Fanservice and Ecchi: Too much?

[matt0044]

AZ Rant: Fanservice and Ecchi (Censored) - YouTube

Yeah, I'm sure we've all noticed this. So let's discuss.

I think there's too much and even if there are a lot of shows that are plot oriented, the ecchi stuff garners more attention because... well, you know. That and if there's a potentially good plot, they should focus on that and NOT on trying to break the immersion with stuff to get me all hot and bothered. It comes off as a bunch of short-sighted, simpleminded TV executives aren't confident in good stories and characters being a selling point and feeling that putting in cheesecake gratuitously is the formula for a guaranteed success.

Another issue fanservice can pose is to outsiders of the Anime fandom(s) who can stereotype Anime as just porn. Because lord knows that humans are lazy at being open minded. You know that moments where you're watching an Anime and something risqué is shown, making you looking around for any family members/roommates. God forbid, you pause at the wrong moment...

 

[BonkersRider]

It all depends on what you like. Not everyone likes the same things and that is what makes us individuals. Nobody holds a gun to your head to watch an anime with fanservice :3.

As for fanservice, it all depends on the type of audience they are trying to please. Free!, though short, is chock full of fanservice catered to straight females and gay males.

Let the ignorant masses be ignorant. If they were the least bit curious about a show then they would have done a little research that would have revealed that ecchi and hentai are two completely different creatures.

 

[Patrick]

Considering I don't watch anime anymore, I don't have much to say in that regard, but I can at least speak for Japanese video games, as they tend to make the games I prefer.

It's become fairly obvious that the whole moe phenom has more or less taken over Japan, as it can be seen just about anywhere you can affix an image of a fictional character, but I do think it goes too far at times. Especially in a series that was once above that sort of thing, but today has degenerated into playing "follow the leader". I don't have a problem with female casts, in fact, I prefer them. And yet, I just know that in Japan, there's almost always this creepy ulterior motive.

One of my favorite animes back when I used to watch them was Azumanga Daioh. How many years ago was that? I remember getting into that when it was new, and then it just sort of exploded. It had an almost all female cast, but it was actually really funny, and I also felt it was pretty genuine, too. Sure, Sakaki could fill out a swimsuit, but that wasn't the point, they didn't emphasize it (outside of maybe innocuous girl talk and questions) and I wasn't watching the show for that. If anything, it just seemed more realistic that the cast came in different shapes and sizes, because that's what you'd find if you just walked around outside for a bit. Nothing wrong with anatomy.

It's when said anatomy is flaunted in a non-ironic, non-humorous way, and the entire cast could be shoe-ins for employment at Hooters that I start to have a problem with it. In games, it's pretty notorious that Japanese designers tend to create female characters with breasts bigger than their head and an impossible waistline, and they are absolutely, unapologetically okay with this. There's even been a few articles I've read from gaming journalists where these Japanese men just straight up admit that they don't see an problem, and they're just going to keep doing it. When you read stuff like that, you know there's a cultural problem that goes way beyond the surface here, and it's a rather ugly problem that I just don't think they're ready to confront.

That's what makes it so unsavory. I don't necessarily care either way for fan service. If a character's attractive... okay? I mean, it's fine to point that out if it isn't objectification. You'd notice attractive people iRL anyway, let's not even pretend we aren't human, here. Heck, sometimes it's used to set up to a situation (pretty girl at lunch, should I go talk to her, etc). However, at the end of the day, said character isn't even real. It's the author behind it I tend to take umbrage with.

When you know the fanservice is deliberate, not ironic, or isn't an coincidence or realistically expected (example - attractive female in a swimsuit just because they're at the beach, it's what people do. Can't blame the woman for being attractive), there's just something unwholesome about it all. Is this person another slave to the market, doing what he must for his company or brand to survive the current trend, or does this person really think that little of women? Either way, it's a pitiful thing. At least the former has a choice to walk out and wash his hands of it all, job market willing.

Anyway, nothing worse than playing a game where the most sexualized character is like, what, 10? I know Japan's a country typically filled with people who are older than they look (I admit to some slight jealousy here), but I think they've got a serious problem with actually matching character ages to appearance. It's as if they'd rather gouge out their eyeballs than have a character over the age of 18. This underage mess, it's just not cool*. D:

And how in the heck is any reasonable, well adjusted person suppose to explain underage fanservice to friends and family, anyway? Friggin' Japan.

*Unless that's the joke, and even then you'd have to be a genius to pull it off.

 

[Esper]

dbp's response sums up a lot of my feelings and my reasons for not really watching anime anymore. I used to think there wasn't much harm in fanservice. I had a take-it-or-leave-it attitude, but a few years ago or so I realized I didn't like it when it showed up in places it didn't seem to belong. What really turned me away was when the moe stuff began to take over because it wasn't just fanservice, but fanservice for people who enjoyed looking at younger girls. I mean, Japan, I love you, you have a special place in my heart, but you have some issues to sort out.

 

[Sweets Witch]

It all depends on what you like. Not everyone likes the same things and that is what makes us individuals. Nobody holds a gun to your head to watch an anime with fanservice :3.

Agreed. On that note, ecchi in itself is usually considered its own genre so it's easy to tell if there's fanservice in the content just at a glance. Personally, I have issues with fanservice when it comes out of nowhere with no prior warning. It's not enough to anger me or make me stop watching anime, but it's just...Why? Why try to sneak that in there? To appeal to an audience that already has so much available to them? It makes no sense.

Then again, this is the internet so there's far worse material of the very same characters out there.

 

[Pinkie-Dawn]

Considering I don't watch anime anymore, I don't have much to say in that regard, but I can at least speak for Japanese video games, as they tend to make the games I prefer.

It's become fairly obvious that the whole moe phenom has more or less taken over Japan, as it can be seen just about anywhere you can affix an image of a fictional character, but I do think it goes too far at times. Especially in a series that was once above that sort of thing, but today has degenerated into playing "follow the leader". I don't have a problem with female casts, in fact, I prefer them. And yet, I just know that in Japan, there's almost always this creepy ulterior motive.

One of my favorite animes back when I used to watch them was Azumanga Daioh. How many years ago was that? I remember getting into that when it was new, and then it just sort of exploded. It had an almost all female cast, but it was actually really funny, and I also felt it was pretty genuine, too. Sure, Sakaki could fill out a swimsuit, but that wasn't the point, they didn't emphasize it (outside of maybe innocuous girl talk and questions) and I wasn't watching the show for that. If anything, it just seemed more realistic that the cast came in different shapes and sizes, because that's what you'd find if you just walked around outside for a bit. Nothing wrong with anatomy.

It's when said anatomy is flaunted in a non-ironic, non-humorous way, and the entire cast could be shoe-ins for employment at Hooters that I start to have a problem with it. In games, it's pretty notorious that Japanese designers tend to create female characters with breasts bigger than their head and an impossible waistline, and they are absolutely, unapologetically okay with this. There's even been a few articles I've read from gaming journalists where these Japanese men just straight up admit that they don't see an problem, and they're just going to keep doing it. When you read stuff like that, you know there's a cultural problem that goes way beyond the surface here, and it's a rather ugly problem that I just don't think they're ready to confront.

That's what makes it so unsavory. I don't necessarily care either way for fan service. If a character's attractive... okay? I mean, it's fine to point that out if it isn't objectification. You'd notice attractive people iRL anyway, let's not even pretend we aren't human, here. Heck, sometimes it's used to set up to a situation (pretty girl at lunch, should I go talk to her, etc). However, at the end of the day, said character isn't even real. It's the author behind it I tend to take umbrage with.

When you know the fanservice is deliberate, not ironic, or isn't an coincidence or realistically expected (example - attractive female in a swimsuit just because they're at the beach, it's what people do. Can't blame the woman for being attractive), there's just something unwholesome about it all. Is this person another slave to the market, doing what he must for his company or brand to survive the current trend, or does this person really think that little of women? Either way, it's a pitiful thing. At least the former has a choice to walk out and wash his hands of it all, job market willing.

Anyway, nothing worse than playing a game where the most sexualized character is like, what, 10? I know Japan's a country typically filled with people who are older than they look (I admit to some slight jealousy here), but I think they've got a serious problem with actually matching character ages to appearance. It's as if they'd rather gouge out their eyeballs than have a character over the age of 18. This underage mess, it's just not cool*. D:

And how in the heck is any reasonable, well adjusted person suppose to explain underage fanservice to friends and family, anyway? Friggin' Japan.

*Unless that's the joke, and even then you'd have to be a genius to pull it off.

I think it's a bit unfair that anime is becoming the poster child of fanservice and ecchi, when really the same can be said to American cartoons, games, and comics, especially the adult-oriented ones. We've got Jessica Rabbit, Power Girl, Sonya Blade, and other female characters with impossible body proportions.

Fanservice moments should be restricted to beach/hot spring episodes, so viewers can relax themselves after so much plot happening before going back to the main story.

 

[matt0044]

Plot? Where we're going, we won't need plot!

Seriously, it doesn't take a genius to see the producers thinking, "Hmmm, somehow I don't think such a 'dull show' is gonna sell. I GOT IT! Huge boobs solves everything!"

You like Popsicles?

Yes, they try to get you all hot and bothered over a popsicle. That's not sexy and I don't think I'll ever see popsicle the same way.

 

[WhiteKnightL]

Ecchi is its own genre so I'll just leave that one alone. I usually avoid anything with fanservice since to me it just looks like the plot wouldn't get the particular series very far. Yet I hear some series became successful despite the disregard for proper body proportions. So it would depend on the title, really.

It's a reaction of mine to instantly look away when I find something like that. Once I become fully immersed in a particular anime, some fanservice won't kill it for me. It' just unnecessary sometimes, imo.

 

[Ephemeral Euphoria]

I do not care for it either way as long as the characters themselves are decent.

 

[Fading Tree]

I pretty much quit anime due to the amount of fanservice I've seen in the anime's I was watching. I hate the fanservice that takes away from the over-all plot of the anime. While not all fanservice is bad (most anime use it in the wrong ways). An anime should not be overly centralized by the amount of ecchi/fanservice it has.

Attack on Titan was amazing, and didn't rely on fanservice for the continuation of the series. What are some other amazing anies that do not rely on fanservice as a main or secondary characterstic.

Generally I disapprove of fanservice.
On a note a show that did fan service right: High School of the Dead.. honestly HoTD didn't need it, but they did it right.

 

[Magykx]

I think there is a place for comical and serious fan-service. In some anime, Highschool of the Dead for example, the amount of fan-service is so much it's just funny at times.

But like said above, I agree that there's an audience for ecchi, and more to them. BUT, I do also think that anime as a whole has been commercialized as big eyes and boobs lately... Take the Netflix anime lineup for example.

 

[derozio]

There are certain anime where fanservice actually add to the show. My god, I can't believe I actually said that! But it is true. Take the recent Kill la Kill for example. It actually uses fanservice just for the laughs. And there are multiple cases where the main character is ridiculed and called out on the excessively skimpy clothing she wears. The show's characters are aware of the fact that they look ridiculous and poke fun at it. And, in episode 3, it actually goes a step further and uses fanservice to actually, and effectively mind you, give us a message that as long as we are clear as to what our goals are, we shouldn't let what the masses think about us affect us. They are but an obstacle. To be truly strong, you must believe in yourself and not care about what the society thinks of you. I liked that. Plus, with an over the top setting like the one it has, fanservice sort of fits.

Of course, I dislike FS in most anime. Especially in those that have them and they are just out of place. I don't need fanservice in a show like code geass. It's okay in ttgl which is over the top and all that but in other shows where you're actually supposed to be paying attention to the story and all, it just sometimes take away from the show as a whole when its there just for the sake of being there.

Also, I'm a straight male but I have literally watched the aikuro strip scene in Kill la Kill at least 20 times now. Because it is FREAKING HILARIOUS!! LMAO

Spoiler:

 

[Sacrament]

While I do think the amount of FS found in most mangas I read is just asinine, I do see where the mangakas are coming from. Outside of commercial issues (which would lead to a rant sponsored by the word cynicism), fanservice is, at its core, just that: a service for fans. It's no secret that most people in this day and age has their minds in the gutter (I'm not exempt from this, I'll admit). Who wouldn't want to see, ahem, a little bit more of their favorite characters than what is usually shown?

And let's not dismiss fanarts' existence. There's already a myriad of such images circulating around the internet if one knows where to look, so why not make it official, so to speak, since this is beneficial for both the mangakas as well as the fans? Of course, they'd have to carefully measure the amount that they put in, because too much can throw people off. Those that came for the plot might leave when they get a healthy serving of boobs and butt shoved down their throats.

In closing, there seems to be a lot less fanservice for girls than there is for guys. Not that I'm complaining, but it seems odd because I'm actually under the impression that girls are more into animangas than guys are?

 

[antemortem]

I don't really care and I personally lose a little bit of respect for people who say that fanservice ruins anime for them or that they've stopped watching certain anime because of the 'amount of fanservice in it.' I say that due to my own parttime oblivion to it. If I'm immersed in an anime's story and its character development, I'm not going to pay particular attention to what the characters are wearing (unless the characters in question are cute swimmer boys in a swim club) or how they're flaunting their bodies. It's just not something I care about and hardly takes away from the goings-on of the anime.

 

[Satoshi Ookami]

Also, I'm a straight male but I have literally watched the aikuro strip scene in Kill la Kill at least 20 times now. Because it is FREAKING HILARIOUS!! LMAO

Well... Kill la Kill is made to be hilarious =D

As for the topic in hand... well... it's what otaku population desire... cannot do much about it...