The different animation styles in the DBZ series

[veshira]

So what you are saying is that they got worse results due to more work to do? Or am I not getting your point?

Missing the point. I just made a statement which had nothing to do with why the details of the manga are different than the anime. I just meant that a panel that looks good in the manga, in black and white, won't necessarally look as good as it will when animated and colored.

Second of all: When the manga got more detailed, I guess they should make the animations more detailed as well. Looking at the manga illustration, there are much more details in the face, on the armor (such as it looking polished) etc. than at the end of the last Tenkaichi Budokai.
These details are gone at the anime picture. One would guess that the animation team got more to do and couldn't pass the details on to the anime.
I guess the production would get much more expensive if they added all the details and that it would be economically impossible as it was just a TV show. But it sure would look nicer with them there.

Yes, that's all true. Perhaps it is the expenses of paint (or whatever they use.) It may have also have been harder to add such details in cels back then, because the tools were probably not as sharp as computers are nowadays. Or something. I don't know.

[Tsukento]

In the anime, though, since everything is animated, it's a bit different telling the same story as it is in comic format. You can animate movement! (Ooh! Aah! ) Not to mention, the animators probably wanted to drag things out as much as possible, so that they wouldn't catch up with the manga. (Starring at each other, anyone?)

Might also wanna mention that that screenshot from the anime is obviously from the heavily edited Season 1 where Gohan's tears were..censored. o_O;

[veshira]

Might also wanna mention that that screenshot from the anime is obviously from the heavily edited Season 1 where Gohan's tears were..censored. o_O;

Wow, I didn't even notice that edit, because it's so stupid, (or simply because I don't notice things.) I know he's crying, why the heck did they edit out his tears? Is making a little kid cry inappropiate for television or something?

[Snail]

If I remember correctly they also edited out a thinking bubble of Gohan's of an apple tree. There are many unnecessary edits in the Ocean dub. A majority of them are oh-so-extremely laughable.

[Majin Cell]

If I remember correctly they also edited out a thinking bubble of Gohan's of an apple tree. There are many unnecessary edits in the Ocean dub. A majority of them are oh-so-extremely laughable.

That's a shame really . The ocean dub had so many great voices. It could have been so good if they didn't have to follow those ridiculous censorship rules. Oh well though, the past is the past.

[veshira]

Damn apples trees. Just imagine what could have happened if they kept it in! Kids might climb trees, fall out, and kill themselves! Then the angry mothers of America would attack with lawsuits and angry fanmail...

[desirecampbell]

-Somewhere inside a FUNi office-

"So, Mr. Jenkins, sir, why do we have to get rid of the apple tree?"

"Don't question me Smith! Think of the poor children."

"But, sir, it's just a tree..."

"Not another word Smith! Do it, now!"

-Smith leaves, closes door.-

*Jenkins Thinking* "I told you, you trees would pay for killing my father. I shall have my revenge!"

*yelling* "I hate you treeeeeeeeeeeeees!"

-door opens-

"Did you say something sir?"

"Damnit, Smith, get rid of that tree!"

[cZ33]

Sry all, this is a carry-over of a duplicate thread that I made pertaining to the same topic; don't shoot me heh.

Does anyone know why Mr. Toriyama changed his style of art?

Because he and every artist would naturally develop their art style over a 10 year period.

Is this why the art style changed very mildly throughout DB? When DBZ came along it changed drastically, there was a reason beyond natural development.

[Mayuri Furiza Kurotsuchi]

Sry all, this is a carry-over of a duplicate thread that I made pertaining to the same topic; don't shoot me heh.

Does anyone know why Mr. Toriyama changed his style of art?

Because he and every artist would naturally develop their art style over a 10 year period.

Is this why the art style changed very mildly throughout DB? When DBZ came along it changed drastically, there was a reason beyond natural development.

DBZ was much longer, so there was more time for the change.

[cZ33]

Sry all, this is a carry-over of a duplicate thread that I made pertaining to the same topic; don't shoot me heh.

Because he and every artist would naturally develop their art style over a 10 year period.

Is this why the art style changed very mildly throughout DB? When DBZ came along it changed drastically, there was a reason beyond natural development.

DBZ was much longer, so there was more time for the change.

True. I don't doubt that Toriyama picked up more modern techniques/styles over the lengthy span of DBZ. But I think he overhauled the art style for a reason beyond his own natural development as an artist; perhaps to keep the series fresh or to give it a more serious feel or look.

[Godo]

As far as I know, with DBZ Toriyama intended to make a series of Dragonball made for older audiences, hence the fact of drawing DBZ more different than the Dragonball series. And then, when the SSJ came the figures got more "pointier" to give a more sense of action into the battles.

[cZ33]

As far as I know, with DBZ Toriyama intended to make a series of Dragonball made for older audiences, hence the fact of drawing DBZ more different than the Dragonball series. And then, when the SSJ came the figures got more "pointier" to give a more sense of action into the battles.

Ah i see, thanks. Yeah, when SSJ came into play the characters became more defined in terms of muscles, hair, etc giving them that pointy look.

[Saiyan]

I don't think he would change his art style to change his main audience. Dragonball has always been a Shonen manga, meant for young boys.

That aside, I agree. He simply changed the art style to suit the change of storytelling (from comedy to comedy/action mix to action).

[Duo]

Reading the Manga, there never is a drastic "jump" in his art style. There are just tiny little changes here and there that, over a few volumes, adds up to a new "look" for the series. But it isn't instant by any means. I think he was just making tweaks for the fun of it as he went (which he was).

The Anime doesn't reflect this quite as well as the Manga, but you can still see it there if you look hard enough, just a little tougher when it's adaptations by various artists and not the artist himself.

[MartianOddity]

As far as I know, I read somewhere (please don't ask me where, I don't remember) that Toriyama slowly drew the characters more pointy to give more action and power to his drawings. Every time a fan complained over the "new" style, that the characters were too square-ish and not like the early Dragonball style, he just drew them even more square-ish just to mess with them. I can't back this up at the moment, but I recall that it was written in the back of my Swedish manga translations.

[Grandmaster J]

Just for the record, all these mixed up animation styles are the ONLY thing I dislike about the DBZ series, my favorite anime of all time. And it's probably the first thing I would change about the series, if I could.

[Bejiita]

Toriyama's original stlye (the rounded edge one) was his preffered style.

It was the producers of the anime who asked him to slightly change it, making the corners on the characters more sharp because it would be easier to draw and animate altogether.

The reason why the manga has a mixed stlye of these two styles during the middle to the end is due to a letter from ONE fan saying how the new style wasn't as good as the old one, and that he should go back to it, it's amazing how one letter can alter his mind, then again it was probably his own liking of his original style that was dominant to what the anime producers wanted, then again it was his story and his characters. After a few pages of how the new stlye looked and the anime got the gist of how to draw them the way they saw fit to, he saw it ok to sort of go back to using it.

As you get to the Dabura and Gohan fight, he uses sharp edges again, but it was probably because it was quicker to draw it in this new style, so he must have just thought 'fuck it' and done it their way, slightly using the old style where he saw fit to.

I like the old stlye myself, it's part of why I also like the early series 10 times better too. After the Cell arc it just doesn't have what the old episodes did, and it's not just the art it's the story that was better too.

[cZ33]

Toriyama's original stlye (the rounded edge one) was his preffered style.

It was the producers of the anime who asked him to slightly change it, making the corners on the characters more sharp because it would be easier to draw and animate altogether....

Interesting, thanks for that insight Bejiita.

I like the old stlye myself, it's part of why I also like the early series 10 times better too. After the Cell arc it just doesn't have what the old episodes did, and it's not just the art it's the story that was better too.

Agreed. I'm also more partial to the series from the Saiya-jin saga up until the Cell arc partly due to the old style of animation. The story was more powerful. I do like the Buu saga but only certain aspects of it like the fusions.

The pictures arent very clear but your able to note some of the differences between earlier and later 'style'

[Mike D]

I like the old stlye myself, it's part of why I also like the early series 10 times better too. After the Cell arc it just doesn't have what the old episodes did, and it's not just the art it's the story that was better too.

After all these years I always thought that "I'm the only one".

Although the overall animation "improved" with the times. I always felt as though the animation in the Piccolo, Saiyan, and (sometimes) Freeza sagas are more fun to watch than the "new" designs in the Buu saga.

[Panda]

I love the "new-style". I just seems more, well, correct as far as proportions go. I cetanly don't want to see a bunch of round sweaty guys flying around kicking ass. I was to see bold, muscular characters kicking ass. (with pretty hair )