Fanservice
From WeeabooDB
In anime fanservice refers to any portion of a scene of animation, plot device, or character, whose sole purpose is to provide an emphasis on a particular topic that the viewer enjoys. Often fanservice is directly equated with being sexual in nature, but this is not mandatory, in Giant Robot shows there can be fanservice of the Mecha being particularly Gar.
Detailed Explanation
Fanservice is an interesting part of anime because it is one of the few things that can be found in anime that do nothing to contribute directly to story progression or fleshing out of the universe. In some cases fanservice can even break the fourth wall if it is excessive or otherwise seemingly out of place in the scene causing the viewer to break the psychological link of the viewing process and realize that the fanservice is only there for the enjoyment of the viewer.
The concept of fanservice is essentially to take some aspect of a character or a major theme from a show and on a regular basis make only that topic the focus of a particular scene. Because of its polymorphic nature it can be portrayed in any number of ways depending largely on the genre of a given show.
Common forms
Chances are if you have ever watched more than a single episode of anime, you have seen fanservice in some form or another.
Here are some common manifestations of fanservice (note that the items in the list are not mutually exclusive and can be (and often are) combined for even greater fanservice):
- Bust size - While not every pair of breasts in an anime are there for fanservice often 'excessively busty' or flat chested females are designed to be fanservice generators.
- Clothing - Again not all clothing is used with the intent of making fanservice, but when clothing that is not 'normal' in the context of the show's universe or clothing that is abnormally revealing starts to appear chances are that its being used as fanservice.
- Cosplay - Any and all cosplay in a show is fanservice. No exceptions.
- Uniforms - Not every uniform is fanservice, but this more refers to the use of uniforms for organizations within shows such as magical girl squadrons or elaborate school uniforms.
- Transformation sequences - Any and all transformation sequences, regardless of subject nature, are fanservice. No exceptions.
- Onsen episodes - There has never been a show to my knowledge whose plot revolved around anything that required the use of an onsen.
- Weapons - Weapons become fanservice when they are either used in massive quantities by a character, or are so elaborate that their use ends up being the focus of a scene instead of the outcome of the fight.
- Breaking of the fifth wall - This can be a number of things and is somewhat of a more advanced form of fanservice, as it will only be detectable by viewers who are familiar with a large body of works.
- Voice actor - While there are countless anime characters, there is in fact a comparatively small number of voice actors in the industry which leads to voice actors being used from series to series. Fanservice here occurs when a voice actor uses a mannerism or quote from a character they played in a different show.
- Studio - There are even fewer animation studios that produce the numerous shows every season in japan, leading many of them to have massive bodies of work. Fanservice here is when a studio will have a character cameo or use an animation style that was previously featured in an earlier or more popular work.
What it isn't
Fanservice is a lot of things but there are also things that could be confused with fanservice because of its extensive reach.
Generally speaking fanservice is restricted to anime, nudity in an anime (more likely in an OAV) would be fanservice, nudity and sex in hentai however is not fanservice because the primary focus of the hentai is the nudity and sex.
