List of the Best Animated Episodes

[fps_anth]

So I'm making my way through the entire series again with the Dragon Boxes, and I'm noticing the inconsistent art style more than ever before. It didn't bother me as a kid, but now it's just cringe inducing. I mean, we literally jump from this:



to this:



between a single episode (or seconds if we're talking the last episode recap!). Heck, horrible animation/art has become even more apparent with Kai, as it will radically change in the middle of an episode. It's one of the main reasons why I have a hard time watching that show!

Now, we've had animation discussions in the past. But those threads usually devolve into "lol look at Vegeta in this pic". I'd like to keep things a little more organized. I'm sure this is no coincidence, but my favorite episodes of the series are very well animated. It seems like Toei hires the more expensive teams for important moments, and pays amateurs pennies to animate the less important, dragged out episodes.

So I'd like to organize a list of well animated episodes. Given that the series is over 400 episodes long, a list of well animated and (not coincidentally I think) important episodes all in one spot is pretty convenient I think. It's a great way to breeze through the series.

To keep this organized...

1. Post episode name and number. (Kanzentai is your friend )
2. Post a couple of screencaps of your favorite scenes. Preferably from the Dragon Box (crappy Cartoon Network screencaps are crappy), and nothing too huge. I used 320x240, it makes everything look sexy.

Ultimately, what constitutes as "well animated" is completely up to you. Personally, I feel Maeda Minoru`s stuff (the man was in charge of all the promotional art for the anime until 1993) is the best of the bunch. He truly captures Toriyama`s style like no other. I'm curious to see what pops up in this thread.

I`ll start off with two completely random episodes from the last disc I watched.


The List

Dragon Ball Z Episode 021
Come Forth, Shenron! The Saiyan Finally Arrive on Earth

Comments: I've always liked this tag team art style of Tatsuo/Minoru and specifically remember them as the team that animated the last DB episode. The art still looks fantastic even in shots where the shading is minimal.
Submitted by: DaemonCorps

Dragon Ball Z Episode 064
The Savage Recoom! The Bad, Strong, and Outrageous Guy



Submitted by: Son_Gohan

Dragon Ball Z Episode 120
Freeza Halved By a Single Blow!! Another Super Saiyan


Comments: Godlike animation, Trunks at the peak of his badassery (hell, does anyone top this?), an insert song, and Vegeta in a pink shirt. This episode has it all. Mandatory viewing right here.
Submitted by: fps_anth

Dragon Ball Z Episode 124
I Will Overcome... Goku!! The King of the Fighting Saiyan Race



Comments: It`s a shame that the good animation team is "wasted" on a filler episode. However, we end up with a good filler episode because of it. Great animation aside, I always liked this episode. Vegeta`s training was cool to watch, we see some character development between Bulma and Vegeta (as opposed to none in the manga), and you gotta love Vegeta`s trippy nightmare. Very good by filler standards.
Submitted by: fps_anth

Dragon Ball Z Episode 185
Anger Exploding Into Power!! The Cell Juniors are Destroyed

Comments: The animation and art is virtually flawless
Submitted by: jjgp1112[/quote]


Dragon Ball Z Episode 268
Merged!! Vegeta's Pride and Goku's Rage

Animation Supervisor: Hisada Kazuya
Key Animators: Hisada Kazuya, Shimanuki Masahiro, Tate Naoki, Takeuchi Tomekichi, Yamashita Kei (Megumi?), and Iizuka Youko



Comments: I really love the works of Hisada and Shimanuki. Look at those shots of Goku. To me, it's the best Goku in the series. The rubble and explosions are drawn excellently as well.
Submitted by: Kei17

[kei17]

Ultimately, what constitutes as "well animated" is completely up to you. Personally, I feel Maeda Minoru`s stuff (the man was in charge of all the promotional art for the anime until 1993) is the best of the bunch. He truly captures Toriyama`s style like no other.

Most of those who have an interest in this "sakuga" stuff say the same thing, but I always disagree with that. Episodes supervised by Maeda always look better than others because they were drawn by brilliant key animators: Nakatsuru, Satou, Eguchi, and Ide. Maeda just retouched their works slightly. Maeda actually is a good animator, but I personally think he is not that good.

Dragon Ball Z Episode 124
I Will Overcome... Goku!! The King of the Fighting Saiyan Race
*snip*

The shots of Vegeta and Yamcha were drawn by Satou Masaki. The scene of Gohan's training was done by Ide Takeo, and Okimoto Hideko (one of few female key animators in DB) drew that Vegeta's dream scene. They seem not to be retouched by Maeda at all except the shots of Bulma and King Vegeta.


*edit* To be on-topic, here's my favourite episode sakuga-wise:

Dragon Ball Z Episode 268
Merged!! Vegeta's Pride and Goku's Rage

Animation Supervisor: Hisada Kazuya
Key Animators: Hisada Kazuya, Shimanuki Masahiro, Tate Naoki, Takeuchi Tomekichi, Yamashita Kei (Megumi?), and Iizuka Youko



Comments: I really love the works of Hisada and Shimanuki. Look at those shots of Goku. To me, it's the best Goku in the series. The rubble and explosions are drawn excellently as well.
Submitted by: Kei17

[fps_anth]

Ultimately, what constitutes as "well animated" is completely up to you. Personally, I feel Maeda Minoru`s stuff (the man was in charge of all the promotional art for the anime until 1993) is the best of the bunch. He truly captures Toriyama`s style like no other.

Most of those who have an interest in this "sakuga" stuff say the same thing, but I always disagree with that. Episodes supervised by Maeda always look better than others because they were drawn by brilliant key animators: Nakatsuru, Satou, Eguchi, and Ide.Maeda just retouched their works slightly. Maeda actually is a good animator, but I personally think he is not that good.

Interesting. To be honest, I`m not an expert when it comes to these terms (key animator, art, animation etc.). I`ve heard Nakatsuru`s name before, but I`m not familiar with the others. I`ll have to keep them in mind, because those screencaps you posted are beautiful. Fantastic episode, added to the list.

The shots of Vegeta and Yamcha were drawn by Satou Masaki. The scene of Gohan's training was done by Ide Takeo, and Okimoto Hideko (one of few female key animators in DB) drew that Vegeta's dream scene. They seem not to be retouched by Maeda at all except the shots of Bulma and King Vegeta.

You have one hell of a good eye to be able to drop names like that

[sumpter360]

This is an awesome thread! I also love the really well animated episodes. The Trunks one shown above is my absolute favorite as well. A quck question, though. I can't stand how inconsistent the series's can be when it comes to animation. (Z and GT can be terrible, though I don't know about original DB). Do other show have this much inconsistency? I haven't noticed it with shows other than DBZ and GT. It's really too bad, since the DB(/Z/GT) series is so great. Just imagine if EVERY episode looked like the Trunks one

[jjgp1112]

Dragon Ball Z Episode 185
Anger Exploding Into Power!! The Cell Juniors are Destroyed

Comments: The animation and art is virtually flawless
Submitted by: jjgp1112

[fps_anth]

This is an awesome thread! I also love the really well animated episodes. The Trunks one shown above is my absolute favorite as well. A quck question, though. I can't stand how inconsistent the series's can be when it comes to animation. (Z and GT can be terrible, though I don't know about original DB). Do other show have this much inconsistency? I haven't noticed it with shows other than DBZ and GT. It's really too bad, since the DB(/Z/GT) series is so great. Just imagine if EVERY episode looked like the Trunks one

I'm not into too much anime, but there's definitely a similar thing going on with One Piece. Some episodes look like utter shit, while others look damn near Disney movie quality.

Maybe it's a problem with Toei and long running series

and the SSJ2 Gohan episode has been added to the list. Gotta love that episode... and I'm pretty sure the episode prior (Unmei no Hi!) was fantastically done as well. I'm gonna grab my R2 and make some screen caps right now.

[JulieYBM]

This is an awesome thread! I also love the really well animated episodes. The Trunks one shown above is my absolute favorite as well. A quck question, though. I can't stand how inconsistent the series's can be when it comes to animation. (Z and GT can be terrible, though I don't know about original DB). Do other show have this much inconsistency? I haven't noticed it with shows other than DBZ and GT. It's really too bad, since the DB(/Z/GT) series is so great. Just imagine if EVERY episode looked like the Trunks one

I'm not into too much anime, but there's definitely a similar thing going on with One Piece. Some episodes look like utter shit, while others look damn near Disney movie quality.

Heh, One Piece has been pretty spotty for the past year or so. All of the good animators seem to be working on Precure. Although, One Piece did have incredible animation during Thriller Bark, making me wish they'd return. Anyway, you're right about Toei and long series'. Long shows tends to mean bigger investments, which mean talented animators that cost a lot of money won't always be brought on. Dragon Ball tended to have good animation, though, outside of the numerous episodes given to Last House. Naruto Shippuden and Bleach--which are two and three hundred episodes in--bring in the occasional string of talented animation teams, too. Sasuke v. Itachi, Sasuke v. Bee, Naruto v. Pain (Wakabayashi!) and a few of the recent filler episodes all have movie quality animation. The last seventy or so episodes of Bleach have had a fair amount of ace animation teams working on them, as well. One Piece seems to be the only currently long running battle series that hasn't been given much love lately, although Tate Naoki is just now returning to the key animation rotation, so hopefully the upcoming fights will have his involvement. In general though, I'd say One Piece has gotten an eaten shorter stick of the Toei draw than Dragon Ball.

[DragonBoxZTheMovies]

Dragon Ball Z Episode 090
That Ain't No Bluff!! The Audaciously Wonderful Guy, Son Goku




Comment: Everyone's on model and well drawn, the outlines are bold and overall it looks really awesome.
Submitted by: DragonBoxZtheMovies

I heart Kanezentai

To be honest, even well animated episodes have their poor moments:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsF72A6u ... re=related
Check out Tenshinhan at 33-36secs.

EDIT: May as well do a few more!

Dragon Ball Z Episode 164
A Future of Despair!! Trunks, the Man Who Lived Through Hell




Comment: Once again, everyone is well drawn and very detailed. The shading and lighting is also brilliant.
Submitted by: DragonBoxZtheMovies


DragonBall Z Episode 155
Suddenly Full-Throttle!! The Radiant Vegeta's Super Power



Comment: Very memorable episode in terms of animation, love the shine on Vegeta once he transforms.
Submitted by: DragonBoxZtheMovies

I also wanted to do episode 291 but Kanzentai doesn't have that up yet.

[jjgp1112]

Considering how far off in the distance T­ien's face is, I don't see how that's even close to notable.

[DaemonCorps]

Dragon Ball Z Episode 021
Come Forth, Shenron! The Saiyan Finally Arrive on Earth

Comments: I've always liked this tag team art style of Tatsuo/Minoru and specifically remember them as the team that animated the last DB episode. The art still looks fantastic even in shots where the shading is minimal.
Submitted by: DaemonCorps

[DBZ Mick]

^
Man, the scouter looks MASSIVE on Vegeta's head on that shot.

I can't post pictures but...

Episode 103

http://www.kanzentai.com/eps-dbz.php?id=103

Pathos of Freeza! Once He Starts Shaking He's Unstoppable!!

I really love the look of Namek (the use of red and black in combination with Goku and Freeza's own colours) as it starts to come to it's end.

[CashmanX]

Hey Kei, could you post those youtube links to those animation team compilations again?

[JulieYBM]

Hey Kei, could you post those youtube links to those animation team compilations again?

I don't think he has them uploaded yet on his own channel, but I have copies on one of mine. They're the ones simply titled after the animator in question (and have Kei credited in the description).

[CashmanX]

Hey Kei, could you post those youtube links to those animation team compilations again?

I don't think he has them uploaded yet on his own channel, but I have copies on one of mine. They're the ones simply titled after the animator in question (and have Kei credited in the description).

Thanks!

Shimanuki and Hisada are by far my favorites.

[Son_Gohan]

Comments: I've always liked this tag team art style of Tatsuo/Minoru and specifically remember them as the team that animated the last DB episode. The art still looks fantastic even in shots where the shading is minimal.

That first shot of Goku along with some of the others were drawn by Satou Masaki, and he was a key animator for the last DB episode as well.

The only DBZ episode he supervised animation for was episode 64, in Vegeta's fight with Recoome:

Dragon Ball Z Episode 064
The Savage Recoom! The Bad, Strong, and Outrageous Guy

[KiddoCabbusses]

So I'm making my way through the entire series again with the Dragon Boxes, and I'm noticing the inconsistent art style more than ever before. It didn't bother me as a kid, but now it's just cringe inducing. I mean, we literally jump from this:



to this:

May I ask for more screens akin to these "Same moment different animation" sorts of things? I notice how it tends to happen often on the show (complete with characters re-stating their dialog with minor alterations in either the line itself or the tone it's said in) and a compilation would probably help me understand the comparisons a lot better.

[DaemonCorps]

That first shot of Goku along with some of the others were drawn by Satou Masaki, and he was a key animator for the last DB episode as well.

The only DBZ episode he supervised animation for was episode 64, in Vegeta's fight with Recoome

I'm just going off what's on kanzentai.com :/. Kinda sad that he's not used in later episodes.

Also, curious: are we limited to just putting up DBZ episodes, or can we put up DB ones, too? Though I guess it'd be pretty hard to distinguish good from bad in that case since the art style itself was completely different then.

[coola]

DragonBall Z Episode 159:
A Shock to the Entire Universe!!
Cell, A Spectacular Evolution Toward His Perfect Form
Animation Supervisor: Miyahara Naoki
Key Animation: Satou Masaki, Nashizawa Takashi, Inagami Akira, Numako Tetsuya, Okimoto Hideko, Nakatsuru Katsuyoshi, Ide Takeo, Shida Naotoshi, Uesugi Chikako, Iwagami Kuniko
Comment: Very well drawn episode,especially during transformation scene,all this lighting, you can clearly see Cell body reshape itself

[Cipher]

What, no love for the first series?

I apologize for the small Kanzentai screencaps. I'm studying abroad right now and don't have my DVDs with me.

Dragon Ball Episode 82
The Violent Monster Inoshikacho


Comments: I guarantee no one else will bring up this episode, and it's very easy to overlook. But it's absolutely gorgeous. Toei really seemed to go-all out on each of Goku's solo-training episodes, but this is the best of the bunch. I wish I had my DVDs so I could post a shot of Goku meeting the wagon-driving couple at the beginning of the episode, because that's the first moment where you'll notice just how fluid the animation is. Just that first shot of the wagon coming down the hill seems to have twice the budget of some full episodes, and it doesn't disappoint from there. Inoshikacho is full of character, people are more animated during conversations, and Tenshinhan's brief fight with Goku looks fantastic. It's not ultra-detailed, as no Dragon Ball episodes are, and it doesn't contain any masterfully choreographed battles, but this episode excels in terms of animation.

Submitted by: Cipher


Dragon Ball Episode 97
The Finals!! Who is the World's Greatest Martial Artist!?


Comments: There's only one thing you need to know about this episode, and that's the fact that it has the camera rotate around Goku and Tenshinhan as they launch themselves against each other. Holy shit. This moment alone would be enough to place the episode within the top percentage of all Dragon Ball animation, but it looks good start to finish. Everyone's on-model and the fight is very well choreographed and convincing. In short, one of the best looking action episodes in all three series.

Submitted by: Cipher

[jjgp1112]

The thing I noticed in late Dragon Ball is that they seemed to be moving towards the "new style" even faster to Toriyama. Those episodes done by those guys had a lot of elements similar to that style - it wasn't exactly the same, but it had the same type of sleek designs. By the 23rd Martial Arts Tournament, you could really see it. On the other hand, at that point in the manga the style still looked like the "classic" version.