To be honest, that's a hard call. There are a lot that seem like obvious answers, but, well...
Way back when, I once told someone Ultraman would be better animated. Turns out there actually was an Ultraman anime and, after seeing a couple of episodes, I realized that Ultraman basically needed to be live-action or it lost part of its charm. Same goes for Doctor Who (some of the lost episodes were reconstructed with animation). Granted, a huge problem in both cases might've been that the animation just sucked, but there's subtleties of human expression and movement that really don't convey well in any except maybe Disney-level animation.
Really, then, the only way to make this call is to see the same concept done in both animation and live action and see which was better, but of course other factors come into play when you do that.
However, ideally both forms would be able to tell all kinds of stories.
visit my blog!I feel that Western Animation could be enhanced is if they decided to utilize more Japanese Techniques when it comes to the action sequences.
Big explosions, Wild and crazy face expressions through out each battle, insanely fast paced coreography and several others. They don't need to copy the drawing style, just someting like that.
Look at this scene in Digimon Xros Wars, it might be a short fight, but the sheer emotion you feel in it just feels much better than a lot of Western animation battles.
Calling Your Attacks is optional.
But seriously, when a series based on the Spear Counterpart of the freakin Tamagotchi has better action then most western cartoons, including most of the DC Animated Universe, you know something needs to be done.
edited 13th Aug '11 6:52:16 AM by Demongodofchaos2
Watch SymphogearWhat I think the West should do is utilize Japans' way to preserve time and money, NOT by copying their styles! But by taking their economic tips and tricks into account (one image of a character for each shot, reusing poses, sliding them across the screen, etc.)! It may not look smooth, but time and money is the most important thing!
Of course, the West already does these, but they're STILL outsourced!
I'm not sure about "adapting Japanese techniques"—Western techniques are fine. But they need improvement in the following areas:
1) Have characters act believably. If Gwen Tennyson is being carried away by a mutant eagle, presumably to be eaten, she should be screaming her ass off and panicking, not staring angrily at the camera and being all like "God this is so stupid." That reaction is okay for a character like Lina Inverse who routinely blows up whole cities, not for an (at the time) perfectly ordinary little girl.*
2) Be efficient. Most of your viewers can pick up on visual cues. If a character sighs and looks down, that tells us they're sad. If they giggle, we know they're happy, and we can figure out why from the context. You don't need to use lines like "I know you're upset..." or have them growl everything they say for the next ten minutes just to make us get it, or have a close-up of their face in slow-mo with ultra-dramatic music playing whenever something upsetting happens. All you're doing when you do that is insulting our intelligence.
3) I don't mind cartoons preaching morals, but please try to find morals that aren't lame.
4) If you have little to no social life and were raised on cartoons and comic books... then please don't go into writing for cartoons. Not yet. Go out and be a construction worker, or a cop, or anything that gets you out and among people and away from your computer for awhile. Once you retire from that, then go into writing, because then you'll have all the necessary experience you need to write good stories. There is a direct correlation between how much of life you've experienced, and how good your stories are.
visit my blog!4) If you have little to no social life and were raised on cartoons and comic books... then please don't go into writing for cartoons. Not yet. Go out and be a construction worker, or a cop, or anything that gets you out and among people and away from your computer for awhile. Once you retire from that, then go into writing, because then you'll have all the necessary experience you need to write good stories. There is a direct correlation between how much of life you've experienced, and how good your stories are.
One of the reasons why great cartoonists can't write well, and why great writers don't know the first thing about cartoons.
I loved that Digimon Fight, its epic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b19yWkHELRM
This one is also great. And while not as high on the high octane power levels its in IMHO it showcases a better fight choreography, so to speak. And this is from a Supposedly watered down Sailor Moon.
Not that I think its the end all, there is MUCH better stuff out there.
edited 13th Aug '11 7:28:16 PM by CocoNatts
I disagree with 3. I can't think of a single story that wasn't hurt by the presence of a moral as the driving force behind it. Particularly stupid ones like pacifism and what not.
Fight smart, not fair.I can: Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, The Sneetches, Horton Hears a Who and probably a couple of others. Also, a lot of Osamu Tezuka's writings push some theme but are actually all the better for it.
Morals aren't bad, its when they're retarded morals or hamhanded in their delivery that they get to be problematic.
Again though, this would be fixed by more writers (And for that matter, more executives) following suggestion #4.
visit my blog!Not a fan of Seuss. Not familiar with the other guy. Again, themes get in the way of world building and plot structuring in most cases because you have to bend the plot to put them in.
Fight smart, not fair.Someone disagrees with Deboss:
"Having said all this, if someone were to ask me what the most important thing is when creating a new animated work, my answer would be that you first have to know what you want to say with it. In other words, you have to have a theme. Surprisingly, perhaps, people sometimes overlook this basic fact of filmmaking and overemphasize technique instead. There are innumerable examples of people making films with a very high level of technique, but only a very fuzzy idea of what they really want to say. And after watching their films, viewers are usually completely befuddled. Yet when people who know what they want to say make films with a low level of technique, we still greatly appreciate the films because there is really something to them."
Hayao Miyazaki
And? Is that supposed to matter?
Edit: the trope you're looking for is You Know Who Said That?
edited 14th Aug '11 4:24:14 AM by Deboss
Fight smart, not fair.Tell me how for example Seven Samurai, Harakiri, Paths Of Glory or Pan's Labryrinth or anything by Hayao Miyazaki were hurt by the message they were trying to convey?
I don't think your "trope" really fits the quote because Miyazaki gives his justification on why he thinks theme is important. If I just posted "Miyazaki said you theme is important", then it would be different.
edited 14th Aug '11 4:35:24 AM by harkko
You'll have to give more information on the works as well as professed messages.
The quote is also fairly broad. Unless you're interpreting it very specifically, "what you want to say" includes "an interesting story". I was focusing on "this is correct, the story proves it" which is always bad.
Fight smart, not fair.I think it's hard to define whether a story would or wouldn't benefit from a moral. After all, enjoyment is something incredibly subjective. So, saying that a plot could've improved tremendously without a moral to be told might be the same as saying, "Romeo and Juliet would've been a lot better if they didn't dies!"
What's done is done, trying to force the assumption that morals did hinder a story's quality just doesn't work. No one frikkin' knows how well shows like Captain Planet would do if it didn't have the usual political correctness.
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Sorry if this seems like a little bit of a tangent, but the whole "this story would be better if X" thing is why I don't like remakes that attempt to "fix the flaws" and "make it better." They often end up just stripping out everything that was good about the work they're remaking, completely missing the point and giving us something that seems like a generic derivative work that just happens to have a popular brand slapped across it.
So far, only Pony and Thundercats have worked. All other remakes need to die in a fire. Especially... (three cookies if you can guess what I'm about to say) ...He-Man 2002.
edited 14th Aug '11 4:15:14 PM by MoeDantes
visit my blog!I'm just happy that someone is giving Digimon Xros Wars its much needed attention.
Is there any other kind? :)
Who knows? Magic, dumb luck, sheer determination. Maybe the sword of omens itself picked the teams for both shows.
All I know is I hope those two shows wind up being indicators that this is going to be the best decade for animation since the 1980s*
visit my blog!Agreed. The 2002 was a much more interesting show than the original.
I assumed that quality was subjective was a given? Then again, Romeo and Juliet, despite being the utter abyss of suck that is the work of Shakespeare, would not have been better with them living. For the same reason that a slasher film where no horny teenagers die sucks.
Fight smart, not fair.I think all three eras have something to contribute. IMHO, examples of shows with superb animation and writing for their times (80s, 90s, 00s) include The Mysterious Cities Of Gold, Gargoyles, and Avatar The Last Airbender respectively. They also happen to be Weastern (Western and Eastern) shows so I'm sure that counts for something.

That's over on Series.Roughnecks Starship Troopers Chronicles. Series.Starship Troopers is a redirect. Still like that show.
Not everyone plays videogames, particularly shooters.
Fight smart, not fair.