Hey, I know you watch a lot of anime and all so like I gots a question and I'm wondering if you might know the answer. You got any idea why it feels like so many anime nowadays try to shoehorn in 3D assets? Like, I know this is a trend that's been happening a while now and I know western animation has been doing it a while too but like I feel like there's a sharp spike in it of late. Or am I just finally seeing it now that I'm watching anime again?
It is happening a lot recently, presumably because its easier to do now. I have pretty mixed thoughts on it. Sometimes it’s done well - I think it looked fine or at least passable in Fate/Zero (although ufotable refined the technique a bit by the time they did Fate/Stay Night UBW) as it was mostly done to enhance the 2D animation and add some effects, but then you get shit like Hand Shakers which looks like it was made as fugly as possible on purpose.A lot of cheaper studios are using it as a way of cutting corners too, there was a comically bad car chase in the first episode of ‘Alice and Zouroku’. But cheaper anime has always had methods of cutting corners that generally always look bad. It’s just a newer version of that so I don’t think it’s as big a ANIME IS OVER thing as people make it out to be…but.
I do get worried when studios rely on it too much, because I love 2D animation.I have always loved 2D animation more than any other medium. I honestly just dislike the way a lot of CGI animation looks, even the pixar and dreamworks stuff - the 2D disney stuff always looked a thousand times better to me and I’m genuinely upset that it doesnt seem to exist anymore. Kids nowadays even associate 2D disney with being outdated. But just thinking about how absolutely gorgeous a 2D Zootopia would be…
Lately there are a lot of completely CGI anime, at least one every season and sometimes more lately. I think it can work if it fits the mood of the series. Houseki no Kuni is going to be CGI but from the trailer I think it works and enhances the gem look they’re going for, but making stuff like Ajin CGI just seemed completely unnecessary to me… the problem with the completely CGI stuff is that for most of them the budget just isn’t there yet for it to look that good. Bad CGI looks shittier than bad 2D and you need a massive budget for it to not look shitty.
This isnt something unique to anime - recently heaps of kids shows are now CGI. There are shows I used to watch as a kid that were either 2D or used costumes/puppets, that were absolutely beautifuly made and still hold up today, that now have hideous CGI reboots which look like shit and already look dated, and I think that’s a lot worse than when it’s in anime :C
