[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by Ice Block

Or, you could accept the fact that the art shift is here to stay and there's nothing you can do about it.

Or, you could accept the fact that fans can like a show overall, and still make constructive criticism of elements of it.

I get the feeling that some Haruhi fans think that you have to be gung-ho 100% supportive of everything the anime/franchise does in order to be a fan of it. Well, no, you don't. Being a fan of something doesn't mean giving a thumbs up to everything about it.

Also, there is no consistent art shift, Ice Block. That's what's causing the art style discussions to continue. If Haruhi 2009 was K-Onified all the time, I probably would have dropped the subject by now... if not the anime itself, to be brutally frank. However, the art style for the new episodes this year is all over the board.

At times, it's very close to Haruhi 2006 art style (last episode was very close to 2006 art style). Other times, it's very close to K-On's art style. Such a wide range of art styles from episode to episode is practically begging for fan feedback - for all we know, KyoAni may be reading message boards to see which art styles generate the most positive feedback and which art styles generate the most negative feedback. So, I'm naturally going to vocally support the art styles that I like (such as episode 8 and 11) and vocally critique those that I don't (such as episode 1 and 10).

I see enough touches - and even long sequences - of Haruhi 2006 art style to keep my hope alive that we may get that art style back yet. Or, at least, something close enough to it that I'm happy with it anyway (such as last episode).

So stubborn.

It's not about being stubborn. It's simply about recognizing that the art style fluctuates from episode to episode, and hence I speak better of the art styles that I like the most.

Are you on the other side of the internet? Design, style, reputation, and genre and general expertise.

You don't need to even know what animation studio is doing the anime in order to judge the design, style, and genre of that anime. A simple google image search will tell you design - a simply YouTube video will tell you style - and a simple Wiki look up will tell you genre.

Unless you watch all shows on the seasonal charts, these are what you take note on animation companies in order to determine which shows to follow, which to marathon, gloss over, pass, etc., helping you pick shows which you have no background about.

How I determine what animes shows to try is...

1) How much the concept and premise behind the anime intrigues me.

2) How much I like the character designs.

3) What my fellow anime-watching friends have to tell me about the anime in question.

4) The general impression I get from the anime through reading fans talking about it (on message boards like this one), and/or from reading up on the anime on Wiki.


I've seen great animes by JC Staff, I've seen great animes by Gainax, I've seen great animes by Kyoto Animation, I've seen great animes by Shaft, I've seen great animes by countless different animation studios.

To think that any animation studio holds a monopoly on quality anime is false thinking, imo. It's also false thinking, I think, to think that any particular animation studio can do no wrong.