Art Styles

[SincerelyAnomymous]

So, I just thought it would be nice if we had a topic on art styles. Anime is well-known for it's wide range of colorful, unique and sometimes bizarre art styles. So I thought I'd ask a few questions.

Does a art style automatically turn you off from a series, despite how good the storyline and such is? What kind of art style do you prefer? What's your favorite and least favorite art style?

For me, art styles don't usually bug me, unless it's something with an intentional sloppy art style. My favorite art style is Hiroyuki Imaishi's own. It's just so bright, comical and serious at the same time and fits well with his over the top series.

Anyways, I'd like to hear everyone else's own opinion ^___^

[artisticDreamer]

The only time the art to a show ever turned me off to it was with The Seven Deadly Sins. I... just can't.

My favorite art styles are Jun Mochizuki's and Takeshi Obata's. Jun Mochizuki is what currently inspires me to draw more; her coloring is so amazing! And Takeshi Obata's art is what made me stop drawing weird shoujo in favor of a more realistic style of manga. I love all the detail he puts into his art.

[TheChocolateGamer]

Pretty art styles with pretty everything else (story, characters, music, etc.) are all very important for the quality of an anime. Being an aesthetic freak fan, I like my anime beautiful. But one thing: if everything else is bad, art styles won't fix it.

Also, art styles are very crucial for the different genres. Moe has one type of art style. Action has another. They are all unique.

My favorite art styles are from: Plastic Memories, Gochuumon wa Usagi desu ka? and Charlotte.

[Rusty Claymore]

Style is a large part of whether I choose to watch a show. My initial draw to anime was the contrast between anime's art and whatever cartoons were made of back then. Yup, bitter.

I like it when styles step out of genre, as long as it's part of the thematic devices. Madoka was like that.

My absolute favorite is Kiyohiko Azuma's, especially the recent Yotsuba&!s. I really enjoy Sketchbook Full Color's' art as well, though it had to grow on me at first. Those are slice of life, so for adventure I like Utawarerumono's style. And despite their other content, I really enjoy SHAFT's presentation and visual style.

I'll stop here, else it never ends. I enjoy the various styles, it keeps things fresh and memorable. As someone who pretends they are an artist, it grants massive freedom of expression.

[Panda4christ:3]

I've considered picking up shows for how they look, but it's never worked out for me XD I typically end up staying a way from moe and the like, not so much because of the art style but typically the story and characters are usually ones I don't enjoy.
I absolutely love Hoshino Katsura's art, though I can't seem to get caught up on d.gray man.
Atsushi Ohkubo's later stuff is just, wow <3 I love his colors and his weirdo style, it's always been something I wish I could achieve with my own style.
I've actually always really enjoyed Tite Kubo's stuff, despite not much caring for bleach.
Jun Mochizuki, who due to an earlier post I've found does the art for Pandora hearts XD which I love.
I've always had a soft spot for Akira Toriyama since I played chrono trigger, there's just something really nice and simple, but still detailed about his art. I personally think that's pretty cool ^-^

[Sundown]

Does a art style automatically turn you off from a series, despite how good the storyline and such is?

Not unless the anatomy isn't functional and they're walking with their ears.
That being said, however, I'm not a fan of most of CLAMP's work - the characters can look horribly disproportionate at times.

What kind of art style do you prefer?

I... really don't know. Because, as I explain in the next question:

What's your favorite and least favorite art style?

I love art in general - as long as proportions are believable, it animates smoothly, and isn't clashy, I love all genres.

Anything directed by Shinchiro Watanabe tends to have great art.

(Really love how Mugen contrasts with the soft background.)



You can never go wrong with Ghibli.



I can go on and on about how much I love Jojo's art style. Araki doesn't shy away from unique perspectives and color palettes, which makes his work really stand out. And the openings are a great example of psuedo-CGI:


But as much as I love detail, sometimes a simplistic art style is best, such as in Kino's Journey.

[the_wolfs_howl]

Whatever you want to call the overall style of Bones, that's my favorite:



I don't think an art style has ever turned me off a show completely, though it can certainly make me skeptical or make me take longer to get into it. The art of Gankutsuou took a long time to get used to, and I still wish they hadn't done it that way. And if an anime looks moe, I will be very hesitant to start it but can look past that if the story's good.

[EventualDay]

Love love love this topic:) I used to be really into art and thought I even wanted to be a concept artist--that didn't work out but I'm perfectly happy with it--and anyway I will very often watch an anime solely because the art is beautiful or different.

Actually, I don't think any art styles turn me off, even if they're slightly dated, but I do get frustrated when the animation and production are low-quality. Pretty much everything is beautiful when the characters aren't moving, but a low budget can botch a lot of things, haha. Oh, but I am sensitive to CGI and more hesitant to watch it though not totally opposed.



Some of my personal favorites:


I love the beauty in all of the small details for The Garden of Words. Ghibli especially animates rain beautifully--I felt this way when I was watching The Secret World of Arrietty too.


No Game No Life was a lot of things, but it did have one of my favorite color palettes.


That watercolor background in Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash though.


No one mentioned Katanagatari yet but I know this show is popular for its unusual (and deceptively simple) art.


Yuri on Ice! hasn't even aired yet but LOOK AT IT THE FLUIDITY IS STUNNING I AM MADLY IN LOVE and seriously there is going to be a winter sports anime which is so exciting I hope it's beautiful agggghhhhhhhh....



Looking at what I posted it seems I actually have a preference for really sleek art or really sketchy art. Interesting.

[Sundown]

You have great taste in styles, EventualDay. :>

Looking at this thread makes me want to sketch right now!