Burnest's Bizarre Adventures in Anime: The Rise of CGI
By Burnest Griffin IV
I’m really liking CG in anime! Although masterful use of computer graphics in anime is nothing new, studios tend to explore the third dimension as a cost-cutting measure and Berserk (2016) was so bad it just broke Otaku Code just acknowledging its existence. Anime is enjoying a surge in popularity right now. With a dynamic ecosystem of streaming services and dozens of Netflix original series, it’s easier than ever to experience the best of the art form. Though every so often, a title comes along that is so well crafted that its format is immutable. Shows like Land of the Lustrous (2017), wherein a host of crystalline guardians protect their home from invaders from - okay so it’s reverse Sailor Moon but an astounding level of care was put into designing how light dances on the characters’ hair and eyes.
SSSS.Gridman (2018) from Studio Trigger attempted to replicate the visual feel of the suits of classic “tokusatsu” Japanese television series. The monsters feel stiff and rubbery which is a clever way to turn a common weakness in compositing CG into traditionally rendered anime scenes into a strength. Likewise, the 3D animation of Dorohedoro (2020) feels perfect for its gritty magical world. Characters squash, stretch, and even get diced up, more to mimic hand-drawn art than to aim for physical realism.
You call THAT a bear?
On the other end of the spectrum persists a show called Knights of Sidonia (2014), the first anime to be licensed by Netflix. While it has mostly positive reviews and received a nod from gaming legend Hideo Kojima for its story, the character designs reside firmly in the uncanny valley and towering mechanized guardians move erratically as if made of paper. Character designer Yuki Moriyama’s signature style combines low frame rates, cel shading, stiff movement, and awkward shot composition into a jittery, claustrophobic, and dimly-lit mess. An opening sequence consisting of show footage is never a good sign but it’s especially troubling for full CG works. It is as though the staff despised working on the project and tasked their imagination instead with cutting corners.
When it comes to finding fluid animation, seamless compositing, great writing, and vivid worldbuilding in a fully CG anime series, look no further than Beastars (2020). While on the surface a series about students at an elite academy in a world where carnivores and herbivores live in peace might sound like anime’s answer to Zootopia - and it’s not not that - Beastars managed to claw its way into my top five. Things escalate the minute they leave the school grounds.
Now THAT’s a bear!
Looking back on the 2010s, we otaku have had to endure an unreasonable volume of shonen anime, especially in the “isekai” genre, following up on phenomenal success in the 2000s. The late 2010s were marked with the steady emergence of online streaming services, as well as a focus on adult programming, which has cemented anime’s place in the mainstream. It’s refreshing to see studios employ computer graphics intentionally and at a time when the global fandom is growing in both population and age. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go finish watching Dr. Stone.