Today on TokyoMango
Today on TokyoMango, I wrote about ToastGirl, a crazy-cool female artist/performer; why anime director Hayao Miyazaki does all his drawings by hand; and artist Ryohei Tanaka. 
Today on TokyoMango, I wrote about ToastGirl, a crazy-cool female artist/performer; why anime director Hayao Miyazaki does all his drawings by hand; and artist Ryohei Tanaka. 
the latest
latest episodes
ddn't knw 'gst blggng' cnsstd f th 'gst' prmrly pmpng thr wn blg.
Smply pntng vstrs wy
rude little bastid ain't ya?
"rd lttl bstd", sys th "lttl bstd" rdly
that's "li'l"
and they're off! li'l Tak out in front, nckf trailing....
And, for a somewhat related [cough]tangent[/cough], I've always wished that disney's animators would team up with Miyazaki. I love the art of his movies, but get annoyed with the framerate.
but isn't that an inseparable part of the appeal? Rather like the "warm" feel of stop motion?
no :) Not for me anyway.
There were a couple moments towards the end of Spirited Away that really looked gorgeous, and at least appeared smoother. Those are some of the most visually beautiful (to me) moments in the entire film. Jerky motion is one thing, but when even smooth motions look jerky, it's another.
There are moments, in most of his movies (I haven't seen them all), where the key frames and all the intermediate frames are seamless, but most of the time, it feels like not enough animators were hired.
animation has texture, texture must vary with artist's style and director's intent AND culture. I wouldn't change a thing.
Can we agree to disagree?
To be fair, there are far worse (to me, again) culprits in terms of the texture. Pretty much all of them. But having grown up with The Lion King, perhaps it's understandable that, while I love the subject matter and aesthetic of Miyazaki, I often prefer Disney's framerate. Miyazaki's keyframes are top notch.
I enjoyed reading your blog, and I agree with everything you say…
Wht s wth ll ths TkyMng SPM?
Really, Hayao Miyazaki could say "Draw everything in pencil" and I would just grovel obsequiously, then crawl back to my computer. I don't care if he sketches with a hunk of coal gripped between his eyebrows, as long as he keeps it up. He is the Master.
LEAVINGHALFWAY, I think the variation in "framerate" you mention is actually a carrier of information. It is one way the director has of pointing up the significance of a scene, or emotionally downplaying an event, etc. In the U.S. we don't use this mode, typically - instead we more usually animate full blast all the time.
You all are right
Lisa, your writing is wonderful as are most of your topics, however posting a bit more variety here from the topics posted to your primary website would be great!! I read BoingBoing for the variety, not to re-read TokyoMango..
The TM spam and continual linking via "Lisa Katayama is a guest blogger" is a bit intrusive for a great daily read such as BoingBoing..
Not intending to troll, just trying to voice another reader's viewpoint.. Both sites are great, but not necessarily great over one another..
I appreciate most forms of animation (except rotoscopy; so far anyways...) as long as they are not blended together. Many animated movies nowadays mix cell animation and CG and it takes me out of the mood of the scene when it happens. Even Miyazaki's Spirited Away had such a scene, When the girl runs through tall, thick vegetation: It has this sudden, ultra-smooth rolling CG motion that clashes with the 2D style. I notice every time and I wish they would have rendered it in 2D instead. I love the movie aside from that.
I'll always love the 'grittier' feel of cell animation and hope it won't ever vanish. I was pretty upset when I learned that The Frog Princess would be Disney's last cell animation movie (made worse by the fact that the movie sounds so politically correct and contrived that I don't even want to see it; but I digress)
Oh, and also: Are we certain that Lisa wasn't told by Boing Boing admin to post in that fashion? Seems to me that they would let her know if they felt she was spamming... But maybe I missed something ;)
oo0oo@15: We asked Lisa to include the line "Lisa Katayama is a guestblogger" in every post. Also, not everyone reads TokyoMango, and so we asked her to include a daily round up of her posts on that site. If you don't like her wrap-up posts, just skip them. Complaining that they're intrusive or burdensome for you to deal with is ridiculous.
oo0oo@15,
If she did what you request, somebody else would be complaining that she's just like the other Boingers so what's the point. She provides a particular perspective. Do you watch Univision and complain that they talk in Spanish all the time? You just change the channel or scroll to the next post.
"Guest", I see the word "guest". I don't know about others, but "guest" in MY house has special status. Guests get the best room and privileged status as sell as protection to my full extent. I suspect guests on BB also receive the traditional Aegis of the House. I will act accordingly.
Miyazaki is a fave of mine despite the awkward frame rates. 'Mononoke' and 'Totoro' have some really gorgeous scenes and fantastic characters. Miyazaki's fantasies would lose a lot of their impact if brought into the CGI realm as in that Miyazaki-inspired plant creature in that gawd-awful Hellboy sequel.
Disney also has some awkward frame rates in their recent films through at least 'Hunchback'.
doesnt this remind you of strawberry shortcake? anyone?