Does Fanservice in Anime Need to Involve Sexualizing Minors?

Fanservice is more commonly defined as material added to a piece of fiction to appeal to audiences, at least according to Dictionary.com. This material is usually risqué and sexual in nature. These types of fanservice are prevalent in anime and manga, a Japanese fictional media. The question is whether fanservice is actually good. Should we allow for the continued application of fanservice in these types of media? Where is the line from it being fanservice to something more insidious in nature?

To begin with, anime is a very popular form of visual media. A wide variety of shows are produced in this industry in many genres. The more popular genres are shoujo and shounen, and the shows in these genres are primarily made with teen boys and girls in mind. So one will think that shows with a target audience of teenagers as young as 12 years old will not have risqué fanservice, but unfortunately, that is not the case. R-rated fanservice is typical in anime, and it has become normalized.

Why Is This Prevalent?

How did this come to be? According to Kemner in CBR, fanservice wasn’t always so prevalent in anime. In the 1960s and 70s, anime was only available in TV broadcasts, so anime shows were family-oriented as it was being publicized to the whole nation. It was too risky to have such fanservice in a show that is being seen on a TV where kids can wander and see whatever’s on the screen. But that changed when anime became available on tapes, DVDs, and streaming services. It became more private, and so anime producers began including fanservice in the hopes of gaining viewership. At first, the fanservice was only discreetly included in specific adult anime series, but it has now trickled down to mainstream anime and will most likely stay.

On a positive note, fanservice for mainstream media is not very R-rated. They are more PG-13 and occasionally R-rated. Aside from the fact anime has become more accessible to watch privately, Kemner also stated that fanservice is prominent in anime due to the idea that “sex sells.” Much like any entertainment industry, the central aspect of media is the selling factor. Manga authors and animators are under constant pressure to create material that sells, and the inclusion of fanservice helps with that. While it does sometimes help, should it exist though?

Is it Good? Is it Bad?

The whole aspect of fanservice is divided among fans. Many love it, but some hate it. Those who hate it consider fanservice unnecessary, distracting, and misogynistic. Sometimes, fanservice ruins whole shows and characters, so while it does seem to help viewership, it also can bring it down. And to reiterate, fanservice in anime is usually sexual in nature, without outwardly showcasing it. Thus, fanservice can be uncomfortable to watch, especially when one considers that it is shown in shoujo and shounen animes, where characters are primarily underage. Not only is it unnecessary, but it is also unethical and plain disgusting.

For instance, there is an anime show called Black Butler. One main character is an adult demon, and the other is a 12-year-old boy. Ciel (the young boy) made a deal with Sebastian (the demon), and the plot is based on that. The fanservice for this show is quite concerning because it often carries implications of a romantic relationship between Sebastian and Ciel, and keep in mind Ciel is 12 years old. These types of fanservice are highly immoral. It shouldn’t condone even a hint of pedophilic elements in a show with the intended audience of young teens. Another example of bad fanservice is Fire Force, where there were many moments that sexualized the 17-year-old female lead. Many fans were outraged at this and dropped the show. To remedy that, the following season had less fanservice, but the damage was done. This is a strong example that fanservice is not always helpful. It can ruin the reputation of the show. You can learn more examples from here.

Fire Force: This is the milder form in the show. It gets a lot worse.

But fanservice is not always bad. Many shows like to include filler episodes for fanservice, and the most common way to do that is a beach episode. The premise of the trope is that characters take a break and enjoy a day at the beach. As explained by Huddleston, a beach episode is more than just a filler episode. It offers a good break for viewers to enjoy watching the characters have fun. And it allows the characters to explore their personalities and relationship dynamics without any significant plot. Sometimes, certain shows need fanservice to break up stressful situations, but it has to be done tastefully. Beach episodes allow characters to step away from major conflicts while pushing the plot by developing characters and dynamics more. However, one can argue that the fanservice is still somewhat sexual since most of the female characters (including the underage ones) wear bikinis, and it kind of shows the girls in a provocative way. Maybe it would be better if there were more diverse swimwear to show that the focus isn't to show skin but to have a lighthearted moment.

The sole purpose of fanservice is to increase viewership, and despite the fact that fanservice sexualizes underage teens, it does sometimes increase viewership. It appeals to some of the audience. Kemner gave an example of Chainsaw Man, an anime with a teenage male lead who has erotic intentions toward almost every female character in the show. To many teenage boys watching, this is probably a very relatable character. But should we still allow it? After all, fanservice objectifies female characters. If most of the audience likes it, does it still make it okay that female characters are being shown in compromising positions and clothing? I say this because most of the time, girls are the ones being used for fan service, but that doesn't mean boys aren't as well. Free is a sports anime based on swimming where most of the characters are teenage boys, and its fanservice needs to be criticized as well. Fanservice on female characters is just drastically more provocative, to the point of sexual harassment, than fanservice on male characters, so it is important to make this kind of distinction.

There is still hope in the anime industry. A strong example of truly effective and good fanservice is Jujutsu Kaisen, where fanservice of a sexual nature is only focused on the adults of the shounen anime. The underage characters are left alone, as they should. It is not excessive and doesn't distract from the plot. Due to this, many people became fans of the show, which increased the viewership. Gojo Satoru, an adult, is a favorite in the anime, and he probably has the most fanservice moments. Nanami and Toji (both adults) are also targets of fanservice. The manga author even added more fanservice with these characters as he noticed their rising interest. This particular anime shows that underage characters don’t have to be overly sexualized to gain viewership. That ethical fanservice works amazingly.

Some Fanservice is Outdated

From my experience of being in the anime fandom, fanservice is gendered in a binary sense. Sexualizing male characters appeals to the female audience, and the sexualizing of female characters appeals to the male audience. At least, that is the intention. The idea of the male and female gaze is implied in these types of fanservice, hence why it usually seems gendered. For instance, in the anime Ouran High School Host Club, the fanservice is primarily for the female gaze because it is a shoujo anime with a demographic audience of teen girls. Shounen anime largely leaned towards the male gaze, although we see some deviations to the female gaze if the manga authors are aware of the difference and want to attract female audiences. The overall effect of such methods creates clichés within the anime. For example, the beach episodes appeal to the female gaze, but it is also one of the most cliché events in animes. Or the cliché of the scantily dressed female characters in shounen anime appeals to the male gaze. It works to some extent, but it can be pretty dull and repetitive. It doesn’t help that some manga authors follow outdated versions of the male and female gaze, which can cause controversy, i.e., Fire Force. The anime follows the idea of the male gaze, but it was published in today’s society, where sexualizing a minor female character constantly is abhorrent, and people are unafraid to speak against it.

Times are changing, and people’s acceptance of fanservice has become more divided. The only solution for the anime and manga industry to truly gain fans and viewership is to adapt to the times. Having outdated forms of fanservice can cause more issues to the media than help them. It is not necessarily to say that fanservice is terrible, but the point is that the type of fanservice needs to be done ethically. Sexualizing girls and underage characters does nothing but build a bad reputation in the media as it is pedophilic and misogynistic. They are doing it excessively, causing the audience to get bored and frustrated since they want to see the plot, not fillers. It is a new decade of the 21st century, so it is about time we put accountability on animes and mangas that have disgusting fanservice so the industry understands that fanservice should be done morally and moderately.