Takase, Akiko

Another talented person in the god studio that is KyoAni

Violet Evergarden is the most beautiful anime I've ever seen!!!!

Nice art!

Debuting character designer and chief animation director Akiko Takase has an overwhelming style in all regards. Very intricate designs with obscenely detailed clothing, none of which get spared when it comes to actually animating the show. There are a quantity of lines that makes any cut feel like a massive endeavor, to the point that I don’t think this could have ever existed as a standard project – though thankfully it is anything but normal! Arguably the most impressive feat isn’t reaching this level of detail, but rather how unashamedly it all moves. Even ridiculous sequences with complex camerawork and 2D crowds retain these extraordinary drawings. As usual when it comes to KyoAni’s more serious work, though, the expression is achieved more through obsessive attention to gestures and body language than through the movement itself, although there is some of that; there’s a cut in the first episode with Seiichi Akitake’s animation flair all over it that stands as a great example of amusing expressivity achieved through the way the drawings move rather than the actual actions of the character, even if that isn’t the focus of this show.

I knew the character designer for the light novel of Violet Evergarden was a woman (or a gay man), the moment I saw the light novel designs for the male characters....who wouldn't look out of place at a gay bar for men to hook up. Benedict had knee-high boot stilletos showing off his bare thighs through long vertical slits, and "Claudia" another male, is deliberately showing off his black underwear (from the front) more visibly than most girls do wearing a thong. I'm glad they toned it down fo the anime designs, because it was just wayyyyyy too flambouyant to fit the time-period narrative of the story that serves little to no purpose...with the exception of Benedict; one character they can simply chalk it up as him simply being a flashy character --which only works for one character, not for when every single male looks like they're trying to be Masaki Sumitani's Hard Gay persona.

It's like she's trying too hard to be like Mari Shimazaki (Bayonetta's character designer), but a more FUJOSHI version. I like her designs and art, but I wish they wouldn't be so in-your-face about it, as it makes it more difficult to take the overall series seriously...especially if it doesn't contribute anything to the overarching story of a dramatic series like Violet Evergarden. Because anything else would just be shoehorning, and becomes jarring.