>>281270256 (OP)
Depends on the nature of the series, and how gratuitous it is.
I don't really give a shit about Mushoku Tensei because it's a wish fulfillment isekai series for manchildren. It doesn't really have an "artistic nature," so giving teenagers boners is pretty much the whole point. The point of the show is to make 14-year-old penises tingle as they self-insert. It's basically safe horny porn for kids. I'm not going to say it shouldn't exist because there's an obvious appetite for it, and that concept doesn't really exist in the west, but being safe horny porn for kids and manchildren is not exactly something I would call high art.
Yeah, some shows need fanservice because otherwise there literally wouldn't be a fucking point.
Similar fantasy series with actual merit don't rely on it as much. Frieren doesn't, Dungeon Meshi doesn't, Berserk doesn't. Even getting into populat shonen examples, you'll notice that amount of fanservice is almost inversely proportional to quality. Hunter x Hunter, Naruto, Dragonball Z, Bleach, One Piece, they don't really have fanservice to speak of, all of the porn comes from the fans. Meanwhile, all the shitty series that have failed all have lots, Fairy Tale, Seven Deadly Sins, etc.
I'm not going to say fanservice is what makes a series shit, but it's definitely a massive red flag because it means the author is just going to appeal to your testicles instead of some other, more high-brow organ.
