Forum - View topicINTEREST: British Animator's Full R-Type Animated Short Project Streamed
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Kikaioh
 Posts: 1205 Location: Antarctica |
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Not sure why, but it seems there are a number of animators/artists in Europe that seem to remember what 80's anime was like better than Japan seems (or is willing) to. This was pretty cool.
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MarshalBanana
 Posts: 5317 |
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The western view of 80s Anime is very narrow-minded to be honest, everything looks like Akira, Bubblegum Crisis or Macross. I mean Akira and came out at the very end, so that design is more of an early 90s look. |
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Afezeria
 Posts: 817 Location: Malaysia, Kuantan. |
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Never preferred the 80's artstyle unless it get updated for modern use like in Ushio to Tora. I'll much preferred staying around with the present artstyle as that's what pulled me in toward watching anime in the first place (including other reasons).
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Kikaioh
Posts: 1205 Location: Antarctica |
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I disagree. As someone who lived through that era and made a point over the years to actively research and learn about a lot of older shows (including ones that never came to the US), the idea that you would underplay the stylistic similarities between this video and the sorts of shows that are generally being produced today, I think is more suggestive of a desire to write off the older era as something "we Westerners can't understand", than any sort of real indicator that artistically the prevailing styles and sensibilities of today are still similar to the 80's. Especially living in an age of the Internet, learning about obscure series from the past is much more accessible, where entire lists of shows from different eras (whether localized or not) can be categorically organized. And in any event, the trending styles of any given era don't necessarily carry over from one generation to the next, which is true for almost any sort of entertainment, as the industries and popular culture change over time. Anyways, I think anyone familiar with 80's sci-fi anime, whether it's Orguss (which only just recently saw a Western release), Madox, Crusher Joe, Megazone 23, Dirty Pair, Outlanders, Gall Force, etc., or un-released to the West works like Xabungle, Dorvack, Cosmo Police Justy, SPT Layzner, Zillion (not fully anyways), etc., would be able to identify the art style for the era. Certainly, this video much more closely resembles the original Macross than the recent Macross Delta even remotely does. @Afezeria: Actually, Ushio and Tora was an early 90's series, it's not from the 80's. |
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Zhou-BR
Posts: 1422 |
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Very impressive 3d rendition of the first level, and the guitar version of the BGM rocks. You can see how much Paul Johnson loves R-Type, and I look forward to his next classic game homage.
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MarshalBanana
Posts: 5317 |
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@Kikaioh
I'm not saying that the style is not one of the 80s, the woman especially, but to say THIS is the style of the 80s, and what Japan remembers is wrong, is a narrow minded way to view the decade. The opening to Koimonogaatri for example, looks nothing at all like this, yet it strongly resembles 80s Shojo. Even with these new art styles, they still made shows with older styles dating back to the 60s, Miss Machiko. With one of the titles you mentioned, Gall Force, I would say the designs are similar to the style some people associate with today's Anime. Oh I was looking through the comments and many people where saying it looked 90s, and the creator even posted +Daniel Mata That's what we were trying to do! So thank you <3 From what I can gather with shows like Ginatma and Binbo-gami Ga, is they have a strong love of Fist of the North Star, and similar titles from that time. |
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Kikaioh
Posts: 1205 Location: Antarctica |
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While it's true to say that this isn't the only sort of style that appeared in 80's Japanese manga/anime, it would be wrong to not recognize it as a style that featured dominantly in 80's sci-fi anime ovas and tv shows, esp. ones that took place in outer space. I can only imagine you haven't seen very many or aren't familiar with those sorts of shows to be able to tell, so I can only recommend actually watching those shows to see for yourself.
The original creator of the video, Paul "OtaKing" Johnson (which is likely a reference to Otaku No Video 1982 and 1985), actually runs a separate YouTube channel and also created the Tie Fighter animated short that he himself described as "drawn with the crazy detail and shading of classic 80s anime that's all but vanished from Japan nowadays". If you watch his other videos or visit his twitter, you'll see that many of his influences also appear to be 80's and early 90's anime (including Angel Cop, whether for good or ill). I don't think he runs the Mashed YT channel where this video is hosted (which seems to be a collaboration of many different animators and content creators), so it may not have actually been him that you quoted, but my point is that I don't think the style featured here was largely inspired by 90's works (and if it was, then I think Paul would either have a misperception of when certain works he enjoyed originally released, or maybe missed the mark as far as capturing the broader 90's sci-fi spirit and artstyle). Also, R-Type originally came out in the arcades back in the late 80's, so it would make a bit more sense for the style to lean towards that era anyways. The character designs of Gall Force were done by Kenichi Sonoda, which many would be hardpressed to compare to modern artstyles (he's the same artist that worked on Bubblegum Crisis and Riding Bean). But character art aside, if you'd actually seen the original Gall Force, the settings and machines are largely in the same vein as other 80's OVAs, drawing a lot of inspiration from classic Hollywood science fiction movies like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Alien, etc., as well as contemporary sci-fi technological designs of the time. And you can't really compare Gintama stylistically to Fist of the North Star, in-so-far as it may parody or make joking references to the series (amongst many many other series). |
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MarshalBanana
Posts: 5317 |
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Kikaioh
Posts: 1205 Location: Antarctica |
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I think muscle-bound, hyper-violent action manga like Fist of the North Star have been on the decline in Japan for the past 20 years. The series seems to mostly live on through parody and comedic reference these days, I think since the current generation views its extreme violence as humorously antiquated at this point. "Beloved" might not be the word for it, since I imagine it's mostly remembered by the older generation.
As for Macross, I'm mostly unable to put Delta in the same breath as the original, since the visual and cultural sensibilities of the shows are pretty different. Similarities between the two lie mostly in the premise (an outer space war with transforming fighter planes), certain connections between the stories, and certain key elements (like idol/s singing in conjunction with the war effort). Spiritually though, the original Macross was more of a sci-fi space opera that happened to have an idol singer as part of the story (the singing was to confuse the aliens with human culture IIRC), while Macross Delta seems to expand and focus a lot more on the idol aspect (where it's an idol group now, singing to soothe infected pilots I think), along with a number of other tropes and sensibilities of the modern era. And of course, visually they're very different. I'm keen to believe that Macross lives on mostly because of the transforming action figures/kits/etc. that the show inspired, and because the original was maybe too popular for the industry to go without any sequels. |
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MarshalBanana
Posts: 5317 |
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So what is it your trying to say? That they have no interest in older shows. I know it is a natural thing for each generation to have a limited amount of interest in what came before, which happens in every medium. It doesn't seem likely that this more extreme case that they completely blank out the past and only concentrate on the present is true, just take into account that old sows like Cobra and Osomatsu are getting continuations. Unfortunately there isn't much to go on, which is why I do want to meet and talk to some Japanese Anime fans to get a better idea, but that's unlikely to happen.
Macross doesn't get any money from the west, since HG have blocked the show from coming over. So if 7, Zero and Frontier had not sold well, it would not be still being made, they would not make the show on a loss, regardless of how big it once was for a period of time. Fist of the North Star would of become popular and well known for reasons outside of being ultra violent, if that was the case the inferior MD Geist would of been popular as well. |
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Kikaioh
Posts: 1205 Location: Antarctica |
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I agree, most generations (regardless of culture) don't usally have interest in older content unless it's a celebrated classic. My point was more about certain popular aesthetic and cultural sensibilities that are sometimes forgotten and left behind, in this case regarding sci-fi outerspace action. This video strongly demonstrated a style that was very popular in sci-fi anime back in the 80's, but that style hasn't been a thing for a very long time (it mostly died throughout the 90's I think). As a comparison, Western cinema/culture seems to be a bit different about that, since right now there seems to be a lot of homage being paid to the 80's generation these days, the neon colors, the bad-assery, the tongue-in-cheek action, etc. In comparison, I tend to think Japan is a bit more group-minded about everyone being on the same page culturally though, so for anime it often feels like sensibilities are very saturated within an era, and then everyone moves on together to something different. Right now for example, it doesn't feel like there's any sort of celebration of 80's sensibilities happening in anime, and anime culturally feels very particularly its own thing atm.
Again, Macross has different aspects going for it, partially in the merchandisability, but also since idol culture is huge in Japan right now, which I imagine is a big part of why they felt they could continue the series. Also, the hyperviolent action in Fist of the North Star wasn't the only thing it had going for it, since it was a Shonen Jump manga at the time that I think had some of the likable sensibilities that make their series popular. MD Geist in comparison is infamous because the main character is basically a psychopath (which makes for great schlocky action, but it's nothing compelling, more of a "so bad it's funny" type of film). |
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Beatdigga
 Posts: 4371 Location: New York |
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If I could make a series using the 80's visual aesthetic, I would do so gladly and repeatedly.
There's just something very charming about it. |
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MarshalBanana
Posts: 5317 |
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I think I understand now, thanks for explaining. I was looking up what the varies inspirations were for Concrete Revolutio were, and they were a lot from 70s Anime, but not really anything from the 80s, so maybe it would be easier if you liked that decade. Maybe you will get your day, and some Japanese business men who grew up then decide to fund some project that appeals them. There is the sequel to Wings Of Honneamise, Aoki Uru, in 2018.
I do strongly disagree to the notion that Anime is saturated. it is by far the most diverse medium I've ever seen, if you want an example of saturation look at the games industry. I'm watching 6 currently airing shows at present, and they are all completely different. What you say is happening in Western culture is really less to do with respect and more catering to that generations nostalgia, usually made by that generation, like how in the 70s Happy Days and Greece were made to look back on the 50s. |
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