Anime Brigade: We all have 8th grade syndrome~

[Lord Celebi]

Fan service does tend to lower the quality of an anime. I feel like the japanese version of high school of the dead would have been a lot better without boob and panty shots every five seconds. The subbed version took itself very seriously and the fanservice distracted from the seriousness. The english dub, on the other hand, made very effective use of it. The english dub wasn't serious AT ALL. They added the f-Bomb every five seconds to couple with the fan service and added so many jokes that you couldn't take it really seriously. The fan service helped amplify this. Sure it was still VERY distracting (especially given that all the girls lack the invention known as a bra and each breast seems to have its own physics engine from the matrix) but it was funny by that point.

I have issues with how anime as a cultural expression and as a medium is homogenizing into basically porn. It's only there because producers refuse to take new risks with their productions and would instead rather cater to and enable the hikikomori crowd. It's bad for the industry and for the art as it alienates everyone that isn't sexually deprived.

I haven't seen Lupin so I can't give my opinion on the fan service in that particular anime.

Lupin III is excellent. I'd highly recommend either the new Fujiko Mine series or Lupin III: Part 2 (AKA "Red Jacket" Lupin).