Can an Anime be “Carried by its Animation”? – This Week in Anime

This week, Nick and Lucas sit down and tried to decide if saying a show is “carried by its animation” actually has any meaning due to the subjective nature of art.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the views of Anime News Network.

Spoiler Warning for discussion of the series ahead.The Elusive Samurai, Demon Slayer, Attack on Titan, Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man, Mob Psycho 100, Trigun: Stampede, Naruto, Dahlia in Bloom, Senpai is an Otokonoko, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Too Many Loosing Heroines!, EX-ARM, Land of the Lustrous, Wistoria: Wand and Sword are available on Crunchyroll.

Fate/Apocrypha, Naruto, and Dorohedoro are streaming on Netflix.

The First Slam Dunk is available on Apple TV+.

Akiba Maid War and “Ippon” Again! are on HIDIVE. “Ippon” Again! is also available on Amazon Prime Video.

Lucas

Nick, I really wish I could follow up your opening with a screenshot of Jesus from the Record of Ragnarok anime, but apparently, they’re cowards and didn’t animate that part of the manga. So instead, I offer you Jesus from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure and hope that He watches over us as we venture into a convo that focuses on internet words and discourse. Two things that have NEVER proven more divisive than what the writers initially intended.

So yeah, there’s been a bit of discourse lately about shows being “carried by their animation” this year. Though, the sentiment itself isn’t anything new—it comes and goes in waves along with arguments like “should there be more sex and violence in magical girl shows” or “subs vs dubs” or whatever. For as long as there have been anime with attention-grabbing animation highlights, there have been people ready to dismiss it for the creative indignity of uh, looking good.

Do some of these anime even look good, though??? While researching for this column, I found this discourse applied to the current shonen juggernaut Demon Slayer, fairly frequently; which is an anime that I think uses a few too many layers of after-effects to dress up art and animation style that I don’t vibe with.

There’s honestly a lot of nuance to that discussion! Like, to even have it, we first have to share a baseline definition of what “good animation” is. In modern fandom, that generally boils down to “cool, kinetic, heavily stylized action sequences” and “extremely fluid character animation” with very little in between. Then again, modern fandom is populated by people who can only communicate through the words “PEAK”, “MID”, and “TRASH” so there’s not much room for nuance there.

This is the same fandom that got Attack on Titan, Chainsaw Man, Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen, Mob Psycho 100, and Trigun Stampede nominated for “Best Animation” at the most recent Crunchyroll Anime Awards after all.



Putting aside my hot takes, I’ll be the first to admit that all of these anime are technical marvels and the result of an incredible amount of work from the production teams behind them. However, I think Mob Psycho 100 and Trigun Stampede are the only nominees with more inspired visuals. Especially in a year where Bocchi the Rock! and Pop Team Epic were available for animation noms, it’s a shame that these noms are fairly uniform in their animation.

That’s a whole other barrel of fish stemming from how the selection process for those awards works that we’ve already gotten into before. The point is, that the idea of “best animation” is a more complicated idea to tackle than you might think because everyone will have a different idea. I distinctly remember years ago covering Fate/Apocrypha, and I praised the stylized animation in the back half, only for some commenters to fervently insist that those scenes were terrible because they had rough edges or broke the general character models.







To be clear, I totally disagree with them and find that way of approaching animation boring as hell, but it’s a clear example of how “good animation” has basically as many definitions as there are people in the world.

Absolutely, though I don’t care to hear anyone’s opinion on a piece of animation if they start rules-lawyering about characters being on models. I grew up on the internet obsessed with Naruto animation discourse, and that’s forever burnt me out on those never-ending forum debates.

The point is, that animation quality is a far more complicated and personal idea than it might seem at first. That makes the premise of something being “carried by the animation” all the more of a mess to talk about. Weirdly enough, using the phrase says more about the speaker’s own biases and predilections for art than it does about whatever work they’re talking about.

This convo might reveal that I have a terminal “Reviewer Brain,” but thinking of art in such a segregated way is super alien to me. Sure, an anime’s animation can be a strong point for the show, but I struggle to think of a single series where the only thing I liked about it was the animation.

I mean, I can think of a few, but the conceit of that criticism is decidedly one that treats animation as secondary to writing. That itself isn’t all that alien—there are lots of people willing to watch a show with low-quality visuals if it has other aspects that appeal to them. Just this season I’m following Dahlia in Bloom, a show with a lot of interesting ideas and some of the jankest production values I’ve witnessed in quite a while. Just look at these weird-ass shadow effects!

C’mon Nick! Clearly, there are a bunch of mirrors and lamps just off-screen in this shot. This inconsistent lighting totally makes sense within the context of the show!

The point is, yes, there are times when other elements can be enough to overcome poor production values. Yet at the same time, it sure would be nice if the animation could carry its share of the load here. Maybe the show could have some actually expressive character animation to better convey the characters’ emotions. Or they could make it look like the characters were in actual environments rather than boxes filled with CG furniture.

No, I’m picking up what you’re putting down. Similarly, and harkening back to our RomCom TWIA, Senpai is an Otokonoko is one of my low-key faves from this season, but it’s animation hints at an inexperienced team that might not have been given a ton of time to work on each episode. Still, the animation fits the atmosphere of the series and the more limited animation is often used for comedic effect.

Personally, I think that hearkens back to what we were saying before. More than having some definition of “good” animation, it’s most important that production has the style and implementation that’s right for the story it’s telling. “Ippon” Again! has very little in the way of “sakuga” moments, and utilizes plenty of shortcuts to get episodes across the finish line. Yet that matches its often laidback energy, and it compensates for a lack of fluidity with clear direction, editing, and animation that focuses on capturing the heft and weight of a judo match.




There are a couple of highlights for very specific matches, and those are great, but it ultimately achieves its goals without needing the stuff that gets clipped and spread on social media as “The GOATED PEAK OF GOD-TIER SAKUGAMATION”.

Does that mean then that the “carried by the animation” discourse is a consequence of younger anime fans realizing that most shonen and isekai series actually have fairly limited or straightforward writing? Before anyone @’s me, I’m aware that there are plenty of examples that disprove that statement, but it seems like the titles that come up most often in this discourse are intended for the broadest possible audience and therefore have some pretty direct themes and dialogue.

Nah, I think it’s just the latest way to give a backhanded compliment. Back in the mid-2010s, the go-to phrase was “style over substance” and it’s basically just a way of saying “This show is bad but dumb people (read: not me) are being fooled by pretty colors and drawings.” Which is honestly more obnoxious than anything.

Haha, listen, I’ve definitely had that impulse when I fail to resonate with a mega-popular series, but I’m not about to yuck anyone’s yum or be so reductive and dismissive in my evaluation of a piece of art.

Hell, I’d be fine if you did so long as you had something to say that was more complicated than “people are liking anime wrong”! Calling something “carried by the animation” can be the starting point for an interesting discussion. Take the earlier Demon Slayer mention. There’s a ton to talk about regarding how that series’ particular approach to editing and presentation has damaged its ability to tell a story as the series has gone on. Having that conversation just requires that we move beyond the purposefully reductive insult.

Even if I think Demon Slayer is pretty a good first anime for people getting into the series; the Infinity Castle effects gave me motion sickness the last time I saw them in a theater. So I’ll probably skip a couple of movies set to close out the franchise lol.



I don’t even mean that as a dunk! That is just the most succinct way I can explain that the animation in Demon Slayer is 100% not for me, and I have no ill will toward the many people who do enjoy it.

Also, I was around for enough mid-2000s online music criticism to recognize when there’s some huffy chauvinism going on with an argument. When people say something is carried by the animation, they mean a show that got popular thanks to the animation doesn’t deserve that success. Like, I’ve seen some notable backlash to Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End that insists its popularity is only thanks to its animation, and that there’s nothing all that worthwhile in its story or characters. Even if I agreed with that take, what kind of asshole am I gonna look like saying “Oh, this show is so mid, all it has is some of the most explosive and expressive animation I’ve seen in fantasy anime in years. 5/10+L+Ratio.”

You can probably lay at the feet of Western fandom’s general predisposition for action above all else. While character animation has long been a favorite subject for animation nerds, most viewers just aren’t going to pick up on subtle body language or weighty movement, the same way a cinephile is more likely to notice the tics of an accomplished actor’s performance compared to an average moviegoer. The only recent exception that comes to mind is the dancing scene in Frieren, but that was already attached to an established blockbuster show.

You have a point, and I’ve long stopped really caring about what general audiences think about a piece of media, or if they like it for the reasons I do. After all, I know that The First Slam Dunk has some of the best blocking I’ve ever seen in an animated work, and I don’t need a single other person to articulate that fact for me to feel validated in my appreciation of the film.

Oh, don’t even get me started on the discourse around CG anime. I’ll be the first to talk about poorly integrated 3D models or backgrounds (this season’s “carried by the animation” lottery winner, The Elusive Samurai, just had a shaking outing with that) but the weird amount of dismissal towards any CG show is frustrating. I swear, EX-ARM set that whole discussion back 15 years.

Moooooooood! One of my favorite anime as of late is Dorhedoro and it’s a bummer that so many will dismiss it at first blush just for being CG. Especially since this show is supposed to be ugly, and this choice in the art and animation direction directly ties into some of its most prominent themes.

The animation style is like any other component of a work of animation. If it fits cohesively with the rest of a project, it can elevate a work; but if it’s implemented as a cost-saving measure, it’ll be clear that the team only used CG to cut corners. In the case of Land of the Lustrous, for instance, I actually think the CG animation style boosted the work tremendously, as the original manga has some striking illustrations, but doesn’t always have the best paneling or flow of action.

It’s all about nuance, and that’s why I find angles like “carried by the animation” to be eye-rolling in how reductive they are. If you think a show’s writing isn’t up to the level of its production, or you think there’s a disconnect between the visual storytelling and the script, or you don’t like the story at all—just say that. Start with what you actually feel instead of hiding behind a passive-aggressive talking point. Here, I’ll start: Wistoria: Wand and Sword‘s aggressively fluid animation and direction only serve to emphasize how empty the story and characters are.







There, now we have something we can actually fight about.

It really is that easy, gang! Just be genuine, take enough time to make sure what you’re expressing aligns with what you actually mean, and internalize that disagreement is not a dismissal of your opinion or identity. BOOM! We just fixed like 80% of internet discourse!

Now, if I insult your taste in waifus, that is a dismissal of your value as a person, and you should act accordingly. So don’t come around here with any mid-maidens.

Agreed. They’re called Waifu Wars for a reason! Nobody’s coming out of that discourse unscathed!

The animation will carry your corpses after this one.