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Old 2011-11-30, 15:58   Link #1
Chiibi
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Things in anime backgrounds that bug you

If someone already made a thread like this, just move it.

Is there anything animators do with minor characters or background characters that just plain annoys you because it comes off as "LAZY"?

I have a few:

Giving all background characters the same hair color
We get it. The main characters have uniquely colored hair because they're "SPESHUL". But to simply take a black/brown bucket to the rest of this character's classmates/neighbors/fans is just freaking uncreative and lazy! I don't care if they're all Japanese-Japanese people can dye their hair! I've seen it! There were a bunch of redheads running around Tokyo when I was last there!

Exceptions to this peeve of mine are if the anime is drawn in a realistic style/and EVERYONE has dark hair or one of the characters is an android; fairy; alien. etc.

Characters in a crowd who don't actually move.
Budget cuts I can understand....I guess. But nothing else screams "CHEAP" more than this.

Feel free to list yours!
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Old 2011-11-30, 17:46   Link #2
Kameruka
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Not really the characters but some anime that I saw had ugly background. Worst offender for me would be the earlier episodes of One Piece.
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Old 2011-11-30, 17:47   Link #3
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Hahaha. I remember Baka Test's backgrounds. The crowds just looks like a bunch of colored paper dolls...
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Old 2011-11-30, 19:40   Link #4
Ichuki
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Where a crowd of background characters are just faceless because that creeps me out a little and it seems like the animators were lazy too
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Old 2011-11-30, 19:55   Link #5
Akito Kinomoto
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Extremely gorgeous backgrounds
No seriously, hear me out. I'm not actually bothered by this but I often find it a bit of an excess. The contrast between these and character designs, which are normally very typical, tends to stick out, and sometimes I don't know whether to focus on the foreground or the scenery porn being showcased. Prime examples of this that I know of would be any of Makoto Shinkai's films which can get downright ridiculous, although it didn't bother me in Voices of a Distant Star (IMO everything about that film contributed to its narrative, but that's neither here nor there).

Dull backgrounds
And by that I mean it just doesn't look very lively. Most recent example I've got is Steins;Gate--whoever thought lighting most of the scenes in the second half to be dark when the colors can barely shine through under normal lighting didn't know what they were doing. I mean, Death Note and Texhnolyze were a lot easier to "see" despite having a limited color palette.
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Old 2011-11-30, 20:00   Link #6
Vexx
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Sometimes I think the artists do background characters in hugely abstract ways just to be artistically ironic within a constrained budget. Like the series where everyone but the speaking characters look like little escapees from international road signs
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Old 2011-11-30, 21:08   Link #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vexx View Post
Sometimes I think the artists do background characters in hugely abstract ways just to be artistically ironic within a constrained budget. Like the series where everyone but the speaking characters look like little escapees from international road signs
I actually prefer it that way, it just means more of the attention and budget goes to the actual characters instead. Sometimes they're able to liven the background up better too as it's easier to express the characters with movement and such since well... it's just a giant silhouette blob that you have to mold and play around with .
Although you'd really only able to get away with such a thing in the more light-hearted shows like comedies for one.
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Old 2011-11-30, 21:14   Link #8
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This doesn't really bug me bout more annoys me. The background with stuff going on that ends up the focal point of later scene. These types of type always forced me to re-watch a scene multiple time just so I can catch the detail...
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Old 2011-11-30, 21:36   Link #9
Ithekro
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I don't know if this bugs me or not, but the second season on Minami-ke had background people's bodies in silhouette, with their hair and clothes drawn normally.

They moved and all that...it was sort of alright at first.

Then they started talking.

Then they were shown in closeup (were you can see they still have drawn facial features and hair, but are just heavily shaded to black) also talking.

Eventually the show stopped doing that...I think about half way though the season. But is was kind of creepy. Perhaps in a funny way as you try to figure out why did they do that, when they had drawn in everything...and then shadowed it like a background person from other shows that just have basically outlines of humans instead?
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Old 2011-12-01, 00:55   Link #10
Xenio
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Mawaru Peguindrum doesn't even have a realistic-look background people and it kinda bug me...
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Old 2011-12-01, 03:29   Link #11
Tempester
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Backgrounds with no people, especially of large areas in cities
Prevalent in Bakemonogatari, the Ef series, and, to a lesser extent, Madoka Magica. Supposedly a Shaft trademark. It can get very strange sometimes. This isn't entirely a bad thing, as it forces me to connect to the characters, but that doesn't keep it from being unnerving. It would have been a big improvement to just have random shots of one or two people walking around in the background of Bakemonogatari to remind me that the setting the characters live in isn't a ghost town.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Chiibi View Post
Giving all background characters the same hair color
We get it. The main characters have uniquely colored hair because they're "SPESHUL". But to simply take a black/brown bucket to the rest of this character's classmates/neighbors/fans is just freaking uncreative and lazy!
Agreed so much. If you're going to give your named characters wacky hair colors from all corners of the rainbow, you should at least go the extra mile to make unusual hair colors a staple of your universe so that I don't begin to think that the main characters are aliens.
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Old 2011-12-01, 21:18   Link #12
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I don't know if this counts, but when there's talking going on in the background over top of the main characters talking. Watching this with subs gets really confusing, flashing tons of subs up trying to catch what they're saying. Buut, I do enjoy rewatching these scenes to be able to follow all the dialogue.
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Old 2011-12-01, 21:39   Link #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tempester View Post
Backgrounds with no people, especially of large areas in cities
Prevalent in Bakemonogatari, the Ef series, and, to a lesser extent, Madoka Magica. Supposedly a Shaft trademark. It can get very strange sometimes. This isn't entirely a bad thing, as it forces me to connect to the characters, but that doesn't keep it from being unnerving. It would have been a big improvement to just have random shots of one or two people walking around in the background of Bakemonogatari to remind me that the setting the characters live in isn't a ghost town.
i see it as a conscious style in some of Shinbo's works. He portrays contemporary Japan with very stark images. In Bake there's a constant motif of cages though which we often view the characters. There's a repeated scene in Madoka where the characters cross a bridge with nary a person in sight. I take these as deep criticisms of Japanese society and culture by Shinbo. He depicts Japan as a barren place and its people trapped behind bars. Perhaps I'm over-reading meaning into something where it does not exist, but I don't think for a moment those stylistic choices in recent works by SHAFT are just eye candy.
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Old 2011-12-03, 16:50   Link #14
Sun-Ku
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vexx View Post
Sometimes I think the artists do background characters in hugely abstract ways just to be artistically ironic within a constrained budget. Like the series where everyone but the speaking characters look like little escapees from international road signs
like azumanga daioh? ^^
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Old 2011-12-03, 18:06   Link #15
DXMichael
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I hate it when backgrounds are too plain. And by this I mean I hate it when there is no sign of life in the background when it's broad daylight in the middle of the street whilst something is occuring.
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Old 2011-12-03, 20:39   Link #16
Random32
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I don't mind when background character's aren't moving. It would be nice if they were, but its the half way point that bugs me. Background characters walking in sync jumps out at me and is very annoying.
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Old 2011-12-03, 20:55   Link #17
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When it's a ghost town for some auspicious reason even in a urban setting. If I see "some" cars atleast that would help.
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Old 2011-12-03, 23:53   Link #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ichuki View Post
Where a crowd of background characters are just faceless because that creeps me out a little and it seems like the animators were lazy too
This, but when the face is totally black (eg. Minami-ke S2). It just bugged me to no end

Quote:
Originally Posted by Hooves View Post
When it's a ghost town for some auspicious reason even in a urban setting. If I see "some" cars atleast that would help.
Just assume that the setting of the anime is in Pyongyang
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