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Jun 30, 11:54 PM
#1
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Jan 2020
14
I watched Monogatari and The Tatami Galaxy a while back, and their distinct visual styles still stick with me. It got me thinking about other anime with unique aesthetics. What other series have caught your eye with unconventional animation or art direction? How did these visual choices impact your viewing experience? Looking for recommendations and interested in hearing your thoughts on standout artistic approaches in anime.
Jun 30, 11:55 PM
#2

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Feb 2020
78767
Urahara came to my mind first. It has kinda unique art style. Not really a good show, but anyway.
Jun 30, 11:56 PM
#3

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May 2019
6811
The unmoving patterns of the count of monte cristo makes it very distinctive and unique.

Jun 30, 11:58 PM
#4

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Jun 2016
12980
This one (I always forget the title):
https://myanimelist.net/anime/4639/Gosenzo-sama_Banbanzai
and The Big O (looks like Batman)
MEA·MENTVLA·INGENS·EST
Jun 30, 11:59 PM
#5

Online
Dec 2021
1745
I've said Ashita no Joe enough times when it comes to artstyle, so I'll say Hakaba Kitaro this time. That anime has such a hell of a look that I honestly thought "Nah, they'll ditch this look after a bit" when I started watching it. They stuck with it through the whole damn anime, which is impressive.
Opinions are opinions, and differing opinions can co-exist. 🙂 But I don't do debate, life's too short to spend time debating people.
Yesterday, 12:08 AM
#6

Offline
May 2024
237
Anything produced by Science Saru or directed by Yuasa Masaaki (he directed Tatami Galaxy).
Yesterday, 12:39 AM
#7

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Jun 2019
3758
Hand off Eizouken has a pretty unique look. Penguindrum is very distinctive also, same with Utena.
Yesterday, 12:43 AM
#8

Offline
Oct 2016
2249
Mononoke (not the princess), (scroll ass looking series), the visuals really added to the atmosphere.

Anything stop or claymotion (there aren't that many as far as I know). I'm not into these styles much but they deserve recognition.

Kanashimi no Belladonna, very creepy looking as it should be.

Redline (it speaks for itself), it's the only thing I liked about it.

FLCL (Others tried, none succeded), it gave me a headache just like everything else in it.

Panty & Stocking With Garterbelt (anime that looks like a cartoon), loved the artstyle.

Dead Leaves (the pevious three COMBINED, it's absolutely insane), loved the artstyle.

Mori no Densetsu (It combines virtually every style up until the moment it came out), the only impressive thing about it.

Super Crooks (Makes sense, it's western based and oriented), besides the main girl, didn't care.

1001 Nights ova (It doesn't even seem to be anime), it's impressive.

Aku no Hana (Failed rotoscopy), loved it for how creepy it was.

Metropolis (Odd looking combo of 60s character designs and CGI backgrounds), didn't like it.

Fantastic Children (Failed 60s artstyle in the 00s), hated it.

House of Small Cubes and the other work of the author (I can't even describe it), liked it a lot.

Inaka Isha and the other work of the author (German expressionism ass looking movies), they deserve recognition.

Batman Ninja (For the worse), godawful like everything else in it.

California Crisis (Failed comic book aesthetics), hated it.

Cybersix (Literal cartoonime based on an Argentine comic book), only thing I liked about it.

Anthologies like Genius Party and Japan Animators Expo among others, as they have different artstyles in them.

Hells (Failed imitation of Hiroyuki Imaishi), quite interesting to watch.

Uchouten Kazoku (Fuujin Monogatari character designs in Great Pretender backgrounds), interesting to look at.

Katanagatari (every character looks different, and the backgrounds change according to seasons), weirdly interesting to see but there isn't much movement in it and it ends up being boring.

Mutafukaz (Cartoonime based on western comic about stickmen ass looking gangsters), liked the style and nothing else, it was a very overstuffed movie.

Onboro Film (Anime short that looks like a classical silent movie and a cartoon short at the same time), enjoyed it a lot. Check out Tezuka's other shorts for something somewhat similar though not as distinctive and fun.

Ousama Ranking (It looks like it was influenced by a French comic strip or something), eh, I didn't care about it.

Pluto (Semi realistic looking 60s character designs as expected), they were better in the manga but still fine.

Tailenders (Weak Redline copy), boring.

Yami Shibai (animated kamishibai), interesting to look at.

I did not watch but know of their atypical artstyles:

The Woman Called Fujiko Mine (60s artstyle in the 2010s).

Kuuchu Buranko.

The Layton anime (Makes sense, as they look like the games).

Manga:

Hoshi no Ou Kodomo (you can barely tell it's a manga, it looks like a southamerican comic book instead), loved it like everything else in it.
CaptainKenshiroYesterday, 2:17 AM
Yesterday, 1:25 AM
#9

Offline
Aug 2011
939
Kaiba, Kemonozume, and Aku no Hana are all pretty unique looking. They almost don’t even feel like anime.

I haven’t seen any of them since they aired, so my memory isn’t super clear, but I rated them all a 7, so I must have enjoyed them for the most part. Aku no Hana is an especially bizarre experience, since it’s mostly rotoscoped. It’s almost worth watching just for that weirdness alone.
Yesterday, 2:11 AM
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Apr 2024
152
Serial experiment lain, something about the style feels very strange (even the shadows aren't normal)
Also madoka magica, specifically the witches
Yesterday, 3:04 AM

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Sep 2016
5016
https://myanimelist.net/anime/875/Mind_Game
This dance is the pinnacle of human achievement.
Yesterday, 3:11 AM
Offline
Mar 2020
3
I don't know if they were recommended in this topic, but Kaiba and Mononoke come first to mind for me.
Yesterday, 3:11 AM

Offline
Mar 2023
2098
Dennou Coil and Kemono no Souja Erin doesn't look like your typical anime.
Yesterday, 4:09 AM
Offline
Dec 2022
804
Reply to CaptainKenshiro
Mononoke (not the princess), (scroll ass looking series), the visuals really added to the atmosphere.

Anything stop or claymotion (there aren't that many as far as I know). I'm not into these styles much but they deserve recognition.

Kanashimi no Belladonna, very creepy looking as it should be.

Redline (it speaks for itself), it's the only thing I liked about it.

FLCL (Others tried, none succeded), it gave me a headache just like everything else in it.

Panty & Stocking With Garterbelt (anime that looks like a cartoon), loved the artstyle.

Dead Leaves (the pevious three COMBINED, it's absolutely insane), loved the artstyle.

Mori no Densetsu (It combines virtually every style up until the moment it came out), the only impressive thing about it.

Super Crooks (Makes sense, it's western based and oriented), besides the main girl, didn't care.

1001 Nights ova (It doesn't even seem to be anime), it's impressive.

Aku no Hana (Failed rotoscopy), loved it for how creepy it was.

Metropolis (Odd looking combo of 60s character designs and CGI backgrounds), didn't like it.

Fantastic Children (Failed 60s artstyle in the 00s), hated it.

House of Small Cubes and the other work of the author (I can't even describe it), liked it a lot.

Inaka Isha and the other work of the author (German expressionism ass looking movies), they deserve recognition.

Batman Ninja (For the worse), godawful like everything else in it.

California Crisis (Failed comic book aesthetics), hated it.

Cybersix (Literal cartoonime based on an Argentine comic book), only thing I liked about it.

Anthologies like Genius Party and Japan Animators Expo among others, as they have different artstyles in them.

Hells (Failed imitation of Hiroyuki Imaishi), quite interesting to watch.

Uchouten Kazoku (Fuujin Monogatari character designs in Great Pretender backgrounds), interesting to look at.

Katanagatari (every character looks different, and the backgrounds change according to seasons), weirdly interesting to see but there isn't much movement in it and it ends up being boring.

Mutafukaz (Cartoonime based on western comic about stickmen ass looking gangsters), liked the style and nothing else, it was a very overstuffed movie.

Onboro Film (Anime short that looks like a classical silent movie and a cartoon short at the same time), enjoyed it a lot. Check out Tezuka's other shorts for something somewhat similar though not as distinctive and fun.

Ousama Ranking (It looks like it was influenced by a French comic strip or something), eh, I didn't care about it.

Pluto (Semi realistic looking 60s character designs as expected), they were better in the manga but still fine.

Tailenders (Weak Redline copy), boring.

Yami Shibai (animated kamishibai), interesting to look at.

I did not watch but know of their atypical artstyles:

The Woman Called Fujiko Mine (60s artstyle in the 2010s).

Kuuchu Buranko.

The Layton anime (Makes sense, as they look like the games).

Manga:

Hoshi no Ou Kodomo (you can barely tell it's a manga, it looks like a southamerican comic book instead), loved it like everything else in it.
@CaptainKenshiro got a lot of this on my plan to watch, ty for all the others one tho
Yesterday, 4:17 AM

Offline
Aug 2017
78
https://myanimelist.net/anime/35557/Houseki_no_Kuni

Someone on the MAL discord introduced me to this, and I'll forever be grateful for having experienced this exquisitely beautiful anime.

Yesterday, 4:25 AM

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Jul 2015
578
Lupin the third different styles throughout all the seasons & City Hunter feel like that to me.
Yesterday, 6:47 AM

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May 2021
171
Ping Pong The Animation and Devilman Crybaby, both from the same director as Tatami Galaxy, very much come to mind
Barely catching my breath!
Lay my eyes on the crest!
Gonna square up to all of the heat that is left!
So I carry the torch! To Inferno! Inferno!
Yesterday, 7:22 AM

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Jan 2018
32425
any non japanese anime that gets listed on this site.

on a side note, comparing kora to ang is almost unacceptable.
Yesterday, 7:29 AM

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Oct 2016
2249
Reply to wallus81
@CaptainKenshiro got a lot of this on my plan to watch, ty for all the others one tho
@wallus81 you're welcome, hope you have a good time with them.
Yesterday, 7:48 AM
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Oct 2019
827
I'm surprised that no one has mentioned JoJo's Bizarre Adventure yet. When I think of anime with unique art styles, it's usually the first thing to come to my mind.
Yesterday, 8:21 AM
Sleepy

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Feb 2023
108
Dead Leaves. Very cartoony, hyper-stylized art w/ a colorful palette.
Yesterday, 10:36 AM

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Apr 2020
2692
Reply to tchitchouan
The unmoving patterns of the count of monte cristo makes it very distinctive and unique.

@tchitchouan

momonoke and gankutsuo also have this look
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Yesterday, 11:16 AM

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Mar 2024
157
My eyes are blessed everytime they go into a witches domain in Madoka Magika
Yesterday, 11:18 AM

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Sep 2018
10285
I like standout art styles like nisekoi and kaiji.
Yesterday, 5:15 PM

Online
Dec 2021
1745
Another one I forgot to mention was Takarajima. I can't really describe it, but nothing in that anime looks quite like anything else I've seen.



Daviljoe193Yesterday, 5:24 PM
Opinions are opinions, and differing opinions can co-exist. 🙂 But I don't do debate, life's too short to spend time debating people.
Yesterday, 8:18 PM
Offline
Nov 2023
69
First ones that come to mind is Flowers of Evil and Ping Pong the animation. Though Nichijou has a pretty unique style as well.

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