Forum - View topicWhat Makes Kyoto Animation So Special?
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Alabaster Spectrum
Posts: 528 |
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Wit just seems to suffer from inconsistent budgeting and directing. When they're on and have a director with an eye for action and suspense like say Tetsuro Araki they're capable of some really great stuff, when they have some newbie director like with Owari no Seraph who demonstrably does not seem to know how to do his job well at all the results tend to be underwhelming at best. Trigger just does not seem to like actually animating or doing inbetween frames much unless they're being funded by an outside source like Aniplex or the Government as was the case with Kill la Kill and Little Witch Academia respectively. It's kind of sad, like it looks like the studio has next to no capital for some of their projects yet if the remnants of Gainax's key animation team from their heyday truly do reside under that banner than they are drowning in talent. Anyway to me the most interesting recent upstart studio is MAPPA. I have yet to see what I would call a bad show from them and they are clearly putting the animation talent that was brought over from Madhouse to the table in a lot of what they do. It's a shame that IMO the best show they've done to date remains largely unknown and overshadowed by the heavyweight brainchild's of Shinichiro Watanabe in Terror in Resonance and Kids on The Slope as well as Cygames showcase piece Shingeki no Bahamut. I'm talking about Garo: The Carved Seal of Flames which you can tell the staff just really enjoyed doing. Not often you get to see a 2 cour show inspired by a Medieval Spanish aesthetic. Anyway since I haven't said it and to add to the other side of the equation, the biggest problem with Kyoto Animation is that unless you are specifically and heavily interested in "slice of life" high school and generally romantic comedy anime pretty much their entire catalog might as well be DoA. There's something to be said for specializing, but there's also something to be said for pigeonholing and spreading yourself to thin. Personally I find most Japanese anime comedy dreadfully un-amusing if not flat out annoying to sit through so it's not exactly easy for me to get interested in their catalog even though I have tried some of their shows. Scores have ranged from the likes of 4 to 7 out of 10 with the subject matter just tending to be what holds their shows back the most. I just simply do not find cute high school girls and their dramas and comedic interactions within a generally safe non-threatening environment to be something that can maintain my interest the vast majority of the time. If you ask me there's way too much of that stuff coming out nowadays period though so it's not just like it's only Kyoani, just that's what they clearly specialize in. Last edited by Alabaster Spectrum on Wed Dec 02, 2015 7:12 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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GaryNhk
Posts: 68 |
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How is Hyouka a masterpiece? Other than animation and background details which are found in most all their work. I believe Hyouka "ice cream" is there most bland show. Theres no over arcing plot just episodes arcs that get solve within 1-4 episodes each. At the end little to no background on the 4 main characters. They don't even share their feeling for one another and your just left hanging at the end of the show. The mysteries from the show are so dull and don't add anything to the story other than the first arc which get solve quick and isn't fulfilling for being the title of the show. In the end its disappointing. The worst you can say about any show or form of entertainment is that it was boring. Haruhi Suzumiya would be their masterpiece by how loved and famous it was and still holds up. The test of time is what a masterpiece can be called. Funny Hyouka has that "masterpiece" debated in it and I found Ibara "the manga main girl" to be wrong saying masterpiece something you know is a masterpiece when you first read it. Not something that holds up after along period of time. Just you as one person saids so makes it. That would make it a masterpiece too you and not everyone. |
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Kadmos1
 Posts: 13552 Location: In Phoenix but has an 85308 ZIP |
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I think when you can get a series that is very emotional and strong with character development, you have a studio that is also doing the show for the artistic side. I say this because I think a lot of shows are done to make money or promote it's source material (both of which are occasionally true).
Another thing that can make them so appealing is that they frequently make anime from both visual/light novels. When said title is made, they often have the moe art style which has been popular on/off for years. Out of all the anime I have seen (I have seen over 70 subbed and dubbed just this year), Kanon is the one that made me cry the most. Heck, I consider Kanon among the most romantic anime I've seen. Heck, on 12/13/28, I sent Chris "Yuuichi" Patton a Facebook message:
He responded back to thank me and said this was a very kind message. |
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Alabaster Spectrum
Posts: 528 |
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The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (the first one) is about the only show in their catalog I can ever see myself going back to and which I figure would still hold up today. I don't remember it ever feeling boring or like what I was watching was superfluous to the story arc it was trying to tell. It's about the only thing I've seen from them really that felt like it had a certain kind of energy and liveliness too it, possibly cause at the time it was undeniably fresh. Then again with the rash of light novel adaptations about quirky girls and club room hijinks that have flooded the scene in the soon to be 10 years since perhaps it doesn't hold up as all that fresh and welcome anymore. At the time I remember being skeptical about all the praise it was getting and going to watch it expecting a whole lot of nothing only to be surprised that it was a pretty solid show that I didn't even mind rewatching some episodes of. It was only after the studio continued to get so much praise and adulation for the works that came after like Lucky Star (bland, self-serving towards Kadokawa Shoten promotion and unfunny in the extreme) Kanon (my first introduction to Key melodrama stories which I was just largely unimpressed by and could never cry over because I couldn't get into the characters) K-On (Vapid, boring) and so on that I started to grow kind of weary of the studio in terms of everything but their character animation cuts. |
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Valhern
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A little off topic, but I agree that production-wise has catched my attention quite a bit, GoHands with Coppelion, Seitokai Yakuindomo and K, not the best stories in the first one but they sure did a good job in producing them. 8-bit is too becoming quite interesting. |
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Megiddo
 Posts: 8360 Location: IL |
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Definitely love KyoAni's penchant and skill at character animation. That whole section on telling a story through just the character animation is so true. I've noticed that, with the immense popularity of K-ON, other studios as well are trying to emphasize this style when possible. Even lower budget fare like Yuyushiki can have some lovely animated segments where the talented animator/director is trying to get across the characters' emotions via their actions. It's definitely one of the largest improvements I've seen for 4koma/gag/cute-girls-doing-cute-things type of anime compared to pre-KyoAni times.
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kevinx59
 Posts: 959 Location: In sunny California |
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I have the same reaction with PA Works: beautiful animation, but I can't connect or enjoy their works at all. Its a shame that Hanasaku looks so nice but I find boring, yet Wake Up Girls, which I love, struggles to stay on model and has weak animation. I do like Kyoani, even though I don't count it among my favorite anime studios (those would be Madhouse, AIC, Satelight and 8-bit). Their works I do enjoy, and this article captures what I've thought about their animation but could not express. Its the smooth movements, the strikingly beautiful backgrounds of otherwise ordinary places, and the fact that they do not use cgi very much except for cars. I loved Beyond the Boundary (probably my favorite Kyoani series after K-On!) with a big part of it being Mirai and her expressive face and gestures. I am also always amazed at the opening scene, especially from 0:48 when all the magic scenes start. It boggles my mind that all the tiny flashes, surges, specks of dirt, water, energy, fire, all are (or at least look) completely hand drawn. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4TzwsHcmNw I always thought of that series as Chuunibyou if Rikka's delusions were real. (by the way I always loved that scene of Rikka falling in slow motion like a princess into Yuta's arms only to cut to her abruptly crashing into the hedge. Cracks me up every time). Chuu2 is probably my next favorite Kyoani series, combining the striking fantasy visuals of BtB with the cute comedy of K-On!. I think I'm the only person who enjoyed Ren as well. Hibiki, while not my favorite Kyoani, was still very good. i especially liked the floaty camera that appeared every once in a while. It gave those brief scenes a documentary/steadicam look and the hazy green tint with dust specks made it look rather dreamy. ( I think BtB had some similar scenes, though more for a sense of unease). Hopefully that Million Colors anime they are working on is good as well. |
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aiem
Posts: 44 |
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The real highlight for me and should be understood by most is Paragraph 6-8.
So many people just throw around words but just don't know jack. Continuous uninformed rants which just makes them look ridiculous for each sentence. A little of this and watching of Shirobako should enlighten those 2nd level "anime enthusiasts". A nice read, though I would've liked it if took some from Hyouka and Nichijou. Hyouka had the best balance in general. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIgwAmEHbZA The School Festival remains a landmark for KyoAni. The variety was just insane and the motions from all the present characters were just great. While they did use 3D for some mob characters in some scenes, the animated ones were well crafted. The closest one to Hyouka is Hibike Euphonium. It had some similarity in terms of character animation and use of filters. Nichijou on the other hand was just outright RAW animation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ug8ItuvZM7w Till now it's the most animated show from KyoAni so far. It was pure spectacle and one that I wish would happen again. Every episode it had energy. The 2nd ED too had a great concept one where KyoAni actually stitched a bunch of paper to animate the panning scene. Last edited by aiem on Wed Dec 02, 2015 8:28 pm; edited 5 times in total |
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king 47
 Posts: 264 |
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Everyone has their own tastes. But Hyouka has one of the best character development in any anime. And it doesn't rely on the same ol' tropes in most anime. If has phenomenal art and animation with very effective background music. All the characters were well executed, even the secondary characters. Most anime don't have that. SNAFU, while not a bad show, is nowhere near as good. But it's a different show. It seems you're just not a fan of Kyoani. |
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Megiddo
Posts: 8360 Location: IL |
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Hyouka is one of very, very few shows that I would willingly pay out for a Aniplex USA/Pony Canyon type of release. I consider it to by KyoAni's greatest artistic achievement, and the KanyaFes arc is definitely KyoAni at their absolute best that we've seen.
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SquadmemberRitsu
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ANIMATION IS NOT EASY. You do not just throw money into a big pot and out comes the best looking show of the season. You don't just go 'Oh I'll really half ass this story and then just make up for it with really pretty animation.' What make KyoAni shows look so good has nothing to do with their financial standing but rather the time and effort of many talented individuals. Next time you see some good animation, try to think about the people who made it happen. A big budget show can look like garbage if the people working on it don't have any talent, but even a small budget show can look amazing as long as they've got the right people on board and enough time on their hands to do the best job they can. |
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motormind
Posts: 89 |
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I mostly agree with this article. One of my most favorite anime scenes is from the first episode of K-On!, when Yui tries to tell the club that she won't join after all. The table in that club room quickly changes into a virtual war zone, with the girls pressuring Yui to join them in whatever way possible after they find out what her real purpose is. Ritsu's emotional plea for Yui to stay is still magnificent to me, after all this time. It's one of those moments in which character animation and writing are in perfect alignment.
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motormind
Posts: 89 |
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When I first heard about it, I thought it would be about a girl solving cases like some sort of teenage female Sherlock Holmes, with the boy playing the role of Dr. Watson. I was very disappointed when the guy turned out to be the actual smart one, while Chitanda did not much more than shout that she's curious. I know KyoAni had to adhere to the source material, but I think it would have been more interesting if Chitanda had been a bit more insightful herself. That said, when in Japan I visited Takayama, which was used as the basis for the town of Kamiyama in the series. It's really very pretty; I can recommend it to anybody. Last edited by motormind on Wed Dec 02, 2015 8:51 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Valhern
Posts: 916 |
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I watched Hyouka a bit too long ago, and only got to half of it (I catched that it had actually 22 episodes until not too long ago) but if that's how you end mid season then I'm not bothering for the other half, maybe it does get better, but I'm hardly the type to buy into the whole "but the LN writer got better!", I wanted to 'end' it since well, I was like 7 episodes in but not invested at all. This is not a long-running shonen anime in which I would expect for it to get better past the middle of it, it's a slice of life that should've went all-out from the get go, compared to that (not quality-wise, of course), SNAFU got my attention a whole lot more, Hibike! did too. Not that I'm not a fan of KyoAni, I always do watch their shows but some got me incredibly bored. |
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GaryNhk
Posts: 68 |
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Tell me how the character's from Hyouka where well develop? By the end of the show you learn almost nothing about the 4 main characters past. Why did his sister always travel? Is his parents dead? Why does he live alone till his sister comes back? Other than the first arc why are they in the classic club and what were they suppose to do in there? They wrote a book but its not a writing club. The book was about the mystery they solved but its not a detective club. Heres the development Main guy is control by women he only joins the club because his sister saids so, only solves mysteries because this cute blue eye girl "which he talks about her eyes being the cause he can't say no to her" saids i'm curious, rewrote the end to a crappy movie because a girl told him he was special and never changes by the end of the show. What little change is just told too you like his friend saying he gave up on trying to win all the time just to be less stress up and happy and thats why he puts a girl he cares about in the friend zone. Other than that I didn't see change. The main character motto he never did "if I don't have to do it I won't, If I have too I will do it quick" he always did things he didn't have to do so thats not changing. SNAFU is better written. Its about 3 characters with 3 different point of views that help people out on their problems. Its very similar to hyouka. |
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