Forum - View topicMost Aesthetically Daring Tournament: COMPLETE!!!!
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Galap
Moderator
 Posts: 2354 |
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For those who are new to our forum tournaments, we have been doing these periodically for several years. The focus of this one is on Most Aesthetically Daring, which concerns the visual audacity, impact, and uniqueness of a series. Voting criteria are the following:
What is meant by ‘Aesthetically Daring’ is anime that feature visual styles that are unique and striking. This can manifest itself in various forms; character/environment design, color design, animation, storyboarding/shot compositon, etc. This often manifests in certain noteworthy moments or episodes, so the discussion will often get down to these. The nomination thread can be found here Tournament Rules/Standards: 1. This is a single elimination tournament using a standard advancement bracket. 2. Advancement is determined by receiving a plurality of votes in a given match-up. In the event of a tie, all tying participants advance. 3. The field is divided into four lettered Groups, each representing one of the four major branches of the bracket. 4. Each voting phase will last exactly one week, beginning and ending at midnight Sunday EST. 5. Any registered forum member with posting privileges is allowed to vote, regardless of whether or not you’ve participated in any previous round, Group, or tournament. However, you must vote for all match-ups in a particular week for any of your votes to be counted. 6. All of your voting choices must be justified, ADDENDUM: except in round 1, where you only must justify 2 of your votes, and round 2, where you only must justify 4 of your votes. Justification may include visual material. 7. You are allowed to change your vote before the round ends, as long as when you edit the post you say that you're doing so and explain why. 8. Galap is the final arbiter of the tournament. The initial bracket can be found Here Last edited by Galap on Sun Nov 09, 2014 1:06 am; edited 15 times in total |
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Galap
Moderator
Posts: 2354 |
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Round 1, Group A:
A1 FLCL 1 2 3 Vs. Animatrix: World Record 1 2 A2 Angel’s Egg 1 Vs. The Tatami Galaxy 1 2 3 A3 Mind Game 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Vs. Summer Wars 1 2 A4 Tamala 2010: A Punk Cat in Space 1 2 3 4 5 6 Vs. Noein 1 2 A5 Paprika 1 2 Vs. Cromartie High School 1 2 3 A6 Birth 1 2 3 Vs. Trapeze 1 A7 Gatchaman Crowds 1 2 Vs. Asura 1 2 3 A8 Cowboy Bebop 1 Vs. Nichijou 1 2 3 4 5 Last edited by Galap on Tue Jul 22, 2014 4:01 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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dtm42
Posts: 14084 Location: currently stalking my waifu |
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I'm still wrapping my head around what aesthetics are exactly, so go easy on me.
A1 FLCL 1 2 3 Vs. Animatrix: World Record 1 2 Voting For: FLCL I gotta say, World Record has much better animation than I remember. I was impressed with its clips, especially how the realistic design and movements of the runner were then modified - or perhaps distorted is a better word - into something surreal and trippy. It's certainly a good advertisement for the animation medium and how it can be different than big-eyed crazy-hair characters. The aesthetics of it are such that the effort of the runner is almost palpable. However, FLCL gets my vote because it just does more and the sheer amount of visual creativity in it is insane. From gleefully ripping off South Park to those ground-breaking "manga sequences", there's always something jaw-droppingly inventive on screen. I don't think it is unreasonable to say that the show's visuals are iconic in the anime fandom, precisely because they will blow your mind. A2 Angel’s Egg 1 Vs. The Tatami Galaxy 1 2 3 Voting For: The Tatami Galaxy Oh man, Angel's Egg does look cool with the choice of colour (red sky FTW), the unusual camera angles and the old-school character designs. But The Tatami Galaxy wins by a country mile. Many of the character designs are normally tantalisingly realistic except for their striking paleness which makes for a deliberately unsettling vibe. However they frequently change whenever a point is to be made or the director wants us to see them in a new light. Every scene is blessed by the heavy but careful use of colour, making the visuals pop and enhancing the mood. Backgrounds can be psychedelic in their complexity or just a plain coloured wallpaper, showing that the staff aren't afraid of mixing it up and using as much or as little design elements to make their point. A3 Mind Game 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Vs. Summer Wars 1 2 Voting For: Mind Game Okay, I did nominate Mind Game, but just look at the pictures I provided. I mean, wow. Can you really tell me that elements from that movie have been used anywhere else? It looks like nothing I've ever seen. I can't even begin to scratch the surface of all the ways it is daring. Just . . . look at the pictures. Please. As for Summer Wars, while it is visually pleasing it isn't all that daring. In fact, much of its style in the virtual world was recycled from Digimon the Movie which (IIRC) the director also worked on. A4 Tamala 2010: A Punk Cat in Space 1 2 3 4 5 6 Vs. Noein 1 2 Voting For: Tamala 2010: A Punk Cat in Space Noein had some nice touches. The faces that looked like they were 2D, as if they were masks. Then there was the fights which featured a fluid and deliberately "off-model" art style. Plus the flying praying multi-face things which were creepy as heck. And of course when time stopped the sky would turn red and stuff like that. Nice, but not great. Funnily enough I just finished Noein, but I'd never even heard of Tamala 2010: A Punk Cat in Space till now. So why did I vote for it instead? Well, I was reluctant, but what won me over were the individual styles and their inventiveness. Seriously, Colonel Sanders with an axe in his head followed by a hyper-detailed CGI robot cat holding a 2D chibi cat? The old-timey character designs almost seem like an ode to very old cartoons. A5 Paprika 1 2 Vs. Cromartie High School 1 2 3 Voting For: Cromartie High School Oh god you're killing me here; I wish they could both go through. Paprika has a richness of variety to it, some stunning colours, and the introspective and dream scenes work great with how surreal they are drawn. But I feel Cromartie High School with its far-out character designs - buff Freddie Mercury? - the epic faces and the visual gags (like the guy with the hair that flops every which way) do make for a crazier and more zany anime that holds your attention. But yeah, this is a painful one. A6 Birth 1 Vs. Trapeze 1 Voting For: Trapeze There's nothing like watching the nurse do her thing or the characters change into animals to make one think, "wow, Trapeze is way out there man". Unfortunately for Birth I can't find much about it and the linked video doesn't work for me (I'm not in the right country), so I guess this is a vote for the one I know. A7 Gatchaman Crowds 1 2 Vs. Asura 1 2 3 Voting For: Asura As bright and vibrant as Gatchaman Crowds is with its bizarre aliens and all, I am voting for Asura because of how well it nails the savage look. Everything is dark and mangy; the main character is convincing is his animalistic ways; other characters are either deformed or they become so; the low camera shots during the running scenes; the type of graphic violence; and the eyes, man. The eyes. So much power in them, due to them being the only bright thing in any given shot. A8 Cowboy Bebop 1 Vs. Nichijou 1 2 3 4 5 Voting For: Nichijou Um, no offence, but I'm kind of surprised to see Cowboy Bebop in this tournament. Wow, Nichijou is amazing. I haven't actually seen it but I did watch all the provided clips and one thing struck me above all else; how much effort went into this. The character designs are fairly tame and even the very soft arty style and colouration is not that unusual. But man, when the scene goes crazy with ultra slo-mo or repeated takes or a fantastical fire-beast being summoned to help slam the melon, it makes for a powerful impact Nichijou was a big departure from Kyoto Animation's usual work, less moe and more daring, and I salute them for it. |
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Galap
Moderator
Posts: 2354 |
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Damn it! I didn't think about that problem. I'll try to remedy this. If anyone else finds a problem like this for anything else, please tell me and I'll try to find a way to work around it. It's also worth mentioning that anyone's allowed to change their vote before the round ends, as long as when they edit the post they say they're doing so and explain why. |
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marie-antoinette
 Posts: 4136 Location: Ottawa, Canada |
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Are we reverting to having to justify votes in every round? I preferred when the early rounds only required some justifications, since there are so many match-ups, many involving anime I have never seen, so most of my justifications now would just be the visual support was prettier.
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Ignatz
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I see not many people are willing to participate. I'm guessing it's because of this:
Anyway. I'm not a big expert of aesthetics, animation, and stuff like that, so I guess my votes will simply boil down to my guts telling me, "this thing is more impressive than that other thing." A1 FLCL 1 2 3 Vs. Animatrix: World Record 1 2 Voting for: FLCL This is an easy one. It's basically Gainax's insane creativity versus the quite boring visual style of Takeshi Koike. As far as I see, the only thing that actually makes Koike's style look unique is that shading of his and somewhat weird disproportionate character designs. You just can't compare that to the crazy visual styles that FLCL has. A2 Angel’s Egg 1 Vs. The Tatami Galaxy 1 2 3 Voting for: The Tatami Galaxy Angel's Egg has a really cool looking world, but The Tatami Galaxy's use of various bright colors and the character designs you won't find in any other anime wins in my book. A3 Mind Game 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Vs. Summer Wars 1 2 Voting for: Mind Game Honestly, I don't understand why Summer Wars is even here. Is it because of the digital world? It looks nice, but I wouldn't really call it daring. Speaking of Mind Game, it's probably Yuasa's most insane work. Seriously, just look at its portrayal of god. A4 Tamala 2010: A Punk Cat in Space 1 2 3 4 5 6 Vs. Noein 1 2 Voting for: Tamala 2010: A Punk Cat in Space Haven't actually seen Tamala 2010, but from the trailer and the pictures provided, it seems like it's another one of those really weird anime, and I'm all for that. Colonel Sanders with an axe in his head? I really need to watch this someday. A5 Paprika 1 2 Vs. Cromartie High School 1 2 3 Voting for: Paprika I'm sorry, but Cromartie High School just looks really ugly to me. It also seems like very little effort went into it, whereas Paprika looks so amazing with its surreal imagery that I completely immerse myself in it when I watch it. A6 Birth 1 Vs. Trapeze 1 Voting for: Trapeze Just like dtm42, I also can't view the video of Birth, and I can't find anything about it on the internet. I would be willing to reconsider my vote if anyone could provide me with any pictures or clips from it. Speaking of Trapeze, I love it. The mix of rotoscoping, traditional animation, and live-action, the main character who appears as either a man in a bear costume, a child, or a feminine looking young adult, the goth nurse, and the animal symbolism all make for a really weird and memorable experience. A7 Gatchaman Crowds 1 2 Vs. Asura 1 2 3 Voting for: Asura Similarly to Cromartie High School, Asura looks really ugly, and I'll probably never sit down and watch it, but I can't deny the obvious effort that actually went into making it so ugly. I'm usually not a fan of 3D animation, but in this movie it actually adds to the already very unsettling story. Definitely something unique. A8 Cowboy Bebop 1 Vs. Nichijou 1 2 3 4 5 Voting for: Nichijou Just like Summer Wars, I would like to question why Cowboy Bebop is even here. It's not a knock against its quality, as it is most certainly one of the most well-directed anime with its beautiful cinematography, but it doesn't really do much to look daring. As for Nichijou, it's awesome. It's as if the KyoAni animators got handed a ton of money and told that they can do whatever they want with it. The result is some of the most amazing scenes I've ever seen in anime, ironically used in what could have otherwise been one of the most boring shows. Last edited by Ignatz on Fri Jul 25, 2014 9:47 am; edited 2 times in total |
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Galap
Moderator
Posts: 2354 |
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I had the justification requirement here because this tournament has a smaller field than previous ones, so I didn't think the relaxed justifications in the first round would be necessary, but now multiple people have told me it's not a good idea. I'm considering changing it, so everyone else feel free to give their input on this.
I have now procured some more stuff for birth that should be available worldwide: 2 3 I've also put it in the round post. |
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danilo07
 Posts: 1580 |
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A1
FLCL 1 2 3 Vs. Animatrix: World Record 1 2 Voting For: FLCL Tough contest, but yeah I think that FLCL is probably one of the most visually playful and inventive anime ever created. It really pushed the limits of animation, it was Gainax's first digitally painted production and what's fascinating is that colors are used perfectly. It's an anime that was trapped between crazy action scenes and teenage angst, the only way a balance can be achieved between those two extremes is through great storyboarding, which is what Tsuramaki achieved. A2 Angel’s Egg 1 Vs. The Tatami Galaxy 1 2 3 Voting For: The Tatami Galaxy What the hell is wrong with these pairings, making me choose between Yuasa and Oshii.Despite the fact that Angel’s Egg is masterfully directed anime, with plethora of visual symbolism, amazing atmosphere and the only anime in existence to successfully adapt Yoshitaka Amano's designs. The Tatami Galaxy provides it's directors and animators with freedom to go wild, ultimately seeing this variety makes Tatami Galaxy visually more interesting. A3 Mind Game 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Vs. Summer Wars 1 2 Voting For: Mind Game The only thing unique about Summer Wars is the lack of shading, otherwise it is pretty standard. Mind Game on the other hand is the kind of anime that doesn't look like anything before it or after it. Character designs look intentionally rough and unpolished, but they fit perfectly the purpose of the animation. The animation itself isn't very detailed, it purely exists to create an illusion of momentum and kinetic energy. There is nothing in existence, that looks like Mind Game. A4 Tamala 2010: A Punk Cat in Space 1 2 3 4 5 6 Vs. Noein 1 2 Voting For: Tamala 2010: A Punk Cat in Space Tamala 2010: A Punk Cat in Space is what happens when someone tries to create a nightmarish, freak show out soulless of pop culture. Noein is a pretty good looking show, but not as nearly as unique as Tamala is. A5 Paprika 1 2 Vs. Cromartie High School 1 2 3 Voting For: Paprka Paprika looks pretty amazing, from the amazing animation,colors, directing and whatnot.It is also the only film to feel like a dream,which is pretty astonishing feat,seeing how some big directors failed at that task. Meanwhile, Cromartie High School looks cheap and highly undetailed. Some of the designs are funny, but frankly you can find a lot of funny designs in just about any wacky/random anime comedy. A6 Birth 1 Vs. Trapeze 1 Voting For: Birth Birth is an amazing visual experience, more so than I can say for Trapeze. It features some insane but humorous animation. Birth was solely created for the purpose allowing animators to have fun with themselves and it certainly shows. I never animated anything, but even I could see that some the cuts here are difficult to create.It is a brilliant showcase of Kanada-style animation and one of the earliest OVAs produced, making it even innovative. A7 Gatchaman Crowds 1 2 Vs. Asura 1 2 3 Voting For: Asura Though character designs for Gatchaman Crowds are pretty fashionable and the storyboards are great, the show is pretty much abysmal on every other front.The incredibly rushed schedule forced Nakamura to weirdly edit a lot scenes and along with atrocious animation and rather inconsistent art, I see no reason why I should support this show.Asura on the other hand looks gritty,CG is also not too bad and I guess no one died trying to create it. A8 Cowboy Bebop 1 Vs. Nichijou 1 2 3 4 5 Voting For: Nichijou I am not enthusiastic about seeing these shows in this contest, but sure Nichijou has some amazing kinetic animation. |
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marie-antoinette
Posts: 4136 Location: Ottawa, Canada |
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I'd definitely be more inclined to vote if I didn't have to justify each pick, since there are only 3 anime in this round that I have any familiarity with (and one of them I will be probably be voting against). I just haven't had the time to go through seven different match-ups and come up some good reason to vote one way or the other (and given the low vote count, I may not be alone ... I'm pretty sure that was why the rule for justification was relaxed in the first place).
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rheiders
 Posts: 1137 Location: Colorful Colorado :) |
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For me it's just that I'm pretty busy right now with work/moving/summer class/etc. I'll try my best to vote tomorrow after I finish catching up on my lectures, but it'd definitely be a lot easier if I didn't have to write up a justification for each one. I'd love to write up each one in detail, but I just don't really have the time or energy right now... With luck I should be able to participate in later rounds just fine, though.
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Unicorn_Blade
 Posts: 1153 Location: UK |
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I might not be the best person to give opinions here as I have been away from the forum for few good months, but I'd love to at least cast some votes every once in a while. Doing even short write ups in the first stages takes quite a lot of time (you need to conjure some 8 paragraphs at least) that many people might not have, I think writing full justifications should be reserved for latest stages of the tournament. |
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CrowLia
 Posts: 5528 Location: Mexico |
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Not to be rude or anything, but the topic of the tournament is difficult and unwelcoming enough for newcomers (and even regular posters), having a strict justification requirement is not gonna help. There is already a very low participation rate in this tournament (to the point where series like AoT which had negative points in the classification round somehow made into the final bracket), the participation requirements should be a lot more lax to make it easier for people to participate. I'm not particularly interested, but I at least wanted to vote in the first few rounds, but I'm not gonna conjure 8 paragraphs to defend series that I have never even heard about in most cases.
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One-Eye
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I was gone for a week and I've been slammed at work, so dtm42 thanks for the PM heads up that this was stickied cause I totally missed it.
As far as this:
Yea, I'd like to say that I've been very consistent when it comes to voting in the past couple of tournaments but this is going to knock me out of this one. First, I think this breaks the pattern we've had for the last couple of tournaments. Furthermore, as others have pointed out we are trying to encourage people to vote and this topic might be challenging for some. Its hard to come up with justifications sometimes if you've never seen a show and all you have is a clip. Also, you may find that you end up repeating yourself round after round if you are forced to justify every vote. It may not be a topic that people have a lot of experience with which may limit what they have to say about it even more. Finally, I worry that I may not have the time to write so many justifications and then the possible follow up discussions that may ensue. You may also want to give people guidance in the rules on what you mean by justifications for their vote. If they see some regulars give very lengthy responses people maybe intimidated and think they have to do the same on every vote. Also, this is not a slam on Galap. We are trying to do somethings differently and a few hiccups are to be expected. |
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dtm42
Posts: 14084 Location: currently stalking my waifu |
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I'm happy that you found the reminder useful. I just hope I didn't come across as being pushy. |
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marie-antoinette
Posts: 4136 Location: Ottawa, Canada |
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I was also glad for the reminder, though I hopefully would have noticed that things had gotten started since I am on the forums at least once a day, unless I am out of town.
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