Anime: Now vs Then

[4RM3D]

I was rewatching Record of Lodoss War (OVA) and I was thinking about how the anime nowadays kinda lost a bit of the magic; a bit of the depth. Nowadays anime is all computer generated; very crisp en clear, but also a bit... I dunno, empty and flat. I know studios like Ghibli still try to retain some of the magic.

Sure, some things do have improved. Certain scenes were impossible to draw in the old days. But they are very easy to make now with computer generated 3D. This has opened up new ways and styles. Nonetheless I do feel we lost something in the process.

Or maybe I am just nostalgic.

 

[Casual Shinji]

I know how you feel.

A lot of that "warmth" got lost when they switched from cells to digital.

The new Berserk movies are the biggest eye sore. Going as far as to use CGI for character close-ups. I didn't like the original series, but atleast that had some visual texture befitting its medieval setting.

 

[Dr. Cakey]

"Empty and flat" is exactly how I'd describe a lot of older animation. But I do not benefit from your age and wisdom on these matters.

Anyway, it's only recently that CGI in anime has begun to...work. I've heard terrible things about the Berserk movies, but the CG in the Rebuild of Evangelion, Kara no Kyoukai, Fate/Zero, and more recently in Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet and, of course, Attack on Titan has been nothing short of extraordinary.

 

[Ralen-Sharr]

well.... on CGI in modern anime

Ghost in the Shell - CGI/anime mixed RIGHT. Looks good and works well for the show.

I can't think of a lot of the newer anime that uses CGI poorly because usually I shut them off and try to forget them.
They look terrible, some of it looks totally out of place or is just plain overused.

 

[Shinsei-J]

I'll agree with you here as a fan of both ages.
As things stand though, I think it's starting to pick up again thanks to being with the tech for awhile.
I've felt the "warmth" as Shinji called it in some of the more recent anime and it felt good.

The one key element I've found,
it all depends on the studio who's animating it.

Edit: Oh yeah, CGI in anime is mostly terrible.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Meh it's all a matter of opinions, I mean you will get a similar statements toward music, television and films. They all changed according to time (as in timeline) and society.

 

[hermes]

I was rewatching Record of Lodoss War (OVA) and I was thinking about how the anime nowadays kinda lost a bit of the magic...

Stop right there...

The reason you perceive that is not because anime has turned into something less magical. Its because it has turned to something less magical TO YOU. In other words, you outgrown most of the anime shows out there.

Don't feel bad, it happens a lot. You just have to live with the implicit knowledge that a lot of anime in the "good old days" was actually pretty awful (Sturgeon's law), and try not to revisit most of that stuff, unless you want to see them with more adult eyes, and possibly tarnish your memories of them. Trust me, some things are better left in the past...

Or maybe I am just nostalgic.

Exactly.

 

[4RM3D]

Fate/Zero

Yeah, that show was done pretty well.

Its because it has turned to something less magical TO YOU.

Well yeah, it is a personal statement. I was not stating it as a fact.

Don't feel bad, it happens a lot. You just have to live with the implicit knowledge that a lot of anime in the "good old days" was actually pretty awful (Sturgeon's law), and try not to revisit most of that stuff, unless you want to see them with more adult eyes, and possibly tarnish your memories of them. Trust me, some things are better left in the past...

It also depends on how well things have aged. I've made a topic about replaying old 3D games and how I am unable to look past the graphics. But then again, if the old games use sprites, isometric view or something like that, I can still replay it.

 

[Angie7F]

I think it depends on the anime.
I am a Evangelion fan but I enjoy the recent CG infused movies too.
but watching old animes like kureyon shin-chan being so bright and crispy creeps me out

 

[Talaris]

Honestly, I think I prefer newer anime to old, which is an opinion I would say not many share. My brother for example keeps telling me that nothing will top the good old days if the 2002 - 2004 era, but for me 2008 keeps cropping up as a year where a lot of shows I like came out.

Regarding CGI in anime, I will always think of GiTS: Standalone Complex as being the breakthrough show that got it right with the Tachikomas. That being said, I'm currently watching Gundam: SEED from 2002 where I think the CGI is also good even for then. I guess it suits the sci-fi genre more where the better fluidity of motion can improve the action scenes, rather than just using it in a generic highchool show out of laziness.