We are dedicated to the study of the rich legacy and complexity of animated fantasy media, in whatever form it might take.
Fantasy/Animation is an online educational resource examining the relationship between fantasy storytelling and the medium of animation. The website provides a space for discussion and debate among academics, practitioners, special interest groups, and fans of fantasy and/or animation.
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Originating in Japanese anime, fan service refers to elements in fiction, often of a sexual nature, added to please the audience and cater to fans’ desires by incorporating nudity or highly suggestive and erotic scenes. Keith Russell (2008) argues that fan service scenes in anime create an aesthetic of the “glimpse,” where panty shots, leg spreads, and brief flashes of breasts transform mundane moments of daily life into possibilities charged with desire. These anticipated gestures are briefly frozen in time, sustaining moments of sensory gratification where the body and imagination coexist, establishing a connection between gaze and desire (Russell 2008, 107).