It wouldn’t be the first time that anime underwent an awkward adolescent-like phase. Those who were fans in the late 90s to mid 00s will tell you about the transition to computerized coloration...
It wouldn’t be the first time that anime underwent an awkward adolescent-like phase.
Those who were fans in the late 90s to mid 00s will tell you about the transition to computerized coloration and compositing, which made a lot of shows look awful for a stretch of several years as studios figured out how to avoid common stumbling blocks of the new medium such as aliased lineart and colors that were either muddy and muted or garish and grating with little in between. Shows of this era also unfortunately cannot be meaningfully remastered due to the original masters being 480p digital video, which has led to remasters of shows animated with a traditional cel process a whole decade or more earlier looking dramatically better.
That said, the adoption of 3DCG has proven much more fraught. Good looking CG anime is still rare, 20+ years after the first batch of movies and shows made that way. The ceiling for quality has risen dramatically, but average quality has not, and the floor has somehow dropped compared to earlier on (go watch a few clips of Ex-Arm to see what I’m talking about).
I’m a layman as such can only speculate, but I suspect the difference is that within the industry, CG continues to be treated as a magic wand that reduces costs and solves production problems without any drawbacks. This is obviously not true — in reality it trades one set of problems for another, and you’ll need a crew trained in the art to be able to deal with those problems. While a crew trained in traditional animation or live action will be able to apply shared principles, they’re not going to be able to leverage the medium to great effect.
The other thing that stands out to me is that CG anime productions often try too hard to look like 2D anime and even try to use the same shortcuts, but that rarely pans out. The low framerates that are standard for 2D shows look stiff and stilted in CG and automated cel shading looks oddly mechanical and cheap. It’s no coincidence that the best looking CG anime productions are those that don’t cap their framerate and lean more on hand-tuning than on the computer.
One thing that crossed my mind to add is that use of CG specifically for backgrounds in 2D anime has improved dramatically. A couple recent examples that use them to great effect are The Ancient...
One thing that crossed my mind to add is that use of CG specifically for backgrounds in 2D anime has improved dramatically.
A couple recent examples that use them to great effect are The Ancient Magus’ Bride and The Apothecary Diaries, in which 3D backgrounds look just as hand-painted as traditional matte paintings. The trick is to paint high resolution textures onto the surfaces of the backgrounds and not lean on computer shading too much.
It’s not actually that hard to accomplish with still shots. Disney has been doing it as far as Tarzan in the 90s. Making it look good when it’s in motion is another question. The problem is when...
It’s not actually that hard to accomplish with still shots. Disney has been doing it as far as Tarzan in the 90s. Making it look good when it’s in motion is another question.
The problem is when it is done poorly. Take a look at the “lowest bidder” shows out there. I Shall Survive Using Potions is a particularly bad example. It takes time, effort, and skill to get it right so it’s far from a panacea.
The “deep canvas” stuff in Tarzan looked gorgeous, definitely an example to uphold when talking about integration of 3D into 2D animation. Wild that it’s a quarter of a century old now!
The “deep canvas” stuff in Tarzan looked gorgeous, definitely an example to uphold when talking about integration of 3D into 2D animation. Wild that it’s a quarter of a century old now!
I agree with u/heichou's comment. Beastars and Dorohedoro both make great use of 3DCG to create unique stylistic looks. Some people can't get past the frame rate and "choppy" look, but I really...
I agree with u/heichou's comment. Beastars and Dorohedoro both make great use of 3DCG to create unique stylistic looks. Some people can't get past the frame rate and "choppy" look, but I really like their animation. Both manga are well known for having distinctive art-styles.
I'm not gonna lie, I was surprised that to find out that "Beastars" utilized 3DCG. Because it looks amazing. To me, that's just "anime anime." Maybe I have the wrong idea of what 3DCG is, because...
I'm not gonna lie, I was surprised that to find out that "Beastars" utilized 3DCG. Because it looks amazing. To me, that's just "anime anime."
Maybe I have the wrong idea of what 3DCG is, because I'm thinking more of "Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045." Or that new Gundam movie/series that's coming out on Netflix. But maybe that's art style instead of tech?
It's really incredible what Studio Orange does with 3DCG! Ufotable is another good example of how to use CG in anime (see my comment here). Couple videos if you're interested in how Studio Orange...
It's really incredible what Studio Orange does with 3DCG! Ufotable is another good example of how to use CG in anime (see my comment here).
Couple videos if you're interested in how Studio Orange does it:
Beastars and Trigun Stampede look mostly good to me with the occasional lingering awkwardness, but I have a hard time with Orange’s earlier work in Land of the Lustrous… something about it is...
Beastars and Trigun Stampede look mostly good to me with the occasional lingering awkwardness, but I have a hard time with Orange’s earlier work in Land of the Lustrous… something about it is distracting in a way their newer works aren’t.
This style has really bothered me recently. I noticed it hard while watching Puss In Boots. They drop the framerate in action scenes to give it the "animated" look but it honestly just felt like...
The low framerates that are standard for 2D shows look stiff and stilted in CG and automated cel shading looks oddly mechanical and cheap.
This style has really bothered me recently. I noticed it hard while watching Puss In Boots. They drop the framerate in action scenes to give it the "animated" look but it honestly just felt like the movie was lagging out like a video game. It's a super noticeable slap in the face every time the frame rate drops. Meanwhile I went and saw the avatar movie in cinemas and made sure to find one showing it in the full 48fps, and despite trying hard, I was never able to spot a time where the frame rate increased. It just looked smooth the whole time.
I've softened up a bit on 3DCG anime. Used to hate it as my only experience with it had been godawful time/money-saving 3D renders in 2D anime. But two shows had impressed me: Beastars and...
I've softened up a bit on 3DCG anime. Used to hate it as my only experience with it had been godawful time/money-saving 3D renders in 2D anime. But two shows had impressed me: Beastars and Dorehedoro. Highly recommend these two, especially Dorohedoro. Such a strange series.
Though it had some rough edges I also thought Chainsaw Man mostly made good use of 3D. Ditto with Jujustu Kaisen. Which makes sense since they, and Dorohedoro, were all by Studio Mappa.
Though it had some rough edges I also thought Chainsaw Man mostly made good use of 3D. Ditto with Jujustu Kaisen. Which makes sense since they, and Dorohedoro, were all by Studio Mappa.
The show that radically changed my mind on it was Night Head 2041, the animation and backgrounds on that one are insanely great. I haven't seen anything match it yet. If you're into hard scifi and...
The show that radically changed my mind on it was Night Head 2041, the animation and backgrounds on that one are insanely great. I haven't seen anything match it yet. If you're into hard scifi and cyberpunk, this is one to watch.
That’s some of the better looking CG I’ve seen, but the characters still have a bit of that “marionette movement” common to a lot of CG anime. I’m not well versed enough to know what causes that,...
That’s some of the better looking CG I’ve seen, but the characters still have a bit of that “marionette movement” common to a lot of CG anime.
I’m not well versed enough to know what causes that, but western CG studios (particularly those in the US) seem to have figured out how to avoid it for the most part. I wonder why this knowledge seemingly hasn’t made its way across the Pacific.
I think I this specific case calling it marionette movement isn't really correct. I know what you mean by that I context of a lot of anime CG but all I'm seeing in that linked clip is the...
I think I this specific case calling it marionette movement isn't really correct. I know what you mean by that I context of a lot of anime CG but all I'm seeing in that linked clip is the animations being rendered at a lower framerate making it feel more choppy.
The animations themselves look great. What bothers me is why wouldnt they just maximize framerate if most of the show is already CG? Unless they're trying to cut down on render times for some reason.
It’s because to get it to look so good a lot of manual work is involved. Frames get touched up, and background characters get drawn instead of modeled and animated. More importantly it’s a...
It’s because to get it to look so good a lot of manual work is involved. Frames get touched up, and background characters get drawn instead of modeled and animated.
More importantly it’s a deliberate aesthetic decision. More frames are not necessarily better. All-CG movies are expensive because animating things to look natural is extremely time consuming. Those models can involve hundreds of rigging points and they all have to be orchestrated for it to look good.
The headline implies a recent change worth writing about. But in fact it's just a summary of the decades of progress and digital animation. So, yes, "anime is going digital" but it has been for...
The headline implies a recent change worth writing about. But in fact it's just a summary of the decades of progress and digital animation. So, yes, "anime is going digital" but it has been for over 40 years! The first fully digital production was an episode of The Yearling by JCGL (Japan Computer Graphics Lab) in 1982.
It's like saying "the world is going digital" in 2023.
One thing I've noticed in 3DCG anime is that the background details are far, far better, the attention to detail, the just absolute beauty of the scenes, really shines when animators no longer...
One thing I've noticed in 3DCG anime is that the background details are far, far better, the attention to detail, the just absolute beauty of the scenes, really shines when animators no longer have to focus so tightly on the characters themselves once the core models are finished. It turns every scene into something absolutely beautiful to see and appreciate. You can just tell the amount of love that goes into it, which is not something most people really notice until they really notice it.
A lot of 3DCG anime still has hand drawn background details and "textures" and the bridge between the two is really quite great. The only thing that tends to be 3D are the effects and character models, allowing them to focus more on the scenery and backgrounds. I can imagine for a lot of animators it's a really nice place to be in these days instead of drawing frame by frame characters over and over.
This always comes up when a new 3DCG anime is announced, and I always go to YouTube to check it out. Every time, the most positive thing I have to say amounts to "this is an improved version of...
This always comes up when a new 3DCG anime is announced, and I always go to YouTube to check it out. Every time, the most positive thing I have to say amounts to "this is an improved version of something awful". I just watched the trailer for the Slam Dunk movie that is mentioned in the article. This is an improved version of something awful.
At this point I'm not sure I'll ever like 3DCG anime. It's an "upgrade" no one asked for, and the only advantage is a reduction in production costs.
That said, using 3DCG technique for the things it is good for is perfectly fine by me.
I guess the issue is not the technology itself, but that they're using one technique to emulate another. Among many things I dislike, I can't handle the uncomfortably low frame rate to match "real anime" cadence, it doesn't work for this kind of 3DCG. I'd much rather they used 3DCG to make something that make sense for 3DCG, without trying to give it a "real anime" feel.
Kimetsu no Yaiba (Demon Slayer) is pretty famous for having fantastically flashy animation. Studio Ufotable makes great use of CG to create dynamic camera angles and eye-catching effects. I agree...
Kimetsu no Yaiba (Demon Slayer) is pretty famous for having fantastically flashy animation. Studio Ufotable makes great use of CG to create dynamic camera angles and eye-catching effects. I agree CG can be used to excellent effect in anime:
One of the things that differentiates ufotable in this is how they do all of their CG in house, so if the 2D team wants to talk to the 3D team or vise versa, they just go up or down a floor in the...
One of the things that differentiates ufotable in this is how they do all of their CG in house, so if the 2D team wants to talk to the 3D team or vise versa, they just go up or down a floor in the same building. They also do a really good job on compositing to make sure that the 2D and 3D parts look like they belong and are part of the same world.
This contrasts the majority of use of CG in 2D anime which is contracted out, likely as a cost cutting measure (and it shows).
I love that anime. I do not get the impression that the characters in Demon Slayer are largely animated with a 3DCGI technique. 3DCGI is great for backgrounds and machinery, and it has been...
I love that anime.
I do not get the impression that the characters in Demon Slayer are largely animated with a 3DCGI technique. 3DCGI is great for backgrounds and machinery, and it has been successfully used for that purpose for at least 20 years. The problem is using it for faces and character movement.
EDIT: It's not even that 3DGI anime cannot be good, since a good story trumps all. But I fail to think of an example in which, given enough funds, an anime wouldn't be improved by using the regular technique. I have a hard believing that the choice to make a 3DGI is anything more than a financial consideration.
The character models are frequently 3DCG in Demon Slayer; especially when animated at a mid or far range. Everyone in the main cast has a 3D model that's occasionally used. Really good CG...
The character models are frequently 3DCG in Demon Slayer; especially when animated at a mid or far range. Everyone in the main cast has a 3D model that's occasionally used. Really good CG animation just blends in!
Sure, if you use a 3D model at the right distance, especially in quick shots during action scenes with a lot of "camera" movement, it's absolutely not an issue. However, I doubt very much that...
Sure, if you use a 3D model at the right distance, especially in quick shots during action scenes with a lot of "camera" movement, it's absolutely not an issue. However, I doubt very much that closer shots, as well as dramatic scenes with character movement in which "organicity" and facial expression are important, were made in 3DCGI. I would be very surprised indeed.
Many animes use character 3D models from time to time. I remember scenes of MOB Psycho 100 with a lot of circular camera movement that would be very difficulty to animate otherwise.
Futurama was one of the first shows to adopt 3DCG for a lot of its sequences, anytime the Planet Express is moving you can safely assume it is a 3D model.
It's hard to explain, fully 3DCGI anime characters have an unresponsiveness and floatiness in their movement that is hard to swallow. Even the highly praised ones.
The CG in the last arc was largely awful, and was so jarring it took me out of the arc almost entirely (and it doesn't help that the arc is one of the weakest in the manga anyways). During the...
The CG in the last arc was largely awful, and was so jarring it took me out of the arc almost entirely (and it doesn't help that the arc is one of the weakest in the manga anyways).
During the entertainment district arc the CG used there was better, but not good.
But I am a boomer who prefers the traditional cel process so there's that.
What attracts me about hand-drawn artwork is that it gives such an direct connection with the creator. That line, right there, was there because another human made it. But when I watch 3D...
What attracts me about hand-drawn artwork is that it gives such an direct connection with the creator. That line, right there, was there because another human made it.
But when I watch 3D enchanged by some fancy lineart algorithm, the whole parasocial relationship to the creator is gone. It's the same with AI art. It looks really great, but there is no longer another human communicating with you, only an imitation thereof.
I'm not an anime fan, I've watched some but am very far from knowledgeable on the tastes and styles. But I recently watched The Legend of Vox Machina. Doubt it's a "true" anime, but it has a lot...
I'm not an anime fan, I've watched some but am very far from knowledgeable on the tastes and styles.
But I recently watched The Legend of Vox Machina. Doubt it's a "true" anime, but it has a lot of anime sensibilities since the creators are voice actors with a ton of anime work experience. It definitely has a bunch of CG work and I thought it looked wonderful. I think it could work, but that's an outsider's perspective.
I don't know how much of that show is CG, but generally speaking CG in anime only looks bad for characters. Background, machinery, and static objects are perfectly fine in 3D.
I don't know how much of that show is CG, but generally speaking CG in anime only looks bad for characters. Background, machinery, and static objects are perfectly fine in 3D.
There were definitely close up scenes of eyes which had a 3D look but also looked well executed to me. Edit: I would also love recommendations of similar anime. I liked it a lot.
There were definitely close up scenes of eyes which had a 3D look but also looked well executed to me.
Edit: I would also love recommendations of similar anime. I liked it a lot.
I'd have to see it again to be sure, but I had a pretty good time watching the latest Dragon Ball movie, Super Hero, in the theater and thought that the 3DCG was used quite well. My theory with...
I'd have to see it again to be sure, but I had a pretty good time watching the latest Dragon Ball movie, Super Hero, in the theater and thought that the 3DCG was used quite well. My theory with 3DCG anime is that, like digital coloring in the early 2000's and even traditional animation in the mid-20th Century, we're in the early days. Creators need time to hone their craft, and the industry is figuring things out as they go, just like they've done before. Let's see what these shows and movies look like in 5 to 10 years' time, I bet there will be some real gems.
Frankly, I didn't like Dragon Ball Super Hero but that was mostly due to bad camera work. It's tempting to go wild with the camera when everything can be easily moved, but I appreciate it when...
Frankly, I didn't like Dragon Ball Super Hero but that was mostly due to bad camera work. It's tempting to go wild with the camera when everything can be easily moved, but I appreciate it when there's more directorial intent with the shot composition.
It seems like it's getting easier than ever to make quality 3D "anime style" animation. KamiErabi God.app was made with a brand new studio and the first few episodes had some absolutely terrible...
It seems like it's getting easier than ever to make quality 3D "anime style" animation. KamiErabi God.app was made with a brand new studio and the first few episodes had some absolutely terrible animation, but it's gotten so much better as they continued production.
It wouldn’t be the first time that anime underwent an awkward adolescent-like phase.
Those who were fans in the late 90s to mid 00s will tell you about the transition to computerized coloration and compositing, which made a lot of shows look awful for a stretch of several years as studios figured out how to avoid common stumbling blocks of the new medium such as aliased lineart and colors that were either muddy and muted or garish and grating with little in between. Shows of this era also unfortunately cannot be meaningfully remastered due to the original masters being 480p digital video, which has led to remasters of shows animated with a traditional cel process a whole decade or more earlier looking dramatically better.
That said, the adoption of 3DCG has proven much more fraught. Good looking CG anime is still rare, 20+ years after the first batch of movies and shows made that way. The ceiling for quality has risen dramatically, but average quality has not, and the floor has somehow dropped compared to earlier on (go watch a few clips of Ex-Arm to see what I’m talking about).
I’m a layman as such can only speculate, but I suspect the difference is that within the industry, CG continues to be treated as a magic wand that reduces costs and solves production problems without any drawbacks. This is obviously not true — in reality it trades one set of problems for another, and you’ll need a crew trained in the art to be able to deal with those problems. While a crew trained in traditional animation or live action will be able to apply shared principles, they’re not going to be able to leverage the medium to great effect.
The other thing that stands out to me is that CG anime productions often try too hard to look like 2D anime and even try to use the same shortcuts, but that rarely pans out. The low framerates that are standard for 2D shows look stiff and stilted in CG and automated cel shading looks oddly mechanical and cheap. It’s no coincidence that the best looking CG anime productions are those that don’t cap their framerate and lean more on hand-tuning than on the computer.
One thing that crossed my mind to add is that use of CG specifically for backgrounds in 2D anime has improved dramatically.
A couple recent examples that use them to great effect are The Ancient Magus’ Bride and The Apothecary Diaries, in which 3D backgrounds look just as hand-painted as traditional matte paintings. The trick is to paint high resolution textures onto the surfaces of the backgrounds and not lean on computer shading too much.
It’s not actually that hard to accomplish with still shots. Disney has been doing it as far as Tarzan in the 90s. Making it look good when it’s in motion is another question.
The problem is when it is done poorly. Take a look at the “lowest bidder” shows out there. I Shall Survive Using Potions is a particularly bad example. It takes time, effort, and skill to get it right so it’s far from a panacea.
The “deep canvas” stuff in Tarzan looked gorgeous, definitely an example to uphold when talking about integration of 3D into 2D animation. Wild that it’s a quarter of a century old now!
I agree with u/heichou's comment. Beastars and Dorohedoro both make great use of 3DCG to create unique stylistic looks. Some people can't get past the frame rate and "choppy" look, but I really like their animation. Both manga are well known for having distinctive art-styles.
I'm not gonna lie, I was surprised that to find out that "Beastars" utilized 3DCG. Because it looks amazing. To me, that's just "anime anime."
Maybe I have the wrong idea of what 3DCG is, because I'm thinking more of "Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045." Or that new Gundam movie/series that's coming out on Netflix. But maybe that's art style instead of tech?
It's really incredible what Studio Orange does with 3DCG! Ufotable is another good example of how to use CG in anime (see my comment here).
Couple videos if you're interested in how Studio Orange does it:
Beastars and Trigun Stampede look mostly good to me with the occasional lingering awkwardness, but I have a hard time with Orange’s earlier work in Land of the Lustrous… something about it is distracting in a way their newer works aren’t.
This style has really bothered me recently. I noticed it hard while watching Puss In Boots. They drop the framerate in action scenes to give it the "animated" look but it honestly just felt like the movie was lagging out like a video game. It's a super noticeable slap in the face every time the frame rate drops. Meanwhile I went and saw the avatar movie in cinemas and made sure to find one showing it in the full 48fps, and despite trying hard, I was never able to spot a time where the frame rate increased. It just looked smooth the whole time.
I've softened up a bit on 3DCG anime. Used to hate it as my only experience with it had been godawful time/money-saving 3D renders in 2D anime. But two shows had impressed me: Beastars and Dorehedoro. Highly recommend these two, especially Dorohedoro. Such a strange series.
Though it had some rough edges I also thought Chainsaw Man mostly made good use of 3D. Ditto with Jujustu Kaisen. Which makes sense since they, and Dorohedoro, were all by Studio Mappa.
The show that radically changed my mind on it was Night Head 2041, the animation and backgrounds on that one are insanely great. I haven't seen anything match it yet. If you're into hard scifi and cyberpunk, this is one to watch.
Edit: Here is a great scene
That’s some of the better looking CG I’ve seen, but the characters still have a bit of that “marionette movement” common to a lot of CG anime.
I’m not well versed enough to know what causes that, but western CG studios (particularly those in the US) seem to have figured out how to avoid it for the most part. I wonder why this knowledge seemingly hasn’t made its way across the Pacific.
I think I this specific case calling it marionette movement isn't really correct. I know what you mean by that I context of a lot of anime CG but all I'm seeing in that linked clip is the animations being rendered at a lower framerate making it feel more choppy.
The animations themselves look great. What bothers me is why wouldnt they just maximize framerate if most of the show is already CG? Unless they're trying to cut down on render times for some reason.
It’s because to get it to look so good a lot of manual work is involved. Frames get touched up, and background characters get drawn instead of modeled and animated.
More importantly it’s a deliberate aesthetic decision. More frames are not necessarily better. All-CG movies are expensive because animating things to look natural is extremely time consuming. Those models can involve hundreds of rigging points and they all have to be orchestrated for it to look good.
The headline implies a recent change worth writing about. But in fact it's just a summary of the decades of progress and digital animation. So, yes, "anime is going digital" but it has been for over 40 years! The first fully digital production was an episode of The Yearling by JCGL (Japan Computer Graphics Lab) in 1982.
It's like saying "the world is going digital" in 2023.
One thing I've noticed in 3DCG anime is that the background details are far, far better, the attention to detail, the just absolute beauty of the scenes, really shines when animators no longer have to focus so tightly on the characters themselves once the core models are finished. It turns every scene into something absolutely beautiful to see and appreciate. You can just tell the amount of love that goes into it, which is not something most people really notice until they really notice it.
A lot of 3DCG anime still has hand drawn background details and "textures" and the bridge between the two is really quite great. The only thing that tends to be 3D are the effects and character models, allowing them to focus more on the scenery and backgrounds. I can imagine for a lot of animators it's a really nice place to be in these days instead of drawing frame by frame characters over and over.
This always comes up when a new 3DCG anime is announced, and I always go to YouTube to check it out. Every time, the most positive thing I have to say amounts to "this is an improved version of something awful". I just watched the trailer for the Slam Dunk movie that is mentioned in the article. This is an improved version of something awful.
At this point I'm not sure I'll ever like 3DCG anime. It's an "upgrade" no one asked for, and the only advantage is a reduction in production costs.
That said, using 3DCG technique for the things it is good for is perfectly fine by me.
I guess the issue is not the technology itself, but that they're using one technique to emulate another. Among many things I dislike, I can't handle the uncomfortably low frame rate to match "real anime" cadence, it doesn't work for this kind of 3DCG. I'd much rather they used 3DCG to make something that make sense for 3DCG, without trying to give it a "real anime" feel.
Kimetsu no Yaiba (Demon Slayer) is pretty famous for having fantastically flashy animation. Studio Ufotable makes great use of CG to create dynamic camera angles and eye-catching effects. I agree CG can be used to excellent effect in anime:
One of the things that differentiates ufotable in this is how they do all of their CG in house, so if the 2D team wants to talk to the 3D team or vise versa, they just go up or down a floor in the same building. They also do a really good job on compositing to make sure that the 2D and 3D parts look like they belong and are part of the same world.
This contrasts the majority of use of CG in 2D anime which is contracted out, likely as a cost cutting measure (and it shows).
I love that anime.
I do not get the impression that the characters in Demon Slayer are largely animated with a 3DCGI technique. 3DCGI is great for backgrounds and machinery, and it has been successfully used for that purpose for at least 20 years. The problem is using it for faces and character movement.
EDIT: It's not even that 3DGI anime cannot be good, since a good story trumps all. But I fail to think of an example in which, given enough funds, an anime wouldn't be improved by using the regular technique. I have a hard believing that the choice to make a 3DGI is anything more than a financial consideration.
The character models are frequently 3DCG in Demon Slayer; especially when animated at a mid or far range. Everyone in the main cast has a 3D model that's occasionally used. Really good CG animation just blends in!
Sure, if you use a 3D model at the right distance, especially in quick shots during action scenes with a lot of "camera" movement, it's absolutely not an issue. However, I doubt very much that closer shots, as well as dramatic scenes with character movement in which "organicity" and facial expression are important, were made in 3DCGI. I would be very surprised indeed.
Many animes use character 3D models from time to time. I remember scenes of MOB Psycho 100 with a lot of circular camera movement that would be very difficulty to animate otherwise.
Futurama was one of the first shows to adopt 3DCG for a lot of its sequences, anytime the Planet Express is moving you can safely assume it is a 3D model.
It's hard to explain, fully 3DCGI anime characters have an unresponsiveness and floatiness in their movement that is hard to swallow. Even the highly praised ones.
I agree. I got used to it but it doesn't mean it looks good. It looks and feels way too different from everything else.
The CG in the last arc was largely awful, and was so jarring it took me out of the arc almost entirely (and it doesn't help that the arc is one of the weakest in the manga anyways).
During the entertainment district arc the CG used there was better, but not good.
But I am a boomer who prefers the traditional cel process so there's that.
What attracts me about hand-drawn artwork is that it gives such an direct connection with the creator. That line, right there, was there because another human made it.
But when I watch 3D enchanged by some fancy lineart algorithm, the whole parasocial relationship to the creator is gone. It's the same with AI art. It looks really great, but there is no longer another human communicating with you, only an imitation thereof.
This link may work for you if the above link doesn't.
https://archive.ph/rKwWX
I'm not an anime fan, I've watched some but am very far from knowledgeable on the tastes and styles.
But I recently watched The Legend of Vox Machina. Doubt it's a "true" anime, but it has a lot of anime sensibilities since the creators are voice actors with a ton of anime work experience. It definitely has a bunch of CG work and I thought it looked wonderful. I think it could work, but that's an outsider's perspective.
I don't know how much of that show is CG, but generally speaking CG in anime only looks bad for characters. Background, machinery, and static objects are perfectly fine in 3D.
There were definitely close up scenes of eyes which had a 3D look but also looked well executed to me.
Edit: I would also love recommendations of similar anime. I liked it a lot.
I'd have to see it again to be sure, but I had a pretty good time watching the latest Dragon Ball movie, Super Hero, in the theater and thought that the 3DCG was used quite well. My theory with 3DCG anime is that, like digital coloring in the early 2000's and even traditional animation in the mid-20th Century, we're in the early days. Creators need time to hone their craft, and the industry is figuring things out as they go, just like they've done before. Let's see what these shows and movies look like in 5 to 10 years' time, I bet there will be some real gems.
Frankly, I didn't like Dragon Ball Super Hero but that was mostly due to bad camera work. It's tempting to go wild with the camera when everything can be easily moved, but I appreciate it when there's more directorial intent with the shot composition.
It seems like it's getting easier than ever to make quality 3D "anime style" animation. KamiErabi God.app was made with a brand new studio and the first few episodes had some absolutely terrible animation, but it's gotten so much better as they continued production.