{{Short description|Parts of a fictional work intended to please the audience}} {{Distinguish|Fan labor}} {{pp-move-indef}} {{Multiple issues| {{Update|reason=The term "fan service" is now widely used to describe media beyond anime and manga|date=July 2022}} {{Fanpov|date=December 2022}} {{Unreliable sources|date=December 2022}} {{Globalize|1=article|2=Japan and the United States|date=August 2025}} }} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}} {{Use British English|date=December 2024}} [[File:Wikipe tan wearing a bikini by Kasuga39.svg|thumb|An illustration of Wikipe-tan depicted in a swimsuit, an example of typical "fan service"]]
{{Nihongo|'''Fan service'''|ファンサービス|fan sābisu}}, '''fanservice''' or {{Nihongo|'''service cut'''|サービスカット|sābisu katto}}<ref name="honey-servicecut">Example: {{Anchor|encyclopediach|CITEREF吉田陽一1999}}{{cite book|title={{Nihongo|Encyclopedia Cutie Honey: Go Nagai World|エンサイクロペディアキューティーハニー : 永井豪ワールド}}|editor={{Nihongo2|吉田陽一}}|location=Nakano, Tokyo|publisher=Keibunsha|date=June 25, 1999|isbn=978-4-7669-3236-2|page=028}} A frame (numbered "25") from the English opening sequence of ''New Cutie Honey'', in which character Danbei Hayami fires a Rocket Punch as main character Honey Kisaragi lies topless and prone in the background, is shown and captioned "{{Nihongo2|サービスカット! 団兵衛がジャマ……}}"</ref><ref name=barrett2006p112>{{cite book |first=Grant |last=Barrett |author-link=Grant Barrett |chapter=fan service |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fn-Sh1nv7pQC&pg=PA112 |title=The official dictionary of unofficial English: a crunk omnibus for thrillionaires and bampots for the Ecozoic Age |publisher=McGraw-Hill |location=New York City |year=2006 |page=112 |isbn=978-0-07-145804-7 |oclc=62172930 |access-date=June 15, 2009}}</ref> is material in a work of fiction or in a fictional series that is intentionally added to please the audience.<ref name=PCDC>{{cite book|title=Play, creativity and digital cultures|year=2009|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-96311-4|pages=45–47|editor1=Willett, Rebekah |editor2=Robinson, Muriel |editor3=Marsh, Jackie |chapter=Achieving a Global Reach on Children’s Cultural Markets: Managing the Stakes of Inter-Textuality in Digital Cultures|author1=de la Ville, Valérie-Inés |author2=Durup, Laurent }}</ref> Classically sexual in nature, fan service may depict fictional characters in revealing outfits, poses, or situations, occasionally involving partial or full nudity.<ref name="animecritic" /><ref name="animetion" /> The term originated in Japanese<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.japanesewithanime.com/2016/10/fanservice-meaning.html|title=Fan Service and Fanservice - Meaning in Japanese|website=Japanese with Anime|date=14 October 2016 |language=en-GB|access-date=2016-10-17}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Evelyn |first1=Olivia |title=Series Hot |url=https://www.series-hot.net/ |access-date=17 May 2024}}</ref> in the anime and manga fandom.
Today, especially outside anime and manga, the term has expanded to hold a wider meaning. This includes any elements, be it visual nods, referencing older or forgotten media related to material, shipping certain characters, plot detours or otherwise, that are not needed by the actual plot or character development, but are included as nods to, or pandering to the long-term fans of the material, especially in context of sequels or prequels, or later seasons of series.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fan Service - What does fan service mean? |url=https://slang.net/meaning/fan_service |access-date=2022-08-26 |website=slang.net}}</ref>
==History== {{Tone|date=March 2026|section}} Beginning in the 1970s with ''Cutie Honey'' and continuing later with other magical girl shows, fan service in manga became more ''risqué''. By the 1980s, full frontal nudity and shower scenes became standard content for anime and manga fan service.<ref name="animetion"/><ref name="Otaku 69-70">{{cite book|title=The Otaku Encyclopedia: An Insider's Guide to the Subculture of Cool Japan|author=Galbraith, Patrick W.|year=2009|publisher=Kodansha|location=United States|pages=69–70|isbn=978-4-7700-3101-3}}</ref> In the West, obscenity laws and rating systems (such as the Comics Code Authority in the United States or the MPAA rating system, which replaced the Hays Code for film ratings) traditionally prevented or limited unnecessary displays of nudity in films and comic books. Bikini shots and topless scenes were still popular forms of audience arousal. In the 1983 film ''Return of the Jedi'', Carrie Fisher portrayed the character of Princess Leia wearing a metal bikini and chains while enslaved to the gangster Jabba the Hutt. This was an attempt to feminize the character and appeal to boys' fantasies.<ref>{{cite news|title=The 'slave Leia' controversy is about more than objectification|author=Noah Berlatsky|newspaper=The Guardian|date=November 5, 2015|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/nov/05/slave-leia-controversy-star-wars-objectification|access-date=January 4, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Carrie Fisher's Sound Thoughts on Princess Leia in 1983|author=Emmet Asher-Perrin|publisher=Tor.com|date=October 25, 2013|url=http://www.tor.com/2013/10/25/carrie-fishers-sound-thoughts-on-princess-leia-in-1983/|access-date=January 4, 2016}}</ref> Some critics say that by portraying Leia as the object of desire to a crude monster, the film is reflecting the crude fantasies of its audience.<ref>{{cite news|title=The fraught history of Princess Leia's infamous bikini|author=Alyssa Rosenberg|date=October 23, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/act-four/wp/2015/10/23/the-fraught-history-of-princess-leias-infamous-bikini/|access-date=January 4, 2016}}</ref>
When anime and manga were translated into English by U.S. companies, the original work was often edited to remove some of the fan service, making it more appropriate for U.S. audiences. Mike Tatsugawa explained this change as a result of a difference between the cultural values of Japan and the U.S.<ref name="Gardiner">{{Cite news |last=Gardiner |first=Debbi |date=January 2003 |title=Anime in America |url=http://www.japaninc.com/article.php?articleID=972 |access-date=May 1, 2009 |magazine=J@pan Inc Magazine |publisher=Japan Inc Communications}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=August 2025}}
Taylor Swift has been referred to as a "ringmaster of fan service" for her use of cryptic clues in her lyrics and accompanying media.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kheraj |first1=Alim |title=The curate's Easter egg: how Taylor Swift turned pop into a multiplayer puzzle |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/nov/09/how-taylor-swift-turned-pop-into-a-multiplayer-puzzle |work=The Guardian |date=9 November 2022}}</ref>
==Types== Long shots of robots in mecha shows, sexual elements, violent episode-long fight scenes and emphasis on shipping can all be considered fan service as they are specifically aimed at pleasing the fans of any given show.<ref name="animetion">{{cite web |url=http://www.animetion.co.uk/glossary.htm |title=Fan Service |work=Animetion's Glossary |access-date=June 15, 2009 |publisher=Animetion}}</ref>{{Self-published inline|date=June 2009}}<ref name="animecritic">{{cite web |first=Pete |last=Harcoff |url=http://www.animecritic.com/resources/glossary.html |title=Fan Service |work=Anime Glossary |access-date=June 15, 2009 |date=May 23, 2003 |publisher=The Anime Critic |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090219224338/http://animecritic.com/resources/glossary.html |archive-date=February 19, 2009 }}</ref>{{Self-published inline|date=June 2009}} Christian McCrea feels that Gainax is particularly good at addressing otaku through fan service by adding many "meta-references" and by showing "violence and hyperphysical activity".<ref>{{Cite journal |last1 = McCrea |first1 = C. |doi = 10.1177/1746847708088732 |title = Explosive, Expulsive, Extraordinary: The Dimensional Excess of Animated Bodies |journal = Animation |volume = 3 |pages = 9–24 |year = 2008 |s2cid = 192025106 }}</ref> Baseball teams provide events that are described in Japan as fan service, such as dance shows, singing the team song or a performance by the team mascot.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://asbbs.org/files/2010/ASBBS_%20Proceedings_13th_Intl_Meeting.pdf |title=A Study on Scoring Customer Satisfaction, Experience Value, and Loyalty: A Case Study of Professional Teams in Japan |access-date=2011-04-22 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110220050928/http://asbbs.org/files/2010/ASBBS_%20Proceedings_13th_Intl_Meeting.pdf |archive-date=2011-02-20 |last=Suzuki|first=Hideo|editor-first=Wali|editor-last=Mondal|website=American Society of Business and Behavioral Sciences}}</ref>
The typical, but not only, variety of fan service in anime or manga is racy, sexual or erotic content, which may or may not include nudity or fetish content<ref>{{cite book|last=Wolk|first=Douglas|title=Reading comics : and what they mean|year=2007|publisher=Da Capo|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|isbn=978-0-306-81509-6|url=https://archive.org/details/readingcomicshow00wolk|url-access=registration|quote=fan service.|author-link=Douglas Wolk|page=[https://archive.org/details/readingcomicshow00wolk/page/6 6]|access-date=22 April 2011}}</ref><ref name="animetion"/><ref name="animecritic"/>{{Better source needed |reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable (WP:NOTRS).|date=March 2023}} (for example, maid costumes). Fan service is especially common in ''shonen manga'' (aimed at boys). In shounen manga, pin-up girl style images are common "in varying states of undress", often using an "accidental exposure" excuse to show a favourite female character<ref name="Brenner" /> or an upskirt "glimpse of a character's panties".<ref name="Drazen">Drazen, Patrick (October 2002)."[https://books.google.com/books?id=wkrgvKvsvYAC&dq=%22fan+service%22+bathing+suit&pg=PA329 ''Plastic Little'': Not What You Think]" in ''Anime Explosion! The What, Why & Wow of Japanese Animation'' Berkeley, California: Stone Bridge Press p.329 {{ISBN|1-880656-72-8}}.</ref> Series aimed at an older audience include more explicit fan service.<ref name="Brenner" /> Jiggling breasts, known as the "Gainax bounce", are an example of fan service,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/Entry/top_o_nerae |title=Media: Top o Nerae: SFE: Science Fiction Encyclopedia |website=www.sf-encyclopedia.com |access-date=6 April 2018}}</ref> originating{{Citation needed|date=March 2023}} from the opening scene of ''Daicon IV''. The "bounce" was taken up by other animators, including the creators of the hentai series ''Cream Lemon''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mit.edu/people/rei/manga-okada.html |title=Toshio Okada on the Otaku and Anime |website=www.mit.edu |access-date=11 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080504115212/http://www.mit.edu/people/rei/manga-okada.html |archive-date=4 May 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Shower scenes<ref name="animecritic"/> are very common in movies and in anime of the 1980s and 1990s,{{Example needed|date=March 2023}} whereas many more recent TV series use trips to ''onsen'' (Japanese hot springs) or trips to tropical locales (or in some cases a swimming pool) in order to showcase the characters in bathing suits. Series aimed at males can also include fan service for women, as an attempt to court a wider audience.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mangabookshelf.com/blog/2010/11/05/fanservice-friday-a-girls-gfantasy/ |title=Fanservice Friday: A Girl's (G)Fantasy - Manga Bookshelf |website=mangabookshelf.com |date=5 November 2010 |access-date=6 April 2018}}</ref>
Keith Russell defines fan service as "the random and gratuitous display of a series of anticipated gestures common in Manga and Anime. These gestures include such things as panty shots, leg spreads and glimpses of breast". Russell regards fan service as being an aesthetic of the transient "glimpse", which he contrasts with the gaze, as it takes the mind unaware and open to "libidinous possibility" without mediation. He considers the fan service object to be reassuring in its unrealistic nature and to be confirming the "freedom of desire".<ref name=Russell>{{Cite journal |first=Keith |last=Russell |year=2008 |title=The Glimpse and Fan Service: New Media, New Aesthetics |journal=The International Journal of the Humanities |volume=6 |issue=5 |pages=105–110 |doi=10.18848/1447-9508/CGP/v06i05/42444 |url=http://ijh.cgpublisher.com/product/pub.26/prod.1400 |access-date=June 15, 2009 |issn=1447-9508 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100831100135/http://ijh.cgpublisher.com/product/pub.26/prod.1400 |archive-date=August 31, 2010 |url-status=dead |hdl=1959.13/38651 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>
Shoujo manga, aimed at female readers, also includes fan service, such as showing male characters "half-naked and in enticing poses". Robin Brenner notes that in the US comics culture, fan service aimed at women is rare, and also that in Japan, series can be famous for their fan service content.<ref name="Brenner">{{Cite book |first=Robin E. |last=Brenner |chapter=Fan Service |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uY8700WJy_gC&pg=PA88 |title=Understanding Manga and Anime |publisher=Libraries Unlimited |location=Westport, Connecticut |year=2007 |pages=88–92 |isbn=978-1-59158-332-5 |oclc=85898238 |access-date=June 15, 2009}}</ref> Chris Beveridge explains this mindset with ''Agent Aika'': "There's some sort of plot in there, but that's not the reason you're watching it. ... we're watching this for the sheer amount of fanservice."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mania.com/agent-aika-vol-1-naked-missions_article_73306.html |title=Agent Aika Vol. #1: Naked Missions - Mania.com |access-date=2011-10-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121006115141/http://www.mania.com/agent-aika-vol-1-naked-missions_article_73306.html |archive-date=2012-10-06 }}</ref> Male homoeroticism, such as accidental kisses, is a common feature of fan service for women and has been described as "easier to get away with" in terms of censorship than fan service for males.<ref>Thompson, Jason (July 31, 2006) [http://khyungbird.livejournal.com/12890.html Boku no Shonen Ai (or "Jason overanalyzes something and takes all the fun out of it")] livejournal.com [https://web.archive.org/web/20110713220702/http://khyungbird.livejournal.com/12890.html archive]</ref> In the Boys' Love genre, fan service is "artwork or scenes" in products that "depict canonical characters in a homosocial / homoerotic context".<ref>{{Cite book | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=9vn7hjM2v4QC&q=fan+service+boys+love+manga&pg=PA259 | title = Boys' Love Manga: Essays on the Sexual Ambiguity and Cross-Cultural Fandom of the Genre | isbn = 978-0-7864-4195-2 | last1 = Levi | first1 = Antonia | last2 = McHarry | first2 = Mark | last3 = Pagliassotti | first3 = Dru | date = 2010-04-30| publisher = McFarland }}</ref> Shoujo manga series may eroticise its female leads as well for crossover appeal, as fan service aimed at a potential male audience.<ref>{{Cite journal |first=Thomas |last=Lamarre |year=2006 |title=Platonic Sex: Perversion and Shôjo Anime (Part One) |journal=Animation |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=45–59 |doi=10.1177/1746847706065841|s2cid=193228688 |url=http://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/27e9/4b610b78fd70151473c7af6512ce72a33ed7.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200410235336/http://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/27e9/4b610b78fd70151473c7af6512ce72a33ed7.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2020-04-10 }}</ref>
Robin Brenner notes that fan service can be offputting to some teen readers, as in a male reading shoujo manga or a female reading shounen manga and that in general fan service is more criticised by some when it features a female character. She cites ''Tenjo Tenge'' as an example of a fan service–laden series. When the series was localised, a large amount of this fan service was removed, leading to outcry from fans.<ref name="Brenner" />
==See also== {{wiktionary|fanservice}}
* Fandom * Otaku, a Japanese term broadly used to refer to fans of "any particular theme, topic, hobby or form of entertainment" {{Portal|Anime and manga}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Further reading== * {{cite book |title=The Anime Encyclopedia: A Guide to Japanese Animation Since 1917 |last1=Clements |first1=Jonathan |author1-link=Jonathan Clements |last2=McCarthy |first2=Helen |author2-link=Helen McCarthy |year=2006 |page=30 |publisher=Stone Bridge Press |isbn=1-933330-10-4|edition=Revised and Expanded }} * {{cite book|first=Jason|last=Thompson|author-link=Jason Thompson (writer)|title=Manga: The Complete Guide|publisher=Ballantine Books & Del Rey Books|location=New York|year=2007|page=497|isbn=978-0-345-48590-8 }}
{{Fandom}}
Category:Anime and manga terminology Service Category:Nudity in culture