Fanservice (or fan service) is a vaguely defined term used in visual media, particularly in the anime fandom (in Japanese, it is simply spoken as "service (saabisu)"), to refer to elements in a story that while potentially superfluous to a storyline, are designed to amuse or excite the audience. It is sometimes used in a derogatory manner when presented in a clumsy, pandering fashion or is the only thing notable about a series. Since it is extremely subjective, the most common uses are listed.

Sexual

The typically understood definition is inclusion of racy or sexual content (usually female, but also male) to titilate the viewer, such as nudity. Shower scenes are very common in movies. Many television series use trips to Japanese hotsprings, or "obligatory" holiday episodes (especially to tropical locales) to depict characters in states of relative undress when it would otherwise be out of place with the tone of a series. In anime two common fanservices are the panty shot and jiggling breasts, both often overused to an almost silly level (that is often what is desired). An example is the unfinished OVA Eiken, as well as the series Tenjo Tenge

Cameo

Often, movies will attempt to include cameo appearances by prominent figures who are or were associated with the work on which it's based. This either takes the form of actual appearances or character names. Stan Lee makes regular cameo appearances in movies based on Marvel Comics characters that he created. The Aliens vs. Predator movie included a character named Mark Verheiden . The name is the same as the writer of the early Aliens comic book series as well as the comic book on which the movie is based.

In jokes

Some series make jokes or comments that are only amusing to those "in the know", such as fans who receive club newsletters or perusers of Internet forums.

Technicals

Heavily used in much of science fiction, these are technical details sometimes bordering on arcane knowledge that hardcore fans are versed in, to show an author (often an admitted fanboy/fangirl themselves) pays attention to detail. For example, the recurring theme of well detailed and depicted automobiles in Oh My Goddess.

Homage

Often, a movie will make pastiche reference to another work that the creators are particularly fans of. Examples show up especially in movies by Quentin Tarantino and Kevin Smith who are, of course admitted fanboys. Star Trek, Star Wars and the Matrix trilogy are perpetual choices for homage. But other homages exist that refer to works that have receded into fan nostalgia. Also, many remakes of movies employ throwaway lines that serve nothing more than to "tip the hat" to the original classic. A well known example is the uncredited cameo appearance of Charlton Heston as Thade's father in the poorly received Tim Burton remake of Planet of the Apes. The character's deathbed speech makes clear references to his "Damn you all to hell!" line that closed the original classic. In the 2003 Hulk movie, the last line spoken in the movie is "You wouldn't like me when I'm angry." a clear homage to the Bill Bixby/Lou Ferrigno The Incredible Hulk TV series of the 1970s.

Current issues

Recently in anime there has been an explosion of shows that are criticized for simply being vehicles for fanservice. In contrast there has also been a rise in shows of the progressive anime category—shows which don't care so much about pleasing the audience but providing a full artistic vision. This has polarized anime to some degree making recent series either heavily fanservice-oriented (Green Green ) or heavily experimental (Texhnolyze) with little in between.