Many tropes have become infamous in the world of anime and “fanservice” is one of them. Herea re the 10 best fanservice anime, ranked.
The 10 Best Fanservice Animes, Ranked
“Fanservice” has a reputation of being a marketing tool to bring viewers in when a show doesn’t have much substance to it. But some fantastic anime have fanservice. This list will highlight the top anime with fanservice and great storytelling.
10. Highschool of the Dead
Highschool of the Dead is one of the most famous fanservice anime. One of its most iconic fanservice moments went viral, leading to questions about how fast certain body parts need to move to dodge a bullet. But Highschool of the Dead has more than gratuitous amounts of compromising moments.
The story takes place during a zombie apocalypse, where a group of students and a nurse are doing whatever they can to survive. The anime delves into human nature during life-or-death events, where characters have to choose between their morals or their lives.
9. Witchblade
Witchblade is an anime loosely based on the American comic of the same name. It’s a gritty and dark take on the superhero genre with a storyline and characters that will keep you watching from beginning to end. The story revolves around a kindhearted woman named Masane Amaha and her daughter, who are trying to live a peaceful life. However, Masane soon learns that she is the wielder of the Witchblade, throwing her and her daughter into a fight between two powerful entities.
The fan service part of Witchblade comes in the form of Masane’s transformation every time she uses the Withcblade. Her anatomy changes to fit more provocative proportions and her clothes become so tight they almost seem like a second skin. Oftentimes these clothes don’t last very long.
8. Neon Genesis Evangelion
Neon Genesis Evangelion is a series that has gone down in anime history and defined the mecha genre. It has an extremely dense plot and world that aren’t for the faint of heart and it’s certainly not a feel-good show. When you have a group of very troubled teenagers being forced to sacrifice themselves to save the world, angst is around every corner.
Neon Genesis Evangelion has a lot of fan service that puts the characters in compromising positions and has the girls losing clothes in both comedic and series moments.
7. Food Wars
Making your mouth water for all the delicious anime food you can’t have isn’t the only fan service Food Wars brings to the table. The show is about Soma Yukihira’s dreams of becoming a top chef and working at his father’s restaurant “Restaurant Yukihira”. He enrolls in the top culinary academy, Totsuki Culinary Academy, and makes his way to the top, improving his culinary skills as he goes.
The fan service in Food Wars comes in the form of the food-tasting scenes. The show is full of suggestive moans as characters are overwhelmed by the tastes of different dishes. Sometimes the inner monologues will show characters floating in their ecstasy-filled as their clothes explode off their bodies. And yes, that goes for both genders.
6. Fire Force
Fire Force is the most recent big hit by the creator of Soul Eater, Atsushi Ohkubo. The series takes the saying “fight fire with fire” in the literal sense, establishing a world where special firefighters with fire-themed abilities fight off Infernals created through spontaneous human combustion. It’s a show filled with action, adventure, and mystery, with many singing its praises. And of course, it has fan service.
Fire Force has a running joke where, throughout the series, the female character Tamaki Kotatsu will repeatedly lose her clothes through an unlucky divine act called “Lucky Lewd Syndrome.” Instead of coming up with different scenarios where clothes would likely come off, Atsushi Ohkubo decided to go the “the universe did it” route.
Related: Is There A Fire Force Season 3 Episode 1 Release Date?
5. Free! – Iwatobi Swim Club
Free! – Iwatobi Swim Club is the famous swimming anime about friendship, character growth, and half-naked pretty boys. The series originally follows five high school boys, with four being part of the Iwatobi Swim Club and one on a rival high school’s team. The series focuses on rekindling old friendships and mending broken bonds, specifically between Haruka and Rin who were childhood friends and high school rivals. It eventually expands as the characters age and new characters are introduced.
It’s an anime about swimming, which means half the time the boys are walking around without shirts. There is another layer of fan service revolving around the “will they, won’t they” relationships between the boys that’s drawn a dedicated queer audience.
4. Kill la Kill
Kill la Kill is an action-adventure with some comedic tones and a lot of intense moments that have fans at the edge of their seats. Ryuko Matoi is on the hunt for her father’s killer. Her search leads her to Honnouji Academy, where the strong rule and the clothes matter. Students are armed with special Goku Uniforms made of Life Fibers, embedding the clothes with unique powers. Ryuko comes with her own uniform, a sentient being who joins her on her quest for revenge to take down the fashion conglomerate that rules the school.
The uniforms in Kill la Kill made of the Life Fibers don’t leave much to the imagination. Combined with themes of “clothes mean humanity’s enslavement and nudity means freedom”, the anime takes a chaotic turn and eventually abandons clothes altogether.
3. Fairy Tail
Fairy Tail is one of the top shonen anime that’s gathered a huge and dedicated fanbase. It’s a world with magic, guilds, and comedic shenanigans that make up this well-written saga. Fairy Tail focuses on the magic guild the series is named after, a group consisting of Lucy, Natsu, Grey, Ezra, and Wendy. It’s become the poster child of “the power of friendship” trope and is one of the best examples of how to use it well.
There is a lot of fan service in this series, more than one would expect if they only heard the summary. Whether the character is male or female, someone’s going to lose their clothes at least once every few chapters.
Related: How To Watch Fairy Tail & Its Movies in Order
2. That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime
There are a lot of isekai anime that have a lot of guys being reincarnated as some of the most random things, but That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime is a delightful addition to the genre. The 37-year-old Satoru Mikami lives an ordinary office worker life and is content except for the fact that he has no girlfriend. One day, Satoru dies while protecting his colleagues and hears a voice asking him questions. In his dying state, he is unable to comprehend the questions and instead laments his regrets. The next thing he knows, he’s waking up in a new world as a slime and gets the new name Rimuru.
The series has a bit of fan service moments, with many surrounding Rimuru in his slime form being tucked under women’s large chests as they carry him around. However, the fan service doesn’t take center stage and is instead sprinkled across the series.
1. Gurren Lagann
Gurren Lagann will break your heart, then gently put it back together again, all while making you dream of the day you, too, will pierce the heavens. It’s a story about the strength of humanity’s will and the longing for freedom. It is a critically acclaimed work of fiction that continues to influence those who have experienced it. I certainly quote it regularly.
Gurren Lagann’s fan service comes in the form of skimpy outfits that hang by a thread and some questionable jiggle physics. But most of these elements stick to the beginning of the series and lesson and peter out as the story takes on a darker tone.
