Anime Shows/Movies with the Best/Worst Animation

[EVA Unit 100]

The best animation in anime (or basically any cartoons) is anything animated by Hayao Miyazaki. His backgrounds are detailed, his characters are unique and expressive, his designs for machines, monsters, and spirits are inventive and creative, and whenever he touches a piece of paper you know you're in for a work of art. In particular, his artwork in Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke was extremely great, even for him. Ghost in the Shell and Akira have amazing animation as well. The Wantanabe bits from The Animatrix are great looking, and the Kenshin OAVs are beautiful. The animation in FLCL is totally awesome, switching between multiple styles and doing each style uniquely. TV-wise, I'd have to give props to Stand Alone Complex for mantaining the visual quality of the original Ghost in the Shell movie, if not slightly improving apon it, and translating it to the TV screen. Gundam SEED has great artwork. Who thought you could addapt a nice, soft, emotional, brushstroke-y feel to a mecha series, especially since past Gundams have looked less-than-stellar? And anything by Madhouse is great as well.

The worst animation in anime is definately Peter Chung's stuff. His art style is very ugly and odd-looking. Dragonball/Z/GT and Sailor Moon are definately the sloppiest looking animes. The animation in the first few Lupin TV series was rather weak. Several early things such as Gatchaman and Speed Racer look extremely stiff. The jump between the terrible animation of 0079 Gundam to the good-enough animation of 0083 and Zeta is such a huge leap that it isn't even funny.

Evangelion is definately stuck in the middle. The designs are great and the actual animation they do is smooth-moving, but they also use so much stock footage and pause shots, not to mention the last 2 episodes' style to prevent it from being considered 100% greatly animated.

[Dagger]

I think it's more than a little unfair to compare movies with full-length television series, or older material with shows that are still airing in Japan. When it comes to films, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust and Angel's Egg are among my favorites; both have original character designs by Yoshitaka Amano and do an incredible job of adapting and animating his unique style of art.

In terms of animation alone, the relatively new Studio BONES has an amazing track record (their series include RahXephon, Wolf's Rain and Kurau: Phantom Memory). I can't think of any BONES anime which hasn't featured beautiful or--at the very least--solid, consistent animation.

Yu Yu Hakusho, which aired from 1992 to 1995, was given a ridiculously large budget. Its animation steadily improved over time, and nowadays the show is quite capable of holding its own even against recent digitally animated series.

Studio GONZO deserves a mention for creating some amazingly good-looking anime; Last Exile and Yukikaze blend 3-D machinery and backgrounds with 2-D characters better than almost anything else I've seen (Satelight's Macross Zero, Voices of a Distant Star and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex are the sole exceptions). In terms of visuals alone, their series are often really unique and beautiful. Saikano, Kiddy Grade and Gad Guard, among others, are just so much fun to watch.

Voices of a Distant Star is obviously a huge triumph--it's simply gorgeous, and the CG graphics never seem out of place. Shamanic Princess and Read or Die are two more OVAs with great animation (Shamanic Princess in particular has stunningly high-quality artwork and action sequences). Soul Taker and Arjuna should not be overlooked; both are stylish and fluidly animated. Cowboy Bebop continues to have better animation than a lot of brand-new shows. In my opinion, Revolutionary Girl Utena and Escaflowne are really enjoyable visually [i]because[/i] they don't have the slick, shiny look of something digitally animated.

It's funny that you mentioned Gundam SEED--I'm not very fond of its animation, heh. To me it just looks weird and plastic and over-computerized, much like s-CRY-ed's.

~Dagger~

[vegeta rocker]

Pied piper of Hamlin has some of the worst animation ever, its ridiculous.
Weif Kreuz is also pretty bad.

PPOH is bad because a lot of the anime consists of V.O. while panning and zooming on stills. There aren't many layers in the animation.

[Okita]

Hmmm Dagger pretty much named all the significant graphic achievement that I'm inlcine to agree with, ghibli i think deserves an honourable mention, two of their work Nausicaa and Princess Mononoke, stand out as some of the most amazing graphical achievement of their time, Nausicaa was particularly breathtaking for its time.

Another shiner would be evangelion, (yes yes we can argue about this till the sun goes down) the animation was truly an achievement for it's time, comparable to movie quality...

[Guest ScirosDarkblade]

Some of the best-looking anime I've seen is definitely Full Metal Panic! (Ah My Goddess! The Movie and Spirited Away are good, too, but they're just not as fluid). FMP! did a really good job with digital coloring and they took much fewer "anime shortcuts" that annoy me so much (like people "running" but nothing actually moving, lol).

Evangelion, art-wise, was actually pretty lousy. It's not like it's from the Dark Ages. It's 1995, which, may I remind you all, is post-Batman-TAS. Which means that "explosions" which look like flat yellow circles were no longer the norm. Eva did a good job with *some* scenes, particularly those which involved the EVA units themselves, but for the most part it was nothing to write home about.

[Dead Alice]

I'm also a huge Miyazaki fan, but I have to say my favorite of his films is Castle in the Sky. Everything about it is breathtaking. I made my brother watch it so he could experience the beautiful design of Laputa. Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away are, of course, not to be forgotten either. Unfortunately I have yet to see Nausicaa.
For shows, I agree about FLCL. For being such a strange and unique (not to mention short) anime, the animation is extremely well done. The characters are so vibrant. Soul Taker is another favorite. Samurai X the Movie had some awesome action sequences. (blooooodd...)
For bad animation... I'd have to say Dragon Ball/Z/GT also. I'm just so tired of the entire series... I can't really think of any that were [I]really[/I] bad... Well, X/1999 was rather poorly done, and Demon City Shinjuku is just horrible. (and the main character in DCS says f--- in about every sentence...)

[Dagger]

[quote name='xXchaosfaerieXx']Well, X/1999 was rather poorly done.[/quote]

I am, for a lack of a better word, flabbergasted. What don't you like about X-TV's animation? I assume you're referring to the twenty-four episode series and not the movie. Visually, the show possesses virtually no flaws--everything from the color palette to the choreography is top-of-the-line and really quite dazzling. There are some scenes I could watch over and over simply because they look so rich and lush.

Anyway, it's kind of important to draw a distinction between animation and artwork. If you're repelled by X-TV's character designs, I can't really quibble with that; such things are pretty subjective and ultimately depend on people's tastes. However, its [I]animation[/I] is indisputably strong, and I would be willing to bet that the series was given a rather sizeable budget.

~Dagger~

[Hittokiri Zero]

[quote]Originally Posted by xXchaosfaerieXx
Well, X/1999 was rather poorly done.[/quote]

[quote]Originally Posted by [b]Dagger IX1[/b]
[i]I am, for a lack of a better word, flabbergasted. What don't you like about X-TV's animation? I assume you're referring to the twenty-four episode series and not the movie.[/i][/quote]

*There's a litte misunderstanding I believe...* Doesn't X/1999 refer to "X" the movie and not the "X" television series :rolleyes:?

To be honest I was somewhat avoiding this thread because EVA Unit 100's opinions seemed a little unfair. While raving about the animation of series such as Gundam SEED he talked about how "bad" the animation for series such as Gundam 0079. Now what's the major difference between the two series listed above? Well the one series with the the "bad" - let's not use "bad" but instead use "lower quality" - lower quality animation in EVA Unit 100's opinion being Gundam 0079 was created in 1979 where Gundam SEED (a series which EVA Unit 100 likes the animation) was created in 2002. Just look at the gap in time and it becomes pretty obvious to those naive enough not to realize it already that a series created 25 years ago just cannot hold up visually against a series created just a whopping two years ago.

While I used EVA Unit and what he stated as nothing more than an example what I am trying to get at is that comparing most animes prior to the year 1998 with animes that are currently being released soley on their animation alone is in a way pointless (with some exceptions running through the 90's; but truthfully most animes created before 1990 really just have lower quality animation that is nowhere near todays standards because of the large gap and difference in technology that was availabe at the time of production). No matter how bad they may be many of the animes released today are much more visually pleasing than even great animes of the past only because the technology used to create anime nowadays is much sharper, cleaner, and overall just better than the technology and methods used in the past.

*Okay 1998 was just a random year I chose and may not be totally accurate as there are some animes I could name off the top of my head produced in the mid 90's which still can compare to certain animes being produced today; but when you look at a variety of the animes that have been released in the years 2000-2004 and compare them to animes released in the 1990's you'll see that even there, there is a huge discrepency between the newer and older animation quality. Once again caused by nothing more than the difference in technology.*

[EVA Unit 100]

[quote name='Hittokiri Zero']To be honest I was somewhat avoiding this thread because EVA Unit 100's opinions seemed a little unfair. While raving about the animation of series such as Gundam SEED he talked about how "bad" the animation for series such as Gundam 0079. Now what's the major difference between the two series listed above? Well the one series with the the "bad" - let's not use "bad" but instead use "lower quality" - lower quality animation in EVA Unit 100's opinion being Gundam 0079 was created in 1979 where Gundam SEED (a series which EVA Unit 100 likes the animation) was created in 2002. Just look at the gap in time and it becomes pretty obvious to those naive enough not to realize it already that a series created 25 years ago just cannot hold up visually against a series created just a whopping two years ago.[/quote]

Well, certainly some older animes hold up better than newer ones. Akira from 1988 still looks awesome, but DBGT in 1996 looks like crap.

[Dagger]

[quote name='Hittokiri Zero']*There's a litte misunderstanding I believe...* Doesn't X/1999 refer to "X" the movie and not the "X" television series :rolleyes:?[/quote]

Bah, stupid names. Well, the film is even shinier-looking than the TV series, so I stand by my point. :p

[quote name='EVA Unit 100']Well, certainly some older animes hold up better than newer ones. Akira from 1988 still looks awesome, but DBGT in 1996 looks like crap.[/quote]

One is a movie and the other is a television show. I don't think DBGT is particularly well-animated, either for being a series or for emerging out of the mid-90s, but that's still an unbalanced comparison.

~Dagger~

[natetron46]

I think you can make some comparisons between movies and shows. I do think it is only possible if they have the same animator. So for something like DB, I think it is possible to compare GT the series to another DB movie, because they are both animated by Akira T.

[MangoPenguin]

It may also be possible to compare similar styles of animation, don't you think? Akira Toriyama animated Dragonball, but his style greatly influenced that of Eiichiro Oda, who animated One Piece. So don't you think it would be fair to compare like styles in that sense?

On another note, I like the animation of both the Dragonball series and One Piece; it's generally the more 'unique' looks like I enjoy. I can't, off the top of my head, think of any anime in which the animation has been lacking, simply because of each anime's own personal styles and looks. Lupin III is probably my least favorite in terms of looks, however--and although the character design of .hack//SIGN is gorgeous, there is very little actual animation in the show.

Just my two yen's worth, if you will.

[Guest ChapterBlack888]

The best animation I have seen in Anime is in Metropolis and the worst animation I have seen in Anime would probably have to be in the original Gundam.

[natetron46]

[QUOTE=MangoPenguin] Akira Toriyama animated Dragonball, but his style greatly influenced that of Eiichiro Oda, who animated One Piece. So don't you think it would be fair to compare like styles in that sense?

On another note, I like the animation of both the Dragonball series and One Piece; it's generally the more 'unique' looks like I enjoy. [/QUOTE]

I think you answered your own question. I dont think you can compare those two animes. They are by different artists and as you said they both have a unique look. That implys that they are not the same, thus unable to be compared.

[MangoPenguin]

I was simply stating an opinion. I think it's perfectly fair to compare similar-styled anime, and personally, I think that both the Dragonball series and One Piece have similar looks. By 'unique' I was referring to something that didn't resemble the norm, and was maybe considered more 'strange' (i.e. FLCL)--but, I apologize, and certainly was not trying to look like a hypocrite. I guess sometimes my thought process just doesn't even out somehow. :)

By the by, I also meant to mention how very lovely I think Miyazaki's animation is, although that has been stated already. Something about the way Miyazaki's style looks...even though the people have somewhat odd-looking faces (to me, anyway), the style remains just as beautiful as the stories of the movies.

[color=hotpink][size=1]Please do not double post, it is against the rules. Just go back and edit your original post. Thank you. *QA*[/color][/size]

[Guest Spud_Hed]

maybe this has already been discussed but i was just wondering what people thought of the new style anime that mixes 3d cgi with animation, i much prefer the old full animation stuff, which was part of the reason i liked spirited away, i just wondered how others felt about it. also if anyone has any recs for decent old style anime (or the better new stuff) i dont tend to see as much as i used to because nowhere round here stocks any (cornwall sucks!)

[COLOR=Navy]Since your thread revolved around animation, I merged it with EVA's pre-existing animation topic. Happy posting. :)

~Dagger~[/COLOR]

[EVA Unit 100]

[QUOTE=Spud_Hed]maybe this has already been discussed but i was just wondering what people thought of the new style anime that mixes 3d cgi with animation, i much prefer the old full animation stuff, which was part of the reason i liked spirited away, i just wondered how others felt about it. also if anyone has any recs for decent old style anime (or the better new stuff) i dont tend to see as much as i used to because nowhere round here stocks any (cornwall sucks!)

[COLOR=Navy]Since your thread revolved around animation, I merged it with EVA's pre-existing animation topic. Happy posting. :)

~Dagger~[/COLOR][/QUOTE]

Actually, Spirited Away was about 90% traditional, 10% digital. The animation was done by hand and most of the backgrounds were hand-painted, but the cel painting was done on the computer and occasionally there would be a background CG effect, such as the flower bushes when Chihiro and Haku were running through them or the waves in the water and the passing stops in the train scene. Even Mononoke had about 2 or 3 3D-assisted backgrounds. So at this point nearly everything has at least a few computer effects.

However, it is more prevalent in some cases than others. Personally, I like the 3D-2D combos in the works of Studio GONZO and Ghost in the Shell.

Sometimes, it's a mixed bag. The computer painting in Gundam SEED provides an amazing and unique look the show IMO, but when they actually do 3D stuff such as the Archangel, it looks bad.

But quite a lot, it's completelyu terrible. I hate the 3D cell-shading process (although in a few cases, it's done right like in Futurama and the Zelda games). The latest SD Gundam series, a huge showcase of cell-shading, looks terrible. In Zoids, the 3D looks way too blocky and also uses bad cell-shading. And the 3D in the Kenshin OAVs (which were mostly beatiful) was ugly.

[Dagger]

[quote name='Spud_Hed']maybe this has already been discussed but i was just wondering what people thought of the new style anime that mixes 3d cgi with animation, i much prefer the old full animation stuff... also if anyone has any recs for decent old style anime (or the better new stuff)[/COLOR][/quote]

I can't tell what you're objecting to--the use of CGI or digital animation in general. Clarification would be greatly appreciated.

While just about everything nowadays is digital, there are plenty of older films, OVAs and shows to choose from. Shamanic Princess (a six episode OVA) and the original Ghost in the Shell movie are two cel-animated titles that look stunningly beautiful. None of Miyazaki's older material deserves to be missed; Castle in the Sky is one of my personal favorites.

~Dagger~

[natetron46]

I also think Ghost in Shell still looks good today, even without the addition of all the cgi animation. Even compared to some modern stuff, I think Ghost In Shell can still surpass it. I think the more modern Ghost in Shell (Stand Alone Complex) has great animation also though. It takes the awesome animation of Miyazaki and combines it with state of the art cgi that further improves a great look.