Discussion Fanservice in Fairy Tail

[M3J]

On this, I'll somewhat agree. But I feel it's more like his own brand of humor. Rather, it's more like serious humor.

Dunno if showing boobs at a serious moment would make it serious though.

It's posts like these that seriously make me want to laugh. Seriously? if you thought Mashima doesn't know shit about writing a story, then what does the last two chapters tell you? Mashima doesn't need fanservice to write his story, but he does it anyways. Why? it's because he loves it. Mashima is perfectly capable of writing a manga without fanservice gimmicks, but he doesn't use them as a gimmick at all. He uses it because he loves doing it. It's not because he's perverted, he does it because he wants to. Mashima's aim with his manga is to appeal to all sorts of fans out there, including the perverted ones.

It's all subjective. Few people could find the last two chapters to be great, while other few would find it horrible.

But why does he need to include fan service constantly? Appealing to all sorts of fans out there is good, but wouldn't it be better to make fan service a bit more rare? It'd still appeal to everyone, and give "perverts" something to anticipate.

This would be the case if it starts to interfere with the plot itself. However with FT it never seems to bother me as much as it does with other stories. Im actually more annoyed by Juvia and her constant Jealousy and worship of Grey then i am of bikini and crotch shots.
Still nothing in FT makes me want to stop reading it because i enjoy it to the max. Even if Juvias constant theme is the most annoying i can think of it still is something i take for granted.
That said the fan service is 1 of the things that makes me enjoy it too. You never know what Mashima might pull next.

I could go endlessly on about how i admire Mashima for his work without going into fanboy mode, because i appreciate his work for what it is. A few reasons why i put up with his fan service?

- he talks in detail about how he works outside and inside the manga releases, like how his editor wants him to redo stuff or add or remove things. Which he doesnt always agree with. How many authors do we know that talk this openly about their work?
- all the art is to my opinion top level, i never felt like... ok this could have been done better its sloppy.
- every time i read fairy tail i cant wait to read the next chapter. Its catching.
- each and every character is more or less unique, they dont look like generic characters that you just open a can of, that have just different 3 sizes and a different dye of hair-color.
- last but not least, i admire how he is able to bring something so well that he himself dislikes doing, like bringing back lisanna. It wasnt his idea it was his editors. And he did it so well. Its 1 of the reasons i like his work so much. Hes that gifted.

What i mean to say with these points is that this outweighs his leaning to draw fan service. I just feel that all the other stuff outweighs it by far. Its merely my opinion. Feel free to comment if you want ^^

Great post. I don't think there's anything wrong with enjoying fan service, I only have a problem if it's too much or interferes with the mood/story in some way. As long as it's done well, there's no reason for me to complain, though some others might disagree.

 

[ca12nag3]

Dunno if showing boobs at a serious moment would make it serious though.

I think what Mashima attempted there is spur 2 thoughts in 1 pallet. And to me it works. He gave fan service as show how Flare was emotional. After all she was wearing that dress, so its merely the angle we see her from down up that makes it like this. Its a good drawing.

 

[THM Nindo]

I think what Mashima attempted there is spur 2 thoughts in 1 pallet. And to me it works. He gave fan service as show how Flare was emotional. After all she was wearing that dress, so its merely the angle we see her from down up that makes it like this. Its a good drawing.

To me it ruined the moment...
It was the most dramatic scene from Flare, and it didn't had any dramatic impact because of the fanservice.

It was like if Oda from One Piece would have shown Robin boobs when she cried and said "I wanna live".
It would have ruined all the drama.

 

[ca12nag3]

To me it ruined the moment...
It was the most dramatic scene from Flare, and it didn't had any dramatic impact because of the fanservice.

It was like if Oda from One Piece would have shown Robin boobs when she cried and said "I wanna live".
It would have ruined all the drama.

Thats just a personal opinion, the drama was there. It felt sincere from her part. But because she wears that dress and has such a size its not sincere? I mean should he have put her in a all cover dress first? I think its good as it is. And we as readers would have probably find it odd if it didnt look like it did.

 

[-Ken-]

I look at the Flare panel the first time and doesn't feel anything that's its fan service scene. It wasn't until I read comment here and go back and look at it that I see it can be thought of a fan service scene.

I think people who notice the fan service are, well, more distracted by it because of how their mind works?

 

[obamamania]

I know I sound like a broken record, but people really need to use some perspective when they look at fanservice in this manga. One obnoxious scene every few chapters, even during an emotional moment on occassion, is slightly annoying but not worth complaining about. Fanservice may be at times overused a bit, but it is NOT abused in this manga. It just is not, especially when you compare it to popular manga where it clearly is. The type of fanservice Fairy Tail deals with is usually funny and not forced, and it's really not something that I think of when reading this manga. If we had multiple boob and butt shots every chapter, then you have a point, but most of the time this manga can be taken seriously as simply a source of good art and balanced fanservice. A manga should be judged on how it holds up if you subtract the erotic nonsense that the author throws in, and lemme tell you, it's pretty great especially right now. Go remove the fanservice (both erotic and comedic) from Kenichi, and what do you get? The craziest, most nonsensical storytelling in martial arts manga history. After that Flare chapter, I'm more interested in E.N.D. and Tartarus than the size of her chest.

 

[THM Nindo]

I look at the Flare panel the first time and doesn't feel anything that's its fan service scene. It wasn't until I read comment here and go back and look at it that I see it can be thought of a fan service scene.

I think people who notice the fan service are, well, more distracted by it because of how their mind works?

Come on, really?
You're going to tell me that this is not distracting?

Mashima chose that angle.
He could have pick any other angle, but he chose that one.

Especially that the panel right before she's looking up, at the giants.
http://www.mangahere.com/manga/fairy_tail/v38/c354/14.html
So, the angle is weird either way.

In any case, this was a deliberate fanservice choice from Mashima.
And a perfect example, IMO, of fanservice done wrong.

 

[obamamania]

And as some of us have been saying, it could be worse and we choose not to be bothered by it because we love Fairy Tail and appreciate the vast majority of the time when fanservice is not a problem. And as I've been saying, until we end up at the level of Kenichi fanservice, I'll ignore it.

 

[Tonix]

What fanservice? There is no fanservice in Fairytail, Fairytail is an ecchi manga. I would never feel safe reading Fairytail at work/school, every chapter is filled with sexual posses or blatant nudity. I don't particularly have a problem with it, because that's just the kind of thing you come to expect from ecchi mangas, I like Highschool of the Dead as well, but I would never consider reading that at work/school either for similar reasons. Does that make them bad manga? No, but don't pretend like they are suitable for children who don't live in a country saturated with tentacle porn.

 

[REN KOUEN]

Come on, really?
You're going to tell me that this is not distracting?

Mashima chose that angle.
He could have pick any other angle, but he chose that one.

Especially that the panel right before she's looking up, at the giants.
http://www.mangahere.com/manga/fairy_tail/v38/c354/14.html
So, the angle is weird either way.

In any case, this was a deliberate fanservice choice from Mashima.
And a perfect example, IMO, of fanservice done wrong.

i will agree that this was poor choice in timing for fan service

not complaining about seeing flares boobies, as i believe most male fans , (and probably alot of female fans) all share this opinion

however it certainly takes away from the seriousness of the moment when something dramatical is happening

this is mashimas choice , and he certianly has that right because he is the mangaka

but we arent all going to agree with everything our favorite authors do, honestly FT is still one of my favorites even with the occasional poorly timed and placed FanService

 

[ca12nag3]

i will agree that this was poor choice in timing for fan service

not complaining about seeing flares boobies, as i believe most male fans , (and probably alot of female fans) all share this opinion

however it certainly takes away from the seriousness of the moment when something dramatical is happening

this is mashimas choice , and he certianly has that right because he is the mangaka

but we arent all going to agree with everything our favorite authors do, honestly FT is still one of my favorites even with the occasional poorly timed and placed FanService

What people totally look past is that this is not some random poorly timed fanservice. Its his intention. He captured 2 intentions in 1 scene, her face really does show the sad/happy face about being home etc. While at the same time showing off her chest. But then again she was already wearing that dress. So what should he do? Make a face only shot?? any angle would be wrong so he just took the 1 he got 2 intentions at the same time. Its nothing bad.

 

[Tonix]

What people totally look past is that this is not some random poorly timed fanservice. Its his intention. He captured 2 intentions in 1 scene, her face really does show the sad/happy face about being home etc. While at the same time showing off her chest. But then again she was already wearing that dress. So what should he do? Make a face only shot?? any angle would be wrong so he just took the 1 he got 2 intentions at the same time. Its nothing bad.

She's staring upwards at the giants, but Mashima is showing us under boob. Why are her breasts being pressed upwards like that when she's just standing there? It looks like she is hanging upside down. The panel doesn't even make physical sense, if Mashima was trying to do anything but show as much breast as he possible, he would have used a sensible angle, and we would have seen top boob instead of under boob, the most ecchi of all boob. Instead we somehow see the bottom of Flare's breasts while simultaneously seeing the top of her face.


Again, this isn't fanservice, its an ecchi author putting ecchi panels into his ecchi manga. Nothing wrong with it, but lets stop pretending here.

 

[ca12nag3]

She's staring upwards at the giants, but Mashima is showing us under boob. Why are her breasts being pressed upwards like that when she's just standing there? It looks like she is hanging upside down. The panel doesn't even make physical sense, if Mashima was trying to do anything but show as much breast as he possible, he would have used a sensible angle, and we would have seen top boob instead of under boob, the most ecchi of all boob. Instead we somehow see the bottom of Flare's breasts while simultaneously seeing the top of her face.


Again, this isn't fanservice, its an ecchi author putting ecchi panels into his ecchi manga. Nothing wrong with it, but lets stop pretending here.

?

Shes crying looking down. Its her in crying position.

 

[REN KOUEN]

What people totally look past is that this is not some random poorly timed fanservice. Its his intention. He captured 2 intentions in 1 scene, her face really does show the sad/happy face about being home etc. While at the same time showing off her chest. But then again she was already wearing that dress. So what should he do? Make a face only shot?? any angle would be wrong so he just took the 1 he got 2 intentions at the same time. Its nothing bad.

that is a very politically correct way to look at it

gotta love the optimistic perspective on cleavage exposure

 

[ca12nag3]

that is a very politically correct way to look at it

gotta love the optimistic perspective on cleavage exposure

Its not its just that you see both the emotional + the fanservice in 1 picture. Its a observance rather then just seeing 1 or the other. If you got a problem with seeing cleavage i suppose manga isnt your forte

 

[REN KOUEN]

Its not its just that you see both the emotional + the fanservice in 1 picture. Its a observance rather then just seeing 1 or the other. If you got a problem with seeing cleavage i suppose manga isnt your forte

yea but the argument is that one takes away from the other

panels about fan service should be light hearted or humorous moments

and crying in the dramatic fashion that flare was crying should be more serious

however with that being said mashima does a great job (especially this current arc) and i love his writing

 

[ca12nag3]

yea but the argument is that one takes away from the other

panels about fan service should be light hearted or humorous moments

and crying in the dramatic fashion that flare was crying should be more serious

however with that being said mashima does a great job (especially this current arc) and i love his writing

If thats your opinion, dont read manga? Buy some novels, and then buy some art books for the art. Point is were reading manga, its written and drawn. If the author wants to show us something he/she just does. No questions asked. I buy my manga even tho i can read it online for free. Seems appreciating it for what it is is not good enough and we as readers should be overly critical on something we all know will be in it (namingly fanservice on odd places) Its his choice to do so. Dont want to read then dont.

 

[REN KOUEN]

If thats your opinion, dont read manga? Buy some novels, and then buy some art books for the art. Point is were reading manga, its written and drawn. If the author wants to show us something he/she just does. No questions asked. I buy my manga even tho i can read it online for free. Seems appreciating it for what it is is not good enough and we as readers should be overly critical on something we all know will be in it (namingly fanservice on odd places) Its his choice to do so. Dont want to read then dont.

there is absolutely no chance of me not reading the FT manga!!!

i never said the Fanservice bothered me that much, all i am doing is playing devils advocate by presenting why the people against the fanservice feel the way they do

i dont like it in certain scenarios, however i am a fan of the female body, and i am a fan of mashimas artistic ability

---------- Post added December 06, 2013 at 10:30 AM ---------- Previous post was November 19, 2013 at 09:16 AM ----------

new approach to this thread

instead of talking about the negative aspects of fan service

how about we celebrate it!!!

ok here is a nice shot of our beloved lisanna strauss in this weeks current chapter (tagged per 24 hour rule)

Spoiler

this demon from tartaros also has a nice panel

Spoiler

 

[hoeru]

Celebrate Fan Service? How dare you!!!!

Haven't we learned in this thread, that we're just a bunch of pervs who shouldn't live out something that needs to be damned at all costs? Naked skin, big breasts. Disgusting! I mean, everywhere Fan Service comes up, the story becomes extremely horrible no matter what actually happens. Fan service panels are really disgusting and show nothing but boobs. And we all need to cry out loud as if there was nothing else to whine about anywhere else.

BTW, you missed out Lucy's torn clothes ...

 

[REN KOUEN]

Celebrate Fan Service? How dare you!!!!

Haven't we learned in this thread, that we're just a bunch of pervs who shouldn't live out something that needs to be damned at all costs? Naked skin, big breasts. Disgusting! I mean, everywhere Fan Service comes up, the story becomes extremely horrible no matter what actually happens. Fan service panels are really disgusting and show nothing but boobs. And we all need to cry out loud as if there was nothing else to whine about anywhere else.

BTW, you missed out Lucy's torn clothes ...

Ok ill go back and add it to my post!!!

Im probably gonna go back and get some of my favorite awesome panels from the past and make a meseum of mashimas awesome art out of this thread