The most interesting thing about Studio Sanzigen is that they've figured out how to make a fully
3D animated TV series look good, without requiring an exceptional amount of graphical fidelity.
The key it turns out is great character designs and expressive animation. Over the past few years
we've seen a rapid increase of anime TV shows and movies
presented in full CG, and the reception of these among anime fans has been pretty shaky.
Personally, I found shows like "Knights of Sidonia" and "Ajin" from Polygon Pictures
to be difficult to watch because of their stilted and awkward character movement,
generic putting-faced designs, and the use of regular film frame rates,
as opposed to the smoother frames seen in video games and high budget 3D animated films.
3D animation has gotten a bad rap for being perceived as a cost-cutting measure from animation studios.
Even though for the most part it's real purpose is to allow
animators to do things that they might not be able to do with 2D animation.
I recommend this recent anime news network article that I'll be linking in the description for more on the subject of why 3D anime is used in the way that it is.
But this can be a double-edged sword, as shows like the CG "Berserk"
adaptation abused the free camera movement of 3D space to jarring effect.
But with shows like "ID-0" and "BBK/BRNK", Studio Sanzigen has largely averted these issues
by putting effort into making their CG animation look and feel more like regular 2D animation.
Rather than focusing on what separates 2D and 3D, they focus on the elements which make anime
so visually striking in the first place: eye-catching shot compositions,
expressive faces and animations, and uniquely memorable character designs.
Within three seconds of seeing the main girl's face and "ID-0", I could immediately tell that the
designs had been made by Range Murata, a cult favorite Illustrator
who worked on shows like "Last Exile" and "Blue Submarine No. Six" in the past, themselves early 3D integrated animations.
And I was surprised over and over again at how the characters expressions leapt off of the screen.
Likewise some of the robot characters were so expressive in their movement that I could almost forget that they weren't human.
"BBK/BRNK" meanwhile dazzles with badass action scenes showcasing a sense of visual flow
reminiscent of what building-mates Studio Trigger are known for.
Deftly switching between 2D and 3D movement styles, the series showcased some of the most unique and
engaging action scenes on TV last year, even if the plot wasn't interesting enough to carry me through the entire show.
What I hope Studio Sanzigen can help to make clear is that 3D animation is not
inherently a problem even if it's in lower fidelity TV anime. Great visual design and
directing is always going to stand out the most, and if more 3D shows can learn that lesson,
then the slow encroachment of CG into TV anime might not go over so badly.
I think as more veteran anime staff moving to working on CG shows such as director Taniguchi Goro who handled "ID-0",
having previously directed shows like "Code Geass", "s.CRY.ed", and "Planetes"
we'll see a greater blend of anime strengths into the medium of CG animation.
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