Forum - View topicThe List - 8 Most Visually Striking Anime Productions
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yuna49
 Posts: 3804 |
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I just want to add another vote of thanks for including Nakamura Kenji's Bakeneko and Mononoke on this list. I don't read this feature religiously, but I do not believe I have seen an unlicensed work appear on one of these lists before. I do hope that these shows would have been included even if Ayakashi Samurai Horror Tales had never been licensed.
A few days ago I looked at the RightStuf page for Bakeneko and saw that TRSi still had about 200 copies available for sale at just $9, making it one of the best bargains in anime today. There were about twice that many copies left a couple years back. Perhaps the remaining copies will sell out now after appearing on the list. I always have problems with lists that include both feature films and televised anime given how enormously different the budgets that producers and directors have to work with. I would have preferred to see this list limited to television series and have a separate list for movies. Since movies were included I must say I'm a bit surprised to see no mentions here of Summer Wars which intermixes quite conventional scenes of family life with the more hallucinogenic sequences that take place in the online world. I can understand the reluctance to include Moribito on the list for the reasons Key mentions, but I would have to disagree. Right from the opening it was obvious that this show would be one of the most beautifully animated television series ever. Especially striking are all the animations that involve water, from the glistening rice paddies in the opening to the clarity of the pools later on. Given the centrality of water to the overall story, and to the Asian empires Moribito depicts, Kamiyama and his team obviously took special care to illustrate those scenes. Noein is another mixed bag. I found the 3D effects jarring, particularly the rotating house which appears much too often in the series. On the other hand the scenes where the other universes impinge on our own are often brilliant. Some people complain about the lack of animation consistency in this show, but that was inevitable given the collaborative manner in which it was produced. Noein used a collection of directors with Akane as the overall creative force. That method resulted in character models that often varied quite widely from episode to episode, from overly moe~ styles some weeks to rather ugly models with rectangular eyes in others. All these quibbles aside, Akane's decision to build an entire story around the controversial "many-worlds" interpretaion of quantum mechanics makes this an extraordinarily intriguing and intellectually challenging show. Noein has sold for as little as $20 at times, but even at its current price of $30, it is a show that any serious collector of anime should own. I cannot, however, recommend the dubbed version which is currently streamed on Hulu. It has some of the most appalling casting and direction I've heard. I switched once between the JP and EN tracks during a conversation between Haruka and Ai and could not listen for more than couple of minutes. The voicing of Uchida-sensei is painful as well. Dennou Coil has also been mentioned and for good reason. While many of the episodes are quite conventional, the show has many remarkably original and unusual sequences. I like how Iso depicts obsolete space as overlays of large black pixels. He was also careful in his use of 3D objects like the Searchmaton; they blend naturally into the illustrations unlike Haruka's house. The scene where the Saatchis try to enter a shrine and are flattened as a result is an especially good example. The fact that R1 licensors have ignored two of the most stunning and most original anime of the past decade, Dennou Coil and Mononoke, never ceases to amaze me. Now that both have been released on Blu-ray in Japan, perhaps someone like NISA will bring these gems to Western audiences. Why is it that Akane Kazuki and Iso Mitsuo have dropped out of sight? I often wonder if we do not see shows by them any more because they got fed up with an industry that eschews original works like Noein and Dennou Coil in favor of adaptations of existing material. Nakamura has persisted, though, perhaps because he seems to be a favorite of the noitaminA producers. Last edited by yuna49 on Sun Sep 09, 2012 6:59 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Animegomaniac
Posts: 4088 |
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The way I describe Ishihara's work is, regardless if its a series or individual episode series, is "exposition in motion". The guy loves expositon and, if you pay any sort of attention to his work, he has a color fetish. Of course, a decent production design that follows the themes of the show has nothing to do with being "visually striking".
So its fine for Serial experiments Lain but since Haruhi reeks of "popularism" any artisitic merit it has, or may have or clearly doesn't have {depends on how much attention you pay to it} can be written off with the single word "moe"? Also: Nichijo. Or since it isn't "high budget moe style" {I didn't mention any of the Key works but I could list a few sunsets, something like a kiss reflected in a tear drop} it's not done by him? Or simply not worth mentioning since it's an imaginative comedy series? It's your list and definitions and I merely suggest adding Ishihara for subtly, craft and the largest color fetish this side of Shin Ohnuma. Whom, by the way, you clearly shafted ... |
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MistressLegato
 Posts: 6 Location: Vancouver, WA |
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I'm stunned anyone honestly thinks Eureka7 was visually stunning in any way. Unique character designs do not = visually stunning, or CLAMP's newer, ugly, long-bodied character designs would be winning. XXX-Holic anyone?
Eureka7 was a great storyline, with a few good characters, but a lot of 1 dimensional stereotype characters. It really doesn't stand out to me in ANY way at all. People get so butthurt just because their favourite wasn't mentioned. These are all good choices as far as I'm concerned. Even though I hated Falling Leaves to the point of being unable to finish it, it was unique visually (as far as Eastern animation goes) I'm not going to say it doesn't deserve to be on there. Gankutsuo certainly deserves a mention, but as far as I can see, none of the other mentioned series' really stand out visually to me at all. Noein was great, but average. Moribito, again a great show with great production quality, but generic character designs and nothing animation wise that was stunning, or striking at all. My favourite anime is Gensoumaden Saiyuki, but I can certainly tell it doesn't deserve to be listed. I also love Code Geass, but again, doesn't do anything that risky. So let's please learn to see this list with eyes specifically aimed at visually striking/stunning and not "well I hated that show so it deserves no recognition, but my FAVE should get it instead." |
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Bonham
 Posts: 419 Location: NYC |
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I haven't seen it (due to practically no one speaking well of the story), but from the screenshots I just find the colors and general look of the show to be really garish. Someone earlier mentioned that Shinbo is interested in the artifice of animation, and I would agree with that... but I don't think he really provides any real ideas or substance for most of his works, and is interested in visual gimmicks that are really just heavily-inspired by previous artists, such as Anno and Ikurahara. He's the Tarantino to their Godard.
Well, the article is about "visually striking" anime, as opposed to "visually unique." And even then, frankly no other anime looks like Texhnolyze, Mushi-Shi, etc. (unless they're by the same director). Stuff like Gankutsuou is obvious to just about anyone, but people who study and care about film, photography, painting, etc. would be more likely to mention Texhnolyze, Mushi-Shi, Evangelion, Utena, Mononoke, etc. Same thing with people who study and care animation: they love stuff like Denno Coil, Redline, Windy Tales, works by Masaaki Yuasa, Koji Morimoto, Hiroyuki Imaishi, Studio 4C in general, etc. And there's plenty of overlap between the two. It's why I appreciate Animegomaniac's mention of Ishihara (and admittedly sympathize with his opinion of Shaft), because he's coming at it from a similar perspective as the above, like Lynzee seems to be in the article, rather than just an "ooohhh shiny" argument. That might be condescending, but I find it a more interesting and informed perspective, and one that's not really stressed much in anime viewership. |
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18202 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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MoHS isn't in the same league with SEL as far as being visually distinctive, and it has nothing to do with any perceived moe aspect. It's a well-drawn, well-animated series, no question, but aside from the ENOZ performance number it doesn't do anything all that special. (Actually, the other place where the artistry stands out the most is in the subtle artistic variations amongst the episodes of the Endless Eight arc, which will never get that much credit because almost everyone abhors the arc.) IOW, it didn't make an impression on me as being something strikingly fresh when I first saw it, whereas Lain (which I saw much earlier in my anime-viewing career, in terms of # of titles seen) definitely did.
If we're going to bring up things like striking sunsets and lighting effects then you'd have to toss Makoto Shinkai into the discussion, too. |
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darkchibi07
 Posts: 5470 |
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I seem to recall in one of the ANNCast episodes that licensing Dennou Coil is a real pain in the ass to a point an Australian of an anime company had to go to the Japanese producer in person in order to make a deal. |
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ANN_Lynzee
ANN Executive Editor
 Posts: 2945 Location: Email for assistance only |
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Maidenoftheredhand
 Posts: 2633 |
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Right so someone in Australia was willing to do this but not in the US which is a darn shame. It is one of my most wanted licenses (along with Mononoke actually). |
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Ask John
Company Representative
Posts: 32 |
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I'll nominate the 1986 OVA California Crisis. Even now, thirty years later there's still never been another anime that uses the same visual design style that California Crisis did. Entirely unique.
Furthermore, it may get overlooked because it's CG anime, but I can say with positive certainty that you haven't seen visual creativity in anime if you haven't yet seen the 2008 Hoshi no Umi no Amuri OVA series. The visual spectacle on display in this three episode show is at least as impressive as Madoka Magica's witch world scenes, just done years before Madoka Magica. |
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Surrender Artist
 Posts: 3264 Location: Pennsylvania, USA |
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Although I agree with it not being on the list, Birdy the Mighty: Decode 02 has some very visually striking sequences. In several very intense action sequences (namely episode 7 and 12), the character models become distorted, but I think that rather than being purely a cheap way to animate more fluid, dynamic animation, the distortions themselves are fluid and accentuate the emotional as well as visual elements of the scene. The series doesn't break from the visual standard too much otherwise, but it does go off the reservation with great panache a few times.
It's worth noting that Birdy the Mighty: Decode was directed by Kazuki Akane, who also directed Noein: To Your Other Half, which has already been mentioned. That series also featured animation where character model were purposefully toyed with for visual effect and dynamism.
Really? It's an awfully dumb thing to feel strongly about.
If I remember this correctly, it was Stream It Again Sam and the problem is that the title is controlled by the same company that controls Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Tokuma Shoten, which is very old-fashioned as has unrealistic, demanding expectations for licensing. I would wager that they're willing to give the series away in a relatively smaller market like Australia, but have unreasonably higher expectations for a very large market like the United States. They might not give the rights over even if Gen Fukunaga with an entourage of the most comely courtesans and gifts enough to embarrass a pharaoh appeared before them to plead for the rights unless he could guarantee a TV deal and home video sales of ten thousand per volume with two episodes per disc at $40 each with no discounting off MSRP. |
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Maidenoftheredhand
Posts: 2633 |
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Perhaps, and I can somewhat understand that attitude with LOGH (which is a huge classic in Japan), as disappointing as that is. But Dennou Coil didn't even sell all that greatly in Japan, so I just can't see the company really expecting such high sales in the US. I am not saying the old fashioned company is not the issue, but I feel there has to be more to it. |
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NotintheMood
Posts: 36 |
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I'm sure the knowledge that you are in more miserable weather than her will be a great comfort. |
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rheiders
 Posts: 1137 Location: Colorful Colorado :) |
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That survey was difficult! How could you make me choose between Balsa, Hayate, and Nyanko-sensei!? I eventually decided to go with Balsa, because she is awesome, but Nyanko-sensei would have been a close second.
Loved the list this week!  Mononoke/Bakeneko was the first thing I thought of when I saw the title, and I was really glad to see it made the list! I'll hop on the bandwagon by saying Gankutsuou definitely should have been there somewhere, but otherwise, no objections^^ It's great to see that it inspired some awesome discussion here, and this thread has reminded me how many things I still need to watch!
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Errinundra
Moderator
 Posts: 6528 Location: Melbourne, Oz |
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For what it's worth, the Count of Monte Cristo appeared briefly in my dreams last night, but drawn in a Masaaki Yuasa style. It was quite odd. Who would have thought that ANN could penetrate a person's subconscious like that?
Mind you, I had only recently finished Kemonozume, which I found thought provoking. Anyway, a good list. |
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dtm42
Posts: 14084 Location: currently stalking my waifu |
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There was more to my previous post but I cut it out before submitting it because the tone was getting decidedly accusatory and I didn't want to be reported. (Basically, it was about reputations and those people who puff them up beyond actual facts; I don't feel that strongly about climates.) The sentence of mine you quoted was a holdover from the previous version of the post, I had forgotten to edit it to reflect the changes. So I can understand you being a tad perplexed. |
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