(L) Aku No Hana (Flowers of Evil)

[ZODDGUTS]

Don't remember the last time we got an anime that had asian looking character design, interesting.

[ars89]

I honestly couldn't sit through that. Wonder why they chose that kind of style.

[NoemiChan]

Originally Posted by ars89

I honestly couldn't sit through that. Wonder why they chose that kind of style.

Well it has a creepy mood in it...

[SquirrelLuvsPnut]

I don't think there would be as much rage if the whole animation style hadn't been kept a secret for so long. There was this huge build up and then the let down. If we had seen what it was right away, then perhaps it wouldn't have been such a shock.

[orion]

Originally Posted by SquirrelLuvsPnut

I don't think there would be as much rage if the whole animation style hadn't been kept a secret for so long. There was this huge build up and then the let down. If we had seen what it was right away, then perhaps it wouldn't have been such a shock.

Maybe they wanted the shock factor. You guys seemed really shocked and upset so I'd say the director definitely made an impact with you guys.

[totoum]

Originally Posted by orion

Maybe they wanted the shock factor. You guys seemed really shocked and upset so I'd say the director definitely made an impact with you guys.

Yeah,that what I get from the interview from a couple pages back:

The interviewer asks about the impact the visuals would have on viewers, and Nagahama says he's well aware that a lot of people will go "what the fuck" and "this is gross," "I hate this, I'm not watching this." But he's pretty much okay with that, too, because he thinks it's fine as long as it leaves an impact on people.

[FredFriendly]

Originally Posted by ZODDGUTS

Don't remember the last time we got an anime that had asian looking character design, interesting.

Some of the characters in Chihayafuru, for instance, have an "Asian" look to them. Indeed, at least one of the characters looks like a Westernized caricature of a Japanese teenager. It's becoming, in the typical anime, the only way to know if someone is a foreigner is if they have blonde hair (as opposed to pink, blue, green, and any other of those realistic hair colors).

One of the other things that intrigued me about the episode was, as NaweG pointed out, the realistic looking environment: streets that weren't spotless, a bent street sign, grubby and broken bits here and there. I don't know if that's a realistic look of a Japanese city, but it looks real to me.

Originally Posted by SquirrelLuvsPnut

I don't think there would be as much rage if the whole animation style hadn't been kept a secret for so long. There was this huge build up and then the let down. If we had seen what it was right away, then perhaps it wouldn't have been such a shock.

Or, haters would have had that much longer to rage and complain. Frankly, I just don't see what the big deal is. When the animation team used a rotoscope-like process for Kids on the Slope, people raved about it. But here it's worse than a thick layer of tar on burnt toast? I find it hard to believe it's such a BIG issue that the whole series is ruined. What about watching the series for the story? Reading some of the comments hear makes it sound like people are going blind just by watching the episode.

[Reckoner]

Originally Posted by totoum

Yeah,that what I get from the interview from a couple pages back:

This is not directed at you but the comment by the mangaka.

Great, we're shocked. Now what?

That comment honestly strikes me as very weird. The impact of the story is already present in the manga. Why did he feel that changing anything so drastically was a good idea? I could understand if this different visual style was actually done well, but clearly from the episode (I have seen it now btw), is poor. This isn't even good rotoscoping.

[ahelo]

Looks like we'll all be eating shit this season. We're all shit-eaters after all.

[Xion Valkyrie]

Originally Posted by totoum

Yeah,that what I get from the interview from a couple pages back:

The problem is that only works if the viewer actually sits through the entire series. If people are watching the first episode then dropping, then the studio is failing to deliver the meaningful story to the audience. Something like that generally works better for movies or other performances where it's unlikely for most viewers to walk out in the middle. In the case of an anime, the negative impression has even prevented people from even checking it out.

[vaden]

The animation wasn't a total disaster, in my eyes, but I struggle to see what advantage the rotoscoping process used here carries over live action, which is clearly what the producers were going after — the execution is such that every potential positive is countered by a negative. The realism of the faces is frequently lost in inadequate shading and poorly detailed line work. Subtle shifts in expression are overwhelmed by jittery strokes and a low frame rate. (I jumped to a couple of spots in the episode to check, and all of them seem to have been drawn on threes, meaning about ten frames per second.) The backgrounds are great at setting atmosphere, but the reuse of major parts of the school commute scene was unnecessarily distracting. "At least it's not generic moe design" is a weak defense; the substitute needs to be competent in its own regard.

The sound design is pretty good. I suppose one of the advantages of actually having the locations set up with actors is that you can capture real ambient noise. That being said, the opening song just doesn't belong. Sorry.

[neshru]

Originally Posted by Cold~as~Ice

they need remove this shit from crunchyroll

Yeah, seriously. Imagine what all their 13 years old subscribers would say if they saw this. Crunchyroll is supposed to be an anime channel, dammit!

[vansonbee]

It will be a week till the rants of ugly drawing will calm down.

I hope the one's that are following still, would keep me updated in this thread. If the performance is top notch and feels enticing, lmk ^^

[Reincarnated]

won't say it's ugly; it's creepy. Which is I'm curious whether it'll add the creepiness of the series....in unique way

[Enjou]

The rotoscoping might have worked, but the execution is horrible. I don't think I've ever dropped an anime for art style reasons - I mean, I watched all of Kingdom even through the really poor CG animation in the early episodes but still enjoyed it. This? I don't think I can. Oh well, I can always pick up the manga.

[Mizuno]

This is uglier than 3D... good job, I think these people deserve an award for trolling.

[Utsuro no Hako]

Originally Posted by RollingPenguin

I think there was a thematic purpose to that actually.The reason why they only adapted 20 pages of first chapter and used same footage was to show monotony and repetitious activity of adolescent life.

Yeah, in fact the manga uses the same technique.

Originally Posted by Fnights

When he will get fired (and i really hope they fired him) for awfull dvd sales i want to hear him speck again and i will laught hard.

This show was never going to be a hit -- no matter what animation style they use, the plot is too far removed from what otaku like. If there was ever a series to go crazy experimental with, this is it.

Originally Posted by FredFriendly

One of the other things that intrigued me about the episode was, as NaweG pointed out, the realistic looking environment: streets that weren't spotless, a bent street sign, grubby and broken bits here and there. I don't know if that's a realistic look of a Japanese city, but it looks real to me.

A number of studios these days (KyoAni and PA Works in particular) send people out to photograph locations, so the show isn't unique in that regard. In fact, I think Another had streets that were even grungier than this. But what made the locations seem real to me wasn't just how they were drawn, but how people moved about them. In most anime characters and backgrounds are animated separately, so there's some disconnect with how people move about their environment, but here we're watching people move about in a real environment even if it's not the exact environment that's animated.

[GundamZZ]

Originally Posted by ZODDGUTS

Don't remember the last time we got an anime that had asian looking character design, interesting.

Not another generic comment...
Japanese viewers actually made some satirical artwork based on this comment.

The manga story didn't attract me. So, the new anime style is quite refreshing. I still hope manga artist's other work will be animated. If they animated Drifting Netcafe(not animated) with this style. I'll probably be mad. It's fine they do it for Aku No Hana. So, I applaud them for taking bolder approach than Shaft. (Side note: Shaft likes to do experimental work, even at the cost of distorting original work. The fans still buy it.)

[Guardian Enzo]

The irony for me is that I was already torn on whether I wanted to follow this, because the manga is intentionally such an unpleasant experience. Now added to that is that the visuals in the anime are likewise an intentionally unpleasant experience. Doesn't make the decision any easier.

Aku no Hana is a grim and masochistic story to follow to begin with, and with the look of the anime... It's certainly like nothing else currently airing, that's for sure. I'll give the anime credit (it shares a director with the sublime Mushishi) - it does a very good job at creating a sinister and foreboding atmosphere. It also does a fine job painting just how dreary and unpleasant adolescent life usually is, which - like the ugly characters - makes a stark contrast with what's usually presented in anime.

[Theo]

I can definitely see why some fans are a bit upset (just not THAT level of upset). More realistic visuals aka "grittier" I can welcome, but the choppiness and weird dull expressions, aside from the one or two detailed closeups make me feel a bit disconnected from the people I'm watching. The "piece of shit" incident, which is the highlight of the manga's first chapter, is just kind of low-key and uninteresting here.

There's always a shitstorm every season, isn't there?