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Are fanservice-y characters (i.e. Lara Croft, Tifa Lockhart) immediately bad?

13.06.2025 16:12

Are fanservice-y characters (i.e. Lara Croft, Tifa Lockhart) immediately bad?

How a character is written and how a character is drawn are two different things, and usually the product of two (or more) different people.

Lara Croft is the main character of her games and movies, and Tifa is a valuable support character in her games and movies.

It is entirely possible to have a sexualized character to be well written and vital to the story they are in.

Canadians went out of their way to help Americans stranded in Canada after 9.11.2001. Why did Canadians help so much the way they did? We read that Canadians don't particularly like Americans to begin with.

Thanks, Toyman, for clearing that up.

So I have to wonder what you mean by “fanservice-y”?

One of my favorite examples, Jessica Rabbit:

Why do people hate on Serena (anime character)? What did she ever do to anyone except be a good friend to Ash Ketchum and an awesome trainer herself?

Still, Jessica is well written, and an important part of the movie story. Particularly when we realize everything she did in the movie was because she genuinely loved her husband:

Let's be honest, her entire character is the epitome of the sexy pinup girl that Hollywood has pushed on us for generations.