Based on what I wrote for Day 7, it would be really easy to pick a KyoAni studio anime for today’s challenge, but I told you I’d do my best to keep you on your toes, so I thought about it and went with something a little different with DARLING in the FRANXX.
This is kind of a hybrid for me, and I might be cheating a little bit with my choice on this one (though I don’t know enough technical terms and details to say that for sure). It’s hard to describe how I felt about this one after watching the first episode. Maybe cinematic is the right word? It was the first time I saw an anime that decided not to constantly take advantage of the entire screen the whole time, instead choosing creative cuts and viewing windows to give it a very artsy feel. That isn’t to say that the art isn’t beautiful; the fact that they didn’t rely on clunky 3D models for the mech fights feels like an achievement by today’s standards. Maybe I’m nominating a hybrid of artwork and directing (or cinematography? I’m not sure).
While this show may have gone a little off the rails by the end (in the sense that Niagara Falls is a little waterfall), the overall presentation didn’t feel ruined for me. It was still beautiful to see and fun to watch how they would showcase their art until the very end. And for that, it earns my respect.
What is your favorite anime artwork or directing? Or both? You can cheat, too.
I Watched an Anime 
Any of Shinichiro Watanabe’s series. He has a fabulous eye and the right amount of perfectionism to get what he sees onto the screen.
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Mine would have to be Monogatari or March Comes in Like a Lion. Shaft’s style of directing and animating is so unique and asethetic even if sometimes it feels like a power point haha.
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I was a little put off at the very beginning by the art style of March Comes in Like a Lion. I think it was the eyes. But after a few episodes I grew to really enjoy it. I can definitely agree with you there. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen Monogatari or any of it’s family of anime yet. It’s on the list, though.
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Shaft certainly has a lot of unique visual direction, but I’ve noticed J.C. Staff has been experimenting with getting closer to that style. I’m really not sure what I’d pick if you asked me today though.
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