×
  • remind me tomorrow
  • remind me next week
  • never remind me
Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more

Forum - View topic
Most Aesthetically Daring Tournament: Nominations (ABOUT TO START)


Goto page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9  Next

Anime News Network Forum Index -> General -> Contests and Games
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Galap
Moderator


Joined: 07 Apr 2012
Posts: 2354
PostPosted: Wed Jun 11, 2014 7:37 pm Reply with quote
At long last, the forum tournaments are back up and running! We had a bit of trouble getting this one off its feet, and deciding on a topic. dtm42 suggested this topic, it was received positively, and I liked it very much and decided to take on the endeavor of running this tournament. Ghost_Wheel is helping me out, and his posts will be considered official as well.

General Info:

This tournament will be a head-to-head, single elimination tournament using tree brackets. The purpose of this thread is to select a field of participants (numbering a power of 2, 32, or 64, depending on the number of nominees.) I plan to keep the nomination phase active for about 2 weeks, but it may take longer or shorter than that if things slow down quickly or show no sign of doing so.

Eligibility Standards

1: What is meant by ‘Aesthetically Daring’ is anime that feature visual styles that are unique and striking.
2: This can manifest itself in various forms; character/environment design, color design, animation, storyboarding/shot compositon, etc.
3: Anime that are mostly conventional, but have sequences that feature significant departures from convention are ok to nominate, given that those moments of idiosyncrasy are significant in the grand scheme of things.
3.a -- Addendum! --: Even if you think that only some moments/episodes are noteworthy, nominate the show as a whole, so as not to preclude discussion of points of interest from the rest of it. Focusing on those parts during the nomination is O.K. though, but I recommend trying to discuss most of the points of interest you can think of.
4: For anime that are based on other media, all that can be considered in this tournament are elements from the anime (i.e. visual elements that only exist in the source material don’t count).
5: Any non hentai work of commercial Japanese animation is eligible for nomination, given that it is not currently airing/incomplete at the time of nomination.
6: To clarify, independent works and animations for advertisements aren’t eligible. I made this decision because allowing them would be inviting a bit of an overload.
7: For anime with sequels, side stories, etc., select the unit size that makes the most sense for having a unique artistic identity. We’ll handle any particularly egregious problems here on a case by case basis.

Nomination Standards/Procedure

1: Anyone may nominate, vote for, and vote against any number of titles.
2: Votes for and against are to determine the field and possibly the pairings. I’ll decide on the exact pairing method once we see how big the field is
3: Posts containing nominations and votes must open those sections of the posts with ‘Nomination, vote for, and vote against’ in bold.
4: Justifications for all votes are encouraged, but only required for votes against. Votes against should only be made in cases where the poster believes that the anime in question is ineligible for the tournament because it fundamentally fails to fit the context of the tournament (not just ‘I personally don’t think the aesthetics are interesting’.)
5: Writeup formatting and standards are as follows:

Name of anime, with a link to its encyclopedia entry (for anime that aren’t in ANN’s database, just say so).

Description of what the anime’s visuals are like they are unique and striking, up to 600 words.

Since this is a visually focused tournament, the nomination must also include visual material. Pictures, gifs, and videos are ok. Votes can also include additional visual material.

Example nominations (which are also real nominations):

Galap wrote:


Nominating: Bobby’s In Deep

This is a 45 minute OVA from 1985, and much of it is done in a pretty conventional style of that time period, but it has some segments of pastel watercolor stills and intentionally low-framerate live action with an odd effect filter. These moments are interesting and noteworthy, but the OVA only really goes all out toward the end:

In the final 5 minutes, there are extended cuts from the first person perspective of Bobby on his motorcycle as he drives along the road, flying past his surroundings at breakneck speed. Animation from a first person perspective is not very common in anime, and almost completely unheard of elsewhere. Bobby’s In Deep pushes this to its limit by having extremely long uninterrupted cuts of this, the longest clocking in at a whopping half minute. In these sequences, the trees warp and bend surrealistically as they speed by, road signs and buildings come at us in space, and telephone wires zigzag across the road overhead. The perspective and parallax are incredibly well observed, the whole thing ringing true and familiar to anyone who’s driven down the road, but everything is impressionistically warped with speed. We also see reflections of the glaring sun in the scratches on Bobby’s helmet, and during the sequence, we see through his eyes as he looks up at the glimmering lines and crosses that seem to be suspended in the air, all while the scenery continues to move toward us. It’s really something incredible to behold.

Towards the end of this sequence, the medium changes from painted cels to charcoal drawings, and everything takes on a much more raw appearance, the trees flickering with their dark shading.

Here’s the scene


Ghost_Wheel wrote:
Nominating: Yozakura Quartet :Hana no Uta / Hoshi no Umi

What distinguishes Yozakura Quartet, especially in this day and age, is its masterful display of varied, well composed, extremely kinetic drawn animation cuts. Objects that collide convey that they have mass and momentum, explosions and bursts of energy are violent and forceful, and any fluid that flows does so with an accurate representation of its mass flow rate, erosion rate, and differential path through objects and space. In this sense, a supernatural clash of ability can feel truly epic. Titans shake the earth, objects of all shapes and sizes are brought into existence with varying momentum and properties, and even smaller humanoid characters display their impressive strength through martial arts and staff fighting, delivering impulses that clearly contend with the opposing forces. The storyboarding and shot composition for these scenes enhances the effect of the motion, allowing for fluid transitions between scenes and camera cuts which always give a clear indication of what’s going on and where the characters and structures are in relation to each other. While other productions which share animators with it have dabbled in its unique style, Yozakura Quartet is fully immersed, from its spectacular action scenes to low key motions like walking or hair tossing.

Links:
1
2
3
4
5


List of Nominations and Votes (updated periodically)

Akira
Angel’s Egg
Aria
Asura
Attack on Titan
Birdy the Mighty: DECODE
Birth
Bobby’s In Deep
Boogiepop Phantom
C³ - Cube×Cursed×Curious
Cat Soup
Cowboy Bebop
Cromartie High School
Fantastic Children
Flag
FLCL
Flowers of Evil
Freedom
From the New World
Gankutsuou
Gatchaman Crowds
Gilgamesh
Hidamari Sketch
House of Five Leaves
Kaiba
Kanashimi no Belladonna
Katanagatari
Kemozoume
Kuuchuu Buranko (aka Trapeze or Welcome to Irabu's Office)
Last Exile
Lupin III: the woman called Fujiko Mine
Magnetic Rose
Metropolis
Mind Game
Mononoke
Nagi no Asukara
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Nichijou
Noein: To Your Other Self
Oban Star-Racers
Oh Edo Rocket
Osamu Tezuka's 13 Experimental Films (aka The Astonishing Works of Osamu Tezuka)
Otome Yokai Zakuro
Paprika
Ping Pong
Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Red Garden
Redline
Revolutionary Girl Utena
Samurai Girls
Serial Experiments Lain
Sexy Commando
Soul Eater
Space Dandy
Spirited Away
Summer Wars
Tamala 2010: a Punk Cat in Space
The Animatrix: Kid’s Story
The Animatrix: World Record
The Tatami Galaxy
Tsuritama
Turn A Gundam
Yozakura Quartet :Hana no Uta / Hoshi no Umi

Totals of Votes:

-2 Attack on Titan
-1 Aria
-1 Nagi no Asukara
0 Boogiepop Phantom
0 Fantastic Children
0 Gilgamesh
0 Oban Star-Racers
0 Oh Edo Rocket
0 Osamu Tezuka's 13 Experimental Films (aka The Astonishing Works of Osamu Tezuka)
0 Sexy Commando
1 Akira
1 Last Exile
1 Kanashimi no Belladonna
1 Kaiba
1 Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
1 Samurai Girls
1 Yozakura Quartet :Hana no Uta / Hoshi no Umi
1 Turn A Gundam
1 Spirited Away
1 Freedom
1 Otome Yokai Zakuro
1 Magnetic Rose
1 C³ - Cube×Cursed×Curious
1 Cowboy Bebop
1 Asura
1 Cromartie High School
1 Birth
2 Tamala 2010: a Punk Cat in Space
2 Summer Wars
2 Angel’s Egg
3 The Animatrix: World Record
3 Birdy the Mighty: DECODE
3 Red Garden
3 Cat Soup
3 Hidamari Sketch
3 House of Five Leaves
4 Flowers of Evil
4 Flag
4 Ping Pong
4 The Animatrix: Kid’s Story
4 Lupin III: the woman called Fujiko Mine
5 Space Dandy
5 Soul Eater
5 Bobby’s In Deep
5 Gatchaman Crowds
5 Kuuchuu Buranko (aka Trapeze or Welcome to Irabu's Office)
5 Mind Game
6 The Tatami Galaxy
6 Metropolis
6 Revolutionary Girl Utena
6 Tsuritama
7 Neon Genesis Evangelion
7 Katanagatari
7 Kemozoume
7 Paprika
8 Noein: To Your Other Self
8 Nichijou
8 Gankutsuou
8 From the New World
8 Puella Magi Madoka Magica
9 Mononoke
9 Serial Experiments Lain
9 Redline
10 FLCL


Last edited by Galap on Wed Jul 09, 2014 8:25 pm; edited 17 times in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Vaisaga



Joined: 07 Oct 2011
Posts: 13224
PostPosted: Wed Jun 11, 2014 9:03 pm Reply with quote
Well, this certainly wasn't the kind of tournament I wanted next. I'm honestly not too big on artsy fartsy stuff. It just has to look good, not unique.

I'm predicting Flowers of Evil and any given SHAFT show are going to dominate this. Well, Flowers of Evil is lucky that "not looking like crap" isn't a requirement.

Don't expect me to be very active in this, but I will toss out a nomination for a show I know not many saw, but deserves more recognition.

Nominating:

C³ - Cube×Cursed×Curious

At first it appears as a haremless harem romp with its bright colours and cutesy designs, but one must remember that the main character is a tortue tool taken human form. When that dark side of the story rears its ugly head, the visuals reflect that. Lots of heavy shadows and different styles suitable to the utter madness of the content. Even in the other parts there are all sorts of stylistic changes. I suck at describing this kind of thing, so I'll let the images do the talking.

Gallery link.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime
Key
Moderator


Joined: 03 Nov 2003
Posts: 18137
Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Thu Jun 12, 2014 12:36 am Reply with quote
Vaisaga wrote:
Well, this certainly wasn't the kind of tournament I wanted next. I'm honestly not too big on artsy fartsy stuff. It just has to look good, not unique.

I'm predicting Flowers of Evil and any given SHAFT show are going to dominate this.

And I am predicting that you're going to be wrong, because SHAFT and FoE are far from the only daring-looking series out there; in fact, the only SHAFT series I really think are worth nominating are Bakemonogatari and PMMM. (The rest of the Monogatari franchise are just copycats of the original.) They have some very potent and popular competition, some of which I will nominate on Sunday if no one else does before then. (I am away at a gaming 'con for the next few days.)

And while I'm not going to vote against it at this point, I find YQ: Hana no Uta to be a rather weak example of something that's "daring." The animation's better than normal, but that's all that I see there.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website My Anime My Manga
dtm42



Joined: 05 Feb 2008
Posts: 14084
Location: currently stalking my waifu
PostPosted: Thu Jun 12, 2014 3:44 am Reply with quote
I'll try and do one nomination a day, but I'm sick as a dog right now and when I'm not sleeping it off I'm playing a new videogame which I've become addicted to. So please don't be angry if I can't quite fulfill that promise.

Nominating:

Mind Game

One of the most bizarre anime I've ever seen, this movie with its surreal - and frankly trippy - visuals comes from the twisted yet brilliant mind of Masaaki Yuasa. The pictures below can only begin to hint how inventive and unique Mind Game's visual style and sense of aesthetics are. Everything from the roughly-drawn character designs, to the acid-fueled backgrounds, to the fantastic dreamlike sequences and the breathlessly-edited ending, exudes originality and boundless creativity. Seriously, I cannot do the visuals of Mind Game justice with mere words because I just don't have the sufficient vocabulary. It has to be experienced for yourself. And even if you don't like them, there is no denying that they turn what is otherwise a fairly standard story of self-discovery and maturation into anything but ordinary. Mind Game's aesthetics make watching it an unforgettable experience. It draws you in until you too become lost in the madness.

Picture 1
Picture 2
Picture 3
Picture 4
Picture 5
Picture 6
Picture 7
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime
Errinundra
Moderator


Joined: 14 Jun 2008
Posts: 6516
Location: Melbourne, Oz
PostPosted: Thu Jun 12, 2014 4:10 am Reply with quote
Supporting

Mind Game

If Masaaki Yuasa doesn't fill all four semi-final spots (Mind Game, Kemonozume, Kaiba & Tatami Galaxy) then I'll be hornswaggled and my opinion of my fellow ANN forumites will reach an all-time low.* There is simply no-one to compare with him in anime. My fear is that this tournament will founder on this particular rock.

Perhaps you could argue you can only be daring once. Maybe.

*Just kidding.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website My Anime My Manga
dtm42



Joined: 05 Feb 2008
Posts: 14084
Location: currently stalking my waifu
PostPosted: Thu Jun 12, 2014 4:24 am Reply with quote
^
Well, they have to be nominated first, so get crackin'. I can only nominate so much on my own.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime
zawa113



Joined: 19 Jan 2008
Posts: 7357
PostPosted: Thu Jun 12, 2014 5:04 am Reply with quote
Nominating

Noein ~to your other self~

Noein, a past tourney nominee for other things, is a 2005 series by Satelight involving other dimensions and potential space-time annihilation.

While the character designs are already a bit strange, things tend to go really weird during fight scenes, with a stronger focus on movement than characters being on model at all times. This is clearly done as a deliberate move, however, and this style of fight scene starts at episode 1.
Another time of interesting animation happens whenever time freezes around our main character, Haruka. The background goes red and things tend to float around her. People will be frozen, but she alone can move in this oddly colored world. It generally wears off after a few in-series minutes, but it's cool while it lasts.

Fight scene example
Time freeze

Fantastic Children

Fantastic Children isn't the first anime to look like this, but by the time this series came out in 2004, anime didn't look like 60s kids shows any more. A serious show purposely using these designs is indeed strange and daring, but they made a damn good show in the end using an old and forgotten style. Rather than use the style as a throwback, it used the style to specifically subvert audience expectations.
There is also this gorgeous painting that one of the mains, Helga, seems to keep focusing on and drawing (and another version appears during the end credits)

Sample shots
The painting

Flag

Flag is told entirely in first person view, often through the lens of a camera or camcorder, and occasionally through computer monitors, inside of mecha monitors, and photos. As a result, we barely see our main character unless her reflection shows up in her camera, but we constantly hear her talking. When they pass the camera to another character, it still shows in first person view. The show may switch its cameras here and there, but the decision to go entirely first person is still one that hasn't been mimicked since.

Compilation movie trailer

Oban Star-Racers

A co-production between France and Japan, it definitely shows a lot of French influence all over its design. The characters look less like they belong in an anime, and more like they are from a French production. There are many unique looking aliens in this series as well. Also, everyone seems to have two-toned hair colors.
CGI is used heavily in this series, but since the CGI was done in France, and they seem to be ahead of Japan in the "blending traditional with CGI" curve, it often blends seamlessly (such as every racer being CGI)
The planet Oban itself also breaks the "single biome planet" rule in many animated series and is gorgeous to look at.

#1
#2
Planet Oban 1
Oban 2
Oban 3

Freedom

Freedom is an entirely CGI anime where the characters are actually designed to look like anime and not anything else. Character designs are by Katsuhiro Otomo and great care is taken to make sure they look 2D whenever possible.

Trailer
Yes, seriously, Nissin sponsored this

Kuuchuu Buranko (aka Trapeze or Welcome to Irabu's Office)

Kuuchuu Buranko mixes everything and then some. It mixes South Park style celebrity cut outs, rotoscoping, traditional animation, live-action and whatever else weird animation it wants to do at all times. Sometimes the nurse will appear to be rotoscoped, traditional animated, or just plain live-action. It will then constantly mix these with weird backgrounds made of whatever it wants to be made of. The strangest thing is that it seems to actually work for this anime.

Trailer
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Errinundra
Moderator


Joined: 14 Jun 2008
Posts: 6516
Location: Melbourne, Oz
PostPosted: Thu Jun 12, 2014 5:19 am Reply with quote
dtm42 wrote:
^
Well, they have to be nominated first, so get crackin'. I can only nominate so much on my own.


This weekend!... If others don't get in first.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website My Anime My Manga
zawa113



Joined: 19 Jan 2008
Posts: 7357
PostPosted: Thu Jun 12, 2014 6:19 am Reply with quote
More Nominations

Osamu Tezuka's 13 Experimental Films (aka The Astonishing Works of Osamu Tezuka) (note, I have linked to the DVD release, which has separate entries for each short. If this nomination is split up later as a result, I am a-ok with that. But do note that "Self-Portrait" is considered a movie despite it being, literally, 5 seconds long, so it seems more logical to consider them a bunch of OVAs all linked by being weird Tezuka things)

The series consists of short films that do tons of interesting things with animation.
Broken Down Film is a classic "girl tied to the railroad tracks" story if the characters were plagued with terrible reel film. Characters actually notice things like grain on the screen and react to it. Gag manga characters might mess with a panel and break it, and this is the closest equivalent.
Also, Jumping was probably the first anime to use a first person view, but it's also only 6 minutes long as well and involves a person jumping (no clue on what, legs? A pogo stick?), higher and higher and higher and viewing the world (and startling it)
All of the shorts in this series as very experimental with animation, but these two perhaps stand out the most.

Broken Down Film (Legal from Viki)
Jumping (warning, brief bewbs)

Kanashimi no Belladonna

Clearly made when people wanted things to look weird and psychadelic during the 70s. Between this and knowing of its weird use of stills, odd looking expressions, and strange and imaginative depictions of sex, Mushi Produtions made some really weird things in the 70s. Of the three movies typically associated with this series (the others being Osamu Tezuka's Cleopatra and 1001 Nights), this one is almost certainly the weirdest in terms of animation.

On the negative side, all three of these are technically classified as erotic weirdness, so finding a video without any of that is near impossible (not even counting bewbs here). However, the series are also old enough that the erotica is historically experimental, rather than lewd. If someone else is able to add to this later with a vid or something, it would be much appreciated. For now I'll just tell anyone of age that it's all over youtube.

Also, I'm trying to remember this anime movie from maybe the 80s? I remember it being noted as being hilariously bad, and being a sci fi, and I want to say it was one of the first rotoscoped anime ever, which is why I'm trying to remember it (it might qualify for this, after all, if not, it'll be a fun weekend thing). I'm sure I saw it around here before, might've been in a Mike Toole column most likely, but I can't find the damn thing anywhere.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
danilo07



Joined: 25 Dec 2011
Posts: 1580
PostPosted: Thu Jun 12, 2014 8:56 am Reply with quote
I hope that specific moments or episodes withing TV shows are allowed for the entry.
Kemozoume:episode 7
This episode in my mind , certified Osamu Kobayashi as one of the best subversive directors on anime scene.It is shame that he is regularly very restricted when working on anime, but it is not like I can't understand reason behind this decision.I believe that one of the producers of Gurren Lagann resigned because the fans were complaining about the art in his episode.It is also worth mentioning that even open-minded people who were watching Kemonozume found his style abhorrent.Personally, I love the man.It is rare to see any director be so infatuated with his own art.Every single element in this episodes is made to serve his rough and idiosyncratic art.The animation is choppy and heavily focused on key animation , like it is skipping in-betweens.This I believe reflects Kobayashi's interest in purely seeing his character designs jump to different poses and create new facial expressions.The direction also serves his art as it is constantly locked in close ups and we are forced to pay attention to charterer's facial expressions.The art itself is rough and full of personality , the force of its personality makes it irresistibly likeable.
#1
#2
#3
Space Dandyepisode 11
This was one of the weirdest episodes of Space Dandy , which should tell you a lot.Anyway the script of the episode revolved around memory loss and the visuals backed that idea up quite brilliantly.The idea is reflected in mecha designs who now seem to have lost shape and form , with only the basics of drawings preserved.The lighting is similarly only black and white, we get the essentials but everything beyond that is merely lost.The episode resembles an impression of an idea , an impression that lost any nuance.The look of the episode is greatly helped by Hisashi Mori's extraordinary animation.It works thematically too , his wobbly lines and organic feel go in nicely with theme of the script.
Hisashi Mori #1
Hisashi Mori #2
Hisashi Mori #3
From the New World:episode 5
Rather infamous episode directed by Shigeyasu Yamauchi who brought out his usual style to the table.People hated it when it came out , but I don't know I always liked it.He previously directed Casshern Sins , in which he created this atmosphere of complete confusion.Essentially,the same methods were applied same in this episode.Through the use of choppy editing and decentralized focus on characters , he immediately put his viewers inside characters chaotic mind.His backgrounds worked to the same effect,they looked effectively creepy and surreal, and seemed to endlessly go on.Very soon,the backgrounds began to resemble a maze in which it is impossible to find any sense or cohesion .Characters looked completely new ,which again created a sense of confusion.One thing that he also quite brilliantly created is the sort of tight,sexual tension between characters.His close ups worked to a wonderful effect , since it becomes easy to notice all of the mixed emotions in characters.
#1
#2
#3
I was thinking about writing more, but this is really a time consuming activity.


Last edited by danilo07 on Thu Jun 12, 2014 9:04 am; edited 3 times in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
CrowLia



Joined: 24 Feb 2012
Posts: 5500
Location: Mexico
PostPosted: Thu Jun 12, 2014 8:57 am Reply with quote
*sigh* what happened to the "let's make a not-so-cerebral tournament for a change"? -___-U

Anyway throwing a vote for for Flag and From the New World
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Olliff



Joined: 28 Feb 2008
Posts: 550
PostPosted: Thu Jun 12, 2014 12:45 pm Reply with quote
And this is less cerebral than the typical trait based tournaments we have? I think not. While the detail is there, this is essentially an art/animation analysis tournament with a lot of subjectivity. I do think it will be somewhat easy to identify what is aesthetically daring, but comparing two shows in this category is going to be extremely reliant on the person's artistic opinion. I suppose any typical anime artistic trait could be used a weakness in the later rounds.

I will nominate Gankutsuo by the end of the day, but I think this might be a difficult to predict the minigame due to it be largely art analysis, but I suppose even the moe tournament had qualities of this.

Flowers of Evil and the Bakemonogatari franchise are also no brainer nominations, but I have a feeling someone will knock those out before the weekend is over.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Galap
Moderator


Joined: 07 Apr 2012
Posts: 2354
PostPosted: Thu Jun 12, 2014 1:25 pm Reply with quote
danilo07 wrote:
I hope that specific moments or episodes withing TV shows are allowed for the entry.


I'd stay away from this. Focusing on specific moments or episodes is fine, since often times the nature of the show is some moments of interest where most of it is typical, but you should nominate the show as a whole, since others may find different moments within that anime to be worth talking about: for example, I think there's a lot going on in From the New World besides just the stuff in episode 5 (which I'll write about later today.)

I've updated the rules to reflect this.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
One-Eye



Joined: 08 Mar 2011
Posts: 2260
PostPosted: Thu Jun 12, 2014 5:31 pm Reply with quote
classicalzawa wrote:
Nominating

Noein ~to your other self~

Noein, a past tourney nominee for other things, is a 2005 series by Satelight involving other dimensions and potential space-time annihilation.

While the character designs are already a bit strange, things tend to go really weird during fight scenes, with a stronger focus on movement than characters being on model at all times. This is clearly done as a deliberate move, however, and this style of fight scene starts at episode 1.
Another time of interesting animation happens whenever time freezes around our main character, Haruka. The background goes red and things tend to float around her. People will be frozen, but she alone can move in this oddly colored world. It generally wears off after a few in-series minutes, but it's cool while it lasts.

Fight scene example
Time freeze

Supporting:
I will second Noein as it was one of the shows I was going to nominate. I will add to what classicalzawa posted by saying that I think the show carries 3 different styles and for the most part pulls it off. The artwork for many of the characters feels basic and for the children almost simple, but then you have these sketchy action scenes (a style that we would see later in Birdy the Mighty) and then finally some interesting (style wise) CG that is reasonably well blended into the shots. Its fairly gutsy to throw all of that into one pot and to not totally poison the contents. Not bad, I think.

Quik-Pic


Last edited by One-Eye on Sat Jun 14, 2014 11:53 am; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Vaisaga



Joined: 07 Oct 2011
Posts: 13224
PostPosted: Thu Jun 12, 2014 6:12 pm Reply with quote
Key wrote:
And I am predicting that you're going to be wrong, because SHAFT and FoE are far from the only daring-looking series out there; in fact, the only SHAFT series I really think are worth nominating are Bakemonogatari and PMMM. (The rest of the Monogatari franchise are just copycats of the original.) They have some very potent and popular competition, some of which I will nominate on Sunday if no one else does before then. (I am away at a gaming 'con for the next few days.)


Well I suppose you're right on the SHAFT stuff, as I don't see this tournament having much mainstream appeal. With Flowers of Evil, though, I've mostly just seen 2 camps: one that thinks it looks awful, and one that thinks it was super amazing and unique and original. I'm thinking this tournament will definitely draw in the latter group.

Voting for: Noein.

Nominating:

Turn A Gundam

Gundam's life blood has always been model kit sales, and to sell model kits the robots need to be super cool looking. But for this series, American designer Syd Mead went with much more... Unconventional designs. Most notable is, of course, the titular "White Doll With Mustache." These designs are so out there that at one point I was all "These mechs are so ugly! This isn't Gundam!!!" and until I actually watched it I refused to acknowledge it as a Gundam series. I'm pretty sure the kits didn't sell that well either, but over the years they've grown on the fandom and still stand out to this day.

Gallery link.
In action. (Spoiler warning).
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Anime News Network Forum Index -> General -> Contests and Games All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9  Next
Page 1 of 9

 


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group