Panel 01: Feminist Theory and Visual Culture
Abstract Title
Let’s Talk About “Plot”: Understanding Fanservice in Anime
Start Date
13-2-2015 1:30 PM
End Date
13-2-2015 2:50 PM
Abstract
Fanservice, ironically labeled as “plot” by anime fans, runs rampant through anime. In fact, there is a subgenre of anime that is dedicated to fanservice itself. Any anime fan will be able to give you examples of fanservice if you ask them, from the obscure to the infamous. But what exactly is fanservice? And what could possibly be so bad about it? In this presentation, I will explore fanservice through the lens of gender studies, from the basics to the hidden meanings, in an attempt to lay an academic foundation to studying such a phenomenon. I will explore the objectifying nature of fanservice and its roots in misogyny. Furthermore, if time allows, I will also explore the emerging phenomenon of what some fans have called “manservice,” or fanservice for girls, and how it differs from fanservice for boys. Specific anime series discussed will include Highschool of the Dead, Kill la Kill, and Free!
This presentation will also serve as a call for academics to begin studying in depth, and critiquing, common tropes of anime and manga, rather than simply reporting on them in brief snippets and accepting them at face value.
Let’s Talk About “Plot”: Understanding Fanservice in Anime
Fanservice, ironically labeled as “plot” by anime fans, runs rampant through anime. In fact, there is a subgenre of anime that is dedicated to fanservice itself. Any anime fan will be able to give you examples of fanservice if you ask them, from the obscure to the infamous. But what exactly is fanservice? And what could possibly be so bad about it? In this presentation, I will explore fanservice through the lens of gender studies, from the basics to the hidden meanings, in an attempt to lay an academic foundation to studying such a phenomenon. I will explore the objectifying nature of fanservice and its roots in misogyny. Furthermore, if time allows, I will also explore the emerging phenomenon of what some fans have called “manservice,” or fanservice for girls, and how it differs from fanservice for boys. Specific anime series discussed will include Highschool of the Dead, Kill la Kill, and Free!
This presentation will also serve as a call for academics to begin studying in depth, and critiquing, common tropes of anime and manga, rather than simply reporting on them in brief snippets and accepting them at face value.
Comments
Keywords: anime, manga, fanservice, gender studies, objectification, misogyny