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

Last Updated: 02.07.2025 16:18

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

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

One of my favorite examples, Jessica Rabbit:

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:

‘We tried and it didn’t work out’: CDPR co-founder says it shouldn’t stray from AAA open-world RPGs - Video Games Chronicle

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

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

Thanks, Toyman, for clearing that up.

Mountaineers Walk Off Kentucky in NCAA Opener - West Virginia University Athletics

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

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.