Forum SettingsEpisode Information
Forums
New
Pages (2) « 1 [2]
Jul 9, 3:07 AM

Offline
Sep 2016
22050
Probably it got a higher budget, so the production quality increased.
*kappa*
Jul 9, 5:15 PM
Offline
Aug 2019
1499
assignedgengar said:
ghier said:

Hold up, there’s a crucial point there that I think is fundamentally incorrect. If AI can be used to produce the same level of quality more efficiently; it’s automatically an improvement because it is less resource intensive. At least from the point of view of production.

So, yes, it would be an improvement.

It's not less resource intensive. That's the thing. Setting aside any questions about quality, skill, integrity, etc, the servers required to power the hardware are huge energy sinks & terrible on the environment.

Hmmm, what about how much resources a human animator would consume over the time they spend animating (lighting, food, water, commute, computer usage, whatever they do to entertain on off hours, etc.). How does that compare to the time and energy of the AI tool?

I don’t think it’s a question. AI will be less resource intensive
Jul 9, 9:26 PM
Queer Villain

Offline
Jul 2013
202
ghier said:
assignedgengar said:

It's not less resource intensive. That's the thing. Setting aside any questions about quality, skill, integrity, etc, the servers required to power the hardware are huge energy sinks & terrible on the environment.

Hmmm, what about how much resources a human animator would consume over the time they spend animating (lighting, food, water, commute, computer usage, whatever they do to entertain on off hours, etc.). How does that compare to the time and energy of the AI tool?

I don’t think it’s a question. AI will be less resource intensive

All of those resources are still being used in addition to the drain from the AI *and* human labour is being devalued. More time should be taken for each production, placing less burden on the staff, & said staff should be fairly & properly compensated. AI is not improving the field for anyone but the CEOs who profit the most, not the creatives, nor the consumers, nor the economy, nor the environment.
cranky because your taste sucks, aren't you?
Jul 10, 11:49 PM

Offline
Jun 2025
40
Reply to ghier
DeadEndDoc said:
@ghier

Honestly, I think you're picking up on something real — this episode is packed with extra animation detail, fluidity, and stylish touches. But I wouldn’t jump straight to AI as the primary reason.

If you go back to Season 1 (released in 2022), you’ll notice many of the same qualities: expressive animation, rich shading, and strong character acting — and back then, AI tools for animation weren’t widely used at all. So what we’re seeing now feels more like the natural result of 4 years of progress, plus a studio that knows how to make a strong premiere.

AI might have had a small supporting role (like for cleanup or frame-tweaking), but I’d say this is still mostly the work of skilled animators and proper production planning. CloverWorks has done this before — and when they care, they really deliver.


I think this makes sense. I appreciate the recognition that something is definitely unnaturally impressive. And I also noticed some of these qualities in season 1, so it’s a pretty convincing take.

I honestly had a hard time holding on to that feeling because of the gut reaction I got from other users on here lol.
@ghier

I'm really glad that resonated with you. You're absolutely right — there's something unusually impressive going on in that episode, and it’s totally fair to question how they pulled it off. You weren't imagining it!

It's easy to second-guess yourself when the conversation around AI or animation techniques gets loud (and sometimes dismissive), but honestly, just noticing those subtle shifts in animation quality already means you're paying attention on a deeper level.

At the end of the day, curiosity like yours is what keeps discussions interesting — it pushes us to actually think about the *how*, not just the *wow*. So trust your instincts, and don't let the noise discourage you. 😄
Jul 12, 11:21 AM
Offline
Aug 2019
1499
assignedgengar said:
ghier said:

Hmmm, what about how much resources a human animator would consume over the time they spend animating (lighting, food, water, commute, computer usage, whatever they do to entertain on off hours, etc.). How does that compare to the time and energy of the AI tool?

I don’t think it’s a question. AI will be less resource intensive

All of those resources are still being used in addition to the drain from the AI *and* human labour is being devalued. More time should be taken for each production, placing less burden on the staff, & said staff should be fairly & properly compensated. AI is not improving the field for anyone but the CEOs who profit the most, not the creatives, nor the consumers, nor the economy, nor the environment.

Well, I would say the consumers are benefitting if it turns out more quality shows. Companies will of course prioritize margins, but if they can also squeeze in quality with improved efficiency they will, because the market is competitive. Television competes for viewers first and foremost.

And yes the people are still working the same hours, but they would be producing more or higher quality from those hours. So that means better for us the consumers.

As for energy, I mean yes AI is energy intensive. But compared to man hours that would be required otherwise to achieve the desired result, I think it is more energy efficient still. Sometimes the result isn’t even possible with just man hours, such as recent research in the medical field.

It is definitely true, however, that over the same time period a process with AI will consume more energy than a process without; it will just be a lesser result from that time period. At what point is the improved result worth the additional energy consumption? It depends on the capabilities of the AI and how it’s used. And there’s a reason why in recent years use has ballooned.

And there’s a reason why tech companies that use AI are pushing for renewables and competing for nuclear power plants. They’re preparing for a future where they cannot rely on fossil fuels. More generally speaking new development projects take that into consideration nowadays. Although it isn’t as prominent as it should I guess.

I could keep going about this honestly, but it’s taking too much of my time lol. I do share the concern about escalating energy use in society. I don’t think it’s a good enough argument against using AI though. It is too useful. And it’s honestly part of international competition now with rival countries trying to eclipse the other. It’s not going away. Better to think about other areas where we can cut back and how we can jack up renewables as much as possible. Not gonna say there are easy targets here, because the politics of it clearly make things overly complicated and difficult. Surely there are better targets than AI though.
Jul 12, 11:23 AM
Offline
Aug 2019
1499
assignedgengar said:
ghier said:

Hmmm, what about how much resources a human animator would consume over the time they spend animating (lighting, food, water, commute, computer usage, whatever they do to entertain on off hours, etc.). How does that compare to the time and energy of the AI tool?

I don’t think it’s a question. AI will be less resource intensive

All of those resources are still being used in addition to the drain from the AI *and* human labour is being devalued. More time should be taken for each production, placing less burden on the staff, & said staff should be fairly & properly compensated. AI is not improving the field for anyone but the CEOs who profit the most, not the creatives, nor the consumers, nor the economy, nor the environment.

Also, people that use AI are generally valued higher than those that don’t in most fields, because they achieve more in the same amount of time. Idk about animators in particular though
Jul 12, 11:23 AM

Offline
Aug 2019
2984
they used a lot of rotoscoping, thats it.
Signature removed. Please follow the signature rules, as defined in the Site & Forum Guidelines.
Jul 12, 11:54 AM
Offline
Aug 2019
1499
DeadEndDoc said:
@ghier

I'm really glad that resonated with you. You're absolutely right — there's something unusually impressive going on in that episode, and it’s totally fair to question how they pulled it off. You weren't imagining it!

It's easy to second-guess yourself when the conversation around AI or animation techniques gets loud (and sometimes dismissive), but honestly, just noticing those subtle shifts in animation quality already means you're paying attention on a deeper level.

At the end of the day, curiosity like yours is what keeps discussions interesting — it pushes us to actually think about the *how*, not just the *wow*. So trust your instincts, and don't let the noise discourage you. 😄

I will do just that 😁 ‘Preciate you!
Jul 12, 12:10 PM
Offline
Jul 2014
285
It's just a full 3D model my dude lol, you can see it when she turns
Jul 12, 6:22 PM
Offline
Aug 2019
1499
Atylgan said:
It's just a full 3D model my dude lol, you can see it when she turns

Well, that’s just a few times. There are also moments where shading is ridiculously complex, but it doesn’t at all look like rotoscoping. Normally you don’t see that kind of effort put into shading.

Also some moments with the shop manager, which you wouldn’t expect them to make a 3D model for (not enough screen time or scenes) are also animated ridiculously fluidly. The first moment with him nodding his head as he checks items … that would have taken incredulous effort for such a small moment with no impact.
Jul 12, 6:30 PM
Offline
Aug 2019
1499
kodex2408 said:
Nah, I can assure you that it's simply the result of THOUSANDS of hours put into every detail. I had the opportunity of going to an anniversary exhibition in Space Galleria a couple of years ago, and you could literally SEE the amount of hard work and love that they poured into the entire series, whether it was voice acting, animation, music (composed by my goat Takeshi Nakatsuka), character design, etc.

And EVEN IF they somehow used AI to animate some of the scenes, it still wouldn't take away from the overall level of production and dedicated work put into the series.

Just noticed this … bruh THOUSANDS of hours into every detail?!!! How long have they been working on this anime for lol

Again, I’m not saying it takes away from the result. I just have a hard time believing it was only effort and no enginuity
Jul 12, 7:20 PM
Queer Villain

Offline
Jul 2013
202
I mean, we clearly have completely incompatible views about AI & while I appreciate your willingness to have some respectful dialogue on this, I agree this is going nowhere, just as I believe AI will hit a similar wall when it's no longer The Hustle for the industry.
It will collapse & is as shortsighted as the rest of Late Stage Capitalism. (I don't think it's especially surprising to see this is where my perspective leads & I don't expect you to be on the same page with me.)


This series is still not relying on AI.
Safe journeys to you.
cranky because your taste sucks, aren't you?
Jul 12, 7:51 PM
Offline
Aug 2019
1499
@assignedgengar I actually do resonate with the late stage capitalism thought! Assuming you mean when businesses optimize to the point that they don’t need people working for them, how do you give people a place in society? And then they start losing money because their market shrinks with the populace they no longer employ. Actually, that may be me being overly optimistic about AI’s capabilities in your view 😅 idk, but I can maybe be open on that point. Certainly have seen some dystopian sci-fy that is fear inducing.

The energy thing I can understand but feel inclined to dismiss.

But anyway, safe travels to you as well! Agreeing to disagree with decency is a rare nicety in online discussion, so glad it was resolved as such. Feel free to hit me up again if you ever want to discuss. I know I can overly dig in and become defensive of a position when I feel insulted (may be too strong, but I don’t have a better word), but I can be malleable upon reflection.
Jul 13, 1:30 PM

Offline
Dec 2014
1117
It's CloverWorks. They've been polishing their animation for years, it's nothing really new here. They have been on a wave for a long time. While everyone was busy looking at MAPPA, CloverWorks has been by far the most impressive and promising anime studio out there.
Jul 21, 2:42 AM

Offline
Mar 2024
442
Reply to AmirHossein650
@ghier

I'm really glad that resonated with you. You're absolutely right — there's something unusually impressive going on in that episode, and it’s totally fair to question how they pulled it off. You weren't imagining it!

It's easy to second-guess yourself when the conversation around AI or animation techniques gets loud (and sometimes dismissive), but honestly, just noticing those subtle shifts in animation quality already means you're paying attention on a deeper level.

At the end of the day, curiosity like yours is what keeps discussions interesting — it pushes us to actually think about the *how*, not just the *wow*. So trust your instincts, and don't let the noise discourage you. 😄
@DeadEndDoc I've spent enough time with ChatGPT to recognize an AI response when I see it. Ironic, really.
Aug 2, 7:28 AM

Offline
Aug 2012
572
I think this is just rotoscoping, like drawing over actual people moving.
I for one am not a big fan of it and think it looks a bit cheaper, but I guess some people really love it.
But yeah, dont think its AI
Aug 2, 8:25 AM

Offline
Apr 2021
1720
Reply to Shidoteki
I think this is just rotoscoping, like drawing over actual people moving.
I for one am not a big fan of it and think it looks a bit cheaper, but I guess some people really love it.
But yeah, dont think its AI
@Shidoteki It is not. While I can't speak for everyone involved, this show has plenty of animators that specialize in character acting and can animate fluid/weighty movement without needing that kind of reference.
Aug 3, 6:58 AM
Offline
Aug 2023
478
The guy saw rotoscopy for the first time in his life and thought it was AI. lol
These tourists who don't understand anything about animation mixed with the fallacy/hysteria about AI are hilarious.
Aug 13, 4:14 PM

Offline
Aug 2012
572
Reply to Oongbuh
@Shidoteki It is not. While I can't speak for everyone involved, this show has plenty of animators that specialize in character acting and can animate fluid/weighty movement without needing that kind of reference.
@Oongbuh Im still pretty sure they used rotoscopy for the most part of it regardless.

Even if they did a good job with it, I do not enjoy it as much as the regular animation.
Yesterday, 8:16 PM
Offline
Aug 2019
1499
Honestly, looking back, the walking animations in chainsaw man may have this beat haha
Pages (2) « 1 [2]

More topics from this board

Poll: » Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru Season 2 Episode 2 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 )

IzanaSolos - Jul 10

192 by Alfredo-Sauce »»
5 hours ago

Poll: » Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru Season 2 Episode 8 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 )

IzanaSolos - Aug 23

184 by _untitled »»
5 hours ago

Poll: » Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru Season 2 Episode 12 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page )

Stark700 - Sep 20

277 by R0ary »»
8 hours ago

Poll: » Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru Season 2 Episode 4 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 )

Softhenic03 - Jul 26

150 by Kossagubben »»
Oct 11, 12:35 PM

Poll: » Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru Season 2 Episode 6 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 )

Softhenic03 - Aug 9

163 by YudiYusantoS »»
Oct 11, 9:14 AM
It’s time to ditch the text file.
Keep track of your anime easily by creating your own list.
Sign Up Login