…Fan Service.
Weather you love it or hate it there’s no avoiding it, espeially when it comes to something very popular. Take Anime for example. While the overwhelming majority of Fan Service doesn’t bother me, there are five that I utterly cannot stand. While none of the five have stopped me from watching/enjoying an Anime YET, in my experiece it’s needlessly over the top. Maybe it’s because of my age or maybe it’s because I think regular Anime and Hentai need to be kept distinctly separate. Oh, well. Speaking of Hentai, I will cover that in a future blog (No pics or video so don’t get any ideas).
#5. Dominating Mary Sue-ish Personality
It’s even more annoying when alot of time is spent on them. We can argue this ’til the cows come home but Goku is NOT a Mary Sue. He makes most of his victories look effortless but his personality saves him from being labeled a Mary Sue. Kenpachi Zaraki from Bleach IS a Mary Sue but due to his limited/low appearances he’s accepted. In Anime, most of the Mary Sues are Attention or Romance Whores. One or the other. If you read my blog on the subject you’ll know one of the characteristics of a Mary Sue is they command the attention of the main character(s).
I’ll use Sia and Kaede from Shuffle! as an example. Sia has both archtypes while Kaede’s the attention whore. Sia’s reasons for being the way she is I didn’t buy after the reveal. There were no hints to that prior to the reveal even in the context of the anime. I think it was a half-assed explaination personally. More so since she maintained that for the rest of the series for the hell of it. Even though Kaede’s history with Rin excuses her, up until he stands up to her and moves out it’s pretty distrurbing.
#4. Character(s) “interact” with the Viewer/Off-Screen Narrator
I’ll admit it was cute when I was a kid but now adays I just find it wierd. Again, maybe it’s because of my age (28). It’s even more annoying when one character does it and another turns to them and goes “Dude who are you TALKING to?” I understand it’s a means of somehow making the program feel interactive. Some people need their egos caressed exponentially, I get that. Even so I find it wierd and a bit insulting like the characters are taking shots at me or something.
#3. The Staring Contest
Most mmediatley think of Dragonball Z (the worst offender) but I’ve seen it in various other anime. It’s even more annoying when it in some cases makes up half an episode. No wonder they decided to rehash DBZ! For those who don’t know what I’m talking about, it’s when you have two fighters staring at each other while they either talk or one of them has inner monologue. As I mentioned in the first sentance Dragonball Z (before DBZ Kai) was the biggest offender. This was the sole reason almost every major fight per Saga lasted several episodes. You’d see about 5 minutes of fighting before they start talking and don’t shut up until the cliffhanger final seconds when one of them moves.
Mst
Remember Goku v. Piccon in the Underworld Tournament? The fight spanned THREE episodes. First episode they were just playing around, second episode they get serious and third fight had the finale (which ended up being a tie). Given the outcome they could’ve easily made the fight last only 2 episodes at most. Goten v. Trunks during the World Tournament on Earth is a good example of how to do it. Their fight lasted just one episode.
#2. Panty/Bra Shots
I know there’s gonna be strong reactions to this one. I’m going to use Rosario + Vampire since one could argue it’s boarderline Hentai (Japanese for Pervert). In every simgle episode of R+V there are panty shots (Everyone except Ruby wears miniskirts). Hell, one of the episodes in Season 2 pokes fun of this fact when Ruby demands all females must wear ankle-length dresses. My problem with Panty Shots is unless that was the intent, it adds a level of suggestiveness the Anime didn’t need. While Tsukune is at the center of the harem in the Manga as wel las the Anime, there’s more or a focus on him being a human at a school of monsters. In the Anime they focus on the five girls (Moka, Kurumu, Yukari, Mizure and to a lesser extent Ruby) vying for his heart. To me the overbearing panty shots were unnecessary. It certainly made me confused when I started reading the Manga earlier this year, finding few panty shots.
I’ll go Shuffle! now. There are panty shots in Shuffle too but in all instances where it’s used it just happens. They don’t use Panty Shots for the sole purpose of keeping the viewer’s attention. I just think R+V overdid it given Kurumu is a Succubus and you knew she was going to talk suggestively to Tsukune. Inner/True Moka is the only “normal” one as shown when her Rosario is used to repair the Great Barrier in the Anime. She wanted mutual love. When he left to meet with her father she knew Tsukune had made his choice.
Anyway I think Panty/Bra shots should only be used in moderation. Given the “demand” for more realistic Animation they leave little to the imagination. And I prefer to use my imagination. “See-though” shirts also fall into this category. Kenichi The Mightiest Disciple/History’s Strongest Disciple Kenichi and High School of the Dead are two examples of this being overdone. More so when the character has a large bust size for their age (Miu) and they decide to exaggerate that fact. Me personally, if I wanted to see Anime Porn I know how to find it on the internet.
#1. Semi-Nudity
Also known as Partial Nudity. You know, sometimes a character might be in a scene where they’re obviously naked but to keep the censors happy and get it aired/released in North America they obscure the bikini area with something. It still shows the viewer they’re nude but since they’re also covered they can air it. My problem with this is lately they’ve been dancing in front of the line that is artistic nudity (enough for you to tell what parts they are but little detail) and pornographic nudity (detailed genitalia and/or body fluids). It’s so obvious they want to include nudity it’s not even funny.
Let’s refer to Elfen Lied. It’s an amazing anime but it’s strickly 18+ for obvious reasons. If it was NC-17 I would’ve still watched it for the storyline alone. That was one anime where you can tell they were VERY careful to make sure they didn’t go all the way. They went as far as they could but not all the way. Another Anime I’ll refer to is Spice and Wolf. Holo is nude in almost every episode of Season 1 as well as the OP for both seasons. Again, even if it was NC-17 I would have still watched it. They were careful to make ure they didn’t cross the line with her. In both Spice and Wolf and Elfen Lied none of the nude characters were flaunting their sex. Even so I think the creators should make up their minds onwhat they wanna do with the Anime they make xD
There you have it.
Again, none of them have made me outright stop watching a particular Anime. I know they’re mostly directed at younger audiences. That’s exactly why I think they need to be cautious with the suggestiveness. There are those who are leery of the influence of Japanese Entertainment on this side of the Pacific after all. Aside from the fact both North America and Japan view artistic nudity differently from a cultural perspective, few can deny the influence Japanese Entertainment has had on the North American Animation and Comic Industries.
Aurabolt's Anime and Manga 