Fan Service

Step 1: Market the girl

Step 2: Market the girl

Step 3: MARKET THE GIRL

When the creators of a franchise decide to actively cater to their fanbase by doing things that please them. Two common and possibly most well-known methods of achieving Fan Service are showing the Fan Favorite (likely female) wearing less clothes than she usually does or have her show up much more frequently. Canonically shipping her with another character fans often unofficially ship is another, less typically found example. Fan Service is an easy way to Please The Audience as it's a way to show that the creators paying attention to their fans. Another way to service the fans is by producing merchandise that has the Fan Favorite or Fan Service Doll on it that the creators know that at least one fan would put their his money down for regardless of the price. Without using characters, the creators still have a few options to select. Acknowledging a meme the Internet created, for instance, is an effective way to create a small sensation of excitement in the audience. Fan Service can also be derived from sources outside of the franchise. Popular fads like games or toys can make appearances to get the audience to believe the creators are aware of the times.

The Fan Service Doll is a role purely centered on Fan Service, as is part of the name. A Newcomer Fan Service Doll spends her entire existence living this reality, never once knowing the joy of being a meaningful character. Her pitiful or nonexistent contribution to plot advancement earns shame from genuine fans who care about the story more than getting hard. Even if she tried her hand at making a difference, it often comes off as artificial and desperate to divert negative criticism. A factor that can drive this low-quality Character Addition further downward is if the Fan Service Doll doubles as a One Note or Fix. One-dimensionalism underscores the true worthlessness of the role, upping the non-simps' dissatisfaction with her. Creators who know their stuff in Fan Service grab the top hits in the department. Infusing the best qualities of fan-friendly roles like the Cute Girl, Comic Relief, Beauty, and Manic Pixie Dream Girl raises the Fan Service Doll's chances of scoring big with her admirers. Probably the worst consequence of all is how the franchise's reception can take a beating with the heavy inclusion of Fan Service Dolls. It's no longer about sharing a story fueled by creative vision. The only thing fueling it now is a craving for simp-provided money sourced from tasteless merchandise. If it isn't money that's deteriorating the franchise, it's the sake of forcing a cheap reaction of excitement out of the audience.

Even though Fan Service has its upsides, too much of it can leave fans feeling discontent with the content. Making decisions like having the Fan Service Doll make more appearances than usual might upset critical audience members. They may call the creators out for a number of manipulative schemes. The fandom division of the fanbase is exceptionally vulnerable to these tricks because simps care less for the quality of their franchise than they do their favorite people from it. The writers may even go as far as to jettison the original purpose of their franchise (such as telling a story) to make it easier to win fans over by forcing the Fan Favorite wherever possible. On top of luring in new fanboys, this can reinforce the behaviors of the veterans. Returning to more rational viewers, they will be turned off by Fan Service if it's blatantly done for its own sake. Clever writers both know how to and ensure they weave Fan Service into the story so it doesn't come off as shoehorned and mindless. Pausing The Universe to give the Fan Service Doll her time in the spotlight irritates fans who are in it for anything else. What can add to this pain is if the creators are clearly ignoring not at all listening the audience's input. To go off of what they think is healthy in Fan Fiction is to shut out all noise coming from the viewers. Acting this way sends the message that the audience and its feelings are irrelevant and they're only milked for whatever money they'll relinquish anyway.

The audience will always be divided on the matter of Fan Service, but one thing that's sure is injecting a lethal dose of it into the franchise will cause it to rot internally. The party at hand will be degraded to Fan Service Dolls, mere slaves to the whims of the fanboys who can never get enough. It can be a real shame to see somebody who used to have personal depth be fed to the eternally-hungry fandom. While the simps are constantly receiving their regular fix of the Fan Service Doll, real fans who were in it for her character get screwed out of any investment in her. They pack their bags and leave the fanbase never to return. If the creators dare to revert their changes to the Fan Service Doll, they may find all the harm has already been done. Robbing the simps of their Fan Service will deprive them of the singular purpose they hung around as the long-gone real fans don't bother coming back, even if they hear the Fan Service Doll has reprised her original role. The writers can go all in on making the Fan Service Doll a sex object without any subtlety to confuse the situation. Her lewd behavior does more than pop up from time to time — it intensifies into her most defining trait, maybe even the only one she has. Her lustful act leaks into scenes that have nothing to do with or don't even hint at sex. The pain from this UnTrash is strengthened if the Fan Service Doll usually doesn't behave this way and may have even been comparable to a real-life person at some point in time. Lines and choices inconsistent with the character's personality can be a sign that their Downward Spiral is beginning or in full swing.

UnRec
Fan Service is a favorite method of Pleasing The Audience among creators. It expresses awareness of the audience and their actions that receives amazement. Even though it isn't the single definition of Fan Service, what most people immediately think of when they hear the words is manipulation of the characters to appeal to fans given to simping. It's a real challenge to sneak Fan Service past viewers more skeptical about disrupting Suspension Of Disbelief. Asking them to forgive you after you Roll A 1 on managing this UnTrash is a tall order. When creators make it clear they care about lazy approval from fans more than entertaining them with substance, they commonly wind up causing the opposite effect. The franchise that once told a story with soul has now regressed to a feeding station for short-lived excitement. There is a such thing as carefully handling Fan Service. It's how it's implemented that matters most. Unlike with Break The Fourth Wall or Lampshading, Fan Service is an UnTrash that can't get away with ditching Suspension Of Disbelief for comical or parodic reasons. It must be woven into the context of the scene it's featured in to be natural and not stick out like a splotch of ink on a wedding dress. Writing it to tip your hat to a meme relating to your series is another effective strategy for parrying negative criticism about the scene. If Fan Service is applied to a character, it shouldn't morph with their entire being. Just one line or action is a satisfactory dosage for the audience. Fan Service will always be tricky for many writers to pull off, but if you avoid the mistakes they made, you can work past the UnTrash's weaknesses and earn genuine praise from viewers.