Forum - View topicFanservice vs. Creativity
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silver_omicron
Posts: 132 |
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The "Hey, Answerman!" column prompted me to think: I have a question to all anime fans, and fans of any entertainment media in general.
When you entertain, anyone will tell you, you want your audience to be happy. But then you have the creator, s/he wants to create. Thus you have confliction on occasion: do I do what I want or what they want? Take NGE: The Angels were supposed to talk originally. That was axed out in favor of a more abstract approach. The typical fan would probably want the Angel talking though. It's cliched, it's easy to understand, it's expected. But GAINAX disagreed and went ahead with it. Show was successful anyway, but would GAINAX have been better to do what people wanted since they are the entertainers? Obviously, one road has the one things everyone is in it for: money. 'Nuff said. So from me to you, do you think it's better to get what you want, or for the sake of writers/creators everywhere, to have their original idea preserved and carried out? |
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Stupidman007
 Posts: 394 |
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I would say that as a creator, it's more important to create something for the sake of yourself than to create for the sake of critics/viewers. The ultimate goal is to create something that you want to which also pleases the fans. It's hard to be a creator and be in it for the money. The chances of striking rich doing such a job is all too slim. Also, the best work are the work that not only pleases the fans, but also pleases the creater himself for that's the only way to put emotions into the work.
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AceRyonik
 Posts: 145 |
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I think that, in order to stand the test of time, one must sometimes put his own vision above what the audience wants. The wants of the audience change very rapidly, and if one series is entirely fanservice-laden with whatever theme happens to be popular, people will ultimately forget it. How many top ten lists have shows revolving around magical girls or maids anymore?
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frentymon
Forums Superstar
 Posts: 2362 Location: San Francisco |
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Series that stick to a creator's original vision without milking the cash cow seem to be respected more. I guess it all depends on what matters more for the studio/director, making money or conveying ideas and sharing a good story. It'd be ideal to have both, but that doesn't happen all that often (and when it does, makes the top 10 list, or at least, top 50).
I would rather see something the creator wanted to create over something made to please fans. I agree with AceRyonik; magical girls and maids are just getting old (unless it's really done right). |
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eely225
 Posts: 96 Location: West Lafayette, IN |
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I agree, most people who haven't been into anime before won't be drawn in strictly by fanservice. On the other side, the majority of anime fans are quickly repulsed by excessive fanservice, it often eliminates originality from the show. That being what most anime fans are looking for.
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Dargonxtc
 Posts: 4463 Location: Nc5xd7+ スターダストの海洋 |
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I for one would not want the angels to talk even thoughspoiler[one of them does talk, remember  ]. Guess I am not a typical fan though.
Well I assume from your title that when you say that creators want there work to be original, that you mean that they intended not to have fanservice. Yet you don't mention fanservice at all in your post. I really think you need to ask the question better as I am totally confused as to what you are actually asking. If you are asking what I think then I think it is foolish to assume that the original creators concept did not include fanservice. |
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Keonyn
 Subscriber Posts: 5567 Location: Coon Rapids, MN |
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I would rather they create the story to match the vision they have of it, not to cater to the fans. Heck, you need only read a little fan fiction to see just how ridiculous some of the wants of the fans are. It is their story, they should develop it the best way they can to tell it how it is meant to be told.
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Kouji
 Posts: 978 |
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Doesn't the word "fanservice" mean when they show brief nudity or panty shots in anime (nitpick)? Anyway, I think when you produce an anime you have to produce the story both for yourself and for the sake of the fans. You can't have one without the other. Yes, it's always important to write the story the way you intended it to be, but once your story becomes an anime, it's no longer just your story but it's also the fans' story. You're no longer the only person who's interested in seeing more of it. If you produced the anime only for the sake of your own vision, you might as well have just stuck to writing fanfiction.
So, while you have to remain true to your vision, you also have to keep in consideration the opinions of the fans. Let's say you're creating an anime and you want to kill off one of your most popular characters, but you know your fans wouldn't be very pleased with that decision. You can't just kill them off because then your show would lose ratings but you can't just do whatever the fans want you to do with the plot either, so you have to make a compromise. So, either you take the risk and go with your original plan anyway, or you do something that allows you to go through with your story but still keep the fans happy, like say you kill your character but then bring them back to life at a later point through a deus ex machina, or you make their death an emotional, meaningful death that's important to their character development that makes your fans love that character even more rather than pissing them off. You have to write the story the way you want to, but at the same time you can't just forget about the opinions of the fans. It's just unrealistic to go with one side but not the other because either way somebody's going to be unhappy. The real question here is where do you drawn the line between staying true to your vision while keeping the fans happy or being a slave to the fans and simply producing something only for the sake of money. *coughDBGTcough* |
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Vortextk
 Posts: 892 Location: Orlando, Fl |
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Kouji, I'm pretty sure that's just what fanservice normally implies. Big transformations of mechs and huge fights with DBZ type characters(cool moves and shots of them that are otherwise not needed) all fall under fanservice. The slight nudity etc type of fanservice is just what is most commonly thought of/mentioned.
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Tetsujin
Posts: 216 |
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Fanservice is giving the fans what they want to see. If an anime features mecha, then fanservice gives the fans mecha-oriented action. If it's slapstick, they get slapstick. If it's titillation, then you know how that goes. Sometimes it involves all of the above and then some. I know that NGE is notorious for for announcing upcoming scenes of fanservice, but I think it wasn't necessary-- NGE gave fans what they wanted regardless.
On the subject of creating a series, the creator should first and foremost go with the vision. Develop the anime as envisioned, and everything else flows from it. Fanservice in the absence of an overarching vision is simply crap. Create the series right, and the fanservice is virtually included without effort. I don't think that fanservice and creativity are mutually exclusive. I just think that a well-produced anime series already handles the fanservice issue without forced effort. I think this is true in all forms of entertainment around the world. |
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hagakure|returns
Posts: 407 |
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Interesting question. It's goes beyond simple giving fan what they want. Most anime are adopted from manga. Most of these manga artist grew up on manga and they easily influence by mech, panties shot, and things they enjoy reading. Most of these mangaka seem to want to write story that they want to write.
How would you judge creativity? Would you say that One Piece is creative while Blech is not? Is it possible to be appeal to the fans while being creative? I guess that really depend on the individual. I still think a lot of harem series are unnecessary and I've heard rumor of anime companys adopting hentai games into half-ass moe series to simply make money off the moe fan. Creativity isn't dead though. Most of the creative story I seen are ones created for the adult aduience. They are not limited by their audience like most shonen title, thus their creativety is boundless. |
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Kun san
 Posts: 3 |
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It all depends on the targeted audience.
From an artistically point of view, the creativity is the most important part. Fanservice can very well mix with it, but when a conflict occurs (and from time to time it happens), the creativity must have greater priority. Otherwise the overall value will be decreased. But there are series not really interested in the art. In that case, obviously, fanservice is mandatory. 
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jaybug39
 Posts: 552 Location: Oregon, Is it FOOTBALL yet? |
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In answer to your question. Let the creator create whatever he/she wishes. It is going to be changed enough by the production company heads, producers, accountants, etc. Besides, what I want is not as important as what I need. I am sure that if I saw an anime that gave me everything I wanted, it would not give me enough of what I needed, and wouldn't be as good an anime. I just hope that the show gives the head on my shoulders something to think about too.
I wonder, did they call it "fanservice" for the original Otakus, to create "buzz?" |
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Aizen
 Posts: 28 |
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Kouji, I agree with a lot of what you said. While creativity is important, you have to at least somewhat satisfy your fans, otherwise no one will look at your work. Something that I think happens, mostly with manga artists because they are directly connected with their work, is that they become fans themselves, deeply invested in the characters and in the story. Thus they share in any dissapointment their fans face as well. I guess Death Note would be a good example, spoiler[when L dies, Tsugumi Ooba said that she cried as she was writing it, but that he wouldn not come back because it was an important part to the story. Thus making deaths meaningful to please fans also pleases the author themselves.] I also agree that many manga authors create manga based on what they read as a kid because they were once fans themselves. I know that Eiichiro Oda, the creator of One Piece, said when he made One Piece, that he just wrote and drew what he would have wanted to read as a kid. Thus again, the line between fan and creator is breached, further emphasizing the need for a balance rather than a one sided view. |
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