Wet - a Discourse on Fanservice

It’s hard to pinpoint the exact moment I fell in love with the Monogatari series, but it was early on in the Hitagi Crab arc that I realized I was watching something special. At the very beginning of the second episode, Senjougahara is showering in her apartment while Araragi waits. Despite her emotionless and cold nature, Senjougahara is almost oppressively confident and self-assured, striding out of the shower naked and forcing the principal narrator, Araragi, to react to her every whim. It’s a potent scene that shows off what makes Senjougahara so compelling – her relentless (and often brutal) honesty, her poise, and her sheer force of personality (not to mention her naked body) are all on full display. The way that writer Nisioisin and director Tatsuya Oishi do this, though, is by utilizing a tactic that’s garnered considerable negative attention among anime fans and the medium’s western critics: depictions of sexuality, or as many anime fans love to call it, “fanservice”.

Sexuality is a complex thing. Depending on who you ask, it can take any of a number of forms: a source of pride and empowerment, a whimsical experience rife with pleasure, a root of embarrassment, or a trigger for painful and traumatic past experiences. But in visual media and anime specifically, it’s treated across the board by many fans as simple pandering – that a sexually liberated woman could be anything but a cheap trick to tap into the wallets of basement-dwelling neckbeards is unthinkable. And there are definitely cases of that kind of pandering imagery in anime. Watch 5 minutes of any generic harem slush and you’ll be overwhelmed with glaringly obvious boob shots, ass shots, and the ever-so-trite boob grab fall. Sex is uncomfortable, sure, but it is the things that make us most uncomfortable that are ultimately the most powerful for us. When done right, sexualization is a remarkably potent tool and is essential for a society that has so much trouble with depictions of gender and sexuality right now.

Monogatari is likely the one anime most accosted for its fanservice – just ask anyone their thoughts on Nisemonogatari, and I’d be surprised if they don’t mention fanservice in some form. It’s not completely off-base – google “toothbrush scene” – but a lot of people misunderstand the sexuality in Nise and Monogatari in general. It’s about more than just objectification. Early in Nise, Araragi goes over to the house of Nadeko, his little sister’s friend. Nadeko, who for a long time had a crush on Araragi but was always too shy to express her feelings, puts her bangs up and wears an uncharacteristically revealing outfit to mark Araragi’s visit. For the first time, we see her character unrestrained, and this new forwardness is shown in her self-sexualization. This scene is a milestone in Nadeko’s development as a character, progressing from shy and antisocial to self-assured and sexually forward.

Later in that same episode, Araragi heads to his underclassman Kanbaru’s house to help her clean her room, but finds her lying completely naked in the middle of the room. His natural response is to stumble and attempt to de-escalate the situation, but Kanbaru responds with the line “look long and well. This is who Kanbaru Suruga truly is. With nothing at all concealed”. Disregarding Nisioisin’s obsession with having his characters spew cool lines, this is a truly penetrating look at Kanbaru’s personality. She’s open, sexual, and most of all liberated – and she’s all the more stronger for it. However many fanservice shots exist, sexuality isn’t always explored in such a revealing manner. Towards the end of the series, at the conclusion of the Yotsugi Doll arc, Senjougahara ambushes Araragi and pushes him down. Her audacity and confidence are familiar, but it is her ability to communicate her feelings directly to Araragi through her sexuality that marks her growth as a character. Growing comfortable with her emotions and desires, she is finally able to connect with Araragi and make those wishes a reality. This brings me back to the shower scene in Bake. As Senjougahara develops chemistry with Araragi throughout the series, she begins to explore her desires and feelings for him, but Senjougahara is not actively sexual in those early episodes. Still, we get to learn a lot about who she is as a person through the way she struts around the room, tries on outfits, flings them off, and takes shots at Araragi.

Without these elements Monogatari would fall apart. Its strong cast of female characters would be lacking substance, but most of all, the show would feel dry. Scenes like the shower scene are wet with sexual freedom and autonomy – dripping with emotional weight – and they elevate the work, enhancing not just each individual character but the thematic resonance of the entire narrative. Take away their sexuality, and you take away their sense of self. This is not to say that controversy around depictions of sexuality and objectification are not justified. There’s a surfeit of examples of fanservice that are disrespectful to the characters and the tone of the show – the tentacle scene in Sword Art Online comes to mind – but it would be unfair to approach any and all depictions of sexuality as base humiliation. There’s so much more to it than that. And maybe, if you look deep enough, you might find something that hits home, something you can relate to. After all, isn’t that what art is for?