As the title implies, I'm making this thread as a way of finding out people's opinions 'round here regarding Fanservice in anime. Literally the word just means any content that's intended as "service" to a particular audience (giant mechs in a mech show, etc) but here I'm referring to sexual/erotic fanservice in particular. I'm sure everybody here is familiar with anime throwing panty shots and accidental boob grabs into series as a little "bonus" for male viewers, but I'm curious as to how people feel when encountering that kind of thing. In particular, regarding whether it's sexist/objectifying or what have you in a way that reinforces patriarchy (not going to be popular using that word here, but I can't think of anything better).
While I don't agree on more extreme claims that all Fanservice is inherently degrading/hostile to women/whatever, I do see the point that having such content in what could otherwise be an equal-opportunity series can come across as alienating to female viewers. Basically saying, "We only care about pandering to (a stereotype of) men, and don't care about female viewers or how it affects the work as a whole". Not saying anybody's consciously making that decision (that'd be pretty evil mastermind-ish), but sexism doesn't require mustache-twirling sexists to perpetuate it, just ordinary people who don't stop to question their culture. Just think, if practically every action/adventure story was filled with scantily clad dudes being humiliated and in ridiculous poses (JoJo poses, as amazing as they are, don't really count here as they're intended to make the characters look cool/powerful rather then for titillation), while the women are portrayed solely as badass and competent. Would be kinda' odd, I would imagine.
Despite the above Social Justice spiel, I honestly don't have a problem with Fanservice as long as its mild, doesn't detract from the work as a whole and is at least somewhat equal-opportunity. The best example is a show like Code Geass. Yes, the show paints it's female characters in a fanservicey light at times (Kallen in particular) and even a few boob-shots in S1, but it also has a huge female fanbase due to featuring tons of ridiculously attractive guys in intense, Ho-Yay flavored relationships. There's the typical "anime" Fanservice shenanigans to be sure (not saying I didn't enjoy them), but it never really jolts you out of the show or makes you feel like they're pandering only to the male demographic. Of course, maybe my love of Code Geass is biasing the assessment a tad, but I still maintain that show as an example of Fanservice done (relatively) right. Or Kill La Kill, but that's another issue (one of the few non-harem shows where a lot of the so-called "fanservice" is actually plot-integral).
I'm also a mega hypocrite in that I can still enjoy even "problematic" or "gratuitous" Fanservice insofar as it appeals to my interests. I'm not saying people should feel guilty about liking what they like, but liking something isn't the same as defending it. A lot of the Fanservice content in media is indisputably pretty indefensible, and I'm not going to pretend otherwise just because I happen to enjoy it. In a better world, shows wouldn't be aimed solely at me (and the male demographic in general).
I also don't have a problem with hyper-fanservicey shows like Highschool DxD, where the Fanservice is actually the main appeal (or most of it, anyway). In that case, female (straight) viewers can simply tune out without missing anything. The problem comes with series that otherwise could appeal to both genders equally, where it seems the Fanservice was added just as an afterthought. Again, it's not as if writers are deliberately thinking of how to drive off female viewers, but just that they've internalized their own "male gaze" perspective for viewing the world, and haven't stopped to think of how things could appear differently to the opposite sex. Like, in their minds they're probably just thinking "Hot girls are good, right? So therefore, the more hot girls the better!"
Ignoring the fact that "hot" is not an intrinsic property of the things themselves, but of how they appear to a particular mind (or minds). Like assuming that a women in a torn dress is sexy so therefore it'd be just as "sexy" to an alien space monster with totally different evolutionary and biological history. (Not my example, got it off the blog Less Wrong)
Or how some diehard Yuri fans are nonetheless fanatically intolerant of the Fujoshi subculture, even though those are literally equivalent.
...Well, I intended this just as a way to find out people's opinions, but here I go rambling on about my own personal views. Well, I hope you found my rambling half-formed ideas at least mildly interesting, and I'd like to hear what others here have to say. A certain red-headed Viking in particular...
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Originally Posted by Rodyle
