Fanservice or fan service (Japanese simply "saabisu", "service"), is a vaguely defined term used in visual media — particularly in anime fandom —to refer to elements in a story that are superfluous to a storyline, but designed to amuse or excite the audience. The term is sometimes derogatory when used in criticism of clumsy, pandering use of visual fashions, or if the stories lack substance, such that fashions are the only thing notable about a series. Much fanservice treatments can be creative and unique, and hence an audience unfamilar with the fandom of a story may not understand these treatments, ("easter eggs") or their meaning. A scene from Cowboy Bebop (1998) Anime (アニメ) is Japanese animation, sometimes referred to in the Western world by the portmanteau Japanimation. ... Keen aficionados of any phenomenon such as authors, hobbies, ideologies, genres or fashions can collectively manifest as fandom. ... For the hidden and often humorous features included in computer programs, DVDs, books, CDs, etc. ...

Sexual

The typically understood definition is inclusion of racy or sexual content (usually female, but also male) to titillate the viewer, such as nudity. Shower scenes are very common in movies, and in anime of the 1980s and 1990s, while many more recent TV series use trips to onsen (Japanese hot springs), or "obligatory" holiday episodes. These latter are often to tropical locales, in order to showcase the characters in bathing suits; all aim to depict characters in states of relative undress when it would otherwise be out of place with the tone of a series. In anime two common types of fanservice are the panty shot and jiggling breasts (the latter was first introduced in Gainax's Gunbuster), both often overused to an almost silly level (that is often what is desired). An example is the unfinished OVA series Eiken, as well as the series Tenjo Tenge. Similarly, Studio Fantasia's Agent Aika and Najica Blitz Tactics are known as the epitome of the panty-shot anime. A third type is the nude transformation sequence, first introduced in Go Nagai's Cutey Honey (1974–1975). Human sexuality refers to the expression of sexual sensation and related emotional intimacy between human beings. ... Female is the sex of an organism, or a part of an organism, which produces egg cells. ... Male symbol Male is the sex of an organism, or a part of an organism, which produces sperm. ... See also: Nudity (disambiguation). ... Film refers to the celluloid media on which movies are printed Film is a term that encompasses motion pictures as individual projects, as well as the field in general. ... // Events and trends The 1980s marked an abrupt shift towards more conservative lifestyles after the momentous cultural revolutions which took place in the 1960s and 1970s and the definition of the AIDS virus in 1981. ... // Events and trends The 1990s are generally classified as having moved slightly away from the more conservative 1980s, but keeping the same mind-set. ... A television program is the content of television broadcasting. ... Outdoor pool, Naruko Outdoor Onsen on Nakanoshima island in Nachikatsuura, Wakayama Prefecture Old onsen in Hakone Guidebook to Hakone from 1811 An onsen (温泉; often indicated on signs and maps by 湯 or ゆ, for hot water) is a Japanese hot spring. ... Green Dragon Spring at Norris Geyser A hot spring is a place where warm or hot groundwater issues from the ground on a regular basis for at least a predictable part of the year, and is significantly above the ambient ground temperature (which is usually around 55~57 F or... The word holiday has related but different meanings in English-speaking countries. ... The tropics are the geographic region of the Earth centered on the equator and limited in latitude by the two tropics: the Tropic of Cancer in the north and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere. ... Womans bathing suit, 1920s, USA A swimsuit (also swimmers), bathing suit (also bathers) or swimming costume (sometimes shortened to cozzie) is an item of clothing designed to be worn for swimming. ... A pair of mens briefs Undergarments, also called underwear or sometimes intimate clothing, are clothes worn next to the skin, usually under other clothes. ... The term breast can refer to the upper ventral region of the human torso. ... Gainax (ガイナックス) (pronounced guy-nax) is a Japanese anime studio most famous for the television series Neon Genesis Evangelion. ... Gunbuster - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Original Video Animation (OVA), or Original Animated Video (OAV), is an acronym used in Japan for anime that are released directly to video, without being first broadcast on television or released in theaters. ... Eiken is an OVA anime based on of the Eiken manga. ... Categories: Anime and manga stubs | Manga | Anime ... There is one scene, in the first DVD Volume of Agent Aika, that is truly the greatest three or four minutes of animation that you may be likely to see for some time. ... Najica Blitz Tactics is an fanservice anime television series produced by ADV Films. ... Screen shot from Jinzo Ningen Kikaidà, a Japanese Henshin show Henshin (変身) (Japanese for transform) is a type of dramatic/action show prevalent in Japanese media, in both tokusatsu and anime. ... Go Nagai (永井 豪, Nagai Gō in romaji, born September 6, 1945) is a Japanese mangaka and an important innovator of several genres. ... Cutie Honey(キューティーハニー; kyÅ«tÄ« hanÄ«)( Romanized in the USA as Cutey Honey) is a widely known anime and manga series created by Go Nagai in 1973. ...

Cosplay

In anime and manga, another type of fan service is having one or more of the characters cosplay, particularly in in a costume that is part of a Japanese clothing fetish. Popular costumes include: Cosplay (コスプレ kosupure), a contraction (or portmanteau) of the English words costume and play, is a Japanese subculture centered on dressing as characters from manga, anime, and video games, and, less commonly, live action television shows, movies, or Japanese pop music bands. ... Fetish clothing includes any type of clothing and clothing materials which is commonly fetishized. ...

• Catgirl
• A character from an(other) anime, manga, or video game
• Hadaka apron
• Kimono
  • Yukata; traditional worn at onsen and for summer festivals, particularly Obon and Tanabata
• Uniforms
  • Bunny girl
  • Maid
  • Miko
  • Nurse
  • Policewoman
  • Race queen
  • Waitress (especially one from Anna Miller's)
• School uniform
  • Bloomers (girl's warm weather gym shorts)
  • Sailor fuku
  • Girls' official school swimsuit (one of two or three types of one-piece suits)

Foxgirl: Hana from Ukagaka A catgirl is a woman or girl with cat ears and a cat tail, but an otherwise human body; they are found semi-commonly in anime and manga either as a form of cosplay or actual body parts, as well as in a few video games. ... Hadaka apron (裸エプロン), from the Japanese word hadaka, meaning nude, and the English word apron, is the word for a small niche clothing fetish. ... Japanese woman in a kimono, ca. ... Girl in yukata as seen in Kyoto, Japan CGI image of a woman wearing a yukata Yukata (Japanese: æµ´è¡£) is a type of clothing worn by the Japanese, especially women, at firework festivals and other summer events. ... Illuminated by the Albuquerque Bridge, Japanese volunteers place candle lit lanterns into the Sasebo River during the Obon festival. ... People dressed in yukata at Tanabata Tanabata (七夕) is the Japanese name for the originally Chinese star festival (see Qi Xi). ... This page describes uniform in the sense of clothing. ... A Playboy Bunny was a female server at the Playboy Clubs (open 1960–1988). ... Meido, the japanese pronounciation of maid, is also a jargon term amongst some otaku to refer to a type of stock female character in manga and anime. ... Miko in Japanese shrine Miko (巫女) are the Shinto shrine maidens of Japan beginning in the prehistorical era of Japan. ... A nurse comforting a patient A nurse is a health care professional, who is engaged in the practice of nursing. ... For the band, see The Police. ... A race queen is a model found as part of a pit crew in certain kinds of motor racing, especially in Japan. ... A waiter is a person who waits on tables, often at a restaurant. ... Anna Millers is a chain of restaurants in Hawaii and Japan. ... Japanese high school students in uniform Japan introduced Western style school uniforms in the late 19th century as a part of its modernization program. ... For the 1979 sitcom, see Bloomers (television). ... Japanese high school students in uniform, many are girls wearing sailor girl outfits The sailor outfit Japanese school uniform (セーラー服 sērā-fuku) is strictly for girls of middle and high school age (although some people wear it as a costume). ... Male model in swimsuit, 2003 A swimsuit (also swimmers), bathing suit (also bathers) or swimming costume (sometimes shortened to cozzie) is an item of clothing designed to be worn for swimming. ...

Cameo

Often, movies will attempt to include cameo appearances by prominent figures who are or were associated with the work on which it is based. This either takes the form of actual appearances or character names. Stan Lee makes regular cameo appearances in movies based on Marvel Comics characters that he created. The Aliens vs. Predator movie included a character named Mark Verheiden. The name is the same as the writer of the early Aliens comic book series as well as the comic book on which the movie is based. Stan Lee and his most famous co-creation, Spider-Man. ... Marvel Comics, sometimes called by the nickname House of Ideas, is an American comic book company. ... on the SNES Alien vs. ... Aliens in the plural may refer to more than one of several types of aliens, such as extraterrestrial beings or those foreign to a place The Aliens was the name of Roky Ericksons backing band Aliens is a 1986 film starring Sigourney Weaver and the sequel to Alien Aliens... A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ...

In jokes

Some series make jokes or comments that are only amusing to those "in the know", such as fans who receive club newsletters, or perusers of Internet forums. An in joke is a joke whose humour is clear only to those people who are in a group that has some prior knowledge (not known by the whole population) that makes the joke humorous. ... A fan club is a group that is dedicated to a well known person, group, idea (such as history) or sometimes even an inanimate object (such as a famous building). ... A newsletter is a publication generally about one main subject or topic that is of interest to its subscribers. ... Gaia Online, the largest English language forum-based community as of April 2005 — powered by a modified version of phpBB. An Internet forum is a web application which provides for discussion, often in conjunction with online communities. ...

Technicals

Heavily used in much of science fiction, these are technical details sometimes bordering on arcane knowledge that hardcore fans are versed in, to show an author (often an admitted fanboy/fangirl themselves) pays attention to detail. For example, Lagrange Points in Gundam, the CZ-75 in Gunsmith Cats, or the use of a ssh exploit in The Matrix Reloaded. Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... In celestial mechanics, the Lagrangian points, (also Lagrange point, L-point, or libration point) are the five stationary solutions of the circular restricted three-body problem. ... Gundam is a popular Japanese anime involving giant robots. ... The CZ 75 is a semi-automatic handgun introduced in 1975 by Česká Zbrojovka in caliber 9mm Parabellum. ... Gunsmith Cats is a series of manga and anime work by Kenichi Sonoda. ... In computing, Secure shell, or SSH, is both a computer program and an associated network protocol designed for logging into and executing commands on a remote computer. ... An exploit is a common term in the computer security community to refer to a piece of software that takes advantage of a bug, glitch or vulnerability, leading to privilege escalation or denial of service on a computer system. ... The Matrix Reloaded is the second installment of the Matrix series, written and directed by the Wachowski brothers and released by Warner Bros. ...

Homage

Often, a movie will make pastiche reference to another work that the creators are particularly fans of. Examples show up especially in movies by Quentin Tarantino and Kevin Smith who are admitted fanboys. Star Trek, Star Wars and the Matrix trilogy are perpetual choices for homage. But other homages exist that refer to works that have receded into fan nostalgia. Also, many remakes of movies employ throwaway lines that serve nothing more than to "tip the hat" to the original classic. A well known example is the uncredited cameo appearance of Charlton Heston as Thade's father in the poorly received Tim Burton remake of Planet of the Apes. The character's deathbed speech makes clear references to his "Damn you all to hell!" line that closed the original classic. In the 2003 Hulk movie, the last line spoken in the movie is "You wouldn't like me when I'm angry", a clear homage to the Bill Bixby/Lou Ferrigno The Incredible Hulk TV series of the 1970s. The word pastiche describes a literary or other artistic genre. ... Quentin Tarantino, playing Mr. ... Kevin Smith at a comics convention in 2005 Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is a American screenwriter, film director and comic book writer. ... The Enterprise boldly going where no man had gone before. ... For the film originally released under the name Star Wars, see Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. ... The Matrix is a film first released in the USA on March 31, 1999, written and directed by the Wachowski brothers (Andy and Larry). ... Homage is generally used in modern English to mean any public show of respect to someone to whom you feel indebted. ... Nostalgia currently describes a longing for the past, often idealized and unrealistic. ... Charlton Heston (born October 4, 1924), born John Charles Carter, is an American film actor noted for heroic roles. ... Tim Burton Tim Burton (born August 25, 1958 in Burbank, California) is an eccentric film director known for his off-beat and quirky style. ... Planet of the Apes is a novel by Pierre Boulle, originally published in French as La Plan̬te des Singes. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Hulk (2003) is a movie based on the comic book series The Incredible Hulk published by Marvel Comics. ... Wilfred Bailey Bixby (January 22, 1934 РNovember 21, 1993), better known as Bill Bixby, was an actor who starred in a number of popular American television series, notably as the title role in The Courtship of Eddies Father; as Dr. ... Lou Ferrigno in the 1978 Incredible Hulk episode, Married Lou Ferrigno (born Louis Jude Ferrigno November 9, 1951) is a bodybuilder and actor. ... Lou Ferrigno in the 1978 episode Married The Incredible Hulk was a American television series that loosely adapted the Hulk comic book character and ran between 1978 and 1982, and starred Bill Bixby as Dr. David Bruce Banner and Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk himself. ... This article provides extensive lists of events and significant personalities of the 1970s. ...

Current issues

Recently in anime there has been an explosion of shows that are criticized for simply being vehicles for fanservice. In contrast there has also been a rise in shows of the progressive anime category—shows which do not care so much about pleasing the audience as providing a full artistic vision. This has polarized anime to some degree making recent series either heavily fanservice-oriented (Green Green) or heavily experimental (Texhnolyze) with little in between. Progressive anime is a subset of progressive animation that is produced in Japan. ... Resources Great Museums in the World (Louvre, Metropolitan Museum, MoMA, Picasso …) CGFA: A Virtual Art Museum Art-Atlas. ... Texhnolyze (pronounced [téknolàiz]) is an anime series broadcast in 2003. ...

See also

• Agent Aika
• Colorful
• MØUSE
• Najica Blitz Tactics (Najica Dengeki Sakusen)

There is one scene, in the first DVD Volume of Agent Aika, that is truly the greatest three or four minutes of animation that you may be likely to see for some time. ... Najica Blitz Tactics is an fanservice anime television series produced by ADV Films. ...

External links