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Haoliners, Anime, and the Future of Chinese Animation


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Ronie Peter



Joined: 27 Feb 2017
Posts: 120
PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2018 12:04 pm Reply with quote
The cooperation between Korean studios and Chinese studios is constant. Unlike the cooperation that Korean studios give to Japanese studios, ranging from key animations of relatively simple scenes to inbetween animations. The case of Big Fish is just one example. King's Avatar [OVA] is another example; if you see the animation of the trailler [are still to leave the OVA] will realize that that style is not Chinese, nor Japanese, but Korean.


Although it is interesting to have more animations from different countries so that more variety is created for the public, it is a fact that this Chinese growth in the sector is of concern for Japanese creators. Japanese industry is in shambles, animators continue to work as subhumans, and production committees are as fair as the Mafia.

If the situation of the industry [workers, employees, and wages] continues as it is, from now on the Chinese will have more money than the Japanese studios summed up, and they will have to watch the investidoers quiet if they get bogged down within the industry as long as they they regret their own lack of courage to innovate and improve.

I hope that at least the Japanese stop being stupid and start thinking about business models that are more beneficial to creators who are subjected to ridiculous conditions and even more ridiculous pay.
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Chrono1000





PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2018 12:18 pm Reply with quote
The only good show I have seen from Haoliners was A Centaur's Life and that was based on a manga and made by a Japanese studio. I occasionally give their shows a chance and Fox Spirit Matchmaker had an interesting premise but their shows are so poorly executed that it can be a slog to watch them. There is also a pro-authoritarian feel to many of their shows and I was amused at a scene in Fox Spirit Matchmaker where some spirits were causing problems and they were casually arrested by the police. Production budgets and inexperience are issues with Chinese animation which should improve with time but the biggest issue is having to work under strict censorship.
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Edmond Lo



Joined: 17 Jan 2017
Posts: 10
PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2018 12:49 pm Reply with quote
Technically, Chinese production can surely match their counterparts in Korea and Japan, consider they would have more resources (money) driven by their huge market. Their problem is with their local censorship.

Remember they once banned "Attack of Titan" because of all the violence (but I feel it is more to do with the youth revolting theme, which is a no no for the government), the topics they can cover are very limited. For example, I can't see they can produce something like "Eromanga Sensei" as their authority would have shut it down before the script can start.

Viewers outside of China will can tired of their shows due to the limited theme.
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Merxamers



Joined: 09 Dec 2013
Posts: 720
PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2018 2:02 pm Reply with quote
I'd watch more of these shows if they were good. Centaur's Life was passable, any other one i've tried (Fox Spirit Matchmaker, that weird prison anime last season) have been pretty dire and a chore to sit through. That's all there is to it.
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azabaro
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Joined: 06 Jul 2007
Posts: 251
PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2018 2:19 pm Reply with quote
I've been put off a number of the Haoliners shows less because of technical quality of the animation than because of writing - in my experience, the writing on a lot of these shows is uneven at best (e.g. Hitorinoshita had a promising 1st episode, but the 2nd caused me to give up on the show, Cheating Craft was fun through about the 5th episode, at which point they were clearly out of ideas, etc.)

The only shows of theirs I've been able to stick with are A Centaur's Life and Reikenzan, and the latter can't make much of an impression internationally because it isn't licensed for streaming.
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Ronie Peter



Joined: 27 Feb 2017
Posts: 120
PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2018 2:24 pm Reply with quote
The only show of them that was fun, though, technically medium [was not bad the animation] was King's Avatar. I really enjoyed the series. And funny!
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Lemonchest



Joined: 18 Mar 2015
Posts: 1771
PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2018 3:21 pm Reply with quote
To Be Hero was one of my favourites of that year, since behind the crude humour (too crude for its own good, really) is one of the few genuinely adult stories (it's about a mid-life crisis) in the slew of 1st world teenager problems that is anime.

Haoliners are certainly a curiosity. A lot of their stuff has felt like anime that were made 10-15 years ago by a Japanese studio & then shelved because they were too crap to sell. But they've got a lot of money & intent behind them - & a huge domestic market of both customers & creators to play in. Hopefully they'll continue to improve, since Japan really needs some competition as the centre of Asian animation.
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MarshalBanana



Joined: 31 Aug 2014
Posts: 5296
PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2018 3:36 pm Reply with quote
How come these Chinese productions productions always have a completely different colour pallet to Anime?
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Mr. sickVisionz



Joined: 28 Oct 2007
Posts: 2171
PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2018 3:55 pm Reply with quote
MarshalBanana wrote:
How come these Chinese productions productions always have a completely different colour pallet to Anime?


None of the images in the article have what I would call a non-anime color palette other than the one that looks like it's supposed to be a webcomic (might actually be a webcomic). Can you be more specific?
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TarsTarkas



Joined: 20 Dec 2007
Posts: 5821
Location: Virginia, United States
PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2018 4:13 pm Reply with quote
Ronie Peter wrote:
....it is a fact that this Chinese growth in the sector is of concern for Japanese creators. Japanese industry is in shambles, animators continue to work as subhumans, and production committees are as fair as the Mafia.

If the situation of the industry [workers, employees, and wages] continues as it is, from now on the Chinese will have more money than the Japanese studios summed up, and they will have to watch the investidoers quiet if they get bogged down within the industry as long as they they regret their own lack of courage to innovate and improve.

I hope that at least the Japanese stop being stupid and start thinking about business models that are more beneficial to creators who are subjected to ridiculous conditions and even more ridiculous pay.


Bit of doomsaying there. The Japanese anime industry will be worried when the Chinese anime industry starts putting out quality product. I liked Hitori no Shita - The Outcast, but the animation was not that great. With everything you said about the Japanese anime industry and their poor budgets, they still are able to put out a fair amount of quality product. China has not done that yet. Not that I am wishing for that either. China has a rich cultural history from which to draw their own stories, so I am hoping they that they succeed.

We can decry all about the current Japanese anime industry business model (some with valid reasons), but it is this current business model that has given us today, a vast cornucopia of anime. A surplus of riches that has something for everyone, the key word being everyone (especially for Western fans). That is a high bar for China to aim for or even reach. And as noted, China has its own unique problems that will constrain their anime industry. So I don't see the Japanese anime industry quivering anytime soon in fear of Chinese animation domination.
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MarshalBanana



Joined: 31 Aug 2014
Posts: 5296
PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2018 4:13 pm Reply with quote
Mr. sickVisionz wrote:
MarshalBanana wrote:
How come these Chinese productions productions always have a completely different colour pallet to Anime?


None of the images in the article have what I would call a non-anime color palette other than the one that looks like it's supposed to be a webcomic (might actually be a webcomic). Can you be more specific?
To Be Hero, it has an image here, but I wouldn't use that to judge it. With that one I didn't know before watching it, that it was a Chinese production, so I kept wondering why the colours had some of an American cartoon look to them, a bit like the 90s Spiderman show. With Fox Spirit Matchmaker has this sort of early 00s American colour scheme(though that could just because of the character designs). Maybe pallets not the right word, but there is something about them that is different.
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Chrono1000





PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2018 4:33 pm Reply with quote
Lemonchest wrote:
To Be Hero was one of my favourites of that year, since behind the crude humour (too crude for its own good, really) is one of the few genuinely adult stories (it's about a mid-life crisis) in the slew of 1st world teenager problems that is anime.
I don't see Haoliners being that different in terms of the frequency of teenage protagonists but I would mention some recent anime shows such as Garo, Inuyashiki, Killing Bites, Overlord II, and Recovery of an MMO Junkie.

MarshalBanana wrote:
How come these Chinese productions productions always have a completely different colour pallet to Anime?
Anime shows have a wide variety of color palettes but if you are referring to a bright and colorful animated show than Fox Spirit Matchmaker would fit that description. The differences I tend to notice most in Chinese productions are animation techniques, editing, and story.
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AholePony



Joined: 04 Jun 2015
Posts: 330
Location: Arizona
PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2018 5:26 pm Reply with quote
I've watched a good chunk of a few dozen of these series and the most interesting part to me is that every single one of them has a main character that is really really really poor and the show constantly makes sure you understand how poor they are. If that's the only thing that's marketable in China it paints a sad picture :-/
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Lemonchest



Joined: 18 Mar 2015
Posts: 1771
PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2018 5:46 pm Reply with quote
Chrono1000 wrote:
Lemonchest wrote:
To Be Hero was one of my favourites of that year, since behind the crude humour (too crude for its own good, really) is one of the few genuinely adult stories (it's about a mid-life crisis) in the slew of 1st world teenager problems that is anime.
I don't see Haoliners being that different in terms of the frequency of teenage protagonists but I would mention some recent anime shows such as Garo, Inuyashiki, Killing Bites, Overlord II, and Recovery of an MMO Junkie.


I'd categorize those as Millennials don't want to grow up rather than adult, along with Erased, Re:Life; Re:Zero; Log Horizon etc. etc.
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AJ (LordNikon)



Joined: 14 Apr 2009
Posts: 502
Location: Kyoto
PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2018 5:53 pm Reply with quote
Ronie Peter wrote:
If the situation of the industry [workers, employees, and wages] continues as it is, from now on the Chinese will have more money than the Japanese studios summed up, and they will have to watch the investidoers quiet if they get bogged down within the industry as long as they they regret their own lack of courage to innovate and improve.

I hope that at least the Japanese stop being stupid and start thinking about business models that are more beneficial to creators who are subjected to ridiculous conditions and even more ridiculous pay.


No offense, but do you honestly believe working conditions are so much better in China? Having spent time in China, I can assure you, it's not. I can say from first hand life experience, that working conditions, and Chinese labour laws are far more worse off in than in Japan. The west is lucky they can hear about the issue within Japan's industry, speaking said realities of the Chinese markets, especially from within the great firewall would meet with a lot harsher realities than I would care to spend time thinking about.
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