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Convention Events and Programming => Anime, Manga, and Japanese Media and Culture => Topic started by: EveofAbyss on July 23, 2013, 10:50:44 am

Title: The Gorgeous Anime Thread
Post by: EveofAbyss on July 23, 2013, 10:50:44 am
I was thinking today about how beautiful the animation and art of certain anime are. I figured it would make good conversation, so to the forums I went.

So, this is the place to share and discuss the most beautifully-animated scenes and aspects from anime. Are there any that have stood out to you as the genre's visual cream-of-the-crop?

For me, the most gorgeous animation I have ever seen has been in two places: Le Chevalier D'Eon (by way of Tomomi Ozaki's character art) and the work of Katsuhiro Otomo (specifically Akira and Steamboy).

Le Chevalier D'Eon is what I've come to call 'super-anime'. The art is so unbelievably lush and detailed, yet it has the skeleton of traditional anime. The characters look more realistic than anything else I've seen, with Otomo being the exception. His work is also fantastically elegant and artistic. Characters are painstakingly defined, settings have an unparalleled depth and scale. Just gorgeous stuff.
Title: Re: The Gorgeous Anime Thread
Post by: Washougal_Otaku on July 23, 2013, 11:23:45 am
I liked the explosion of colors in Paprika.  It really looked like the animators had a hayday in that one.

As a Slayers fan, I enjoyed seeing how computer animation was used on the franchise with Slayers: Premium and the Revolution/Evolution-R series (which should have been called one season, IMO).
Title: Re: The Gorgeous Anime Thread
Post by: EveofAbyss on July 23, 2013, 01:32:27 pm
I am ashamed that I still haven't seen Paprika. Must see soon.

Oh, and Miyazaki. How could I forget? The way Ghibli draws food is out of this world. The scene in Spirited Away where Chihiro's parents gorge themselves and turn into pigs...I think I would probably do the same thing... The food is so succulent and delicious looking!
Title: Re: The Gorgeous Anime Thread
Post by: superjaz on July 23, 2013, 01:39:06 pm
So yes on Paprika and anime food in general, I wish food tasted as good as it looks in the anime.
Paprika has such catchy opening music
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqg3Sw3s9Wg
Title: Re: The Gorgeous Anime Thread
Post by: EveofAbyss on July 23, 2013, 03:53:37 pm
Oooh, Paprika is Satoshi Kon. I forgot that. I can totally hear it in those opening credits. Sounds an awful lot like Paranoia Agent.

Also...I hate how everything Satoshi Kon-related is crazy expensive now. I guess I should have bought Paranoia Agent when I had the chance.
Title: Re: The Gorgeous Anime Thread
Post by: Tsukinya on August 04, 2013, 12:05:34 pm
Ef: A Tale of Memories and the second season, Ef: A Tale of Melodies.  AMAZINGLY GORGEOUS.  While the plot is a bit hard to follow (or perhaps that's because I watched it so sporadically?), the animation is breathtakingly unique.
Title: Re: The Gorgeous Anime Thread
Post by: The_Geek on August 04, 2013, 12:40:31 pm
Time of Eve / Eve no Jikan
Beautiful and heartwarming.

Title: Re: The Gorgeous Anime Thread
Post by: EveofAbyss on August 04, 2013, 01:38:38 pm
Now that I've watched Paprika, I see what you meant. The movie is unbelievably vivacious. Really fun to watch.
Title: Re: The Gorgeous Anime Thread
Post by: Washougal_Otaku on August 05, 2013, 10:24:27 am
Isn't it?  In a way, it looks like someone was on an acid trip, or something, yet it makes sense to the legitimate plot line.


Another one that's great visually is "Requiem from the Darkness."  It's kind of a horror series, but more accurately a supernatural one.  Some of the supernatural stuff is amazing, and the way in which something that ought to be a straight line are crooked adds to the creepy atmosphere.
Title: Re: The Gorgeous Anime Thread
Post by: EveofAbyss on August 05, 2013, 10:37:16 am
Yeah, I love Requiem. It was the first and still is one of the most truly horror-centric anime I've seen. The animation is so different from anything else I've seen. They use filters a lot to gloss over the animation with mist or rain or what-have-you, and it adds a very grainy unsettling atmosphere to an already dark mood.
Title: Re: The Gorgeous Anime Thread
Post by: BlackjackGabbiani on August 13, 2013, 11:14:01 am
Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi. Sure it's loaded with immature humor and fanservice but damn if it doesn't have some of the best animation I've ever seen.
Title: Re: The Gorgeous Anime Thread
Post by: EveofAbyss on August 13, 2013, 11:50:08 am
Ooh, thanks for the suggestion. I had been wondering if that was one I should make an effort to see. Adding it to my queue now. ^_^
Title: Re: The Gorgeous Anime Thread
Post by: Washougal_Otaku on August 13, 2013, 07:35:35 pm
^^ I haven't seen the anime, but I did enjoy the manga.  I can only hope that the Abenobashi anime is just as artsy...
Title: Re: The Gorgeous Anime Thread
Post by: Prinz Eugen on August 23, 2013, 11:08:27 pm
In 'Uta Koi' the sky and clouds are often drawn as if they were period Japanese art. It's like watching animated ukiyoe or maki-e from the Heian period.

'Tytania' has beautiful characters and costuming - kinda like Baroque European Duchies In Space.

There's a bunch of drippingly gorgeous OVAs done by Makoto Shinkai,
like Voices From a Distant Star, and Places Promised During Our Younger Days,
BUT all of his works have plots slower than watching paint dry, so it's better to
find AMVs using his stuff - at least they're over in 3 to 7 minutes a pop and you
usually get to see all the best scenes (just like movie trailers cull 2 minutes of the
most exciting scenes of an 8-minute movie.)

If you want "What If The Whole World Looked Like Ireland," then Fractale is the perfect ticket.

Last Exile Season II (Fam of the Silver Wing) had beautiful characters, landscapes, and steam-punky machinery to boot.

If you've had enough Myazaki for a lifetime, 'Princess and the Pilot' is a nice break from Miyazaki's standard clichees: heavy-handed environmentalism, Anyone in a Uniform is a Total Jerk, the Mandatory Geezer-ess, and the Plush Toy Pet Companion.

'Sword of the Stranger' and 'Summer Wars' are also highly detailed OVAs and very pretty to watch.