Jinzoningen MULE wrote:I wouldn't say massive, but yeah, from Boo on, the character designs develop a similar, bland look to what we have in GT and DBS.AloversGaming wrote:The "old" art style of the Buu Arc so many Z fans wish Super looked like was actually terrible and a massive downgrade to the character designs and actual drawings from late Dragon Ball to early Z.
Would you mind going into more specific detail on what you don't like?
I felt the older style had more personality and heart. The big ears, thick eyebrows, one eye usually bigger than the other, the way the jaws and hair was drawn. It was all very different and unusual in a very good way. The water painted looking backgrounds and the energy it gave off. And due to that style, when something was off model it didn't look as bad. There was a sense of life and energy from everything.
Post Namek I felt the show took a massive nose dive in art (original SSJ Goku's hairstyle over Cell Games anyday
). The characters faces obviously stayed the same, but the unique features that made them stand out were no longer there, the arms started looking weird, as if the animators didn't know how to draw them with defined muscle now as to just bulky in the old style, and most the Buu arc had characters with terribly off model chins and arms. Much of the Gotenks' and Vegito fights look really bad. The way their eye brows had very sharp points with a massive gap in the middle never looked good to be either.I think GT went even further with the downgrades. That's when all the shiny face stuff started happening, and characters like Piccolo looked... kinda off in an Uncanny Valley sort of way. Like, I know he's Piccolo, but his look is off just enough to weird me out. SSJ4 Goku's highlights are also weird. As a kid I thought it was Goku's hair turning grey due to age in the adult body, I guess it was just meant to be shine. In the final episode (great final!) Son Goku's head at the end looks messed up the whole time. Like, his shoulders are too small, and head is too big.
Super is all over the place. Clearly the style I want is never returning, but Super's own style can't make up its mind. The new arc has them using thicker lights and a new filter that I kinda like, but even than things like overly shiny sides of faces, too much shine in hair, the way Goku's jawline and hair is drawn (seriously, most of the time Goku's hair has looked terrible). Bulma looks too typical anime girl of the late '00s, and it hadn't recaptured the heart and style the original had.
Don't get me wrong, DB anime was always a company product made for money that the animators probably had no love for and seen as another job (at least at first), but it felt personal and looked like it was made with passion.
Also want to note that this isn't nostalgia speaking, I started with Z like most here in my country and went to DB afterwards. I never liked Android arc on wards in terms of art choices.
Personally I feel "Yo! Son Goku and Friends Return" is second place (distant second, but still second) in terms of art and design to the characters looks, expressions etc.
(Also, just wanna say i'm annoyed creating the old look in the new DBZ games isn't all the possible and is very bothersome:P)
This is how I like my DB characters to look. See the sharp outline of Son Goku's face? His cheek and chin. How the cheek curves in wards, the small pupils that make him look more intense, focused, or angry. How one eyebrow is raised a little higher than the other (found better in most other scenes), his BIG ears, sharp nose; and how the hair is drawn and how thick it looks. This is my fave DB style, I feel it makes everyone feel more alive, and gives all the characters a tougher vibe (adding to what I said in the past comment). Most DB has this look, though it really kicks into this style around Tien's introduction if I remember correctly.
