Fan Service Everywhere – Otaku Digest
It goes without a doubt that anime has certain aspects that are shall we say milked? Whether it is a specific genre or a cliché used over and over again. One of the most used and abused clichés is fan service. Fan service for anyone who does not know is essentially the use of sexual content aka showing skin or in animes case panty shots and well-endowed chested ladies. It is no different from content used in live action series and films but for anime it is a staple, used in nearly every series.
Now it has become its own thing, anime created to be a fan service genre almost. So this is why it deserves its own list as it has become one of the most influential aspects of anime. This list mainly comprises of leading lady fan service since I feel perhaps “man service” deserves its own list later. Also this is a list of anime that have fan service and are not borderline or full blown hentai. Feel I have missed a series that utilises its assets better? Let us know in the comments!
5. Prison School
Alright so I technically nearly broke my no borderline hentai rule but there is no denying that this anime took fan service and used each and every aspect of it. I cannot voice how much I disliked this anime. Funnily enough this was not wholly due to the completely abuse of fan service in it. This anime lives up to its name and reputation. Based in an all-girl boarding school where now boys are being accepted to attend, of course there are going to be shenanigans going on.
You expect the obvious panty shots and well-endowed chests that appear in this anime and you know there are moments where the boys would have awkward encounters with the girls especially in the shower rooms. What you are not quite expecting is the abuse of fan service which takes place in the torture that happens to the boys after they try sneak a peek at the girl’s shower rooms.
4. High School of the Dead
No surprise here whatsoever considering this is the anime when you say fan service people jump in with this title. The thing about that is if you ask those same people what the anime is actually about they may be able to give you the general theme but not the story. A negative aspect to fan service and same goes for anime like High School DxD where they are only seen as fan service.
High School of the Dead is all about survival after the outbreak of a lethal disease which causes a massive death rate across the world but also an increase in attacks by the living dead. Based around a group of Japanese school girls and a nurse who have banded together to survive and figure out the cause of this plague. Obviously these ladies are all very well proportioned and the anime uses each and every curve to its advantage.
3. Monster Monsume
Right, much like Prison School this anime is a complete borderline hentai fan service. That opening scene should indicate that. Taking a slightly different aspect of fan service and coupling it with anime ladies this anime really thought it had a hit. Needless to say it has become a cult fan service anime for fans but in my opinion it took it too far.
Not the only harem based fan service on this list it does stand at as one of the weirdest at least for me. Based in a world where mythical creatures are real and the government place a Interspecies Cultural Exchange in place to help the creatures intergrate into the human world. An interesting concept for an anime, not a new concept but an interesting one. The problem was they took the use of the fan service to a level of creepy and to the point where you cannot help but say “okay, that’s too much” or leaving the feeling of just gross.
2. Super Sonico
Did you really think this queen of fan service would not make this list? She has been built into a franchise that uses every curve and image of her beautifully. Now there are many ‘hentai’ related images of Sonico but I more aim towards her anime series, games and figure collections.
The main reason I feel that Sonico has become an icon of sorts when it comes to fan service is that going on her anime series she is embarrassed somewhat of her body and when people ogle her and that makes her seem more real. Yes, she is well endowed and curvy but that doesn’t mean she is confident in that. Another reason she is so high on my list is because of her body shape, look at Sonico and you will see she has yes a larger chest but she also has normal things and actual hips giving her a more realistic shape rather than the usual over exaggerated sexy body.
1. Kill la Kill
Was there ever any doubt to what would be at the top of any fan service list? Yes, there are riskier and more influential anime that use fan service but none have quite stood out like Kill la Kill. Not only does it have some risky storylines in there but it managed to not only use fan service to its advantage but to work it into the entire narrative of the anime.
For those who maybe have not seen Kill la Kill yet (it’s on Netflix and is worth a watch if even to just sit in awe of the fan service) the anime is based entirely on a school where the student wear uniforms which are made of Life Fibres which grant those who wear them special powers but there is a snag. These clothes are quite the scandal since with these powers the clothes shrink and become quite scandalous. There is not much more to say about Kill la Kill bar it has changed the way fan service is used in anime.
