Fanservice In Manga
In the overwhelming majority, if not all, of manga series today, female characters are overtly sexualized or fetishized in ways that male readerships find pleasing. This sexualization manifests itself most common in the form of fanservice, or any provocative imagery, typically of a sexual nature, that does not contribute to the plot but merely enhances the viewer’s visual experience. The gratuitous amounts of fanservice included in tankōbon (volumes of manga) do not impact the actual storylines of the manga but function as part of the overall drawing style. And manga, being a visual medium, relies heavily on its aesthetic in order to pique the interest of readers. For example, in the shōnen (a genre targeting boys) series Air Gear, all female characters are exceedingly scantily clad and large-bosomed. During battle scenes when women are called to fight, their clothing is often unnecessarily torn to the point where they cease to function as clothes and become fluttering censor strips covering nipples and groins. And when women are not depicted as having big breasts, they are drawn in an overly cute (kawaii/moe) style that draws from Japan’s obsession with child-like outward appearances and behaviors. This manga and anime style is called moe and depicts female characters as submissive, ditzy, and quirky. In categorizing them in such a fashion, they lack the depth their male counterparts possess and are trivialized by gender-based labels including but not limited to moe.
A series which utilizes moe as a means of employing fanservice is Strike Witches. What the homogeneous cast of female main characters lacks in personality is made up for in their minimal clothing and cutesy mannerisms. These animal-eared, lolita-like girls rarely wear pants and instead are shown in their underwear. The girls operate heavy artillery weapons despite being characterized as juvenile, making the addition of arms more a stylistic choice than a comment on the girls’ strength. The stark contrast between the two functions to further objectify the cast seeing as the combination of girls and guns is literally the stereotypical fetish male readers enjoy.
The shōnen fantasty series Negima?! is one of the multitude of series falling into the category of harem manga, meaning that there is one main male lead who is surrounded by a sea of female characters vying for his affection. There is also reverse-harem, which features a female lead amongst many males attempting to woo her, but the nature of each genre is very different despite possessing similarities in format. For one, the leading female in a reverse harem manga is far more limited in her relationships with the men around her as opposed to the leading male in a harem manga. Negima?! is bizarre in many ways, one being that, despite having a repetitive and predictable plot, it managed to span 355 chapters over 38 volumes. The plot is also quite strange: the male lead, Negi, is a ten year old wizard who is recruited to teach at students who are far older than him at a wizarding school. The abundant fanservice in the manga is the most outstanding attribute of this series, which is clearly drawn for men. The unnecessary removal of clothing and sexual situations Negi, is cast into are astonishing, as is the sheer number of females in the harem (31). Negi is frequently depicted as a pure of heart, honorable boy who makes no advances on the girls, but one must remember that he is also ten years old. The ludicrousness of the interactions between characters in this series implies that, for the author, fanservice is as important as plot. Indeed, the girls, who are drawn in the ever popular moe style, are indistinguishiable from each other, save for a few potential love interests and the main female protagonist who wins Negi’s heart. Ultimately, the very definition of the harem genre entails the objectification of female characters. It devalues them by making them merely a “number” in the harem as opposed to fleshing them out as real characters.
A series which utilizes moe as a means of employing fanservice is Strike Witches. What the homogeneous cast of female main characters lacks in personality is made up for in their minimal clothing and cutesy mannerisms. These animal-eared, lolita-like girls rarely wear pants and instead are shown in their underwear. The girls operate heavy artillery weapons despite being characterized as juvenile, making the addition of arms more a stylistic choice than a comment on the girls’ strength. The stark contrast between the two functions to further objectify the cast seeing as the combination of girls and guns is literally the stereotypical fetish male readers enjoy.
The shōnen fantasty series Negima?! is one of the multitude of series falling into the category of harem manga, meaning that there is one main male lead who is surrounded by a sea of female characters vying for his affection. There is also reverse-harem, which features a female lead amongst many males attempting to woo her, but the nature of each genre is very different despite possessing similarities in format. For one, the leading female in a reverse harem manga is far more limited in her relationships with the men around her as opposed to the leading male in a harem manga. Negima?! is bizarre in many ways, one being that, despite having a repetitive and predictable plot, it managed to span 355 chapters over 38 volumes. The plot is also quite strange: the male lead, Negi, is a ten year old wizard who is recruited to teach at students who are far older than him at a wizarding school. The abundant fanservice in the manga is the most outstanding attribute of this series, which is clearly drawn for men. The unnecessary removal of clothing and sexual situations Negi, is cast into are astonishing, as is the sheer number of females in the harem (31). Negi is frequently depicted as a pure of heart, honorable boy who makes no advances on the girls, but one must remember that he is also ten years old. The ludicrousness of the interactions between characters in this series implies that, for the author, fanservice is as important as plot. Indeed, the girls, who are drawn in the ever popular moe style, are indistinguishiable from each other, save for a few potential love interests and the main female protagonist who wins Negi’s heart. Ultimately, the very definition of the harem genre entails the objectification of female characters. It devalues them by making them merely a “number” in the harem as opposed to fleshing them out as real characters.
The patriarchal nature of Japan allows for the sexualization of the female form in manga as a method to garner male interest while also making it near impossible for non-sexualized female characters to become protagonists. Of course, in series targeting girls only such as the shōjo genre, there are many female characters who are rarely sexualized. In fact, these girls are drawn as innocent and as far from the ideal women in male-oriented manga as possible. It is crucial to note the stark disparity between these two branches of manga, one distinctly for males and the other for females. Though shōjo manga lacks fanservice, its female characters are still as objectified as ever. They are subject to the same standards of beauty and restrictions in self-expression that plague those in shōnen manga. What female manga offers is realism and a more believable context for gender roles to be observed. But the fact that manga in its entirety is so bifurcated yet still heavily misogynist indicates the extent to which gender inequality has situated itself as the norm.