Don't these new pictures of 'Kaiba' look like gauntlets thrown into the face of the anime industry?

I don't know what you feel when you look at these new pictures of Kaiba (courtesy of Manganimation). I for one think they look like gauntlets thrown into the face of the anime industry. You just have to admire the guts of drawing something that is screamingly different from the generic cookie-cutting artstyle in 95% of Japanese anime out there.

As I was saying earlier, that ubiquitous generic artstyle seems to be in turn reinforced by fans with self-imposed aesthetic criteria of what is 'beautiful' and what is 'ugly' in anime. (Somehow, anything that deviates from the norm is considered 'ugly'.) I beg to differ, and I am sure a minority of anime fans would beg to differ as well.

Comments

[w]

You would have to forgive me for saying this, but this seems a little bit obvious - judging by Yuasa's previous works I'd question anyone who thinks he is trying to "fit in"... unless this entry is meant to publicize. ;)

Have you watched episode 10 of The Hakkenden, Hamaji's Resurrection, directed and storyboarded by Shinya Ohira? (with Yuasa as an animation director, to boot)
There's a delightful variety of drawing and direction styles throughout the OVA, of which the animation credits half read like list of some of Japan's best animators... I would like to know what you think about it, actually.

I can understand if people flip out over inclusions like that in anime which do not seem idiosyncratic from the start... It reminds me of the 3rd Eureka Seven OP by Satoru Utsunomiya, for which he was flamed broadly despite being greatly respected by the famous character designer - in retrospect, I guess he should have just picked a project where he'd be better appreciated and I guess I feel that in some ways it isn't "appropriate".
But I would never advocate keeping such deviation strictly within works like Kaiba or Kemonozume - anime would lose a lot without it (what exactly, I can't put my finger on). I would say that these "rouge" sequences are the real root of many genuinely breathtaking visual moments in anime...

Of course, having this kind of mindset - especially valuing anime along an "Art" mindset (for lack of a better description) usually gets one labeled as an "elitist". While I can see where such claims come from (and at the risk of being flamed, I would think we do sound awfully uppity sometimes) I find it ironic that appreciators of essentially niche cultures bitch about how formulaic mainstream media is, and how they are being discriminated against and oppressed... and then go ahead to do exactly the same thing anyway.
Although, at the same time, I think taking anime too seriously also is a bit of a waste of time - sometimes it's simply defeating the purpose of anime, and there's only so many times you can reaffirm the fact that anime is primarily a commercial medium like it has been for so long.

(Really I suppose I'm digging for an excuse to be able to talk about anime aesthetics and animators and yet fangirl over the silliest things at the same time.)

Anyway, I think these images actually look less like a "gauntlet" than Kemonozume's images, or maybe I'm just looking at too many of the same things and don't realise how different it still is anyway.
Doesn't change the fact that I really am looking forward to the show itself! I do wish there were more details on the other staff, though.

[bateszi]

These are first images I've caught of Kaiba since it was originally announced, but it's already looking really surreal and fun, like a colourful hybrid of Mahou Shoujotai and Noiseman Sound Insect. I've no idea what Masaaki Yuasa's got in mind for this series, but I can hardly wait to find out.

And I totally agree with you. There's no reason to be so constricted and bound to the rules, but it seems like the vast majority of creators, as well as the fans themselves, avoid anything that's different or challenging. It's so frustrating to see something genuinely creative and innovative ignored simply because it refuses to conform to the standard practice. I'm seriously considering blogging every episode of Kaiba just to help spread the word when it's inevitably overlooked.

@w: It's cool that you mentioned the 3rd OP for Eureka Seven, on the few anime forums I use, I make a point to include it in the obligatory "great openings" threads only to receive complaints for daring to include such an "ugly" or "badly animated" theme that "no-one liked".

[w]

Personally, I'm still undecided on whether I thought it was a good idea to have an OP like that or not, since I shamefully admit to liking shiny things now and then and don't know whether Utsunomiya was just "asking" for "unnecessary" trouble (did it inspire otaku to Think Again about aesthetics? No, they just flamed on and called it crappy Korean animation.)...
And even as a piece of animation itself, to be honest to my feelings I can't say it's the best ever - although I rank the lovely, tense moment where Eureka is stretching to hold Renton's hand and they let go as the best bit out of all the E7 OP animations (tied perhaps with the circus at the end of hte 2nd OP).

Now the kind of criticism that irks is me is when people bitch about things like episode 19 of Aquarion - FFS, they even "packaged" it to make it more acceptable by literally making the Utusnomiya sections a parallel world, but nooooo...

[manuloz]

I have an idea why they were bitching on this episode of Aquarion. Since at the time i did not really watch aquarion it would have not occured to me but then i read somewhere that the first part of episode 19 was the "swimsuit episode"... with Utsunomiya's design, well the girls weren't as sexy as they wished for ^_^

By the way, i suppose the second illustration will be closer to the look of the anime version since they say it's an early concept design by Yuasa. And those who have seen the trailer (during Yuasa Carte Blanche in France)said he went for a "cuter" look.

They also report that he was supposed to work on the Batman shorts but they did not like his design so he was removed from the project. But it looks like Nishimi (Tekkon)had his ways with the design :

http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/8346/vlcsnap64479wx3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/valentine1731/1203006188674.png

PV is here : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oW71WB254M

[Wabi Sabi]

w:

I haven't seen Hakkenden, though I remember seeing a short video clip somewhere that made me impressed.

I am comfortable with the label 'elitist' if it means i) being able to spot beauty (in whatever form it may come) when one sees it and ii) being able to stand up for one's own individual aesthetic judgment. I would rather define what is beauty to me on my own terms and stand by what I believe than to have beauty defined for me by the norm. That's just one individual's take on aesthetics and I can hardly see how one individual's take can be suppressive against the norm supported by the majority.

I think the anime I like deserves to be taken seriously. There is a lot more than what meets the eye in, say, 'Millennium Actress' or 'Mushishi'.

bateszi:

I think I am more of a word-over-image person. It's always the title of a work that puzzles me most before the images of the work get to my brain. ^-^ I am curious to know why it is called 'Kaiba' - Which is not to say that I am not intrigued by the images, but words always take priority in my mental makeup. ^-^

manuloz:

Thanks for the info. ^-^ I have not seen Aquarion before so I wouldn't know...

I would say Yuasa would have been wasted on Batman anyway... He should be working on something like Kaiba.

[Jordan S.]

I've only very recently worked out what beautiful is – it is something which is both interesting and tasteful. And of course, it is 'in the eye of the beholder' as people have different standards of what is tasteful and are interested in different things.

And this is bizarrely, one thing which puts a sharp divide between far eastern animation and the rest of the world. The western short film circuit is something of a competition as to who can be the most alternative, and it's generally accepted that the more roughly hewn and grotesque, the more interesting and 'alternative' something is. I admire Michel Ocelot because he dares to be tasteful, and therefore truly beautiful, and is different because, rather than despite of it. Whereas with otaku-ish and commercial anime, it's the opposite to this, and one has to work towards real beauty from the opposite direction.

[manuloz]

Final designs are here :
http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/8838/vip744688ng1.jpg

[manuloz]

Trailer is online :

http://youtube.com/watch?v=DnABB0IegrQ

[Snoop']

Just saw on Catsuka a short trailer of Kaiba (damn, Yuasa was in Paris a few weeks ago for a special cinema session !) :

ttp://www.catsuka.com/news_detail.php?id=1203631677

Indeed, gauntlets...

[Wabisabi]

Jordan S.:

That's a nice definition of beauty and a shred observation of the western and Japanese stand on animation. I think to 'hewn and grotesque' I would add 'decadent' - it seems that there is a certain halo around the word 'decadent' that being 'decadent' automatically makes something/someone 'unique'. But then you know, 'decadence' can be quite cliched and over-recycled too.

manuloz:

Many thanks for the links. It's very kind of you. ^-^

Snoop':

Thank you for the trailer. It's too short for me to gauge anything... though I suspect 'Kaiba' is the sort of anime that would benefit more by word of mouth then trailers per se. Perhpas that is they don't bother to put in a longer trailer (and cost valuable TV air time)...