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I'm starting to think that animes are not very well animated


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atromoby



Joined: 05 Oct 2006
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Location: Kiwiland
PostPosted: Sun Dec 17, 2006 9:59 am Reply with quote
Have you guys ever noticed that animes especially those with long run episodes tend to lack action scenes with most of their plots occupied by two charactors talking to each other for a long time with only their mouths being actually animated and moved, and the lip sync are poorly animated in this case.
I know there are lots of cool action animes there, but I'm somehow dissapointed by some of those uninspiring and cheesy animated combat scenes.
Not to mention the low frame-rate issue from my conclusion of all the animes I've seem. It seems that animes are kinda rigid compare to other animations.
I'm not trying to be biased here, it's just my overall impression. Very Happy
Any thought?
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Tony K.
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 17, 2006 10:24 am Reply with quote
Give us an example.
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Mohawk52



Joined: 16 Oct 2003
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 17, 2006 10:26 am Reply with quote
There are many different titles from various different studios. Some are old, some are new. It would have helped if you had listed just what titles you have seen that made you feel that way. A bit vague otherwise.
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Shonen Bat



Joined: 10 Aug 2005
Posts: 382
PostPosted: Sun Dec 17, 2006 10:45 am Reply with quote
Tony K. wrote:
Give us an example.


He'll probably say Naruto or DBZ.

And if all you saw are action animes, you're REALLY missing out. There's much more to anime than that. But if you want a good anime that has good action and not much talking, I reccomend Hellsing, or even One Piece. One Piece has managed to do what other long running series have not: stay fresh. There's more fighting in Hellsing and One Piece than talking during those scenes.

But just to let you know, talk scenes are usually a big part to what's going on in the story, Otherwise, they're just chracters fighting for who knows what. That's why they have those scenes.

And there are animes with good animation too. Look at Fullmetal Alchemist and you'll see what I mean.
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daxomni



Joined: 08 Nov 2005
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 17, 2006 10:53 am Reply with quote
I'll admit that some of the older anime series area little tough to watch in some parts due to the limited animation techniques that have become a hallmark of the medium. Thankfully this has improved somewhat over time and some of the more recent series I've watched don't seem to suffer as badly from such intentional deficiencies. We'll probably never get Disney classic quality out of a random weekly series but perhaps the ever more common use of computer animation will eventually alleviate most of these blemishes. I know not everyone considers the move to computer animation to be a positive influence, but I personally think it's been quite beneficial.
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frentymon
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Joined: 27 Nov 2005
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 17, 2006 11:31 am Reply with quote
For the most part, modern anime all have at least decent animation. Some series still have poor animation (due to being produced by lesser-known studio or a one time screw-up by a big-name studio), but looking at series from this year, they're generally mostly looking crisp, refreshing, and smooth. Sunrise, BONES, Kyoto Animation, for the most part Gonzo, and Madhouse are all bringing us really aesthetically pleasing series, especially this year.

If you're referring to something made either by Studio DEEN or Toei, a lesser-name studio, a long-running series, or an older series, I can understand where you're coming from, but otherwise, the quality of animation is very good where it's standing right now and will probably progress further in the future.

Specifically, about long-running series (especially and mostly shounen), if I'm not mistaken, the studio pretty much has the same budget to animate it as a studio working on, let's say, a 26-episode series. This means that they don't have as much $$ per episode, and therefore they either have to outright reduce animation quality or use "cheap" animation techniques (some of which you just mentioned above). Pretty much, long-running shounen anime which probably aren't very recent anyway are a poor basis upon which to say "I'm starting to think that animes are not very well aniamted".
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Enjeru



Joined: 04 Apr 2006
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 17, 2006 11:32 am Reply with quote
_I really haven't noticed too much of this. However, you must understand that the way anime is made and aired on Japanese television is much different than the way things are done here. They don't fully animate and add voice to a series before it makes it's way to the television. Usually they are only a few episodes ahead of what is going to air that week. So they have short deadlines to get a lot done. With that being the case, sometimes it is necessary to cut a corner or two. And the corners that are cut at times are usually only noticed "mostly" by those who are actually looking for flaws.
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daxomni



Joined: 08 Nov 2005
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 17, 2006 12:18 pm Reply with quote
Anyone think we'll get 30fps natively progressive content at some point? I think that would help out a lot during panning sequences. Also, recording the audio track before animating the lips would certainly be a positive development in my view. I'm sure there is a reason they don't do this, but it certainly seems like a bad idea from a purely aesthetic point of view.
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dormcat
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 17, 2006 12:26 pm Reply with quote
daxomni wrote:
Also, recording the audio track before animating the lips would certainly be a positive development in my view. I'm sure there is a reason they don't do this, but it certainly seems like a bad idea from a purely aesthetic point of view.

Not if you were an in-between animator. While it's okay to animate after recording for movies (Disney movies) or at special occasions (such as singing scenes in Red Garden and The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya), it's financially impractical to do so for TV series, at least with current technology.
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fighterholic



Joined: 28 Sep 2005
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 17, 2006 12:26 pm Reply with quote
It really depends upon who's doing the animation and how you view it. There are lots of things involved with the animation anyway. Character designs, backgrounds, effects, etc. Yes, I would like to know what you're example is also.
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unhealthyman



Joined: 20 Jun 2006
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 17, 2006 6:22 pm Reply with quote
Well, watching Rurouni Kenshin at the moment, and while it is really great, I do notice - especially in more filler episodes - repeated scenes and some sloppy animation.

Also, I find the fact that it so often uses the 'black screen with sword slashes' approach to showing fights - especially with a lot of opponents - rather lazy.

However, I don't entirely know what you mean by 'other' animation which is better? Films - anime and non-anime have higher production values and are generally better, so you can't really use them as examples. We could only really look at long running animated series like The Simpsons, Family Guy and South Park.

Anyone who says South Park is well animated is a bit of an idiot. It is intentionally badly done and that is all part of it.

Simpsons is pretty professionally done, but it has far simpler character designs and a team of poorly paid sweatshop workers to do all the legwork.

As new technology makes it easier to animate things, the general quality is more consistent. (Although I am a big fan of the look of hand drawn and coloured anime.) And you can see the big stylistic change in Anime and Simpsons etc. alike.
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Kruszer



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PostPosted: Mon Dec 18, 2006 1:22 am Reply with quote
Generally, it isn't, however, it all depends on the studio animating it. It's not like every show is animated by the same company after all. There's a whole bunch of studios out there. Try watching something produced by Production IG, Madhouse, Bones, or Kyoto Animation for the stuff that really knocks your socks off animation-wise (usually). Althogh I personally don't watch anime for animation, it's just eye candy that's pleasent to see but not a neccessity. I feel that if the story is good it doesn't matter what the animation looks like, Higurashi no Naka Koro Ni for instance. I thought it was pretty ugly but storylines more than made up for that.

Last edited by Kruszer on Mon Dec 18, 2006 2:20 am; edited 1 time in total
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Lorraine_Kristine



Joined: 05 Dec 2006
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Location: Philippines,Cebu
PostPosted: Mon Dec 18, 2006 1:50 am Reply with quote
An example? Above all animes that I watched, I really dont like the way they drew Windy Tales ...
Check it out for yourself...anime#3447

Dont get me wrong, the storyline is good, but I get discouraged everytime I look at the graphics.. Sad
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Zalis116
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Joined: 31 Mar 2005
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 18, 2006 2:05 am Reply with quote
atromoby wrote:
Have you guys ever noticed that animes especially those with long run episodes tend to lack action scenes with most of their plots occupied by two charactors talking to each other for a long time with only their mouths being actually animated and moved, and the lip sync are poorly animated in this case.
Not to be mean, but you're just now noticing this? It's really a part of all anime--it's mostly done on shoestring budgets under desperate pressure to meet deadlines for weekly airings. Drama/romance anime can be especially guilty of this, since they involve a lot of talking and not a lot of other movement, so it's easy to do the "over the shoulder" camera shot at the character listening to the character who is speaking, and just show the listener's static "reaction face." I remember one very looooooong scene in episode 14 of Key the Metal Idol that was like this. Man, I must have downed a few Mountain Dews just trying to stay awake Rolling Eyes

Of course, action anime are far from immune to these shortcuts, as has been noted...look at Slayers and Slayers Next, and you'll see an abundance of stills, speed-lines for fighting scenes, and recycled footage, like Gourry calling forth the Sword of Light or pretty much any spell-casting. And the attack & transformation sequences from Sailor Moon and other Magical Girl anime hardly need to be mentioned under this topic.
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Dante80



Joined: 05 Feb 2006
Posts: 218
Location: Athens Greece
PostPosted: Mon Dec 18, 2006 2:32 am Reply with quote
daxomni wrote:
Anyone think we'll get 30fps natively progressive content at some point? I think that would help out a lot during panning sequences. Also, recording the audio track before animating the lips would certainly be a positive development in my view. I'm sure there is a reason they don't do this, but it certainly seems like a bad idea from a purely aesthetic point of view.


30fps content would help a lot. But don't see it coming in the near future... Sad

As for pre-recording, as a technique it is used, mainly for big budget films/OVAs...(a fine example is Otomo's AKIRA). Using it for weekly series would be too expensive, especially when someone takes into account the actual budget studios have for overall production.

And thus, a question arises....more anime, or more quality in anime?... Rolling Eyes
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