blog好き

Nov 30 2005

Categories: anime, commentary
Tagged: bleach, jigoku-shoujo, kamichu, karin, midori no hibi

1 Comment »

The sad part is that unlike Fafner and Gundam Seed, these actually all had different character designers. Character design is a very important part of anime, and I think sometimes shows can try harder to come up with something different. Yes, there’s “rules” to anime (i.e. large eyes, small nose, etc) that constrict the possibilities, but that’s no different or harder than coming up with an unique plot. Even though Okusama wa Mahou Shoujo, Jubei-chan, and Nanoha are magical girl shows, they all bring something unique to the table. Character designs should do the same thing.

Anime is as much the art as the story, and uncreative designs sometime hamper the storytelling. Successful shows not only have original designs, but designs fitting the mood of the series. An example of good design is Mahoraba, which is a very soft and cute series, and the character all end up looking soft and cute. I’m also pretty sure this is why I have a hard time watching Karin… it’s hard to take the male lead seriously when I keep thinking that he should be swinging some ridiculous sword around. And Karin herself seem better suited for the cast of DearS or Eiken than a supposed high school romance series. Can you imagine Evangelion if Asuka looked like Osaka? Can you still take it seriously? At the very least, stop producing any more blonde spikey haired male leads who are clueless with women.