Self Fanservice: Difference between revisions

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[[File:~~cropped_Canon_Vs_Fanon_Snape_by_zorm~~.png|frame|link=http://zorm.deviantart.com/art/Canon-Vs-Fanon-Snape-34384180|[[Harry Potter|One of these Snapes is not like the other...]]<ref>Note the similarity in fanon!Snape's hairstyle to Sephiroth's. There will be a quiz on this later.</ref>]]

[[File:cropped Canon Vs Fanon Snape by zorm.png|frame|link=http://zorm.deviantart.com/art/Canon-Vs-Fanon-Snape-34384180|[[Harry Potter|One of these Snapes is not like the other...]]<ref>Note the similarity in fanon!Snape's hairstyle to Sephiroth's. There will be a quiz on this later.</ref>]]

{{quote|"Would you draw me with your pencils and your pens

Make me much prettier than I really am?"|''Dimensions and Verticals'', '''Say Hi To Your Mom'''}}

So you've got this series. Maybe it's a TV show. Maybe it's a movie or video game. It got pretty good reviews--[[Guilty Pleasures|or, you know, maybe it didn't]]. It's now built up a fanbase. Folks are writing [[~~Fanfic|fanfics~~]], drawing [[Fan Art]], and spreading the joy over the Internet. So far, so good, right?

So you've got this series. Maybe it's a TV show. Maybe it's a movie or video game. It got pretty good reviews--[[Guilty Pleasures|or, you know, maybe it didn't]]. It's now built up a fanbase. Folks are writing [[fanfic]]s, drawing [[Fan Art]], and spreading the joy over the Internet. So far, so good, right?

Well, there's one thing. The series as it originally stood was sort of... ''missing'' something.

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Maybe it was [[Periphery Demographic|directed mostly at the opposite gender from some of its fans]]. Maybe the [[Thick Line Animation|art style]] didn't really have the [[Generic Cuteness]] common to many other animated works. Maybe the primary audience was children, so out of [[Parent Service|a few isolated instances]], making attractive characters wasn't really the primary goal of the series. Or maybe the original was a ''book'', so the appearances of the characters were mostly left up to the reader's imaginations. Whatever the case, the series finds itself without a [[Mr. Fanservice|Mr]] or [[Ms. Fanservice]] other object of [[Perverse Sexual Lust|fan lust]].

However, this state won't necessarily last long. One (or more) of the characters is going to end up transformed into the unofficial fandom sex object (or at least made [[Generic Cuteness|far more attractive in fanart]]). If they were originally [[Hollywood Homely|ugly]], they'll be transformed into a [[Bishonen]] in fanart. If they were originally cartoony and flat, expect them to pick up [[She's All Grown Up|curves]]. They may be attacked by [[Relationship Sue~~|Relationship Sues~~]]. The fans have decided to instigate Self Fanservice. The targets of this can ~~vary--in~~ a cast without [[Loads and Loads of Characters]], this can happen to one of the primary [[The One Guy|male]]/[[The Smurfette Principle|female]] characters simply because they're there. It can happen to [[Draco in Leather Pants|villains]], because [[Evil Is Sexy]]. And if your cast has a good [[The Woobie|woobie]], the angst factor may draw fans in.

However, this state won't necessarily last long. One (or more) of the characters is going to end up transformed into the unofficial fandom sex object (or at least made [[Generic Cuteness|far more attractive in fanart]]). If they were originally [[Hollywood Homely|ugly]], they'll be transformed into a [[Bishonen]] in fanart. If they were originally cartoony and flat, expect them to pick up [[She's All Grown Up|curves]]. They may be attacked by [[Relationship Sue]]s. The fans have decided to instigate Self Fanservice. The targets of this can vary—in a cast without [[Loads and Loads of Characters]], this can happen to one of the primary [[The One Guy|male]]/[[The Smurfette Principle|female]] characters simply because they're there. It can happen to [[Draco in Leather Pants|villains]], because [[Evil Is Sexy]]. And if your cast has a good [[The Woobie|woobie]], the angst factor may draw fans in.

To a casual member or newcomer to a fandom, this can seem strange, seeing an ordinarily unattractive (in a [[Hollywood Homely|bland way]]) character suddenly drawn in [[Shirtless Scene|shirtless poses]] with a seductive look.

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** [http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/5654/whattheyseewhatitis.gif Case in point...]

** The women (''especially'' [[Abhorrent Admirer|Mikoko Sakazaki]]) also get this treatment fairly regularly.

* ''[[One Piece]]'': Although most of the characters with [[Estrogen Brigade~~|Estrogen Brigades~~]] are already conventionally good-looking or otherwise close to it, and therefore do not warrant [[Self Fanservice]], Spandam - much reviled by male fans as a fugly [[Smug Snake]], but [[Draco in Leather Pants]] to more than a few female fans - often gets this treatment.

* ''[[One Piece]]'': Although most of the characters with [[Estrogen Brigade]]s are already conventionally good-looking or otherwise close to it, and therefore do not warrant Self Fanservice, Spandam - much reviled by male fans as a fugly [[Smug Snake]], but [[Draco in Leather Pants]] to more than a few female fans - often gets this treatment.

* ''[[Pretty Cure]]'' fan art, especially that of ''[[Yes! Pretty Cure 5]]'' and ''[[Heartcatch Pretty Cure]]'', has a tendency to depict the (middle school aged, usually flat-chested) girls with ''distinctly'' more mature bodies.

* Nnoitra Gilga, the [[Memetic Molester|creepy]], spoon-wearing, [[Blood Knight]] with weird teeth, from ''[[Bleach]]'' gets turned into a [[Bishonen]] in a lot of fanart.

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** Maka occasionally gets this as well, albeit to a lesser extent; granted, she's fairly cute to begin with, but some fans seemed to miss the memo that she's [[Pettanko|above an A-cup]]

* ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia]]'', [[Cast Full of Pretty Boys|of all series]], gets some of this too. There's a Cuba/Canada doujinshi somewhere where, aside of having super [[Moe]] Canada, turns Cuba, who in canon is [[Big Fun|a chubby]] and [[Hot-Blooded]] [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold]], into a [[Tall, Dark and Handsome|slim, suave and super handsome]] [[Latin Lover]]. Even though one of the main charms of the Cuba/Canada pairing is to have a ''non''-traditionally-handsome guy getting the romantic attention of another male and thus proving that [[True Beauty Is on the Inside|looks don't matter.]]

** England sometimes gets hit with a milder version of this trope. While the majority of his fans do recognize that his [[Tsundere|combative personality]] and [[Big Ol' Eyebrows]] are his major [[Charm Point~~|Charm Points~~]] and leave them intact, there are still some who "improve" him by softening his personality to make him into an unironic gentleman (even though England being hilariously ''un''suited for the gentlemanliness he claims to possess in [[Covert Pervert|so]] [[Can't Hold His Liquor|many]] [[Cluster F-Bomb|ways]] is one of the defining marks of his character).

** England sometimes gets hit with a milder version of this trope. While the majority of his fans do recognize that his [[Tsundere|combative personality]] and [[Big Ol' Eyebrows]] are his major [[Charm Point]]s and leave them intact, there are still some who "improve" him by softening his personality to make him into an unironic gentleman (even though England being hilariously ''un''suited for the gentlemanliness he claims to possess in [[Covert Pervert|so]] [[Can't Hold His Liquor|many]] [[Cluster F-Bomb|ways]] is one of the defining marks of his character).

** The huge lot of Russia fanarts in which he gets [[Gag Nose|a nose job]] and a liposuction, making him another victim of [[Generic Cuteness]].

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* [[The Joker]] gets this quite frequently, ESPECIALLY after ''[[The Dark Knight]]''. Granted Heath was a pretty guy but his Joker looks quite gross with his poor hygiene, wrinkled face and nasty scars. Of course, he becomes a pretty bishonen with cool scars in loads of fanart.

* [[Wolverine]]. He's a short<ref>5' 3" officially; compare average US height (20+ years old), which is about 5' 9" for males, 5' 4" for females</ref>, surly man with more body hair then a bear. Count how many times he's given a height boost, a full-body wax, and just made flat-out generic handsome.

* [[Wolverine]]. He's a short,<ref>5' 3" officially; compare average US height (20+ years old), which is about 5' 9" for males, 5' 4" for females</ref> surly man with more body hair then a bear. Count how many times he's given a height boost, a full-body wax, and just made flat-out generic handsome.

** Being played by [[Hugh Jackman]] in the movies for one.

* [[Watchmen (comics)|Rorschach.]] [http://envyskort.deviantart.com/art/HOW-DO-YOU-SEE-RORSCHACH-117644213 'Nuff said.]

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** Lucius Malfoy is another example. He's not unattractive in the books, but that's because he's given virtually no description at all. Put Jason Isaacs in a blond wig and fancy wizard clothes? ''Now'' you're talking.

** And Lucius' son, played by Tom Felton, isn't too shabby himself.

*** This actually came up in one of the interviews with J.K. Rowling, ~~once -- she~~ mentioned not quite understanding [[Draco in Leather Pants|Draco's leather-pantsed status]], pointing out that she never said he was attractive in the actual books.

*** This actually came up in one of the interviews with J.K. Rowling, once—she mentioned not quite understanding [[Draco in Leather Pants|Draco's leather-pantsed status]], pointing out that she never said he was attractive in the actual books.

** Hermione, however, is by far and large the best-known example of this trope; the fans who use her as a [[Possession Sue]] will have her undergo a makeover, making her bushy hair slick, and having her grow "curves in all the right places" over summer vacation, to get all the boys lusting after her. ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' even ran a skit about it.

*** Like Snape, though, her movie self shoulders a good part of the blame. Emma Watson [[She's All Grown Up|filled out nicely]].

* Crowley is almost always depicted as suavely handsome in the ''[[Good Omens]]'' fandom, which does make sense. Aziraphale was also commonly portrayed as angelically beautiful in early GO fandom, but more recent fanworks seem to be moving away from this trope in regards to him, going for a more plausibly middle-aged, plump, and/or bookish appearance. Some of them do go the [[Nerds Are Sexy]] route, but it's still a far cry from pretty!Aziraphale.

* Kyp Durron in the [[Star Wars Expanded Universe]] gets this in a way. He's usually just the same appearance in both, but the [[Slash Fic]] tends to make him a [[Troubled but Cute|victim of sexual abuse]] with [[Anything That Moves]] tendencies and he spends most of his leisure time [[Fan Service|naked]]. Oh, and he gets to call Luke Master, nudge nudge.

* There's fan art for ''[[A Series of Unfortunate Events]]'' which depicts one of the minor ~~villains-- a~~ bald, big-nosed [[Dirty Old Man]] who sometimes wears a scruffy white ~~wig-- as~~ a gothy [[White-Haired Pretty Boy]].

* There's fan art for ''[[A Series of Unfortunate Events]]'' which depicts one of the minor villains—a bald, big-nosed [[Dirty Old Man]] who sometimes wears a scruffy white wig—as a gothy [[White-Haired Pretty Boy]].

== Live Action TV ==

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== Video Games ==

* Unsurprisingly, [[Metroid|Samus Aran]] has been getting a triple serving of it ever since the introduction of the [[Latex Space Suit|Zero Suit]]. <ref>[[Super Smash Bros.|Brawl]] then proceeded to '''''[[Up to Eleven|super-size]]''''' said serving with a topping of [[Male Gaze]] and [[Fetish Fuel|incredibly blatant BDSM overtones.]]</ref> See for yourself: [http://www.metroid-database.com/mzm/art/zss_crawl.jpg original artwork,] [http://www.smashbros.com/en_us/characters/images/zerosuit_samus/zerosuit_samus.jpg Brawl,] [http://transfuse.deviantart.com/art/Zero-Suit-Samus-Animu-138572532 fan art.] Look on the bright side: at least it doesn't make her look too different from her canon portrayal.

* Unsurprisingly, [[Metroid|Samus Aran]] has been getting a triple serving of it ever since the introduction of the [[Latex Space Suit|Zero Suit]].<ref>[[Super Smash Bros.|Brawl]] then proceeded to '''''[[Up to Eleven|super-size]]''''' said serving with a topping of [[Male Gaze]] and [[Fetish Fuel|incredibly blatant BDSM overtones.]]</ref> See for yourself: [http://www.metroid-database.com/mzm/art/zss_crawl.jpg original artwork,] [http://www.smashbros.com/en_us/characters/images/zerosuit_samus/zerosuit_samus.jpg Brawl,] [http://transfuse.deviantart.com/art/Zero-Suit-Samus-Animu-138572532 fan art.] Look on the bright side: at least it doesn't make her look too different from her canon portrayal.

* Alma from the ''[[First Encounter Assault Recon|F.E.A.R.]]'' games.

** Of course, post-Project Origin, this isn't quite so applicable. Healthy (as opposed to emaciated) adult Alma is actually attractive ([[Full-Frontal Assault|and naked all the time. No matter what.]]).

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* ''[[Touhou]]'', due to being about ninety percent fandom and possessing official character art that... leaves much to be desired. Oddly enough the majority of drawings are fairly true to the characters (young girls are drawn like young girls, older women are drawn like older women etcetera), though more bizarre interpretations are certainly not absent.

** Perhaps the most notable example is [[Badass Bookworm|Patchouli]]: loli-lovers draw her [[Pettanko|flat]] and, well, loli-esque, big breast lovers give her larger breasts and an adult body and everyone else makes her "medium-sized" and teen-ish. It helps her character type fits either way, and that her clothing is baggy enough that her body type is totally ambiguous.

** ''Touhou'' is a unique variation of this trope. Characters are not drawn more attractive merely to be more attractive, ZUN is simply a terrible drawer and therefore fans improve on them in an effort to portray their "actual" appearance. It helps that there are official examples, significant improvements to characters' apperances present in any work in which ZUN did not draw them, most notably in the fighting [[Gaiden Game~~|Gaiden Games~~]] and ''[[Universe Compendium|Perfect Memento in Strict Sense]]''.

** ''Touhou'' is a unique variation of this trope. Characters are not drawn more attractive merely to be more attractive, ZUN is simply a terrible drawer and therefore fans improve on them in an effort to portray their "actual" appearance. It helps that there are official examples, significant improvements to characters' apperances present in any work in which ZUN did not draw them, most notably in the fighting [[Gaiden Game]]s and ''[[Universe Compendium|Perfect Memento in Strict Sense]]''.

* The fanbase for ''[[Team Fortress 2]]'' is FULL of this trope. You can not look for art of it on [[Deviant ART]] without seeing all the classes depicted as young and sexy. Yes, even ''the Heavy''. As a fangirl favorite, Medic is especially prone to this. And let's not get started on the [[Distaff Counterpart|female versions]] of most characters...

* ''[[Disgaea]]'' characters get this done to them sometimes, although it's almost always [[Pettanko|Etna and Flonne]].

** On the other hand, [[~~Lolicon|lolicons~~]] find Etna and Flonne ([[Stripperiffic|especially Etna]] to be an excellent source of fanservice just the way they are.

** On the other hand, [[lolicon]]s find Etna and Flonne ([[Stripperiffic|especially Etna]] to be an excellent source of fanservice just the way they are.

* ''[[Kirby]]'' fans mostly leave the characters alone...except for Zero Two, who is continually transformed from a floating white ball into an angel in fanart.

** Whenever Kirby is drawn as a human fans typically don't make him that chubby. You'll often see Dedede not being as big as you'd expect either.

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*** It becomes apparent in Vaarsuvius fanart that his/her androgeny is difficult to translate into more detailed (i.e. not stick figure) art styles. So usually you get feminine features on an [[Pettanko|ambiguously feminine]] body.

** [[Lovable Rogue|Haley]], [[Cloudcuckoolander|Elan]], and [[Knight Templar|Miko]] are all treated as being quite attractive by other characters, so it's understandable that they're drawn as such.

** Of course, everyone in the comic is a [[Stick Figure Comic|stick figure]], so any fanart depicting them as attractive is [[Self Fanservice]].

** Of course, everyone in the comic is a [[Stick Figure Comic|stick figure]], so any fanart depicting them as attractive is Self Fanservice.

== Web Original ==

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* While nobody is denying that some of the people of [[That Guy With The Glasses]] are attractive anyway, fangirls turning the boys into skinny bishies and fanboys making the girls thinner and bustier than they are in real life are both popular.

** Taken to ridiculous levels in the [[Hate Fic]]/WankFic "Beer Enema". A lot of people think the Critic is pretty, yes, but there is NO FUCKING WAY you could think he has a "barbie doll face".

* ''[[Happy Tree Friends]]'', with its [[Estrogen Brigade]] and humongous following on [[Pixiv]], has a large percentage of its fanart containing [[Moe Anthropomorphism~~|Moe Anthropomorphisms~~]] of the critters. Not a big deal, but humanized Flippy is almost always a teenage [[Bishonen]], undoubtedly due to being [[Draco in Leather Pants]]. Being that Flippy was a war veteran, he should theoretically be ''much'' older than how he's often drawn. And then there's Flaky, who despite her well-known [[Ambiguous Gender|androgyny]] tends to get a [[Girliness Upgrade]] thrown on her like a ton of bricks.

* ''[[Happy Tree Friends]]'', with its [[Estrogen Brigade]] and humongous following on [[Pixiv]], has a large percentage of its fanart containing [[Moe Anthropomorphism]]s of the critters. Not a big deal, but humanized Flippy is almost always a teenage [[Bishonen]], undoubtedly due to being [[Draco in Leather Pants]]. Being that Flippy was a war veteran, he should theoretically be ''much'' older than how he's often drawn. And then there's Flaky, who despite her well-known [[Ambiguous Gender|androgyny]] tends to get a [[Girliness Upgrade]] thrown on her like a ton of bricks.

* The [[The Runaway Guys|Runaway Guys.]] Not only are they transformed into cute anime-versions of themselves in fanart, they're also subject to some peculiar [[Self-Insert Fic|Self Insert Fanart]] at the hands of their fangirls. It doesn't help that, between them, [[Proton Jon]] is noted for his resemblance to erstwhile fangirl bait [[Metal Gear Solid|Otacon]], [[Chuggaaconroy]] is [[Adorkable]] (in particular, his [[Flanderized]] wearing of polo shirts), and [[Nintendo Capri Sun]] is a legendarily [[Nice Guy]].

== Western Animation ==

* ''[[Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy]],'' of all things. [[Generic Cuteness]] (...and [[Yaoi Fangirl~~|Yaoi Fangirls~~]]/the [[Relationship Sue]]) struck the titular trio hard, but especially Double-D. Maybe [[Nerds Are Sexy]] after all.

* ''[[Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy]],'' of all things. [[Generic Cuteness]] (...and [[Yaoi Fangirl]]s/the [[Relationship Sue]]) struck the titular trio hard, but especially Double-D. Maybe [[Nerds Are Sexy]] after all.

** [http://miimochi.deviantart.com/ Miimochi] has what could be considered some of the best example(s) of EE&E Self Fanservice. (though all the character's tongues are the same... unusual colors as in the show...)

** More surprisingly, [[Terrible Trio|the Kanker Sisters]] also get a lot of this, especially [http://14-bis.deviantart.com/art/Trailer-Trash-208760185 Marie].

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** Zim is not the only recipient of Self Fanservice in the series. Far from it.

** Did you know Irkens are not actually supposed to [[Non-Mammal Mammaries|have boobs]]? No, really, go check the show. See how flat Tak's chest is? Yeah, it's quite different than the fanart, isn't it?

** Canon Dib is a scrawny little 11-year-old boy with glasses and a big head. Fanon depictions add ~~5-7~~ years to his age and make him [[Tall, Dark and Handsome]] instead while still retaining his trademark [[Anime Hair]].

** Canon Dib is a scrawny little 11-year-old boy with glasses and a big head. Fanon depictions add 5–7 years to his age and make him [[Tall, Dark and Handsome]] instead while still retaining his trademark [[Anime Hair]].

** Like her brother, 10-year-old Gaz in fanart is aged up and given all the beauty that comes with it.

** Non-shipper fans of Invader Zim live in fear of the day GIR gets this treatment. It's only a matter of time.

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* In ''[[Kim Possible]]'' fanfics, Ron, who is honestly pretty goofy looking, is usually amped up considerably in the looks department... to the point that some authors both [[Lampshade Hanging|hang a lampshade on it]] and apologize to the reader.

* There's a lot of [[Family Guy|Meg Griffin]] fanart on Deviantart, and just about all of it makes her look ''way'' more attractive than she is on the show. She's not as hideous as the show [[Informed Deformity|repeatedly claims]], but she's not ''that'' pretty either. In this case, some of those pieces are as much a [[Take That]] as just [[Fan Service]].

* Despite what her trademark yellow jumpsuit may make one think, ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1987|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' April O'Neil would very rarely display [[Absolute Cleavage|cleavage]] while wearing ~~it--even~~ in cases when she realistically would. Of course this attribute is commonly made prominent in fan art.

* Despite what her trademark yellow jumpsuit may make one think, ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1987|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' April O'Neil would very rarely display [[Absolute Cleavage|cleavage]] while wearing it—even in cases when she realistically would. Of course this attribute is commonly made prominent in fan art.

* Due perhaps to heavy abuse of [[Thick Line Animation]], ''[[Danny Phantom]]'' has enourmous amounts of this, mostly directed towards the main eponymous character although resident [[Perverse Sexual Lust]] magnet Vlad certainly isn't bereft.

* The more clunky ''[[Transformers]]'' are sometimes transformed into very pretty, and noticeably more Human-like forms (usually for your [[Companion Cube|CLANG]] action).