These Two Anime Have Redefined Fan Service

To those who aren’t anime fans, the animation medium is, understandably, odd. The variety of subject material brings fans to the most bizarre ideas and the surrealism and rejection of scientific laws is enough to catch anyone off guard, but the fact is, there’s no harm in any of these tropes. The aspect of anime that’s a huge point of controversy has always been the overbearing use of fanservice.

The anime industry might not have started the trend of sexualizing fictional characters, but it did enhance the value of it as a source of entertainment for practically every demographic. According to TV Tropes, “Most fanservice is seldom explicit or graphic…instead, it uses sexuality or hints at sex often in a funny or comedic way to tease and titillate the audience.” Anime takes this idea and has spent decades expanding on it, creating a significant number of harmful depictions of various characters. Mature themes may have a place in the world of entertainment, but anime seems to have no limits, until recently.

Fan Service Has Been the Worst Part of Anime

Related

Why Do Old Anime Have So Much Fan Service?

Though things may look different today, fan service was very common with older anime series.

The term “fanservice” became popular through the anime community, reflecting how prevalent sexual content is throughout anime series. This is different from themes of sexual tension that are in mature series like Nana or Cherry Magic. Fanservice may or may not have anything to do with character dynamics or personality traits or even within the plot itself. Many of these scenes are clearly forced into series for the sake of producing sexual content to entertain the audience. At its worst, this ruins character development and takes away from the story.

Female Characters Are Written For The Male Gaze

Throughout anime fanservice, female characters have been given some of the worst treatment. In place of character development and significant roles to impact the story, most women are treated like pin-up girls and exist more to satisfy what is known as “the male gaze.” The male gaze is a form of female objectification that the wellness site VeryWell Mind describes as “see[ing] the female body as something for the heterosexual male…to watch, conquer, and possess and use to further their goals.”

The persistence of the male gaze in anime is why so many female characters are limited to the roles of the romantic interest, wife, or eye candy. Even worse than a limit to women’s role in storytelling, the overtly sexual handling of female characters happens too often to under-aged girls. Of course, and sadly, there is also the use of fanservice to sexually objectify members of the LGBT+ community.

LGBT+ Characters Have Been Fetishized For Years — If They Are Represented At All

While the BL genre has come a long way in letting go of sexual content and focusing on the genuine romance between gay characters, for much of its history, it has been a different type of fan service. On top of gay characters, other members of the LGBT+ community have been handled as forms of sexual entertainment. Lesbian female characters have had to go through a similar trend that gay male characters have, and bisexual characters are no different in their experience.

Few gender-fluid characters are written tactfully and even the best, like Ouran High School Host Club‘s Haruhi Fujioka, are subjected to some form of objectification at some point — that is, if they are represented at all. Through anime’s misunderstanding of gender, the transgender community is treated more often as a fetish in anime. As entertaining as the character Najimi Osana is, some of their moments reflect the trope of trans characters being sexually objectified; whether this is a nuanced commentary on that trope or just another terrible example of it may be up for debate.

To be fair, representation could be much worse for both women and members of the LGBT+ community and is gradually becoming better. The issue up to this point isn’t necessarily that there is no representation or that the depictions are still what they used to be. It’s more of a problem that it’s taken so long to make room for change.

It’s also important to point out how rare anime fanservice towards straight cis-gendered men is. These male characters rarely have their clothes stripped off them or have to endure nonconsensual groping. They are depicted as in control of their situation and their bodies. In series marketed toward women, there are several attractive men, but it’s rare to find a series that has the same degrading treatment that other groups have been subjected to over the past several decades. When it comes to attractive men in romances and reverse harems, the focus is less on their bodies and more on relationship dynamics.

Using Sexual Content With Purpose

On top of how fanservice can ruin a character and reduce them to fetishes, much of this sexual content has nothing to do with the plot — especially when underaged characters are involved. In series like Naruto, Bleach, Fire Force, and The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, there’s no reason for there to be as much sexual content as there is since the stories have nothing to do with such mature themes. On the contrary, anime like Kill La Kill and My Dress Up Darling can use sexual content differently because the nudity in these series plays a specific role in each series’ story. This is not to say that there isn’t a problem with the use of sexual content, but the nuance is a welcomed change for anime.

If sexual desires are a major theme of the plot or have to do with character growth, then the sexual content can work to support a series successfully. There’s also nothing inherently wrong with having attractive characters per see; it just depends on the particular situation. Some anime have found an acceptable way to portray sexual content through clear moments of fan service, but none have reached the same levels of success and intrigue as Jujutsu Kaisen and The Apothecary Diaries.

Jujutsu Kaisen Turned the Focus Onto Men, With Respect

• Nobara Kugisaki won the award for Best Girl in Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2022.
• Satoru Gojo has always been in the top three of popularity polls earning more than 10,000 votes each time.
• Meimei isn’t nearly as popular as many other JJK characters; her highest ranking in popularity polls is 27.
• There is a Kento Nanami Memorial Shrine in Malaysia.

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JJK’s Shibuya arc is a major turning point that shifts the balance of power, and at the center of it all is the imagery of Gojo breathing heavily.

Even though women have been enjoying anime for decades, Jujutsu Kaisen‘s large female fanbase formed for a unique reason. The number of adult male characters whose attractive features entice the audience certainly drove the attention of many women, resulting in a significant number of video edits for the most attractive characters. In the Shibuya Incident arc — one of the most emotionally draining parts of the anime so far — the JJK fandom blew up with memes and edits of Satoru Gojo breathing heavily. Though this visual is a significant development for his character and the plot, much of what drove this unavoidable anime trend was the desire for fanservice.

When it comes to Jujutsu Kaisen‘s male fanservice, many details set it apart from the usual trends and problems. First and most importantly, none of the characters who are emphasized to be eye candy for the audience are underage. To emphasize, no student or teenage character is sexualized. The one minor exception is Yuji while under the control of Sukuna — who appears to have a problem with wearing clothes — but because the character’s body is never posed sexually and because of the particular scenario of Sukuna’s age and temperament, this doesn’t have to be seen sexual.

When it comes to the attractive adult male characters and the one female adult character Meimei, the attractive features of their bodies are handled with tact and respect. Across the very rare moments that these characters are made to attract the gaze of the audience, there is only one moment where the character in question is undressed. This is near the end of the Shibuya Arc and is a controversial scene that insinuates an incestual relationship between Meimei and her younger brother. Outside of that scene, the rest of the anime has found a better way to use the physical attractiveness of its characters to entertain the audience.

In every other scene, without removing any clothing, certain adult characters are drawn with their most attractive body parts featured. These are the visuals of muscles and body curves, and each scene that does this makes the character look powerful, not demeaned. There’s an emphasis on confidence and strength within these scenes, regardless of gender. Fans will remember the scene of a burly Kento Nanami showing off an intense degree of swagger in one episode of the Shibuya arc. This is a far stretch from the problematic skirt-flipping scenes of old but still manages to have the intended impact on the audience.

The Apothecary Diaries Brought Fan Service Back To Women But Maintained Their Dignity

• The Apothecary Diaries is a drama-mystery featuring the lead female, Maomao, who reveals the truth behind medical mysteries.
• A theory connects Lady Gyokuyou to a real-life Imperial Consort, though the anime repeatedly emphasizes that it’s not based on historical people or events.
• Fans theorize that the setting is based on 15th-century China.

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Opposing series like Solo Leveling and Apothecary Diaries find their strengths in their atypical stories and characters.

While Jujutsu Kaisen has more attractively posed male characters, The Apothecary Diaries focuses on the attraction of female characters. On paper, this sounds like a return to fan service that was harmful to women, but the nuance and meaning behind it is why it’s so significant. The key detail in this anime is the setting and how it immediately impacts all the female characters.

The Apothecary Diaries takes place in Imperial China and focuses on the subject of the legal harem that Emperors used to have. In this series, the plot focuses on two types of women courtesans and Imperial Consorts — those who work in the red-light district and those who serve the Emperor and support the royal line. Surprisingly, the anime emphasizes a slightly different reality for red-light district courtesans.

To be direct, sex is not always a service they take part in. Certain women are designated for engaging in prostitution, but those with specific talents can avoid that. These women dress to reveal their most attractive assets, but their actions in entertaining men don’t require them to take their clothes off. Some perform music, while others prove to be experts at strategy games like chess or go. There’s no doubt that these professionals are enticing the men with their looks, but they can maintain their dignity by having full control of the situation. Of course, the anime doesn’t shy away from revealing the downsides to life as a red-light courtesan, but even in those moments, the anime presents these women with a degree of strength and power.

In regard to the Emperor’s Consorts, there is more of an equal balance of good and bad moments. Some women, like Lady Gyokuyo, hold their heads high and focus on making the best of their situation. Others, like the middle consort Fuyou, refused to engage with the Emperor and made a plan to escape the Rear Palace. In each situation, the women have some control and power. Across all the female characters, there is a mild diversity in body shape and personality and each character is fully fleshed out and given influential roles.

There is some fanservice featuring the male character Jinshi, who is repeatedly referred to as the most attractive character. These brief moments happen under specific circumstances and don’t strip him of dignity. Most of the fanservice moments are with women, but the way the anime handles these scenes and the overall purpose of them make use of fanservice in a way that hasn’t been done before.

Fanservice in anime has a long history of ruining characters and taking attention away from the main plot. Without any substantial purpose for it and doing more harm than good, it’s proven to be the worst part of the industry. That being said, there are many places for it to exist in anime entertainment. The anime Jujutsu Kaisen and The Apothecary Diaries show that there is a way to handle fanservice respectably.

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  Jujutsu Kaisen

  A boy swallows a cursed talisman – the finger of a demon – and becomes cursed himself. He enters a shaman’s school to be able to locate the demon’s other body parts and thus exorcise himself.

  Release Date

  October 2, 2020

  Cast

  Junya Enoki , Yuma Uchida , Yuichi Nakamura , Adam McArthur , Asami Seto

  Seasons

  3

  Creator

  Gege Akutami

  Production Company

  Mappa, TOHO animation

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  The Apothecary Diaries (2023)

  A young maiden is kidnapped and sold into servitude at the emperor’s palace, where she secretly employs her pharmacist skills with the help of the head eunuch to unravel medical mysteries in the inner court.

  Release Date

  October 21, 2023

  Cast

  Aoi Yuki , Katsuyuki Konishi

  Seasons

  1 Season

  Creator

  Natsu Hyûga

  Production Company

  OLM Team Abe, OLM, Oriental Light and Magic (OLM).