Ask John: What is Fan Service?

Question:
What is fan service?

And a related question from a different reader,

Which show has the most fan service?

Answer:
The term “fan service” dates back to at least 1994, but it was 1995’s Evangelion TV series with its gratuitous sexual innuendo and glimpses of bare flesh, and Misato’s promise of “Service, service!” that popularized the term. “Fan service” itself has been around almost as long as anime has existed. The term “fan service” refers to mild, exploitive titillation, such as the common cleavage shots in Evangelion, and the shower scenes that were a common staple of 80s anime OAVs. It’s a mild, “innocent” caveat for the male fans that want to see just a little bit more of their favorite female anime characters. Thus the animators provide this little “service” for the fans. Some of the best examples of “fan service” include the shower scenes of Chun-Li and Mai Shiranui in the Street Fighter II and Fatal Fury movies, and Norika Takaya’s famous “jiggle” in the first episode of Gunbuster. (Unfortunately the Chun-Li shower scene was edited out of the American release of the Street Fighter II movie.)

As a viewer, if you’re interested in seeing bare flesh, naturally you’d be best served to simply watch a hentai OAV. In judging pure “fan service,” though, the crown would have to go to AIKa, released in the US as Agent Aika. While AIKa does have its share of sex and nudity, its claim to fame is its phenomenal amount of gratuitous panty shots. The four episode Idol Project OAV series follows close on AIKa’s heels, containing no sex or nudity, but literally hundreds of “kawaii” anime girls and lots of “ecchi” T&A shots.