Haikyuu!! using ink and brush in it's pipeline to emphasize a strong spike is one of the most charming things from it's production, so satisfying to watch.
How deep of an understanding of Chainsaw Man do you have to have to craft an opening that doesn't take itself seriously in order to pay respect to Fujimoto's love of films, the manga's absurd humor, and it's pin-point accurate character quirks. Shingo Yamashita is a genius.
Genuinely think this is one of the best action cuts of all time, the posing is impeccable and the readability is amazing for how much stuff is going on. I've seen it 100 times but only after slowing it down did I notice some of the finer details Sato included in the scene.
The year is 2013, Hunter x Hunter fans scream in agony, the narrator just won't shut up. Chimera Ant has an entire episode dedicated to climbing stairs. The anime community is forever scarred.
The year is 2023, Jujutsu Kaisen fans are rejoiced after they get a series narrator.
Despite only having 1 appearance on Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Yutaka Nakamura really made his mark. Wish he worked on an episode but FMA:B had a more than solid animation lineup already.
Akihiro Ota is genuinely insane. Quickly becoming one of my favorite artists on TV anime. So much to process between his two scenes on today's One Piece. Insanely loose drawing and wispy effects that work in perfect harmony. Not getting bored of this one anytime soon.
People are really troubled over Makima's voice actor when I feel like half of her perception of a character is by the fandom itself and not Fujimoto's manga. She's monotone and soft spoken for a good 90% of the series, with a select few lines showing her true color.
Hironori Tanaka is one of the most expressive artists on TV anime, today's Chainsaw Man episode being no exception. Pushing the character designs to the edge with expressiveness that I have a trouble seeing anyone surpassing until his inevitable reappearance.
Rody's parkour is confirmed to be animated by Yukina Kosaka! Amazing scene here, incredibly dynamic and that run and throw at the beginning is a work of art.
Yasushi Nishiya is the MVP of today's Summer Time Render episode being the sole animation director and handling the bulk of the most impressive scene. The effects work is at the top of his game and the 3d space/assets are balanced well. Exciting scene.
JJK S2 Production Impressions
#16
TV anime can often be an asphyxiating experience in relation to executing ambition. Given a fortunate opportunity to start earlier than his peers, Itsuki Tsuchigami showcases his natural knack for crafting a spectacle.
#JujutsuKaisen
#呪術廻戦
The lack of shadows and heavy shading applied to Jujutsu Kaisen
#16
at the request of Itsuki Tsuchigami made for a unique feel to the episode in comparison to the norm. Very skilled artists are needed, as you cant rely on shadows to give an impression of depth like usual.
JJK S2 Production Impressions
#01
A new take on Jujutsu Kaisen helmed by first time series director Shota Goshozono. With lengthy original content and loose presentation of the 2 chapters adapted, a captivating approach to the material is executed.
#JujutsuKaisen
#呪術廻戦
Body Language in animation, something so simple but overlooked by far too many. In the journey for lavish looking scenes that let movement do the work, such simple fundamentals can bring to light the strength directors like Hideaki Anno have just using still images.
(1/87) 🧵
The Boruto comparisons are inevitable, but to me Masashi Kishimoto dunked on the past years of Boruto in a single one-shot. Not only is the art his usual goodness, the pacing and feel to the story is something only Kishimoto himself can bring to Naruto. I've missed this.
JJK S2 Production Impressions
#04
A plight between insane ambition and the cards dealt, the climax of JJK S2's first story arc shows off the team's work towards making the adaptation an experience willing to go far beyond what's on the page.
#JujutsuKaisen
#呪術廻戦
Talking about it on discord but I hold the opinion that Mob Psycho II is the best 1 cour TV anime to air taking into account both narrative and production value. I'm struggling to think of something that surpasses the amount of emotions and spectacles put on screen in 13 episodes
Involved use of camera tracking, variable timing and loose character acting, transformative use of the material to exemplify the quirkiness of each character and their powers. The vision for JJK Season 2 is made clear as day in a span of seconds, Shota Goshozono is a genius.
My mind somehow didn't link the two beforehand but I guess Ino lost his eye in this interaction. Didn't piece that together til I saw today's episode and realized "Yeah he definitely doesn't open it in recent chapters". Ouch. Toji is no joke.
New Jujutsu Kaisen Game Opening is directed by Takuji Miyamoto and features some interesting names from the TV series like Hironori Tanaka as Animation Director and KA, Yuki Sato, Keiichiro Watanabe, and more.
JJK S2 (Ghosted) Production Impressions
#07
Entrusting the first climax of JJK's brief return to air with a fresh name Yooto garnered a love letter of many forms. Between the spectacle (of borderline incomprehensibility), I curse TV regulations.
#JujutsuKaisen
#呪術廻戦
Industry legend Tetsuya Takeuchi's (竹内哲也) work for today's JJK, surreal to have one of my favorite animators of all time work on the show due to Kazuto Arai's connection. As always, the attention to fabric and hair stands out, forever grateful to see more of his work.
Frieren
#06
was handled by action director of the series Toru Iwazawa. A scene originally 2 pages in the manga was made into a spectacle that faced the challenge of crafting an exciting anime original action scene that kept the originals intention in tact. The results are clear.
The newest Chainsaw Man ED might've captured the series' vibes just as well as the opening for me.... it's almost flawless in execution and presentation. Wow.
Mob Psycho is the true definition of a “passion project”. Healthy production circumstance with the artists and staff doing their best to elevate a source material thats genuine and one of a kind. I’m glad this project exists. Undoubtedly the best in modern anime.
The fact that Mob Psycho's character designer/chief animation director does vocals for the openings along with many other staff members says a lot about what kind of project this is. So much passion behind it.
Kouki Fujimoto handled a hefty amount of cuts (60+) for Jujutsu Kaisen 0, leading to an amazing spectacle in the later half. You can tell that Sunghoo Park's storyboard was crafted to shed a new take on Jujutsu Kaisen's action and it worked damn well.
Jujutsu Kaisen OP3 manages to tell a complete story from beginning to end, perhaps the first of the series to do so; allowing it to excel even while having to follow up the work of arguably the best OP director in modern anime. Yuuki Kamiya (Mr. Blue & Orange) outdid himself.
Yosuke Takada is an underrated animator from Jujutsu Kaisen's production due to their lack of known scenes, but the one we do know is quite phenomenal. Hope to see more of their work in the near future. Interesting effects work and foreshortening gives it strong identity.
JJK S2 Production Impressions
#05
With HI/Premature Death coming to a close, JJK has come in a full circle with series director Shota Goshozono storyboarding the conclusion and cementing his vision for JJK S2 as an all-timer. A phenomenal showcase.
#JujutsuKaisen
#呪術廻戦
Keisuke Okiura is the MVP of today's Spy x Family episode undoubtedly. From the fabric, hair, and effects, it all lands well. His work on the show has probably been the most enjoyable for me out of the many talented people involved.
Bleach
#06
is the product of Hiroyuki Yamashita's veteran experience as a director and Tomohisa Taguchi's aesthetic blueprints leading to one of the best highlights of the year thus far. As with everything Yamashita does, easy episode of the year contender.
Solo Leveling really is a baffling show. How am I supposed to be invested in the rise to power of a guy who ends up winning majority of his fights due to convenience or dumb luck. Been a long time since I've felt such a dissonance between the effort of the staff and the material.
I don’t know, that Dandadan PV looks nice, but I really think it wouldve benefited from a grey aesthetic, less use of colors, cinematic direction, and less anime-like expressions to fit the manga.
The penultimate episode of Tengoku Daimakyou didn't pull any punches; both in a narrative sense and a production one. A series that's able to pride itself with a varied showcase of artistry that many shows aren't fortunate enough to have continues to the very end.
Nakayama's vision for Chainsaw Man shines bright under Tatsuya Yoshihara's direction. Great attention given to the moodiness they're trying to achieve while still keeping the goofiness of the manga balanced well. I said it already but he is the star of this adaptation in my eyes.
Jujutsu Kaisen ED3 can be described as a flawless showcase of personality from beginning to end. The ED was made by the duo of Riku & Yojiro Arai, with them knocking it out of the park and into the stratosphere. The fleeting days of Gojo's youth packed into an evocative 1m30.
People freaking out about a gag scene being well animated and over the top is exactly why its hard to take this fanbase seriously anymore. If it's not a direct trace of the manga its disastrous apparently.
Miso tweeted a few weeks ago that he was uncomfortable with people thanking a companies name for the work of JJK's staff under pretty harsh conditions. I still hope some keep that in mind when praising the episode, which was made with circumstances far better than the rest of S2.
No action animator quite like Akihiro Ota in the industry right now, already sang his praises many times before but he continues to reaffirm my thoughts as one of the best in the industry period.
Jujutsu Kaisen
#21
Considering it's a miracle this show is airing, the flair it managed was pretty standout, main animator Kaito Tomioka finishes off the climax of the season with a punch inspired by Hisashi Mori iconic scene for Hosoda's One Piece movie. Beautiful effects work.
Implying Kekkai Sensen unknown matched with “crazy this was 9 years ago” confirms the person running this account is 15 years old max. The explosion of popularity this show had when it released isn’t something you couldve just missed.
Great final for CSM anime, I really liked the direction in A part, and the CGI use was probably among the best I've seen in modern anime. Impressive final push, thanks for the hard work throughout the shows run and through the many hurdles that come with TV anime.
Yuki Hayashi is an absurd artist.... match that with long time JJBA Director Kenichi Suzuki and you have one of the most visually interesting MHA openings to date.
Rarely do you see an anime end (at all, full adaptations are rare enough) on such a high note as Mob Psycho 100, it was able to stay with the same team throughout its entire run and have a high quality adaptation for a work that more than deserves it. I’m still in awe.
Her saying regular sentences in an inviting voice rather than a deeper and/or consistently imposing one is.... the entire point? I feel like people are hyperfocusing on her few scenes of madness rather than the fact that people let their guard down around her quite easily.
HeroAca's aesthetic can go so fucking hard when it's dealt the right cards. We've already seen glimpses of it in previous seasons (+ BONES generally has consistency pleasing aesthetics) but this arc has really let MHA shine. Today's episode being one of the standouts of the show.
Unfinished episode.... can hardly call it an episode for some portions because it's clear they were trying their hardest just to get a fill 24 minutes of runtime.... but it was an experience..... I don't know what to feel in this regard but gratefulness and some disgust.
Release the undimmed/unghosted version
@Crunchyroll
. Japanese broadcasting laws do not apply overseas, negotiate for a copy that can promote success for the series via full visibility of its best animated scenes, and an experience fans of S1/0 already have unrestricted.
Jujutsu Kaisen
#20
Apropos to the blight that is this shows planning and scheduling, the constant string of spectacles the team manage to pull off amidst the last minute deadlines is nothing but endearing. Yuuji Tokuno is quite a special director, as is the peers alongside him.
In awe they managed to air this poorly managed season with such outstanding quality, and naturally I think about what the future holds for the team who showed those above it's possible, but for the time being I am just grateful to the hard work shown throughout all 23 episodes.
Amongst the large action animation spectacles found in World Heroes' Mission, the movie allowed for some crazy good expressions with Rody and Deku. A good portion of it was redrawn by the show's legendary CD Yoshihiko Umakoshi, with the subway scene being the highlight of A part.
Shinpei Kamata may be MAPPA's most consistent and reliable OP/ED guy at this point, delivering works that are able to catch the eye of many who aren't previously aware of his name. Nice atmosphere to fit Jigokurakus mood and plenty of charm.
Watching Mob Psycho II weekly was insane, never short of heartfelt scenes or grand moments, with Hakuyu Go's episode still remaining as one of the most impressive visions to reach TV anime. An emotionally evocative A part with an action packed spectacle in B, both well crafted.
Jujutsu Kaisen followed Yujis perspective for 160something chapters but Gege took a year to build his side characters for the next stage of the story and people pretend like Gege has never cared for Yuji since the beginning. Wild days in the JJK fandom.
The Naruto series has never shied away from close combat, but this somehow feels a lot more refined than previous efforts on the series so far. Must be a testament to Yamashita's skill as an artist and perhaps the influence Chengxi Huang's similar hand to hand scenes integrated.
Shun Yamaoka is an interesting name that's caught my attention in the past few years. With his recent works I easily consider him one of the most interesting animators to work at Ufotable.
Industry veteran Tetsuya Takeuchi (竹内哲也) served as Director, Storyboard, Animation Director, and top Key Animator for today's Lycoris Recoil episode. As expected, his ability to bring out expressibility was at the forefront of every scene. Quirky and brilliant.
Norimitsu Suzuki might have the biggest ratio of ED Solo Key Animation to quality in the entire industry. Always fun to visit his dozen+ library of pure flex.
Matched with hidden inventory still top 1 arc structure in modern shounen for me even before people start explaining "when shibuya gets good", entire thing was a blast, especially reading weekly. Everyone is entitled to their opinions though.