| Right now I can only think of Akame ga Kill! and Mahou Shoujo Ikusei Keikaku. |
| 1.Made in abyss - I think is a good example 2.Girls' Last Tour - is a better example 3.Gakkougurashi! - "Highschool of the Dead" looked the part much more. |
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HeruruMeruru said: Made in Abyss is the first thing that comes to mind for me. zieek said: I haven't read/watched Made in Abyss, so correct me if I am wrong, but wasn't the art style a stylistic choice by the creator?1.Made in abyss - I think is a good example |
| Shiki is the best example i can think of. For such a dark, mature story and themes, the art style is oddly reminiscent of a typical shounen anime aesthetic. Full of weird, big-eyed, colorful, angular character designs, complete with outrageous hairstyles that look like they were ripped straight out of Yu-Gi-Oh! characters. It really clashes with the often somber tone and atmosphere of the show, making it somewhat hard to take seriously. That said, i did enjoy the anime quite a lot and the art style did eventually grow on me as it went on. I've at least come to accept that, visually speaking, it's quite...unique. |
Stygian_PrisonerAug 30, 2019 5:07 PM
| @Stygian_Prisoner +1 to Shiki. I love the designs of some of the characters and think they actually work really well, but then you get ones like these that just ruin everything. I'm trying to immerse myself in the horror, but these goofy looking characters come along and ruin it. |
petran79 said: Don't let kids watch this anime under any circumstances Shadow Star: Narutaru :) love it, although the manga is way better. |
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| You want to check out Shafts works. Also Made in Abyss and Higurashi. |
| "This emotion is mine alone. It is for Madoka alone." - Homura or how I would descripe Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica. |
| Akame ga Kill! takes the cake for me. It's art-style is that of your typical anime or shounen, but the content in it is much darker than the art-style suggests. Also doesn't work when they have a shot at visual comedy, yeah sorry it just doesn't work with the tone. |
| "Literary experts revealed that reviews on sites like MyAnimeList kill more than 200 brain cells per second." - Joey, "The Anime Man" |
| I don't know what the general consensus is, and this might not even be fair because I've only seen the first two or three episodes, but for me, Fire Force. Because of the similar staff it's basically a watered down SHAFT anime, but with a lot of downtime, which isn't really ideal for a Shounen that isn't reliant on lengthy dialogue sequences. The 20%-30% of the show that's supposed to look good definitely looks amazing, but then the rest of it just does not feel like it's on the same wavelength as the source material and it feels like someone took a piece of work and redid it in their own style without permission. Probably an unpopular opinion, but it's the first thing I personally thought of when I read the title. |
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zieek said: 1.Made in abyss - I think is a good example 2.Girls' Last Tour - is a better example 3.Gakkougurashi! - "Highschool of the Dead" looked the part much more. Honestly, while I agree that the artstyle clashes, in all those cases that's kinda the point. It's not an "oops, artstyle didn't work", it's a deliberate choice for the mood the shows are going for. Made in Abyss - Childish naivete clashing with an unforgiving world Girls' Last Tour - Optimism in the face of a hopeless world Gakkougurashi - Innocent ignorance to cope with traumatic events Maybe Gakkougurashi I can kinda see since the artstyle feels more picked for the bait and switch as opposed to the tone afterwards, but I don't think they're badly clashing, just clashing. |
| You have shit taste, and then I have taste so shit it makes your taste look good |
| lol Rezero and Madoka Magica being called dark |
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| Hunter x Hunter 2011. It wanted to be a seinen-ish shounen yet the use of shiny colors and some very cartoonish, laughable character designs was not aligned with that goal, especially during the York and Ants arc. |
HopefulNihilist said: Personally I think it balances out. The dark parts of Re;Zero might've be very fucked up but when the show gets calm, it gets calm for a good while before the "plot" (If suffering counts a Plot) kicks into gear Again.Mythologically said: So now we've gone from "Re:Zero is not a deconstruction" to "I can't find a professional source online that defines what a deconstruction is". So are you saying Re:Zero is not a deconstruction, or are you saying that "deconstruction" is a meaningless term? You can't have both; you're contradicting yourself here. Hm. Calling TV Tropes unreliable is pretty much the same as calling a dictionary unreliable lmao. A deconstruction, when referring to anime, is a show that takes common anime tropes and shows how flawed they are when viewed under a lense of realism. That's what makes Madoka a deconstruction; middle school girls fighting monsters is dumb. That's also what makes NGE a deconstruction; piloting a giant mech when you're a teenager kinda mentally scars you. In the same vein of thought, Re:Zero is a deconstruction of isekai tropes. A loser NEET is summoned into a fantasy world, and things go wrong because he is still a loser NEET and doesn't magically turn into some OP harem protagonist. That's why Subaru's "OP protagonist ability", instead of making his life great, psychologically tortures him. It's a much more realistic interpretation of a common isekai trope. And you recall incorrectly. Nearly all of the mansion + election arcs is SoL, and even a lot of the dark arcs, like the Petelgeuse arc and the first arc, have plenty of light moments. Also, no it doesn't? There's literally like half an hour of Subaru walking around happy-go-lucky in his newly discovered fantasy world before all of that stuff happens. You also seem to literally have ignored everything I wrote about what the purpose of Re:Zero is. Re:Zero is a light show with dark moments. That's why the art style is light. Alright, I just checked: tv tropes seems to be reliable, so I'l take you word: Re: Zero is a deconstruction. I think Re: Zero's dark moments are way too dark for the show overall to be considered light-hearted. I mean, the shit that happens in this show is extremely dark: limbs get cut off, Subaru gets killed a lot. Basically, the weight of the dark elements far outweighs the light hearted stuff, so the show to me is really dark. No, I didn't ignore what you wrote about the purpose of Re: Zero, I acknowledged it in my reply. I could go on, but this the internet, where literally almost nobody is willing to agree, so I'll just say I agree to some extent on your opinion of Re: Zero. |
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| Most of the times when art style contrasts with tone of a series you can sort of see that it is like that by design, that it serves a purpose (Madoka Magika and Higurashi for easy examples). I cannot say that about Flip Flappers. It really seems like the art and the story were done by two different people, neither of whom had any idea what the other was doing (especially on the second half of the show). The result is a show with an identity crisis, that ends up looking like a knock-off Madoka Magica or FLCL. In my opinion, if it had gone the whimsical route all the way, like Punch Line or Kill la Kill (both of which I love), it would've been much better. |
Mythologically said: I already thought TVtropes was a terrible site (their everything is a trope approach in order to dissect a series is questionable to say the least), but that deconstruction page is a joke. They're capable of making a ''genre'' out of every buzzword around I guess. HopefulNihilist said: 1) Re: Zero isn't a deconstruction. I'm not sure how it's even a subversion. 2) Even if it was a deconstruction, I don't know how that excuses the tonal clash between the art style vs the general tone. 1) Haikyuu isn't a shounen. I'm not sure how it's even a sports anime. See how meaningless that is? Lo and behold, when you go to the TV Tropes page for Genre Deconstruction, there you shall find Re:Zero. The "tonal clash" is the whole point of Re:Zero's deconstruction. It looks like a normal isekai, and also is one about 70% of the time, but occasionally turns into a psychological thriller due to the deconstructive elements (Subaru's OP power bringing him psychological torture, his , etc). You're pretending the "general tone" of the show is dark when a large part of the show is literally SoL. Also, let's not ignore that the whole episode 1 tone change/plot twist wouldn't whatsoever work without the light art style. |
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| Hunter x Hunter 2011. What Ferien said |
| 2015 Arslan Senki had a pretty typical shounen art style, with exagerrated features, outlandish attires and ridiculous weapons as well as rather generic backgrounds and muted colors, which didn't really fit the grounded low fantasy setting or the epic adventure story all that well in my opinion. |
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| [quote=Gytanzo message=58285847] HeruruMeruru said: I haven't read/watched Made in Abyss, so correct me if I am wrong, but wasn't the art style a stylistic choice by the creator? Yes it was and the tone (badly) contrasts with the art style, in my humble opinion. |
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| Madoka Magica and Made in Abyss for sure Hunter x Hunter 2011 is also misleading in the beginning, during the Hunter Exam Arc (but Hisoka's character is already a warning of what will happen later) |
| Shiki is the pretty much the top contender here which fits the bill. In case of Re-zero and Higurashi (as well as the others mentioned), the art styles were all intentional and don't (badly) contrast. The original Higurashi's absolutely childish art is a misdirection, suggesting goofy idyllic fun-frolicking times marred by the same people turning ghastly due to irrational fear. The original VN's art style describes this the most which the anime tries to copy. On a side note, the newer steam release completely gets rid of it and paints much more polished art, since a lot of people or fans found the earlier contrast to be too extreme and/or ugly. Re-zero's prettied up, fantasy themed art design gives the vibe of fun-filled stereotypical isekai experience that turns out to be completely the opposite. In case of Shiki, I can't think of anything yet. It was just an oddity that just stayed as a contrast and didn't visibly support any idea/purpose/theme. Didn't detract from the viewing experience though, but pretty much the first thing that pops to mind are those character designs. |
KreatorXAug 31, 2019 6:22 AM
 Truly a Divine Comedy  |
Stygian_Prisoner said: Shiki is the best example i can think of. For such a dark, mature story and themes, the art style is oddly reminiscent of a typical shounen anime aesthetic. Full of weird, big-eyed, colorful, angular character designs, complete with outrageous hairstyles that look like they were ripped straight out of Yu-Gi-Oh! characters. It really clashes with the often somber tone and atmosphere of the show, making it somewhat hard to take seriously. That said, i did enjoy the anime quite a lot and the art style did eventually grow on me as it went on. I've at least come to accept that, visually speaking, it's quite...unique. Fully agree with this. I absolutely adore Shiki, but dear god are some of those character designs hideous. Then again they were the reason I started watching it so I guess I can't fully hate them :D |
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Stygian_Prisoner said: Shiki is the best example i can think of. For such a dark, mature story and themes, the art style is oddly reminiscent of a typical shounen anime aesthetic. Full of weird, big-eyed, colorful, angular character designs, complete with outrageous hairstyles that look like they were ripped straight out of Yu-Gi-Oh! characters. It really clashes with the often somber tone and atmosphere of the show, making it somewhat hard to take seriously. That said, i did enjoy the anime quite a lot and the art style did eventually grow on me as it went on. I've at least come to accept that, visually speaking, it's quite...unique. I feel like I'm the only one who actually liked the art design in Shiki since it seems to receive almost universally negative feedback and even from people who rate the series highly it's cited as a detracting point. Personally I feel an art style that strove for more realism would have been fine, but duller. It was a village surrounded by death, drowning in death, and whose very industry and lifeblood was made off of death. So it has a grim and somber tone. The art style being more showy and colorful gave it an otherworldly feel that made something always feel off (the Yu-Gi-Oh hairstyles you mention mixed with horror) and actually more realistic because it wasn't something usually done, so it didn't feel like a copy or imitation of any other work. Made the events feel more real and not just based off a Stephen King, Anne Rice, or Twilight-style vampire novel. Vampire fiction is a subgenre that has to already conform to some basic tropes and guidelines so it needs fresh air and experimentation pumped into it. Otherwise you might as well just watch all the vampire stories that came before and they'd likely be the same, done better. |
WatchTillTandavaAug 31, 2019 6:31 AM
| Now and Then, Here and Now A cartoon where cute little kids kill each other for limited resources. One of my favorite Isekai(before it became a bad word) |
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HopefulNihilist said: @Afloo @KreatorX @Mythologically I absolutely disagree with Higurashi's art style existing to serve as a, "misdirection": because right from the very first scene, you know shit's gonna happen. And after things get dark, you know things will get dark again when the next arc starts. So what's the purpose of the cute art style? Well, aside from marketing purposes, my interpretation, is that it exists to, like Made in Abyss, show the characters' innocent side. For Re: Zero, I think this show's art style needed a balance between looking not too light-hearted, but not too dark either. Don't just disagree for the sake of disagreeing, I didn't imply it that way (i.e. we have no idea what to expect). If anyone bought the original VN and/or saw the promo VN/anime material, that's how it is. Once you start watching the show (or play the game), the purpose of that stark contrast was just for that thematic reason and like you said, innocent side 'but not really'. Makes you wonder why things have such a contrast when you get invested into the idyllic banter and actions of the characters. I've found myself briefly forgetting about the crazy stuff the characters can do while I was getting invested. Definitely try the original game if you are in the mood for some Higurashi, it adds in a lot more minor details (along with that rather round and cartoonish art). Similar marketing reasons aside, as for Re: Zero, it perhaps could use some balance but it maintains a similar level of contrast Higurashi brought, just that the contrast in Higurashi was higher. In neither of the shows did the contrast directly detract from the experience when all of it was intentional and that they put forth similar kinds of themes. Re: zero is an isekai fantasy and stereotype wise they made it appear to carry the same level of bright/fantasy themed colour palette, characters are exaggerated to look pretty, all of which one can frequently see in JRPG games. This feeds back into the idea of isekai experience being that 'escape'. Fantasy themed video games (take any JRPG, because Japan) can also be played due to reasons concerning 'escape'. The only twist is that the 'escape' isn't worth the time and the contrast in the show builds that. Just putting two and two together here. |
KreatorXAug 31, 2019 8:56 AM
| Truly a Divine Comedy |
| That's totally Asobi Asobase & Nichijou. |
| I actually have a problem with most of the darker modern anime in this regard. Their artstyles really don't convey the horror well even with the muted color schemes. Take a look at Another for example. It's been a couple of years since I've seen it but I do remember it was a pretty dark anime. What I also remember is the roundness of the characters not really working in favor of the story. Modern anime artstyles fit much better in a lighter tone and Another's artstyle looks like it would be a much better fit for Anohana. Yuya-Noboru said: That's totally Asobi Asobase & Nichijou. Nichijou? That artstyle fits it like a glove. HopefulNihilist said: NGE doesn't look that light-hearted. It's not THAT dark of an anime except for specific scenes. I really don't see how NGE isn't very dark. Back when I watched it I felt like it was crushing and the themes as well as the execution are very dark. I agree that it doesn't look like a light-hearted anime though. |
holysauronAug 31, 2019 10:46 AM
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| Sakurada Reset definitely, it's easy to notice how scene planning and animation don't really complement each other, seems to me that this anime could benefit from a more bleak-looking, melancholic artstyle like the one from shigofumi or kurenai, character design was ok, problem is how certain scenes didn't have the impact the author meant, the "weight" of the scene if you can call it that, because eveything was so bright and colorful 90% of the time, matter of fact, the only time I remember a scene having a different mood based on the light focus was the last part with Haruki vs Soma, rest of the time they didn't use illumination to heighten or set the mood of the scene. |
| I'd say Yuki Yuuna is a better example of art style meshing badly with the tone than Madoka Magica. In Madoka, the art was always a little 'off', making you think something wasn't quite right from the very beginning, and once things got dark it fit like a glove. Yuki Yuuna looks just like any other series made in the 2010s, which doesn't do much to enhance the tone albeit it doesn't necessarily hurt it either. |
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Yuya-Noboru said: That's totally Asobi Asobase & Nichijou. oh yeah, I actually agree with the former, the show has the tone of a light-hearted comedy, but the art style (specifically faces) of a horror show. The show was more creepy than actual horror anime lel Also, I don't see how Made in Abyss was badly contrasting? Apart from the character designs (and maybe some of the creatures) nothing spelled out happy-go-lucky at all |
 'On-Hold' is another way for a completionist to say 'Dropped' |
Mythologically said: HopefulNihilist said: Unless somebody cites a professional source that explains what a deconstruction is, I can't take your definition seriously. Period. Mythologically said: If you disagree with that being the definition of "deconstruction", let's say that that is the definition of the word "ddjkhlbfjksadfjehwd". Whether that is the definition of "deconstruction" or "ddjkhlbfjksadfjehwd" doesn't matter whatsoever. If you can't stop being stupid, could you at least learn how to read? Even if he was mistaken There was nothing about the post that is "Mind Bogglingly stupid". Dont go around calling people stupid for trying to discuss anime and stop using anime forums as an outlet to vent out your frustrations on others. |
HopefulNihilist said: I'm going to disagree with Higurashi having more contrast in its art style. Aside from the characters' colorful hair and big eyes, the anime has a very muted color scheme, unlike Re: Zero where everything is much brighter. This is what I meant by disagreeing for the sake of it :D Higurashi S1 is an anime from 2006. It also had less ambitious production values. You notice how they have been touching up the subsequent seasons with better art style (more well defined drawings and models, brighter and poppy color scheme). Not to mention we are comparing production values between anime from 2006 and 2016 respectively. So to draw a baseline, what exactly about art style are we discussing here? Era? Colour? Character model/polygon designs? You seem to be approaching from the point of colours here. HopefulNihilist said: Okay, I think I can go with that to an extent: Re: Zero having a colorful art style to reflect typical escapist jrpgs, only for it to subvert those expectations, by showing how hellish the protagonist's life becomes. But again, I feel as though this draws back to what I said earlier: how this is a good idea in the short run, but not one in the long run, because it becomes distracting, once we, the viewers, are aware Re: Zero is not a typical escapist fantasy. I think this is what should've happened: Re: Zero begins starts off with everything being all happy and colorful (no death scenes yet), but once shit happens, Subaru realizes that his new life isn't so great, and so the art style changes to reflect this: more grimdark, but NOT Texhonlyze-dark. As for being good or bad in the long run, only time can tell. It wasn't distracting me from the the scenes at hand. Nevertheless, when you speak of 'art-style' changing to reflect this, what are we considering here again? Colour palette, hue/saturation? I certainly hope you aren't talking about character models/designs since that would immediately imply that the studio is being inconsistent with its production values for that particular season. |
KreatorXAug 31, 2019 11:57 AM
| Truly a Divine Comedy |
bakkuretsu said: @MythologicallyEven if he was mistaken There was nothing about the post that is "Mind Bogglingly stupid". Dont go around calling people stupid for trying to discuss anime and stop using anime forums as an outlet to vent out your frustrations on others. Rip, you just go destroyed bro. Go take anger management classes. |
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HopefulNihilist said: Unless somebody cites a professional source that explains what a deconstruction is, I can't take your definition seriously. Period. So basically u said re:zero isn't a deconstruction even tho u don't have a definition of deconstruction u trust? |
HopefulNihilist said: vhagar8 said: So basically u said re:zero isn't a deconstruction even tho u don't have a definition of deconstruction u trust? Exactly. If I can't find a professional source that explains what a deconstruction is, I can't confirm whether Re: Zero's a deconstruction or not. Then why did u say "re:zero isn't a deconstruction" in one of your first posts? Ur contradicting yourself |
| Re zero art style is fine I don't understand your complaint. Just because it tackles some dark themes doesn't mean it has to have a dark art style. Your sounding like your just trying to hate on the show. |
  Never explain, Never retract, Never apologize Just get the thing done And let them howl |
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