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← darkroom
Is artwork/visuals important in an anime?
My friend and I have been arguing over the past several days on the importance of visual/art in anime. He argues that it is unimportant and that I "judge a book by it's cover" as long as it has a good story. I think that it's an important part of an anime since it is a visual art and that it makes it hard to watch a good story if the art is terrible.
So, my question to everyone is, what do you think? Is an anime's visuals/art important part of an anime or am I just being pissy about an unimportant detail?
The way I see it (no pun intended): If I can't stand the literal sight of the anime then why would I watch it?
Pun noticed. Playing the devil's advocate, does the story not matter then? Even if it's the most ingenious story ever written, if the art looks like it was drawn by a 4 year old, does that negate the value of the content? Or the reverse, a masterpiece in terms of art, but the worst story ever created?
I agree with KawaiiC... Take the first 5 Episodes of Guilty Crown, Zetman or Eden of the East. Both with a great storyline and artwork. Then compare that to an animation style like Hajime no Ippo (from what I have heard has a cool storyline and is popular, but the artwork is not for everyone), Deadman Wonderland (where the animation cut corners but had an interesting storyline). Or those that concentrate more on the art and then the storyline flops, then sometimes they concentrate too much on animation and then the storyline flops and then there is no guarantee that the animation is any good.
Whoever has lasted more than 5 minutes of Blassreiter I will congratulate you. In the end the art heightens the enjoyment of the anime, vise versa. For example the animation for Togainu No Chi looks nice, but the storyline and script is not for everyone.
Of course visuals matter, proof of this is the web series RWBY, whilst it is a bad show overall, the animation brings it to a whole new level of terrible.
HOWEVER, I can sometimes look past animation if the show does everything else well, but I would say that the animation is just as important as story, characters and sound design.
It's a factor in anything, in any medium.
Take any work of literature. A work needs more than a plot to be considered good; the writing itself is crucial. Dickens written by Stephanie Meyer would hardly have gained such fame. In anime, the visuals are how the story is communicated -- they're as the prose is to a novel. If a show is to be effective, it needs this too.
That said, it's perhaps less important; there are a large number of other devices employed in any show to communicate its narrative or characters, and it's the cumulative effect of these that will determine a viewer's opinion. It could be argued that the visual medium itself is no more than a vehicle for its writing, and hence the art is a secondary factor.
All in all, it's simply up to how much you care about each thing, and how much you as an individual appreciate things. There may be shows you'll simply watch for visual beauty, even if they lack substance. There may be shows that you'll watch simply for their beautifully crafted narratives and exquisite characterisation (Inferno Cop) with less regard for their visual effect (not that Inferno Cop wasn't stunning in its own right). In the end, there's no sweeping generalisation that can be made, and it's pointless to seek such a thing.
Like what you like, hate what you hate.
+1 for mentioning Dickens; -1 for having Meyer in the same clause.
Anyways, to comment on your reply there:
In anime, the visuals are how the story is communicated -- they're as the prose is to a novel.
I completely agree. I don't think I'm wrong in paraphrasing you as having meant this: anyone can come up with a simple story/plot, but not everybody can execute it "correctly".
But, then, aren't you more referring to the direction of the visuals? For example, take Shawshank redemption: a prison escape story - BOOOORING. But the execution...dear lord, I fell to tears at several points. Point being, it sounds like you're more arguing on the fact of how the visuals are conducted, rather than the actual quality of them. Of course the visuals are important, that's the whole god-damned point of an animation, is it not? You're talking about the purpose of the animation in animation here. It is just a vehicle, but that's besides the point.
And that isn't arguable, is it? That's a fact. Different mediums can be applied to a lot of the stories/plots we see in anime.Though, the art should matter because we could've easily just have picked another medium to deliver us these types of stories that anime hand out. I think a lot of us here find the general japanese art style used in their animation (anime) to be a substantial aesthetical factor, if not as a tool to deliver a story/plot a certain way that only it can.
If the art sucks, may as well just read the light novel. Art style doesn't need to be over the top but it should still be somewhat good. Sometimes I can't watch things because I can't stand how the design looks but if it isn't pleasing to the eye, don't watch it (unless it has a really good story, as mentioned by previous posters)
As an anime, the artwork and visuals are just as important as the story. For the most part, highly-rated anime tend to be excellent in both regards. However, an anime with sub-par (not shitty, but sub-par) animation can still be good if the story is excellent. Although the opposite (animation > story) isn't usually the case. They may still be successful, but it doesn't mean it'll be great.
I think the art/visuals are important. There are different styles, so there's some freedom in how something is presented (so there shouldn't be an excuse for giving an anime crappy visuals). Also, visuals seriously enhance a story by further illustrating the "show don't tell" objective that most aim for. At the same time, plot, acting, and music matter, too! Visuals (to me) make up 25% of the anime (the other 75% go to the other parts).
This is a difficult one. For instance, I loved the terrible artwork of Ebichu, but couldn't manage long with Kaiba. I guess if you think about it, the animation is important so long as it appeals to you.
Exactly, everyone has their own certain tastes. There may be certain art that is appealing to most if it may be something like Darker Than Black, Eden of the East, Garo to Knights of Sidonia. The scripting also has a part to work with the art in order to immerse the audience in the world that has been created.
Important. Visual is a big part of the experience of watching animes.
So after replying to a few things I started to think about reboots. For example HunterxHunter and FMA Brotherhood which had a complete style-up. Even for anime's that are not long series for example: Person 4 Golden and Neon Genesis. Sure the reason for most reboots are due to the direction the company took that diverted from the original source material, even though they may have some interesting concepts. In the end have good artwork which accompanises a good storyline is also a strategical point to make when considering reboots.
Another one can be sequels of anime's: Lupin III new anime is going to be released this year and I am sure many people will watch it for the new revamped artwork. Durarara!! Naruto>Shippuden, One Piece>Time Skip One Piece many things change artwise in order to raise more interest in the series.
There are so many factors that go into this, and I think it is safe to say that art and story is something that should be balanced out, yet shouldn't be mandatory. It depends on the taste, the genre, the target audience, the companies budget... etc.
i think it comes back to that whole "you eat with your eyes first" I meanwhile an engaging storyline can compensate for a lack of great artwork, in a way that good art wont make up for a poor story,
but if the art style is terrible or just straight up not my style (like the old school animations that have simplified eyes) im endlessly more likely to turn it off then something I enjoy seeing for that reason alone. A bad art style just makes everything less interesting
Then you have things like Serial Experimental Lain and Technolyze which have interesting art and a strange storyline, and is surely not for everyone. The other one that I think is really overrated is Elfien Lied. Everyone goes on about the opening seen, like sure it looks awesome. But the rest for me looked pretty bland, and the story wasn't as great. But as you said, 'feed your eyes first' it mainly contributes towards the first five minutes. Guilty Crown for example, when the animation drops off around episode 9 you continue to watch it because that opening title song is great and the animation just amazes you.
I just thought of another one... What about Samurai Champloo? Each episodes was unique in its own way, the ending wasn't so resolved for most watchers who followed the series for and ending with little resoliution. Yet the animation was pretty good and kept people ingaged with its comic-badassery that left a last impression. So I guess in this area I guess we can say that animations depending on taste can actually make the audience continue to watch the series even if the ending is a flop, or that there isn't much prospect in a storyline that is so disjointed.
yeah your last line pretty much somes it up, an art style is capable of being a make or break factor, but isn't always the deciding reason.
Im a little surprised you mentioned elfen lied in this. Partly because I've never considered the animation or art style to be note worthy but also because you mentioned thinking its over rated and in my experience i've only ever heard of people blasting it online
(atleast in the anime community sites like tumblr will get really amped for anything)
The biggest issue I have with art styles is shovel faces and eyes that take up a half to 3/4ths of a person's face.
agreed with both, the new sailor moon series being a good example of overly and unnecessarily big eyes.
For me the real deal breaker is when a show is simply boring to look at. If their color pallet is dull, if their characters look generic, if there's a lack of detail/texture/light/warmth im way more likely to drop it then if i find something about the character design annoying..
Visuals are very important to the anime experience, and contribute largely to the enjoyment of it. Of course if they look like they were drawn by a 4th grader, they're not going to get 5 Stars, maybe 4 max if the show is really good.
