How to Identify Fanservice in Anime

Maybe you’ve seen this weird word when you’ve been on message boards talking about anime: fanservice. You have this vague notion it’s about panty shots, but you’re really not sure what fanservice is all about. Fanservice includes parts of an episode or film that have nothing to do with the story, but they’re present to give fans a little pleasure or amusement. While it can be sexual, there are several types of fanservice for the audience to enjoy.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Notice technological details only geeks would get. These could be allusions to steampunk, the name of a ship or a character’s special weapon. For example, the names of members in the state military in “Fullmetal Alchemist” are aviation or military related (Mustang, Breda, Hawkeye, Falman/Farman, among others).

2. Feel smart when you get nerdy trivia bits that most fans wouldn’t. For example, you know “Last Exile’s” Hamilcar Valka is named after Hannibal’s father.

3. Recognize homages to films, TV shows and celebrities. For example, characters who look like Woody Allen appear in episodes of “Paranoia Agent” and “Cowboy Bebop.”

4. Squeal for joy when a minor character is featured in an episode. If you’re delighted when this happens, it’s definitely a fanservice moment for you. Sometimes minor characters can have popularity that rivals the protagonists’. Writers will give these characters their own episodes to please fans.

5. Spot when a character from another show makes a cameo. The character might appear in a minor role in an episode or she might be in a crowd in the background.

6. Get your eyeful of female eye candy. It could be a panty shot as a girl falls and her skirt flips up. It can be a girl in a bikini or a character who’s playing in a kittenish costume. Fanservice of the eye-candy variety presents characters in a more sexually attractive light.

7. Get your eyeful of male eye candy. Bare-chested pretty boys, wind blowing through the long hair of studly protagonists and beautiful villains being drenched by rain are all examples of male eye candy in anime fanservice.

Tips & Warnings

• Fanservice also appears in non-Japanese media, although Japanese visual media makes a point of adding fanservice. Some anime is nothing but fanservice.
• Fanservice can be offensive, especially sexual fanservice.

[grouch]

on 12/14/2007 Hey this is great. We all get a little bored with the normal it is nice to have something to break it up. Thanks.