanservice is the inclusion of nipples. Nipples! What a smashing word. What would breasts be without them? lumps of fat really. So why has it taken so long for non anime hentai to include them. There was always a hand, a branch, a puff of smoke, or some soap bubbles obscuring thjem or they were simply left out completely. However starting this year I`ve seen them included. Midori no hibi was the first series I noticed this in and I`ve been seeing it in other series now too.

GAINAX = 20 years of nipple drawing.

EDIT: 20 years of drawing nipples.

And making good stories. (Including Mahoromatic and Konominiku)

[wao]

Here's another one of those so-called rare female anime fans...

Most fanservice indeed is not aimed at females so most of the time I just ignore it.

Whatever sexual fanservice there is for girls isn't as obvious as those for guys: guys look out more for boobs, panty-shots, revealing clothes; in non-ecchi ways it would be a cute voice, sexy/cute antics...

I'm not 100% sure myself what female fanservice entails, but I think we usually look more at the face and voice... Baring one's chest isn't always going to elicit excitement from female fans. (It works in some cases and it doesn't.) Actions also weigh in more heavily, I guess... Let's see, an example...

My friend, who is so completely obsessed with Edward from Full Metal Alchemist (I myself don't mind Roy ), loves it when Edward flings off his red coat in that sexy manner... She went ballistic during this scene where Edward was bathing (I admit I enjoyed it too.) and again when Edward was dying his hair in this other episode...
Non-visually, she loves listening to Roy's voice. She really really really loves it. She's gone to Japan and she's looking for Roy's character song CD... in her own words, she's said it was sexy, so there you go.
However, I doubt she was as excited when Armstrong did his uh, rather common muscle-showing-off acts...

Laryx: regarding not drawing nipples, ever heard of "TV censorship"?

[DingoEnderZOE2]

Whoa a nostalgic topic. I feel like bumping this so new viewers can take a look.

[Chiibi]

Ecchi fanservice can be so annoying and unecessary, i.e. The World of Narue was a cute series but those constant pantsu shots in serious situations just disgusted me. It's DUMB!-_-

Ecchi fanservice for boys is bad. Fanservice for girls is very very good.

[Dragnfly@Gamefaqs]

I'm glad you bumped this because it gives me a chance to solidify that I'm not a lolicon

So, yeah. I feel that fanservice can really only work in one of three ways. In a very serious anime I find it doesn't fit at all. Or if there is something like that, it should be dark. For this, I don't consider a nude girl... say, being held up by chains symbolic of her remorse, to be fanservice. That's artistic symbolism

Then you get the shows like Eiken and Usagichan de Cue where fanservice is really the whole point. They'll have a story but both plot and script will take a backseat to jiggling ballon melons.

The second way I find it works is a very light fashion. A panty shot here or there, for example. I hardly even notice this so it often seems more like an animation thing. When characters wear skirts that short their underwear is bound to show at times. Likewise, the famous "large-breasted girl needs to grab something that's past the hero's head" scene. When he sees those huge breasts in his face does he blush and look away? Blush and stare? Look like he doesn't care at all? These reactions help to flesh out the character so I can accept the fanservice being a by-product of that scene.

To me it's when physics (even anime physics) are defied in an inappropriate moment where fanservice is wrong. An example of this is in my beloved Nanoha. Sure, the show has it's fair share of panty shots but they usually go unseen. However, one time Nanoha is on a tree branch and for no reason at all her huge heavy skirt flies completely up when she bends over. ALL my female friends told me that a skirt that long would hardly ever fly up that high because of it's weight (even if made of light fabrics)

So yeah. I generally approve of fanservice. I like huge breasts and such. But it has it's time and place.

[Pleroma]

As a rule of thumb when fanservice can actually weaken a story that story is not to good to begin with. Ergo, its ultimately inconsequencial as either an extra to a good show or a relief from a crappy one.

[musouka]

I'd have to say I find fanservice irritating. Not because I find the sight of panties and boobs disgusting (I have them myself after all) but because

A) So much of the time it's ridiculously contrived. If you want to show boobs or panties or a bra, then more power to you, just please stop with the "falling and cupping both her breasts" or "falling so that her crotch is splayed on your face" and other stock fanservice moments.

B) The cliches have been beaten to death, so please find some new ones. I now hate hot springs episodes. I'm growing to hate beach episodes. And the "let's shop for lingerie" is beginning to make me grind my teeth. It's not that those situations in and of themselves are horrible, but can someone please come up with (for example) a better hot springs cliche than "the girls are fondling one another on the other side"? PLEASE?

C) Ugly choices. Why waste your time designing a cute anime girl, then put her in ugly undies or an fulgy bathing suit?

[DaFool]

Subtle fanservice is good...the kind of subtle that only one who pays really close attention 'gets it'. Such fanservice won't usually be considered fanservice in fanservice discussions because most people consider fanservice to be the blatant in-your-face / annoying type.

That being said, I found some subtle fanservice in series such as Aria. Now if someone were to ask me on a generic yes / no basis and I being too lazy to explain at that time, I would say that Aria contains no fanservice.

[Kanna]

Binchotan is just cute. Fanservice or not it's the base the character and the show was created around. It's appropriate for shows that are built with that idea in planning, but will seem out of place for a more serious show.

Originally Posted by Chiibi

The World of Narue was a cute series but those constant pantsu shots in serious situations just disgusted me.

Narue nopan >.>

[Aru]

Originally Posted by Chiibi

Ecchi fanservice for boys is bad. Fanservice for girls is very very good.

As much as I hate to admit it, that's probably true. Well, not good, but it's at least better than the random panty shot.

[RunningTARGET]

Originally Posted by Aru

As much as I hate to admit it, that's probably true. Well, not good, but it's at least better than the random panty shot.

At least you know you get quite a handfull of it with the Bishonen and shonen ai shows that you get now days. And I presume they're of high quality compare to the yuri crap that us guys tend to be getting.

Bring me Onegai Friends as an anime anyday and with the good fanservice this would bring.

Oh and one more thing for the thread...

Stupid fan service kills an anime (Amaenaideyo, tactical roar).

Sexy fan service improves on an anime (Shuffle, Canvas2, Shana).

[Zero Shinohara]

It depends a lot on the anime, for sure. Let's pick, for example, an anime like DearS, which has been mentioned. It's a show that bases itself on fanservice. I like the storyline that much, but the anime series just made me sick. After watching it in 2005 and reading the manga, I opted for the manga for story's sake. I'm still buying the english versions as they come out: Not that much fanservice, but you also don't spend a whole lot of time without it.
To me it depends on how much the storyline should affect you. You won't take an anime seriously enough if it just calls your attention for the pairs of boobies they can put on a show.

[kj1980]

Has anyone stopped to think that these shows are aired well past midnight on obscure TV channels. You would think why they have fan service to appeal to hard core otakus who are the main target.

[I'm Oppressed]

Originally Posted by Kensuke

Fanservice is good as long as it stays cute and funny, but it turn bad when it starts getting too ecchi. Its kind of done for comedic purposes, and not too serious, difficult to explain...

My opinions about some series:
DearS - I could have enjoyed this series a lot more without that teacher, too ecchi for my tastes.
Ai Yori Aoshi - fanservice ruined the story.
Onegai Teacher - just the right amount of fanservice.
Kono Minikuku mo Utsukushii Sekai - yes, a lot of fanservice, but funny.

I don't think that it was fanservice that ruined Ai Yori Aoshi's story.

[I'm Oppressed]

Originally Posted by Chiibi

Ecchi fanservice can be so annoying and unecessary, i.e. The World of Narue was a cute series but those constant pantsu shots in serious situations just disgusted me. It's DUMB!-_-

Ecchi fanservice for boys is bad. Fanservice for girls is very very good.

I'm guessing that you enjoyed Utena more than I did.