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How Keijo Won the Gold in Fanservice


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Animechic420



Joined: 25 Sep 2012
Posts: 1724
Location: A Cave Filled With Riches
PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2016 11:22 am Reply with quote
Sigh. It this what anime is now? Confused
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Hoppy800



Joined: 09 Aug 2013
Posts: 3331
PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2016 11:30 am Reply with quote
Keijo reminds me of Smash and Roller Derby. It's definitely one of the better non-loli fanservice anime that's come out in recent years.
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himeko7



Joined: 14 Mar 2015
Posts: 32
PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2016 11:34 am Reply with quote
Welp, not my cup of tea, but I do admit, it looks funny. Anime hyper
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zrnzle500



Joined: 04 Oct 2014
Posts: 3767
PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2016 11:45 am Reply with quote
If I had to pick one thing, I'd probably say my favorite thing is the comedy. For much of most of the episodes, I either am heartily laughing out loud or barely holding it back, and I can say that of very few of even pure comedy anime I've seen, making for the funniest show of this season and may even this year for me.

But, in the last few episodes especially, I was surprised to find myself interested in the story itself. Maybe it isn't the most deftly written story but it is a decent enough sports anime story, which is not all that common in fanservicey shows. That makes me feel confident that even if I don't laugh all the time during an episode, it will still be an engaging and worthwhile watch. Of the fanservice shows that I have watched, the best and most memorable ones were the ones that actually took the story part seriously.

Now I would be lying if I said I had no interest in the butts (and boobs). But the show's approach to fanservice actually enhances the experience for me. The matter of fact presentation, varying body types, and positive interactions all make the experience better for me and probably others. There is no guilt in this pleasure. If its approach makes it more accessible to and comfortable for female viewers, all the better.

If more fanservice shows took this approach, I think they would be greatly rewarded and frankly be a bit more respectable. To be honest, coming into this show, I kept my expectations low, thinking "It's only a fanservice show" and scoffed a little at the suggestion that there was more to it, though I kept an open mind. I hope I can expect more for fanservice shows in the future, and while I'm not holding my breath, this show does bolster my belief that a decent fanservice anime can be done.
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Hikarunu



Joined: 23 Jul 2015
Posts: 950
PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2016 11:47 am Reply with quote
Definitely not your usual fanservice. Its more like you focus on their action and not their body part. I love how Nozomi act like. She like a genderswap of typical shonen male protagonist.
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Parsifal24





PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2016 11:48 am Reply with quote
For me, it's the patently ridiculous sport combined with the earnestness with wich the training and gravity of the consequences of being involved in the sport. People get injured and actual consequences are had as well as goofy aspects like hypnotic breasts. Honestly, I don't think that too deeply about it and the only reason I even picked up originally was Miyata is voiced by M.A.O.
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Zin5ki



Joined: 06 Jan 2008
Posts: 6680
Location: London, UK
PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2016 11:50 am Reply with quote
Thank you for this article! As much as I cannot say that Keijo is up my alley as something to watch attentively, it has become somewhat of a fascination to see its basic concept being embraced without reservation. We feared that this show would signify the bottoming out of the anime industry, though to our collective surprise, it seems that it has yet to hit a bum note.
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johnnysasaki



Joined: 01 Jun 2014
Posts: 922
PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2016 11:55 am Reply with quote
it's very entertaining.Hell,I would have actually liked Free more if it had a ridiculous and over the top premise like this instead of just down to earth swimming
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dash56



Joined: 06 Jul 2016
Posts: 151
PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2016 11:58 am Reply with quote
I love all the references. Fate, DBZ, Naruto, and probably a bunch more that I've missed. This season's been killing it with the comedy.

Also maybe the good people at ANN could do an article like this for "The Great Passage"? Anime catgrin
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zrnzle500



Joined: 04 Oct 2014
Posts: 3767
PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2016 12:00 pm Reply with quote
^If Amazon would give us the damn show, they likely will
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jroa



Joined: 08 Aug 2012
Posts: 537
PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2016 12:03 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
You'd think that bringing the bazooms and badonkadonks straight to your face like Keijo!!!!!!!! does constantly would be a bigger turnoff than the "subtle" approach, but if you're already on board for a show about T&A for any number of reasons (titillation, comedy, novelty), this actually has the opposite effect


I am emphasizing the obvious, but that's quite a requirement. Regardless of the differences in framing, I doubt this kind of show would be embraced by a non-otaku audience that isn't already predisposed to have some sort of interest in (or tolerance for) fanservice, whether straightforward or cynical. In that sense, perhaps we shouldn't lose track of the fact that this series doesn't do much of anything to widen the outside appeal of anime as a whole.

Many mainstream viewers who can only grudgingly accept the presence of gratuitous nudity and sexualization in cartoons as a whole will still tend to choose limited fanservice, even with problematic framing, over something like this series with its apparent bombardment of T&A. If all anime treated fanservice like Keijo does, we might get more "hits" that are popular within our specialized online communities at the expense of making the medium more insular than it already is.

Not that I am personally or necessarily opposed to any of this though. I recall Godannar had a relatively similar approach to fanservice, more or less (I'd say the use of active framing wasn't non-existent, sure, but not all the fanservice in that series was framed either), back in the day and still worked pretty well as a Super Robot show in its own right.


Last edited by jroa on Fri Nov 18, 2016 12:21 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Jayhosh



Joined: 24 May 2013
Posts: 972
Location: Millmont, Pennsylvania
PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2016 12:12 pm Reply with quote
Parsifal24 wrote:
For me, it's the patently ridiculous sport combined with the earnestness with wich the training and gravity of the consequences of being involved in the sport. People get injured and actual consequences are had as well as goofy aspects like hypnotic breasts.


They call it "serious comedy." The most ridiculous and hilarious shit is going on but the entire cast takes everything dead [expletive] serious. And it's glorious. Little did I expect that one of the most enjoyable shows of the season would be an anime that I thought looked like hot garbage and only watched to spite Kotaku.
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Animegomaniac



Joined: 16 Feb 2012
Posts: 4070
PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2016 12:15 pm Reply with quote
Animechic420 wrote:
Sigh. It this what anime is now? Confused


I used to know what was anime. Also, I used to know what fanservice was. Shows like Queen's Blade or High School DxD, shows that had, gasp, nudity.

This is animation of human anatomy in a physical struggle by means of female sexual dimorphism, albeit covered or dressed up if you will.

It's absurd but it's not fanservice.
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zrnzle500



Joined: 04 Oct 2014
Posts: 3767
PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2016 12:18 pm Reply with quote
I think broading the appeal of anime beyond the existing audience is a high bar to hold a fanservice anime to, even the best of them. Even highly rated anime rarely reach that bar. Maybe this doesn't broaden the audience of anime itself, but it does seem to have broadened the audience beyond just fanservice fans, no small feat for a fanservice anime. It isn't competing against anime popular in the mainstream, it's competing against anime with just as much fanservice but with all the problematic framing (and blatantly excessive censorship beyond what is necessary to show on TV). And compared to that, I dare say Keijo reaches closer to that too high bar than its fanservice brethren.

@Animegomaniac And I don't know what you were watching, but Keijo!!!!!!!! has fanservice . I have to agree with you saying that you thought you knew anime and fanservice.


Last edited by zrnzle500 on Fri Nov 18, 2016 12:24 pm; edited 1 time in total
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jroa



Joined: 08 Aug 2012
Posts: 537
PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2016 12:23 pm Reply with quote
zrnzle500 wrote:
I think broading the appeal of anime beyond the existing audience is a high bar to hold a fanservice anime to, even the best of them. Even highly rated anime rarely reach that bar. Maybe this doesn't broaden the audience of anime itself, but it does seem to have broadened the audience beyond just fanservice fans, no small feat for a fanservice anime. It isn't competing against anime popular in the mainstream, it's competing against anime with just as much fanservice but with all the problematic framing (and blatantly excessive censorship beyond what is necessary to show on TV). And compared to that, I dare say Keijo reaches closer to that too high bar than its fanservice brethren.


Fair enough. I am definitely not saying that this series is worthless nor that the article is not interesting. Just grounding things.
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