Alright, I think I've heard enough when I keep hearing the word 'fanservice'. Mind you though, the word by itself isn't bad and can still be used. But it keeps being used in the wrong way. For example:

Showing the two main characters out on a romantic date after such a long time spent saving the day is fanservice.
Showing someone looking attractive a short time into a piece of media is not.

The word you should be using instead is 'pandering'. Makers want to give their target audience reasons to stick around, even if it means using cheap methods to do so. Said cheap methods include the latter example, or where not inappropriate cute things like bunnies. Or people being mean to one person under the guise of comedy. Whatever works really.

Fanservice on the other hand should only count as such when the setting and characters have for the most part been established. It's like in romantic sitcoms where fans just want the main couple that's on display to just hook up already. Another example being where a fan-favorite character gets a filler episode of their very own.

In brief, pandering and fanservice are two sides of the same coin. One seeks to gain fans, and the other seeks to please the fans already there. Am I clear enough on this yet?

So, yes. Women in media. Who are also main characters.

I guess I'll start this off by relating my childhood in watching TV: I have spent that time grabbing for some girl character to relate to, but from what I've seen the girls in TV shows don't do much if anything. Actually I think I wanted them to go on the same adventures as the main guys. Because seriously, why should they sit around while the boys had all the fun?

There were a few that I remember that actually did some things. Alex Mack, though she turned into a liquid as a power. Emily from Little Bear (who Goldilocks wouldn't hold a candle to. I mean she hangs out with BEARS!!) But thankfully the rest of my childhood was filled up by more better girls like the Powerpuff Girls and Mandy from Billy and Mandy.

But let's face it; a major problem is that there isn't a variety of girl characters that do things. I don't mean ones that fight but ultimately do nothing else (articles about this being in here, here and here), but I mean ones that bring something of value to the plot.

(And neither am I referring to slice-of-lifeish series either.)

"I do not fucking get why people romanticise this bullshit. Like, did you actually read the books at all? Dumbledore sent Harry to live with the Dursleys in the first place so the fame he’d had from infancy wouldn’t turn him into a giant, smug douchecanoe." - Foz Meadows, from her response to Harry Potter's son being portrayed as potentially taking over Hogwarts, which spawned from an innocent question about why a ferret is being brought over there. Yeeaaaah...


So yes, I have only known bits and pieces about the series, books and movies. But I have seen enough of Sorcerer's Stone (the movie) to make this rebuttal.

Why would Dumbledore do that if it is to teach Harry humility? Without Harry knowing the plan until MUCH later? Wouldn't it just entirely backfire on everyone? Harry would be perfectly fine being a Slytherin because he'd get pretty fed up being everyone's footstool, and THEN everything would go downhill from there.

Instead, why shouldn't Harry get taken into firm, but nonetheless caring parents that he'd later look back to and say, "Thanks adoptive mom and dad. :D"

If the Hogwarts staff had a vote from any muggle family in the world, would they still choose to ditch Harry at a family that wouldn't give two ones about him?

Does storytelling need to go into extremes, just so the hero would stay in line? Again, there's a pretty massive chance that everything would backfire entirely.

But wait, if it did backfire, then the hero would become demonized as a horrible villain instead. Then all his attempts to seek peace would come to naught.

Damn, this choice of backstory...

Edit just to clarify - I suppose I should clear this up: Abusive backstories, ESPECIALLY if caused by relatives or other adoptive people, ESPECIALLY if it lasts for what would seem like several chapters, is massively overdone. Not to say that the Durseys segments do last forever - The movie version I saw seemed to last around... 20 minutes, maybe? But if the only purpose of this part is to show what a horrible life the protagonist has, you're probably not doing it right.

I should present a contrast though in the form of the TV Movie of Maniac Magee. The titular character simply saw his aunt and uncle approach him, and suddenly realizing that they were bad news took off. Take away from that what you will.