Fan Service: The Good, The Bad, The Update?
Before you read this, know that I don't care if a female champ is revealing or falls under the "fan service" category. I do, however, hate it when that begins to limit the champion to reach their full potential story and character depth wise. Here are a list of champs I think benefit from fan service, benefit from not having fan service, and suffer from fan service.
Champs that benefit from fan service:
Ahri - Her entire character is based of the myth of a nine tailed woman who seduces men and ultimately kills them. This definitely lines up with her theme and would be odd for her character not to be lesser clothed and more promiscuous.
Evelynn - Appropriately titled the Widowmaker, she falls under the same category of Ahri. Unlike Ahri, Evelynn displays a much darker side of the "luring men with sex to either end" fantasy. Malicious Metal goes way further depth into this discussion and really nails down the core themes of Evelynn. (Malicious Metal's post on Evelynn ))
Elise - I think we get the common theme here.
The point being that these female champs have strong tithes to sexual appeal and in this form of fan service it further extends who they are, giving the player a deeper understanding of the character.
Champs that benefit from little to no fan service:
Vi - This champion is the definition of a bad ass. She got her own house, she got her own car, and needless to say she's independent. Her whole concept is unique and gives off a cyber-punk, rock feel. Her personality directly correlates with her story of growing up in Zuan to becoming a protector of Piltover and even with all the gadgets and gizmos, she's still pretty damn hot.
Fiora - While Vi's appeal comes more from her "punch first" attitude, Fiora's comes more from her poise and her grace. Her character is heavily reliant on honor and public image and that is translated very well into the game. Even though her clothes being pretty skin tight, she is far from bikini's and short skirts (again nothing is wrong with that).
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The Lesbians - Despite having very discreet apparel, their fanfics and fan art would suggest otherwise. These two having lived on top of a mountain in a very noble society, dress accordingly and yet somehow they are still the most romanticized champs in all of league (Sorry Karen). This just goes to show that a story line can have a larger impact than the splash arts.
These females champs are still some of the hottest women in league despite showing little skin. The point being that when you tell a champs story correctly you don't have to result to fan service for them to still be sexy.
Champs that suffer from fan service:
Janna - Probably the worst offender in all of League. This may be because she is an old champion and her story has yet to be updated, but there is no reason for her to dress the way she does rather than for fan service. From what we do know about the Storm's Fury, she is from Zuan, had an affinity for wind magic which eventually changed her appearance, and (while the League was still a thing) was the cover girl of Summoner's Rift. Now that that is gone, who is Janna?
Miss Fortune (Sara) - MF is in a different position from Janna. While most agreed she was a happy trigger dits, after the Bilgewater event she finally owned up to the name Bounty Hunter. This new and improved version of Sara Fortune is the girl I want to see in the game, however that is not the case. Maybe there is a soon to be VO and VU for her to properly incorporate the MF that far surpasses the old one.
Caitlyn - Caitlyn also suffers from being an older champion and so her bio is not very informative. Maybe it would explain why a sheriff would wear a small corset dress to work. Looking back at what League use to be it was okay to make a champ who was just a hot chick with a rifle. Now, on the other hand, it's just lazy writing and the champion is just fan service. Hopefully Caitlyn wont be in this position for long.
The point of this is to say that there are some awesome female champions in League, but their stories or representations in the game fall flat. MF is an example of a character who is on the right path of establishing what archetype she fills and how in depth can you go into her story to rightfully portray that archetype and her as a champion.
Thanks for reading this ridiculously long post. I personally like fan service and have no problems with how League has handled it, but because this game has been out so long it's a slave to its earlier years. I'm not saying cover up all the female champs who don't directly associate with sex, but you can't just have a champ that is strictly fan service with no real reason what so ever.
Leave a comment on what you think of this. I personally rather see these iterations of champs in game.
http://browser.gameguyz.com/upload/images/20140218_051822879.jpg
By far the cutest champ in game.
