Artistic integrity in animation, or an open letter to Harakiri
I didn’t want to do this but I guess I have to. This is what happens when general animation fans and otaku collide, I guess. This entry is primarily influenced by the comments here, specifically those of Harakiri. Basically he’s saying the Kyoto Animation’s craft is poor and lacks artistic integrity, while works such Denno Coil are worlds better given they uh… have artistic integrity, I guess. Basically the point of this entry will be to illustrate that works such as Kanon and Denno Coil are at the same level when they come to quality of their craft, they’re just for totally different audiences.
Kyoto Animation is known for attention to detail. How these details can elude some people is beyond me, but apparently they have. I said originally that Kanon’s character animation was subdued. Looking back, I find that I couldn’t be farther from the truth. Each character in Kanon has fully realized mannerisms, and KyoAni puts these mannerisms to use cleverly. I don’t remember which episode, but at some point in Kanon, Yuuichi shocks Makoto, prompting her to jump all over the place. The clever thing about this sequence is that her movements are distinctly animal like, and of course we find out later that there is a reason for this. Another example is Ayu’s mannerisms in general, which are quite childlike. Remember when she kept spinning around looking for her backpack (which was, incidentally, on her back)? Stuff like that. Much like Makoto, we learn later on that there is a reason for this. Haruhi’s characters have their own distinct mannerisms as well. Haruhi’s movements embody that of a girl who is very alive and active. Mikuru’s mannerisms are of one who is timid and easily startled. Nagato is uh… well she doesn’t move much, but that’s how she is. Kyon’s variations on “yare yare” come with the appropriate body movements, and Itsuki’s drawn out explanations come with the appropriate over-done hand gestures. Saying that Kyoto Animation doesn’t pay attention to such things is simply a lie.
Another point that Harakiri brought up was that Kyoto Animation lacks professionalism. I find this be quite insulting towards them, actually. They’ve be around for about 25 years, and while most of those years it was simply commissioned work (in-between work, working on specific episodes) you can clearly see the fruits of all that “practice”, if you will, in their current works. Kyoto Animation produces consistent work of a high standard. This is a fact. I think at this point it’s a case of whether or not you like it. Kyoto Animation does elegant, detailed, solid work. This doesn’t make them any less professional or mean that they’re not artists. It’s a case of whether you prefer abstract art or if you like traditional art. KyoAni leans towards more traditional, while a studio like say, Studio 4C tends to be more abstract. I hate abstract art, so naturally I prefer the likes of KyoAni. Basically saying that the guys at KyoAni aren’t artists is like saying that a lot of those old traditional artist aren’t… artists (I’ve never studied art, by the way. Well, art history.)
Honestly Harakiri, I just think you’re biased towards KyoAni given the types of subject matter that they tackle don’t interest you. Their level of skill and artistic integrity is on same level as studios such as Madhouse or 4C (if not more so.) I think you’re just using this as a round about way of bashing moe fans. If you want to see true poor animation, watch Soul Link or something. Jeeze.
I don’t agree entirely with Harakiri but I think I agree with him more than I do with you as far as his “soul” thing.
That said, Kyoani is one of the higher quality TV production studios out there, simply because they … animate more than everyone else. Hearsay stories about how they deliver full animation to dubbing rather than just animated key frames may mean something.
FWIW, Denno Coil probably has a bigger budget than Suzumiya Haruhi.
I already manifestated my point of view in the previous comments so I’ll try to keep my comment rather short.
Kanon 06:
Yes, the characters have their mannerisms but they are way too restricted to express believable emotions. The girls in Kanon are less characterized by their movements and reactions towards certain situations than by their appearance. Moe does not rely on animation quality and artistry but relies on the things that otaku already know from other moe works. You can tell immediately how the characters are just by looking at their accessory and hair color but not by observing their acting in the plot’s context. That’s why moe animation (not talking about the stories but about the technical aspect) are superficial and lack that what I previously called “soul”.
– “Another point that Harakiri brought up was that Kyoto Animation lacks professionalism.”
As I said previously, they do proper drawings but their work just lacks artistic value imo. That’s why they are not as professional as the Tokikake team or for example Western animators.
It’s not that I said their animation was all messed up like in NHK ni Youkoso for example but just that they are putting so much effort in worthless animation of dolls. Who needs detailed hair and light reflections when the gestures and mimics of the characters are simply bland. That’s why I prefer a low-budget style as in Tokikake where the animators put emphasis on the actual dynamique and expression.
A small addition: The Haruhi band performance was done very well though. Sadly I read an otaku’s comment later who said that she found Haruhis (well done and lively) facial expressions “scary”. That is one point that bothers me a bit about the otaku audience: They don’t realize that human expression is not always as beautiful as a special new super anime figure.
– “Basically saying that the guys at KyoAni aren’t artists is like saying that a lot of those old traditional artist aren’t… artists”
Traditional artists were real artists 100+ years ago and artist today can profit from what the predecessors have achieved. But Contemporary art has declared traditional art (if it is still produced today!) as worthless.
– “I think you’re just using this as a round about way of bashing moe fans.”
It wasn’t my intention to insult moe fans and if I did insult someone directly I feel sorry for this. I just wanted to point out that the way moe is produced is far away from artistic value because it is burdened with cliches and boring animation that lacks soul imo.
“Yes, the characters have their mannerisms but they are way too restricted to express believable emotions. The girls in Kanon are less characterized by their movements and reactions towards certain situations than by their appearance. Moe does not rely on animation quality and artistry but relies on the things that otaku already know from other moe works. You can tell immediately how the characters are just by looking at their accessory and hair color but not by observing their acting in the plot’s context. That’s why moe animation (not talking about the stories but about the technical aspect) are superficial and lack that what I previously called “soul”.”
I agree with this to some degree, because most moe-pandering anime are animated horribly (hello Galaxy Angel? Is that a bad example?) But I still think you calling KyoAni’s craft poor is simply a lie and unfair. Anyone with eyes can tell it’s some of the best stuff out there.
“As I said previously, they do proper drawings but their work just lacks artistic value imo. That’s why they are not as professional as the Tokikake team or for example Western animators.”
This where I think you go wrong. Those animators at KyoAni put just as much effort into making the characters perfect as whoever did G-L 4 put into making them kind of jerky and off-kilter. It’s simply a matter of your preference. Both have artistic integrity, as both artists each pour their souls into their work, just producing different outcomes. I can’t say for sure that either artists actually DO “pour their souls” into their work, but I know from my own experience that when I want something to look perfect, I put a lot of blood and tears into it, and I suspect the fellows at KyoAni do the same. If you want to see animation with no artistic value at all, watch Soul Link. Honestly, I’m hard pressed to even call that animation given it’s mostly panning over still images. Also, the Tokikake comparison is kind of funny, given I find its standard of artistic value to be the same as Haruhi. Just sans shading. I actually asked the director about that, and he said he simply did it to give the movie wider appeal outside of the otaku crowd. He wanted something simple looking that would appeal to everyone.
“As I said previously, they do proper drawings but their work just lacks artistic value imo.”
Please keep that “in my opinion” in mind here. It doesn’t lack artistic value, you just don’t like it. You bring up western animators. I hate western animation, but I don’t deny that some works have artistic value. On a technical scale, most western animation is far above Japanese animation (due to various reasons: budget, techniques pioneered by Tezuka involving lower frame rates.) But I simply prefer Japanese animation because it’s “my thing.” But I don’t go around saying that the works of western artists lack artistic merit, because that’s just unfair.
Also, I’m hard pressed to believe that Tokiake was low budget…
“But Contemporary art has declared traditional art (if it is still produced today!) as worthless.”
This is probably why I hate art. People seem to think abstract = good, when that’s not true. A well done artistic rendering of a person’s face and someone spitting up a canvas probably have same level of artistic value (in some strange way) but it’s just a matter of what you like. Artistic value is not subjective, it’s objective.
“I just wanted to point out that the way moe is produced is far away from artistic value because it is burdened with cliches and boring animation that lacks soul imo.”
This is true! But not in KyoAni’s case!
Ugh.
For one, I don’t think Harakiri understand how TV anime works. Kanon and basically all of Kyoani’s major works so far are vying for the otaku market. Where as most of his other examples are made to compete with other for-the-family or mainstream media (read: live action). In the case of Kanon, it’s not so much giving moe fans what they want but giving people who’ve grew accustomed with that what they want. And even so, I think Kanon is notably got “more soul” than just about every other show in the same, relatively narrow category. Plus, budget consideration is definitely serious business, as well as the time it takes to produce something. Tokikake is only about 90 minutes long but that probably took a year to make; most TV anime are 6 to 14 hours long and take about 50% more time to produce overall; worse if the show goes on forever. And even then, shows like Denno Coil is a prime time NHK educational channel program, with a distinctly different audience in mind (and a notably bigger budget, I’d guess).
Second, how is this “unprofessional?” I have never once thought about professionalism in this way because what Kyoani did is intentional. Unprofessionalism to me is more about respect; and Kyoani if any is most respectful of its audience (unlike *cough cough Gainax cough*).
Third, wildarmsheero, you suck. What sort of nonsense is “I hate art”? People like you are the worse because you’d trash a show just because you don’t like it.
I understand “I hate art” is such a blanket, crazy, and silly statement but I do more or less hate “art”. It comes from going to an art school and being around artists all the time, watching these guys go nuts over a piece which is totally stupid. I wouldn’t have such animosity towards “artists” and “the art scene” if I wasn’t so immersed in it.
And yes. I will trash a show because I don’t like it, because that’s fun.
Oh no I’m turning into Cym.
By the way I was joking with the “I hate art” bit because I was running out of the door at that point of writing that comment.
In good Cym tradition, he’ll probably spank you silly in as far as “soul” because clearly it’s something that KyoAni generally suffers from. In fact, that’s probably a common problem with the industry itself.
But just because some Kyoani works (and Kanon is hardly a good example–FMP:TSR IMO is the worst of the lot) lacked soul doesn’t mean they’re not professional. I could say that for a lot of the American-based stuff.