Fan Service the Trash of Anime? – An Alpha Omega Rant

WARNING: The following rant contains sexual images and themes. If you are offended I suggest leaving the page.

Now how many clicked of you on this page because of the thumbnail I picked?

I am going on a touchy subject but I thought it was something that needed to be addressed and I had quite the time writing this rant.

Anime has been around for quite some time with it popularity exploding in the west with the anime boom in America. During all these years no one can deny that the content of anime has been changing. A particular a piece of content that has been seen in more recent years is the inclusion of fan service. Fan service in anime terms means to typically reduce the amount of clothing on usually a female character. In modern anime today due to the over exposure and boom in fan service, anime fans have been faced with many issues including the overall abundance of fan service, the demand for it and how it is degrading.

Fan service can be thought of as gravy. When added in the right amounts to a meal its fantastic. However the question that should be asked is what if the viewer just wants gravy? In the last decade anime has seen a tremendous increase in the inclusion of fan service.

The abundance of fan service is seen as an issue. For example take a look at the ecchi anime High School DxD. Its content is bizarre and the story means nothing but just as a method for the viewer to see the uncensored breasts that are present in the show.

However another example is the infamous High School of the Dead animated by the fantastic animators at Mad House Studios. The show incorporates fan service with zombie killing action. The fan service gets to a point where similar to High School DxD it’s insulting but different it was fun where it makes you wonder the physics the engine the anime using as breasts cannot do this.

BREASTS CAN’T DODGE BULLETS!!! I think.

The overall abundance for fan service filled or ecchi anime can be contributed to the fact that the majority of anime fans being within teenage years. Thus shows such as High School DxD would be watched tremendously by males of teenage shows.

It is no lie that most anime fans today are teenagers. This is the main reason why ecchi shows sell so well. It is a simple case of the business knowing their target audience so well. Knowing that they their audience are mainly male teenagers led them to produce sexualised shows that will sell.

The simple reason that these shows sell so well is the main reason that Hollywood movies sell so well. Sex sells. The rule applies generally to all sides of the business as anime based around erotic themes and images will no doubt capture the attention of someone and draw their interest in. I myself am guilty of being drawn in to such anime by its sexualised orientation making me curious. The main reason for the demand for ecchi anime simply comes to the fact that sex sells.

Now here’s Asuka from the recent Rebuild of Evangelion movies. There’s a ridiculous amount of fan service in this reboot compared to the original series.

In small amounts fan service can be a treat. I don’t mind it when it’s there to simply do its job: pleasing the fans. However fan service can get to a point where it’s insulting or degrading. When fan service is over the top and out right unneeded, it’s degrading. It portrays the women as nothing more than sex objects for men to look at it.

Despite the fact viewers do not actually fully see the breasts or the vagina it makes me wonder why viewers would watch such shows. In all honesty if we otakus wanted to watch something to jerk off to. It’s a simple matter of searching up porn or hentai.

Now was I the only one who noticed Nami’s size increase in her, uh… assets?

How degrading anime is these days is incomparable to how it was when fan service was first featured. Also it is nothing like American TV shows where fan service can be picked out clearly but there is a difference. The fan service featured in American TV shows are few and far apart within the series.

This leads into the next point to how degrading it is. I can go and sit down and watch the American TV show Suits with my friends who don’t watch anime. Now let’s say that they agree to watch the Code Geass series with me.

Now how am I supposed to explain the fan service scene in episode 3 with Kallen naked in the shower? This is scene takes place after 2 previous episodes of strategic planning and ground breaking action.

 

Now try explaining this to your friends after just watching an episode where Lelouch kicked Britannian arse along with killing his half-brother.

Fan service today has gotten to a point where it bothers me and I just find it degrading towards women how they are put up on display for male viewers to gape at. Also the actual ecchi anime will just use excuses to show off the females’ features. Fan service today is simply degrading towards women with just insulting it has become along with the way it has portrayed women.

I like to think of anime as a way for me to view a good story with well fleshed out and developed characters. I‘d to think that anime is most certainly not a place where people come to view sexual material. We have had the release of such great anime in the past year few years, Attack On Titan, Fate/Zero and Steins;Gate are all great examples. However it seems that the outrageous amounts of fan service depict us otakus as people who want to get off at the first sight of breasts or panties. I hope not however it’s downright insulting seeing what kind of anime is still being produced in this day and age which I hope to see significantly toned down.

So is fan service a bad thing or should it be ridden of completely?

 

Fate/Zero: NOW THIS IS ANIME!!!