[Serious] Why are sexualized characters considered "Fan Service"?

[@dedmunk]

It might seem like a dumb question (probably is), but I see overly sexualized characters being referred to as fan service all the time. What is the background behind this? I thought fan service would include things like including elements that are meaningless to the core of the game but fans would appreciate, maybe like the costumes in Bayonetta on Wii U/Switch.

Personally I don't like overly sexualized characters and find it embarrassing when they're included, especially if other people can see the screen when I'm playing.

Just curious where this terminology originated?

 

[De-mon]

It's better than wanker service

 

[Crayon]

Fan Disservice

 

[Fat4all]

It's better than wanker service

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is it tho

 

[@dedmunk]

It's better than wanker service

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I didn't want to say it, but do developers see us as desperate and that's why it's considered fan service?

 

[Arklite]

Refers to being flashy or showy for fans. An athlete makes a fancy play, a racecar driver drifts for show, a model turns and arches their back or flexes something. In terms of video game characters, it's often flashy costumes.

 

[Antony]

GAINAX began it in 1989 with Gunbuster I think...?

 

[Killyoh]

It might seem like a dumb question (probably is), but I see overly sexualized characters being referred to as fan service all the time. What is the background behind this? I thought fan service would include things like including elements that are meaningless to the core of the game but fans would appreciate, maybe like the costumes in Bayonetta on Wii U/Switch.

Personally I don't like overly sexualized characters and find it embarrassing when they're included, especially if other people can see the screen when I'm playing.

Just curious where this terminology originated?

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I think it started that way :

"Eh this anime girl is HOT. I'd love to see her in a swimsuit or something
- Say no more my good male twenty-something otaku. Here she is, in all her D Cup beauty
- Thanks man... You're really doing me a service here... As a fan I mean"


Something like that.

 

[bluexy]

I think the term itself stems from Japan, but that it has deeper roots in American culture with regards to sports. Specifically, cheerleaders in sports who would wear minimal clothing and dance for the audience in-between plays, during time-outs, or at half-time of sports games like football. That culture jumped over to Japan's sports, as Japan adopted a lot of American culture in the post-WW2 years. And they dubbed it fan-service. When and how it jumped from sports to manga/anime/video game culture I'm not sure.

 

[J75]

I'm sure it originated in the context of some sort of degenerate japanese anime otaku product or something. Dunno how it transitioned into games including western titles though.

 

[Fat4all]

GAINAX began it in 1989 with Gunbuster I think...?

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*images of boob physics flash through mind*

aim for the top

 

[Deleted member 2474]

i believe the term originated in otaku culture in japan circa the 80s, particularly in regards to gainax's love for titty bounce

 

[Laser Ramon]

Fan service means doing something as a treat for fans of something, and back in the day, that meant pandering to the male audience. It has since come to mean winks and nods and extras that fans would appreciate, but they became two separate things while keeping the same name origin.

 

[Doukou]

Pretty sure the term Fan service originated from Japan and always been used to describe sexy scenes.

 

[Zeno]

https://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/7826/where-did-the-term-fan-service-came-from

The term "fan service" goes back to the late 80's at minimum. However, Dirty Pair was done in 1985 and clearly had fan service in mind even if they didn't expressly use the term then. The term "Gainax Bounce" has been described as fan service since their title Top wo Nerae! came out in 1988 (1). Gainax's anime parody of their own rise called 1982 Otaku no Video and 1985 Otaku no Video refers to fan service (2).

The first use of "fan service" on Usenet as refering to its current meaning was in 1994 by Hitoshi Doi (3). The actual first use of the term "fan service" on Usenet was done in 1991 by Tonghyun Kim and has a different context (3). (emphasis added by me)

By the time Gainax released Shin Seiki Evangelion in 1995, the term "fan service" was well known. This explains why on the previews for the next episode, Misato often called for more "service" or promised more "service". - source

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[Acu]

¿? I always thought that fan-service was that side/optional/secondary/comes in a sequel kind of thing.

Like, when female character exists and you can unlock a swimswit for her or when in a long-running saga, the female cast starts to wear skimpier clothes.

When a sexualized character is done like that by default, I wouldn't categorize it as fan-service.

 

[Strings]

Originally an anime term. The Wikipedia article sums it up decently.

 

[Doukou]

¿? I always thought that fan-service was that side/optional/secondary/comes in a sequel kind of thing.

Like, when female character exists and you can unlock a swimswit for her or when in a long-running saga, the female cast starts to wear skimpier clothes.

When a sexualized character is done like that by default, I wouldn't categorize it as fan-service.

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A character can be designed with fan service in mind. Like that bad character from Gurren Lagan who while having a reveling outfit also wastes time on boob/butt shots.

 

[Sailent]

I didn't want to say it, but do developers see us as desperate and that's why it's considered fan service?

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Not desperate, but It's a pretty common concept in society that men likes boobs and ass. Also the game industry primarily aims at male audience.

For me fan service is anything that you could take out of a game, and it would still be a game. Fan service attracts a bigger audience. Check out any Xenoblade 2 forum, you will see that several people play it because of the mechanics or gameplay, others because of the plot, and others because waifus. If you remove the waifus, your public is smaller.

I personally think that if you make a good game, you don't need to add sexualized women in it.

 

[Cheerilee]

When I was young, I was taught that "fanservice" was anything that was done purely to pander to the audience, to reward them for watching, and to trick them into coming back for more. Sexual titillation is just one branch of fanservice, but it overwhelmed anime in the 90's (Neon Genesis Evangelion teased in their next episode previews that the next episode would probably have fanservice, which I think was a case of mocking the trend, while also indulging in it).

The word became synonymous with sexual titillation because of anime since the 90's. Videogames are close enough to anime that they follow some of the same trends and pick up some of the same terms.

https://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/7826/where-did-the-term-fan-service-came-from

The first use of "fan service" on Usenet as refering to its current meaning was in 1994 by Hitoshi Doi (3).

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Now there's a name I haven't heard in a while.



(Skip to the 8:00 mark to meet Hitoshi Doi.)

 

[BigBluePig]

Seeing scantily clad characters is often enjoyable and stimulating. It is also often necessary. Therefore, it's a simple service to the fans, aka fan service.

 

[Ikaruga]

Only flashy outfits? I digress. I think fan service is also the mandatory beach/pool episode in almost every anime to date. They rarely wear flashy swimsuits in these and if, then it's just the icing of the cake imo.

If you want a true fanservice only anime look no further than Keijo.

In the end I find it distracting, I'd rather see Anime to excel with great story telling than with the so called fan service, it's often a fan disservice as was pointed out in this thread already.

 

[Deleted member 36622]

I don't know but if you study arts, you wouldn't think that's ridiculous at all.

Bayonetta outfits aren't any different from Link in Soul Calibur, it's just a cameo. In this case the outfits had to make sense with the character, otherwise they'd look off.

Why are people are so obsessed with sexualized characters? If you accept sex scenes in movies, i don't see where's the problem here, as long as you raise the PEGI rating.

The only thing that turns me off is the age of these characters (it just makes no sense and that seems a service to pedos): body of a 20 years old but for some reason she is 10. WTF?

 

[Hilarious_Bearious]

As others have already explained, it has its roots in Anime/Manga culture and then spread to the west. The promise of fan service in every NGE preview still cracks me up to this day (mainly because it seems to be an empty promises, it only gets fulfilled half the time).

Ultimately it's just a euphemism for T&A, and isn't something I'm into.

Why are people are so obsessed with sexualized characters? If you accept sex scenes in movies, i don't see where's the problem here, as long as you raise the PEGI rating.

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The problem isn't contextualised, relevant sexual content. It's when women are hypersexualised in order to appeal to a straight mail audience, often at the expense of character depth and substance.

 

[Martylepiaf]

I think it started that way :

"Eh this anime girl is HOT. I'd love to see her in a swimsuit or something
- Say no more my good male twenty-something otaku. Here she is, in all her D Cup beauty
- Thanks man... You're really doing me a service here... As a fan I mean"


Something like that.

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I believe it was exactly like this

 

[Deleted member 22585]

I think it started that way :

"Eh this anime girl is HOT. I'd love to see her in a swimsuit or something
- Say no more my good male twenty-something otaku. Here she is, in all her D Cup beauty
- Thanks man... You're really doing me a service here... As a fan I mean"


Something like that.

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That checks out.

 

[Ladioss]

Real anime fanservice is twenty minutes of mecha sakuga action - with gattai, and close-ups on the mechanisms.

 

[Mauricio_Magus]

Gainax.

 

[Dracoonian]

I knew about the term for a long time but I remember thinking the same OP. Thought it meant "this doesn't really fit the narrative we're progressing towards, but fans like it so we can include it". It, being, a character coming back to life or changing appearances, names etc.

Now that I described that, is there even a name for that "service" ?

 

[Platy]

I didn't want to say it, but do developers see us as desperate and that's why it's considered fan service?

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Yes.
Specially because for some devs it is easier to focus on the pillow buying otaku as their market target because he is a whale and will buy anything with boobs jumping to his face. Instead of ... I don't know, doing something that everyone will think it is good =P

*images of boob physics flash through mind*

aim for the top

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"""""boob physics"""""

 

[Pablo Mesa]

cause by the definition, IT IS fan service ??

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_service

Fan service (ファンサービス fan sābisu), fanservice, or service cut (サービスカット sābisu katto),[1][2] is material in a work of fiction or in a fictional series which is intentionally added to please the audience.

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Gainax.

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Misato, please

 

[Strings]

I don't know but if you study arts, you wouldn't think that's ridiculous at all.

Bayonetta outfits aren't any different from Link in Soul Calibur, it's just a cameo. In this case the outfits had to make sense with the character, otherwise they'd look off.

Why are people are so obsessed with sexualized characters? If you accept sex scenes in movies, i don't see where's the problem here, as long as you raise the PEGI rating.

The only thing that turns me off is the age of these characters (it just makes no sense and that seems a service to pedos): body of a 20 years old but for some reason she is 10. WTF?

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I find most sex scenes to be pretty terrible too. Both in movies and books. It's super rare to find one that actually says something meaningful about the relationship of the characters in the scene, or that is artfully shot or described (Haruki Murakami, pls, stop, it's literally the one thing you can't make inexplicably interesting).

 

[Gold Arsene]

I don't know the exact origin but some fans like it so it "services" them I guess. I've heard it used in this context since the 90's.

Personally I don't like overly sexualized characters and find it embarrassing when they're included, especially if other people can see the screen when I'm playing.

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Obviously others will disagree. Personally while I understand people's displasure over it there's definetly designs and seres that have sexulization that I like such as Camilla or Mai.

But again personal taste and I say I understand not wanting to see it everywhere.

 

[Swift_Gamer]

I'll never understand the appeal behind people getting aroused by "non real" characters. I mean, they're all polygons or drawings... But to each their own.

 

[Gold Arsene]

I didn't want to say it, but do developers see us as desperate and that's why it's considered fan service?

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I see this sentiment and I honestly wonder why one would be considered desperate because they like sexulization.

 

[Quinho]

Because fans like sex

 

[Deleted member 31092]

GAINAX surely made fanservice popular with Hideaki Anno's Gunbuster and Neon Genesis Evangelion, but it goes back in time at least to DAICON III & IV in 1981-3 when they were still Daicon Film.



DAICON III was made mainly by Hideaki Anno (doens't need a presentation), Hiroyuki Yamaga (Gainax's president) and Takami Akai (who stepped down from the Gainax board in 2007 after some shit happened online on 2channel).

 

[Blade Wolf]

I think it's because people are horny, not saying that makes sexualized character okay, just saying that people are horny.
Guess what? Female likes sexualized male character as well, and that's totally cool.

I think it depends on the intention, is the goal to make the character sexy? or to objectify that character?

 

[Razor Mom]

I'll never understand the appeal behind people getting aroused by "non real" characters. I mean, they're all polygons or drawings... But to each their own.

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Same reason people get sexual fantasies about book characters. People can find all sorts of things sexy, and "real" isn't even that easy to determine. If you find an actor attractive in a movie, its likely that the makeup, post-production work and team of people working to make them look good have something to do with it. There are plenty of people make a career of being arousing but look thoroughly "normal" without all those extra layers. In terms of a fictional character in a book or something, a lot of that's more finding a certain character traits sexy. I think with a lot of people who find 2D or game characters sexy, it comes down to things like voice, characterization, etc. and the actual visual element isn't necessarily the only thing at work. Different strokes for different folks, though.

 

[PSqueak]

It was hijacked from when the term used to mean "giving the audience what they want", turns out anime (where the term is used the most in the modern pervert way) is consumed by a huge margin of perverts.

Back in the day it meant things like "making a nod towards the audience" or "bringing back fan faves" and thinks like that.

The new Broly movie is an example of something doing fan service in both meanings, for example, with bringing back fan fave (Broly) and making nods to the audience (Frieza wanting to use the dragon balls to become taller as a nod to Commander Red from dragon ball), but also having gratuitous sexualized shots of Cheelai.

 

[Deleted member 4976]

Some folks are constantly horny, and these designs often aim to please those folks at the expense of the lore, world and character of the rest of the game.

 

[Skade]

Because the skimpy clothes serves no other purpose than titillate the libido of the fans ?

 

[vestan]

Takami Akai (who stepped down from the Gainax board in 2007 after some shit happened online on 2channel).

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Oh my

What happened here now?

 

[i-Jest]

i believe the term originated in otaku culture in japan circa the 80s, particularly in regards to gainax's love for titty bounce

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Fan service means doing something as a treat for fans of something, and back in the day, that meant pandering to the male audience. It has since come to mean winks and nods and extras that fans would appreciate, but they became two separate things while keeping the same name origin.

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While all the same selling sexy figures :P

 

[Einbroch]

As someone raised on anime, whenever someone refers to fan service in a non-sexual context it takes me a second to go "oh, yeah".

 

[Vela]

It's just a dog whistle for pandering to horny straight boys. It makes it appear more digestible and innocent.

 

[Strings]

GAINAX surely made fanservice popular with Hideaki Anno's Gunbuster and Neon Genesis Evangelion, but it goes back in time at least to DAICON III & IV in 1981-3 when they were still Daicon Film.



DAICON III was made mainly by Hideaki Anno (doens't need a presentation), Hiroyuki Yamaga (Gainax's president) and Takami Akai (who stepped down from the Gainax board in 2007 after some shit happened online on 2channel).

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I have to watch Daicon IV every single time I see it mentioned. It's joy made manifest.

 

[Deleted member 31092]

Oh my

What happened here now?

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Essentially 2channel criticized the animation of the pilot and he responded quite "vocally" to that criticism.

Let me quote an article [Akai, under the name Magi no Suke, responded that personally reading the comments on 2channel was "like putting [his] face next to an anus and breathing deeply."]

Gainax and the fandom always had a difficult relationship.

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2007-04-27/co-founder-takami-akai-steps-down-from-gainax

Gainax died that year really. Hideaki Anno was fed up with Gainax postponing his Rebuild project for Gurren Lagann (that ended up being a catrastrophically bad financial decision) and founded his own studio in 2006, then this happened and they lost 2 of their funding members in less than 12 months.

It's just a dog whistle for pandering to horny straight boys. It makes it appear more digestible and innocent.

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Never watched a trashy anime aimed at girls I guess.

 

[IvorB]

It's an awful phrase for it. I guess people that use it believe only straight men count as fans. What about women or other groups? Are they not fans too?

Fan service for me is what FF XIV does or adding Easter eggs to games not a thinly-veiled attempt to provide justification for rampant sexualisation of women in games. Oh they're doing it "for the fans"...

 

[deathsaber]

All speculation, but I think a lot of fan service came about when creators of anime realized that Western people started becoming a large part of the audience. And lets face it, it is a lot of the "adult themes" (whether being sexy elements, violence, or just more "mature" storytelling) that do bring a lot of fans of anime in, which we don't get from Western animation which is mostly "for kids".

Not saying "fan service" didn't exist before, but now they know what they are doing. What before were little saucy quirks thrown in the by the creators eventually became an almost assembly-line-like "lets give the fans what they want", hence the fan service.