Studio Spotlight: Kyoto Animation

[blkmage]

This week, we'll be looking at a studio that is technically one of the best in almost every aspect, but has made some questionable choices that have attracted a lot of controversy.

Kyoto Animation is one of those studios that's been around forever (since the 80s!), but only started producing their own shows in the last few years. They're considered one of the primary pushers of moe, although I think their influence on the trend is exaggerated. Certainly, the works they've chosen to animate fall squarely in that style, but I feel like each of their works has qualities that shouldn't be overlooked.

And one of those qualities is their consistently high production. Say what you will about the fact that their works are populated almost exclusively by cute anime girls, but the fact is that the art and animation are always top-notch. Half the reason Haruhi got the huge splash it did in Japan was because of the movie-quality animation that they put into a TV anime.

「先生…」 by ごはん

Ah yes, Haruhi, the show that launched the fleet of Kyoto Animation's thousands of fans. Before Haruhi, KyoAni had only done a TV adaptation of AIR and two Full Metal Panic shows (something that I feel like a lot of people would like for KyoAni to remember). Haruhi, as with all things influential, is incredibly divisive, and that schism deepened further with its second season.

Make no mistake, the first season of the show is good. It's creative and it's well produced. The second season is a sore point and an incredibly huge miscalculation on the part of the studio and publishers. But the movie, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, based on what I've seen of other movies so far this year, is on track to becoming 2010's anime movie of the year.

Disappearance differs completely in tone and atmosphere from the TV anime and, as befits its position as the best of volume of the light novels, the Disappearance movie could very well be the peak of the Haruhi anime (if they ever get around to animating the remaining volumes). It almost completely removes what people despised about the TV anime and I'd be willing to suggest that even people who aren't fans of Haruhi should consider giving it a watch.

「ここにあった。」 by もは

The other thing KyoAni is known for are its rock-solid and faithful adaptations of Key's visual novels. So far, they've done the Key's first three games: AIR, Kanon, and CLANNAD. Each of them are done with the same competence that KyoAni is known for, but CLANNAD is the one stand-out. Even before its anime, CLANNAD was considered Key's finest work and most of this praise is for the After Story arc of the original game. As a whole, CLANNAD is about discovering what being a family means. It follows the main character as he loafs around being a delinquent who despises his father, finds love, goes beyond the typical stopping point for a story like this, and follows him as he begins a family of his own. CLANNAD is always going to be one of my personal favourites the After Story arc is what I consider to be one of the most powerful stories in anime.

「NO,Thank You!」 by ラコソレガシ

And the last thing that KyoAni is known for, and likely the thing that attracts most of its hate, is its forays into the slice-of-life comedy genre. In 2007, KyoAni produced Lucky Star, which relied heavily on references and otaku in-jokes like seiyuu jokes (WA WA WA) or an episode devoted to Comiket (which is happening this weekend!). It's not for everyone.

In 2009, KyoAni animated K-ON!, a four-panel strip about a bunch of girls trying to start a band/club for their band at their high school. For whatever reason, it became some sort of lightning rod of hate and the exemplar of moe as cancer. I guess some people like it too much and some people hate it too much. While I found the first season fairly average (likely because of its four-panel roots and having to establish the characters), its second season is much better, focusing on the growth of each of the characters. While I wouldn't say Lucky Star is for everyone, K-ON is a lot more accessible and I'd say that if slice-of-life is your thing, K-ON is pretty good.

---

So what's next for KyoAni? Well, presumably, they've run out of K-ON to animate, since the manga is ending in September. There is a belief that they're going to end up animating every Key game in existence, so Little Busters! is always a title that gets thrown around. The only sure thing is that they're working on another comedy manga called Nichijou.

NEXT TIME

TIME WAITS FOR NO-ONE

[Cadence]

I have mixed feelings about KyoAni. I definitely consider it one of the best studios out there, in terms of quality. The first of their shows I watched was AIR, and I was stunned by the consistently good animation and the detail and beauty of the art, especially the lighting and backgrounds. And AIR was just the beginning--the production values got better and better. But out of all the shows they’ve made since then, I only consider myself a fan of two--AIR and Kanon. Maybe I can add Clannad to that list if I can ever finish watching it. =)

Though I wasn’t personally a fan of Haruhi Suzumiya, Lucky Star, or K-On!, I can sense the draw in each, and I understand why they have so many fans. But, on the other hand, there is one show they’ve done that I can see no redeeming qualities in, no matter how I look at it. Blkmage didn’t mention it, so I thought I would bring it up--the Munto OVAs and TV series. I thought that the first OVA was okay, though nothing really special, but it got worse and worse as they tried to continue with it. I still can’t believe that KyoAni turned out something that bad. =)

I’d really like to see KyoAni branch out and try something they haven’t done before. They’re already very good at what they do, and they have potential to turn out some really good things in the future, but I would like to see what they can do in some other genres. But even if they don’t branch out at all, I’ll probably be watching whatever it is they do anyway--if only for the awesome animation.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

While Haruhi and Clannad are both on my to-watch list, I don't know when this will happen with several other titles I also need to watch or finish, and I'd have to buy Clannad, so I don't know when that will happen.

[Falx]

I've been thinking of watching Clannad, I guess this is a good reason to try it. Having read a bit of Nichijou, I'm fairly interested in the madness that will be appearing on our screens.

It is THAT weird. With content alone, it's something that might out-SHAFT, SHAFT.

[Atria35]

What KyoAni does well, they do well. I've seen Haruhi and Kanon (2006), and both are visually wonderful and fairly (okay, in the case of Kanon, really) well-told.It's when they get into otaku-pandering, ( K-On! is often accused of this, as well as Angel Beats and Lucky Star) that people get up in arms. It's sad to see them fall ito that trap. They also don't diversify well, as the three romances (AIR, Clannad, Kanon) are remarkably similar, and Angel Beats steals so much from Haruhi. It's a shame.

[blkmage]

Well, like I said, I think the notion that KyoAni is somehow some otaku-pandering production company is overblown. In fact, I'd argue the only show that really qualifies under that label is Lucky Star. Most of the backlash against KyoAni stems from the fact that their art style is pretty consistently moeblobish and that they're successful. All other criticisms of their shows are pretty much made from cursory observations and assumptions.

As for the Key trifecta, the only thing KyoAni can be blamed for in terms of originality is really the fact that they chose to animate three Key visual novels. But even though they're similar, I feel like you can see the progression in how they choose to adapt things. This was pretty clear to me, since I went backwards from Clannad to Kanon to Air and found the earlier shows to be a lot rougher than the later ones.

ALSO EVERYONE WATCH CLANNAD OH MAN; I will not stop pushing it until everyone who wants to see it has seen it.

As for Munto, I would rather watch Endless Eight than Munto, so that's where that went.

And Angel Beats!, while it is a Key property and it is basically Kyoto Animation: the Animation, is actually produced by PA Works (True Tears, CANAAN).

[TheSubtleDoctor]

Most of the backlash against KyoAni stems from the fact that...they're successful.

How dare they.

Umm...not a lot to say b/c Kyoto Animation doesn't really make a lot of stuff that floats my boat. I'm sure that one day I'll watch Haruhi out of pure obligation to fandom/anime history, just to see what all the fuss is about.

[Atria35]

Well, like I said, I think the notion that KyoAni is somehow some otaku-pandering production company is overblown. In fact, I'd argue the only show that really qualifies under that label is Lucky Star. Most of the backlash against KyoAni stems from the fact that their art style is pretty consistently moeblobish and that they're successful. All other criticisms of their shows are pretty much made from cursory observations and assumptions.

I dunno. I saw a few eps of K-On (and forgot to put it on my list, dangit), and I have to say, while this doesn't have all the otaku in-jokes, it has the same cute-for-the-sake-of-cute feel to it. And Angel Beats, the latest to be accused of such, does seem to have been thrown together rather slap-dash with a lot of throwback stuff to Haruhi, which I would put under 'otaku-bait'.

s for the Key trifecta, the only thing KyoAni can be blamed for in terms of originality is really the fact that they chose to animate three Key visual novels. But even though they're similar, I feel like you can see the progression in how they choose to adapt things.

While I can see how/why, I also feel that in many ways, you could see Kanon and get the gist of Clannad, and vice-versa. That's not to say that each show doesn't have it's merits, it's that they have such a similar feel to them.

And Angel Beats!, while it is a Key property and it is basically Kyoto Animation: the Animation, is actually produced by PA Works (True Tears, CANAAN).

But it's that it was Key and Kyoto that makes a difference in the story.

[blkmage]

No, what I meant was that KyoAni had nothing to do with Angel Beats at all other than that PA Works seemed to have cribbed their style.

[Atria35]

Really? Could you link me to that information?

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

Wait, even though it was even in the first post, how did I forget to mention Full Metal Panic!: The Second Raid, which was a very awesome anime. It was dark and more focused on the military aspect, while still keeping some Sosuke in the normal world shenanigans. It rolled up all I loved about FMP! into one, awesome 12 episode anime. I would love to see them continue, since there's six more light novels left to adapt(well, five, but the sixth will come out and be the last).

[blkmage]

Really? Could you link me to that information?

I'm on my phone but wikipedia mal or ANN all have staff listings and you'll see that they're all PA Works staff. Wikipedia even has a bit on how they were chosen to produce it.

[LadyRushia]

It so happens that most of the anime I've watched and loved recently have been the work of KyoAni, so I guess that makes me a fan of them, XD. I agree with the whole K-On thing. I was a little disappointed at how the first season was more about eating cake than playing instruments, but although the second season is like that too there's a fair amount of semi-serious and character developing moments that usually don't happen with anime of this genre.

[blkmage]

I dunno. I saw a few eps of K-On (and forgot to put it on my list, dangit), and I have to say, while this doesn't have all the otaku in-jokes, it has the same cute-for-the-sake-of-cute feel to it.

I guess what I'm saying is, why is that a fault? It seems to me that people have made it a fault in and of itself. It's not really an indicator of the quality of a show. No one accuses Gundam of being pandering when they add funnels to a mobile suit for the sake of adding funnels and no one faults Sengoku Basara for being ridiculous for being ridiculousness' sake.

Basically, this goes into the theory that pandering is bad unless your constituency is the one being pandered to.

Oh right, Angel Beats staff:
Writer: Jun Maeda (Key, wrote Clannad and Little Busters and stuff)
Director: Seiji Kishi (Seto no Hanayome, Sunred, no KyoAni works at all)
Production: Kenji Horikawa (President and founder of PA Works)

[TheSubtleDoctor]

Off-topic alert!

Basically, this goes into the theory that pandering is bad unless your constituency is the one being pandered to.

Not sure if what I'm about to say is what Atria is referring to with her comments, but the otaku pandering or fanservice present in the KyoAni shows highlighted above has a sexual component that, say, mecha fanservice/pandering does not. I think that is the problem that many people on CAA might have with the Key VN stuff and moe in general. So it might be a convictions thing and not solely a taste/preference thing.

Maybe...

[blkmage]

I think that qualifies as an assumption based on cursory observation.

[MasterDias]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't the Key VN anime adaptations and K-On have very little to no sexual content/fanservice? "Moe" isn't really my thing either, but that was what I had assumed. And isn't K-On basically the same kind of thing Azumanga Daioh was? The latter is generally held in high regard in most anime circles.

[LadyRushia]

K-On is a lot like Azumanga Daioh and Lucky Star in that it's also a high school slice-of-life series that follows a group of girls through their high school experience.

As far as moe goes, it's a weird term. Some people think it's sexual while others think it's just cuteness. It seems that everyone has different definitions of it.

[minakichan]

KyoAni may be pandering moeblob shows, but they are the best quality pandering moeblob shows you will ever find.

[Atria35]

There are some shows where the moe is sexual, some where it isn't.

... It frightens me either way.

[blkmage]

For your reference, here is a list of Kyoto Animation shows that have been accused of moe-pandering:
AIR
The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi
Kanon
Lucky Star
CLANNAD
CLANNAD ~AFTER STORY~
K-ON!
The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi (II)
The Disappearance of Suzumiya Haruhi
K-ON!!

Would anyone like to revise their statements?

[LadyRushia]

That's why I think moe doesn't have to be sexual and that it gets a bad rap. In fact, most of those shows you listed are not (of course, I can only speak for the ones I've seen). All of them have cute girls, though, and somehow moe has come to mean anything that has cute girls regardless of the storyline or how those girls are portrayed. This kind of annoys me since there are good shows that are considered moe and if you say you like them, someone else might say "Oh, you like that moe stuff? You're weird."

[mechana2015]

I think the problem is that we only have a subjective definition of this word, Moe. I used to be against Moe, but now, I'm really just against using the word... it's not a genre (sora no woto is sci fi... Haruhi is Haruhi. It's sort of an art style, so you could make claims based on that, but the title is applied to things that just...look like anime. It's not a storytelling theme either since ToraDora has gotten that name and doesn't have a similar plot to K-On or Haruhi. It's not a content thing either since the shows range from squeaky clean to H level content.

What is Moe? Heck if I know... I'm just going to watch shows and decide if I like them based on the show, not a name applied to it.

[blkmage]

This kind of annoys me since there are good shows that are considered moe and if you say you like them, someone else might say "Oh, you like that moe stuff? You're weird."

I'm just going to watch shows and decide if I like them based on the show, not a name applied to it.

I like this.

On the origins and common usage of moe: Moe in its initial usage was purely as a character trait or, more specifically, a feeling or emotion that is induced in the audience by a character. So actually, the intent was that it's subjective to the person experiencing it, which, as you can imagine leads to it being not well-defined.

Now then, moe used as a label or criticism of a show stems from people who believe that a show exists simply as a vehicle for marketing characters as moe to appeal to those audiences. Eventually, this definition became broader and broader until it basically covers any show that features cute girls and their character archetypes.

[mechana2015]

It's based on a personal subjective feeling, which means that your moe may be 'cute' blob-teens and mine might be cybernetic super soldier women... or anything else people feel whatever feeling moe is supposed to represent (affection and protectiveness?) towards...

Worst way to define a show ever.

If it's the 'feeling' I think it is, I would have felt more 'moe' towards the TANK in sora no woto than the characters. I'm just weird like that. Cultural differnces alone are enough to throw this concept to the wayside as a good way to label or market shows, and the fact that the term (if I'm not mistaken) originates from the sub-culture of superfans in the anime sub-culture... wow. About as useless and subjective a definition you can find anywhere.

[minakichan]

EVERY show can have moe. There will be at least one thing that can be felt moe for by someone.*

Headless girls? Moe. Characters with absolute no emotion or expression? Moe. Fat? Moe. Guys gouging out and eating other guys' eyes? Moe.

As long as it's a trait or trope that you like specifically about a character or the plot, rather than the complexities of the character's personality, it can be called moe. For example, my friend really likes badass fighter boys because they kick butt and look cool doing it. They are not cute cake-eating high school girls, but she has moe for them. She thinks they're cool and they excite her; it's not like "I like X badass fighter boy because he has such a unique backstory that really translated believably to his character development, and his inner qualms about beating up those figures that society views as a threat represents a fascinating moral debate about vigilanteism and justice" or something.

*Unless it is Fist of the North Star or Golgo 13.

[LadyRushia]

Headless girls? Moe. Characters with absolute no emotion or expression? Moe. Fat? Moe. Guys gouging out and eating other guys' eyes? Moe.

This. If moe means something you like, then you can't escape it. Ever. XD.

[Nate]

EVERY show can have moe. There will be at least one thing that can be felt moe for by someone.*

*Unless it is Fist of the North Star or Golgo 13.

But...but...what about the Haruhi/Golgo 13 merge?



I'd post the second page but it has the s-word on it.

[LadyRushia]

. . .Words. I don't have them, XD.

[minakichan]