5 - Revue Starlight Movie - Sakugabooru
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OP’s comment: Too bad their SFX is ass.
4 - Demon Slayer Entertainment District Arc - Sakugabooru
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OP’s comment: No one does 3D graphics better in anime than Ufotable and KyoAni to an extent. If you want to find better 3D animation, you have to go west and look for the likes of Disney/Pixar.
3 - Violet Evergarden - Sakugabooru
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2 - Akebi’s Sailor Uniform - Sakugabooru
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OP’s comment: Violet has the higher highs, but Akebi has better and more consistent average quality
1 - Tsurune S2 - Sakugabooru
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Honorable mentions:
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Demon Slayer Infinity Castle - Haven’t seen it, but it seems to improve on the Entertainment District Arc based on the trailer
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The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity - It’s not in my top five simply because I haven’t finished it yet. But as it stands, at its best, it would be at #3 or #2. I mean, look at this. It (and the recent Episode 12 post) inspired me to make this post. It will come down to how consistent its animation quality would be.
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I don’t have a one-fits-all pick for visuals so I’ll break it down into different sub-categories. (I also get to cheat this way and pick several)
Line art: Violet Evergarden
Composition: Hyouka
Cinematography: Wonder Egg Priority (early on at least)
Artistic style: Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!
Atmosphere: Haibane Renmei
Choreography: Cowboy Bebop: Heaven’s Door
Compositing (not to be confused with “composition” above): Sound! Euphonium
Background art: Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash (RIP Hidetoshi Kaneko)
Character animation: K-On!
ps.: OP gets an updood for Akebi’s Sailor Uniform. It’s one of my 10/10 and is criminally underrated.
Mononoke (NOT Princess Mononoke)
Counting movies , really Mamoru Hosoda’s entire (Our War Game|Summer Wars|Belle) trilogy
Promare is the most visually intense anime I’ve ever seen.
First episode of Dandadan was a visual masterpiece in animation. You could literally feel every frame.
Subsequent episodes dial back the effort a little, but that first episode re-awakened my love for anime again, after a decade of what seemed like endless low-effort fluff.
We are in a resurgence. I kind of skipped watching anime for like a decade, and then started picking it back up during the pandemic. Frieren, Chainsawman, Demon Slayer – it’s a great time to be a fan again.
It’s crazy how good some of these studios have gotten at compositing 3d CGI models and effects with otherwise 2d-animated scenes. I don’t think something like Chainsaw Man or Demon Slayer would look nearly as good without these techniques.
Same, those exact three too
Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika
The monster realms/fight scenes were so damn trippy and cool looking.
Redline (2009). The plot is a bit silly but the artwork is amazing.
I came here to say Redline, but instead I will add Paprika, Dead Leaves, Dandadan, Gurren Lagann, and FLCL.
I used to think that an interesting story was important for an anime to be a 10/10 masterpiece, and then I saw Redline.
Came here to say the same. The introductory race is such a killer sequence. I need to rewatch it…
The animation is so crazy, it even bankrupted Madhouse at the time.
The Trans Am is an allegory of the state of Madhouse. Prove me wrong.
A recent example that comes to mind is Frieren. It has some really amazing background/landscape shots and just all around high quality animation
Mastery of ordinary
offensive magicanimation techniques at work there…
I wouldn’t presume to say they’re the “best,” but some of my favorites:
Casshern Sins - post-post-apocalyptic world in which the robots who displaced humanity are themselves falling into ruin. Mostly ruins, twisted rock formations and drifts of rust, all done in shades of gray.and against which the few remaining bits of power, light and unblemished form stand in sharp contrast.
Heike Monogatari - a Japanese epic tale with backgrounds that look like tapestries and foregrounds that look like woodblock prints. If anime had been made in the 13th century, this is what it would’ve looked like.
Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou - deceptively simple 1998 hand-drawn anime with exquisite attention to detail.
Serial Experiments Lain - a primer on how to depict loneliness and alienation in an anime.
Non Non Biyori - lush green countryside has never been done better.
5 Centimeters per Second - Just a succession of absolutely stunning backgrounds, and this is, IMO, quite possibly the most beautiful anime background ever:
Violet Evergarden was beautiful.
Hells Paradise/Jigokuraku would be my rec https://youtu.be/04WuoQMhhxw
One punch man season one is a masterpiece. Attack on titan looks fantastic too
FLCL is probably my overall favorite and I think this scene demonstrates a lot of its different styles with more silly and serious cuts. For just the best of the character animation, I think this scene is one of the best.
5 Centimeters Per Second is also one of my favorites and definitely my favorite of Shinkai Makoto’s stuff. People talk about visuals where “you could pause it on any frame and have a beautiful image” and I think that’s really true of this one. The honestly excessive use of really complex lighting gives it a really nice and unique vibe. The “ray racing on” of anime.
Kizumonogatari uses 2D animation on top of 3D backgrounds. Feels very unique, and on top of that, it’s just really tryhard good animation. Each of the three movies have their own strengths, too. 1 is the most aesthetically consistent, with the artstyle giving off a really specific and deliberate vibe. 2 is overall the best looking and includes the most diverse character animations. 3 has its iconic final fight and mixes up the artstyle for a really climactic moment.
The iDOLM@STER Movie: Kagayaki no Mukougawa e! has amazing quantity and quality of character animation, but the emphasis is honestly on quantity. Skip to any random scene in the movie (even outside of the performances)and chances are there’s an average of 4 moving characters on screen at any time. Really impressive, I kinda had my jaw dropped every time they do a wide cut of 20 characters, especially during the performances.
Quick bonus round: Kanon for the unique wintery aesthetic, Gunbuster for strong imagery, Evangelion also for strong imagery, Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou for expressive animation, Omoide Poroporo for great style, Welcome to the NHK! for color design, You’re Under Arrest for great action cuts, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya for being overall beautiful in so many ways, Nichijou & CITY for style and animation, Soul Eater for the fight scenes, and I could maybe go on all day 😢 there’s so much good visuals in anime
edited to include more animation links
Look Back is just stunning to watch!
CITY: The Animation
My jaw hit the floor on the first trailer, and again on episode 5.
and again on episode 5
Never in my life has my ADHD felt so overwhelmed.
Nichijou, City, Lucky Star, Hidamari Sketch, Zetsubou sensei.
Nichijou and City have this very special thing where the foreground (mostly characters) and the background have this seamless harmony. Usually the characters are in a completely different art style and colour palette than the background.
Lucky Star’s backgrounds are in that delicious water colour style. Hidamari and Zetsubou each have an iconic flat style that just has so much soul to it.
All my picks have an unrealistic style and most of them are very chibi. Much more can be said about their style but I’ll keep it short, you’ll just have to watch them :)
Another zetsubou sensei enjoyer, nice.
It is one of my favorite anime and manga series, Top 5 for me. The soundtrack is also a banger.
Good thread OP thank you
