, fanservice or Example: A frame (numbered "25") from the English opening sequence of '' New Cutie Honey'', in which character Danbei Hayami fires a

Rocket Punch Rocket Punch (; or as RCPC) was a South Korean girl group formed and managed by Woollim Entertainment in 2019. The group consisted of six members: Yeonhee, Suyun, Yunkyoung, Sohee, and Dahyun. Former member Juri Takahashi, Juri departed from th ...

as main character Honey Kisaragi lies topless and prone in the background, is shown and captioned "" is material in a work of fiction or in a fictional series that is intentionally added to please the audience, often sexual in nature, such as nudity. The term originated in Japanese in the anime and manga fandom, but has been used in other languages and media. It is about "servicing" the fangiving the fans "exactly what they want". Fan service can also refer (by means of

text Text may refer to: Written word * Text (literary theory) In literary theory, a text is any object that can be "read", whether this object is a work of literature, a street sign, an arrangement of buildings on a city block, or styles of clothi ...

, symbol, image, sound) to other stories that contain visual elements. When anime and manga were translated into English by US companies, the original work was often edited to remove some of the fan service, making it more appropriate for U.S. audiences. Mike Tatsugawa explained this change as a result of a difference between the cultural values of Japan and the US. Today, especially outside anime and manga, the term has expanded to hold a wider meaning. This includes any elements, be it visual nods, referencing older or forgotten media related to material, plot detours or otherwise, that are not needed by the actual plot or character development, but are included as nods to, or pandering to the long-term fans of the material, especially in context of sequels or prequels, or later

seasons A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

of series.

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...

has been referred to as a "ringmaster of fan service" for her use of cryptic clues in her lyrics and accompanying media.

History

The 1952 French film '' Manina, la fille sans voiles'' (Manina, the Girl Without Sails) was not imported into the United States until 1958 after the success of the film's star,

Brigitte Bardot Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot ( ; ; born 28 September 1934), often referred to by her initials B.B., is a French former actress, singer, and model as well as an animal rights activist. Famous for portraying characters with Hedonism, hedonistic life ...

, in that country. In the US, the film was renamed "Manina, the Girl in the Bikini" to highlight the appeal of the star and her revealing outfit (then a matter of controversy), despite her not appearing in the first 40 minutes of the 76 minute film. Keith Russell regards the beginning of modern fan service as taking place in a permissive context, when "kids were just doing kids' stuff", which he believes allowed authors some latitude in regards to their subject matter. Beginning in the 1970s with '' Cutey Honey'' and continuing later with other

magical girl is a Genre#Subgenre, subgenre of primarily Japanese fantasy media (including anime, manga, light novels, and live-action media) centered on young girls who possess magical abilities, which they typically use through an ideal alter ego into wh ...

shows, fan service in manga became more ''risqué''. By the 1980s, full frontal nudity and shower scenes became standard content for anime and manga fan service. In the West, obscenity laws and rating systems (such as the

Comics Code Authority The Comics Code Authority (CCA) was formed in 1954 by the Comics Magazine Association of America as an alternative to government regulation. The CCA enabled comic publishers to self-regulate the content of American comic book, comic books in the ...

in the United States or the MPAA rating system, which replaced the Hays Code for film ratings) prevent or limit unnecessary displays of nudity in films and comic books. Bikini shots and topless scenes were still popular forms of audience arousal. In the 1983 film ''

Return of the Jedi ''Return of the Jedi'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi'' is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas. The sequel to '' The Empire ...

'',

Carrie Fisher Carrie Frances Fisher (October 21, 1956 – December 27, 2016) was an American actress and writer. She played Princess Leia in the Star Wars original trilogy, original ''Star Wars'' films (1977–1983) and reprised the role in'' Star Wars: The F ...

portrayed the character of

Princess Leia Princess Leia Organa ( or ) is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Introduced in the Star Wars (film), original ''Star Wars'' film in 1977, Leia is a princess of the planet Alderaan, a member of the Galactic Empire (Star Wars ...

wearing a metal bikini and chains while enslaved to the gangster Jabba the Hutt. This was an attempt to feminize the character and appeal to boys' fantasies. Some critics say that by portraying Leia as the object of desire to a crude monster, the film is reflecting the crude fantasies of its audience.

Types

Long shots of robots in

mecha In science fiction, or mechs are giant robots or machines, typically depicted as piloted, humanoid walking vehicles. The term was first used in Japanese (language), Japanese after shortening the English loanword or , but the meaning in Japan ...

shows, sexual elements, violent episode-long fight scenes and emphasis on

shipping Freight transport, also referred to as freight forwarding, is the physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it has been ...

can all be considered fan service as they are specifically aimed at pleasing the fans of any given show. Christian McCrea feels that

Gainax Gainax Co., Ltd. (stylized as GAINAX; , Hepburn: ) was a Japanese anime studio famous for original productions such as '' Neon Genesis Evangelion'', '' Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise'', '' Gunbuster'', '' Nadia: The Secret of Blue ...

is particularly good at addressing

otaku is a Japanese word that describes people with consuming interests, such as anime, manga, video games, computers or other highly enthusiastic hobbies. Its contemporary use originated with a 1983 essay by Akio Nakamori in '' Manga Burikko''. ...

through fan service by adding many " meta-references" and by showing "violence and hyperphysical activity". Baseball teams provide events that are described in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

as fan service, such as dance shows, singing the team song or a performance by the team mascot. The typical, but not only, variety of fan service in anime or manga is racy, sexual or

erotic Eroticism () is a quality that causes sexual feelings, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality, and romantic love. That quality may be found in any form of artwork, including painting, sculp ...

content, which may or may not include

nudity Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. While estimates vary, for the first 90,000 years of pre-history, anatomically modern humans were naked, having lost their body hair, living in hospitable climates, and not ...

or fetish content (for example, maid costumes). Fan service is especially common in '' shonen manga'' (aimed at boys). In shounen manga,

pin-up girl A pin-up model is a model whose mass-produced pictures and photographs have wide appeal within the popular culture of a society. Pin-up models are usually glamour, actresses, or fashion models whose pictures are intended for informal and aesth ...

style images are common "in varying states of undress", often using an "accidental exposure" excuse to show a favourite female character or an

upskirt Upskirting or upskirt photography is the practice of taking photographs or videos under a person's skirt or kilt, capturing an image or video of the crotch area, showing underwear such as panties, and sometimes genitalia. An "upskirt" is a photo ...

"glimpse of a character's panties".Drazen, Patrick (October 2002)
''Plastic Little'': Not What You Think
in '' Anime Explosion! The What, Why & Wow of Japanese Animation'' Berkeley, California: Stone Bridge Press p.329 . Series aimed at an older audience include more explicit fan service. Jiggling breasts, known as the "Gainax bounce", are an example of fan service, originating from the opening scene of '' Daicon IV''. The "bounce" was taken up by other animators, including the creators of the

hentai Hentai () is a style of Pornography in Japan, Japanese pornographic anime and manga. In addition to anime and manga, hentai works exist in a variety of media, including artwork and video games (commonly known as ''eroge''). The developme ...

series '' Cream Lemon''. Shower scenes are very common in

movies A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, since ...

and in anime of the 1980s and 1990s, whereas many more recent

TV series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platf ...

use trips to ''

onsen In Japan, are hot springs and the bathing facilities and Ryokan (inn), traditional inns around them. There are approximately 25,000 hot spring sources throughout Japan, and approximately 3,000 ''onsen'' establishments use naturally hot water ...

'' (

ese

hot spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...

s) or trips to

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

locales (or in some cases a swimming pool) in order to showcase the characters in bathing suits. Series aimed at males can also include fan service for women, as an attempt to court a wider audience. Keith Russell defines fan service as "the random and gratuitous display of a series of anticipated gestures common in Manga and Anime. These gestures include such things as panty shots, leg spreads and glimpses of breast". Russell regards fan service as being an

aesthetic Aesthetics (also spelled esthetics) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty and taste, which in a broad sense incorporates the philosophy of art.Slater, B. H.Aesthetics ''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy,'' , acces ...

of the transient "glimpse", which he contrasts with the

gaze In critical theory, philosophy, sociology, and psychoanalysis, the gaze (French: ''le regard''), in the figurative sense, is an individual's (or a group's) awareness and perception of other individuals, other groups, or oneself. Since the 20th ...

, as it takes the mind unaware and open to "libidinous possibility" without mediation. He considers the fan service

object Object may refer to: General meanings * Object (philosophy), a thing, being, or concept ** Object (abstract), an object which does not exist at any particular time or place ** Physical object, an identifiable collection of matter * Goal, an a ...

to be reassuring in its unrealistic nature and to be confirming the "freedom of desire". Shoujo manga, aimed at female readers, also includes fan service, such as showing male characters "half-naked and in enticing poses". Robin Brenner notes that in the US comics culture, fan service aimed at women is rare, and also that in Japan, series can be famous for their fan service content. Chris Beveridge explains this mindset with '' Agent Aika'': "There's some sort of plot in there, but that's not the reason you're watching it. ... we're watching this for the sheer amount of fanservice." Male homoeroticism, such as accidental kisses, is a common feature of fan service for women and has been described as "easier to get away with" in terms of censorship than fan service for males. In the

Boys' Love , also known by its abbreviation , is a genre of fictional media originating in Japan that depicts Homoeroticism, homoerotic relationships between male characters. It is typically created by women for a female audience, distinguishing it fro ...

genre, fan service is "artwork or scenes" in products that "depict canonical characters in a homosocial / homoerotic context". Shoujo manga series may eroticise its female leads as well for crossover appeal, as fan service aimed at a potential male audience. Brenner notes that fan service can be offputting to some teen readers, as in a male reading shoujo manga or a female reading shounen manga and that in general fan service is more criticised by some when it features a female character. She cites '' Tenjo Tenge'' as an example of a fan service–laden series. When the series was localised, a large amount of this fan service was removed, leading to outcry from fans.

History

Types

See also

References

Further reading