Dragon Ball Animation Appreciation Thread

[Black_Liger]

What's the best animation in db in your opinion? post gifs or videos about it and let's discuss the most beautifully animated (or WORST EVER) animation styles for Dragon ball.


I don't know where to get gifs, but I really loved Roshi vs Tienshinhan battle, the animation was top notch, especially Tien's kamehameha. It was a delight considering how old classic db is.

Talking about the worst, I remember how beautifully animated Trunks vs Freeza was, until the next episode which had not only horrible animation but terrible art as well.

[Ajay]

I think Goku's fight against Cell contains some of the most well choreographed and animated moments from the series.

Here's a WebM of the scene - http://webmup.com/0OnoR

There's more to it outside of what's in the WebM but that particular moment as the camera pans across the arena is spectacular.

-

For anyone interested in making their own WebMs for this thread. Here's a little guide:

Spoiler:

1. Download FFMPEG from here - https://www.ffmpeg.org/

2. Once installed, move the video file you want to use into the 'bin' folder inside the main installation directory.

3. Hold shift and right click in empty space in the explorer window. Click 'Open command window here'.

4. Using the following code but make the necessary adjustments for your video.

Code: Select all

ffmpeg -i INPUTFILENAME.mkv -ss 00:00:00.000 -to 00:00:00.000 -c:v libvpx -crf 4 -b:v 1500K -vf scale=640:-1 OUTPUTFILENAME.webm

Change 'INPUTFILENAME.MKV' to the name of the video file and change 'OUTPUTFILENAME.WEBM' to what you want the outputted WebM to be named. Be warned, it doesn't like filenames with spaces so consider renaming the file to something simple temporarily.

Choose the timestamps for the section of the video you want to capture. The format is HOURS:MINS:SEC.MILISECS.

Once done, paste your code into the command prompt (right click > paste - you cannot CTRL+V inside the command window) and hit enter if it doesn't begin automatically.

It will then start encoding the WebM. It shouldn't take long but it will vary depending on your PC. It may also take some time to start depending on the size of the input file.

[CashmanX]

I think Goku's fight against Cell contains some of the most well choreographed and animated moments from the series.

Here's a WebM of the scene - http://webmup.com/0OnoR

There's more to it outside of what's in the WebM but that particular moment as the camera pans across the arena is spectacular.

-

For anyone interested in making their own WebMs for this thread. Here's a little guide:

Spoiler:

1. Download FFMPEG from here - https://www.ffmpeg.org/

2. Once installed, move the video file you want to use into the 'bin' folder inside the main installation directory.

3. Hold shift and right click in empty space in the explorer window. Click 'Open command window here'.

4. Using the following code but make the necessary adjustments for your video.

Code: Select all

ffmpeg -i INPUTFILENAME.mkv -ss 00:00:00.000 -to 00:00:00.000 -c:v libvpx -crf 4 -b:v 1500K -vf scale=640:-1 OUTPUTFILENAME.webm

Change 'INPUTFILENAME.MKV' to the name of the video file and change 'OUTPUTFILENAME.WEBM' to what you want the outputted WebM to be named. Be warned, it doesn't like filenames with spaces so consider renaming the file to something simple temporarily.

Choose the timestamps for the section of the video you want to capture. The format is HOURS:MINS:SEC.MILISECS.

Once done, paste your code into the command prompt (right click > paste - you cannot CTRL+V inside the command window) and hit enter if it doesn't begin automatically.

It will then start encoding the WebM. It shouldn't take long but it will vary depending on your PC. It may also take some time to start depending on the size of the input file.

Ah yes. That one cut of animation after the close ups of dust. They're practically dancing across the arena. I could watch that all day.

[JulieYBM]

It's hard not to love what Shida Naotoshi did for Dragon Ball Z: Kami to Kami. The smoke effects, the auras, and the movements of the characters are all really lush. The manner in which they related to their environments is also sublime. Each blow really left an impact, even if the characters never looked very visibly injured. Hopefully Shida can do a higher number of cuts for Fukkatsu no F.

I think Goku's fight against Cell contains some of the most well choreographed and animated moments from the series.

Here's a WebM of the scene - http://webmup.com/0OnoR

There's more to it outside of what's in the WebM but that particular moment as the camera pans across the arena is spectacular.

That is from Episode #179, directed and storyboarded by Series Director Nishio Daisuke. The animation was subcontracted to Studio Cockpit, which now focuses heavily on Pocket Monster (they have 2-3 teams working on the series at any given time). I think the portion you played is the key animation of Iwane Masa'aki going by some of the lighting and shading used on Gokuu and Cell as they clash but I'm not quite sure. The dust is drawn a bit more intricately but it doesn't quite match the smoke effects that Iwane draws these days. Iwane has spent nearly the entirety of his career since 1997 working on Pokemon. In 2014 alone ten of the episodes aired have been entirely key animated by Iwane.

[Kakacarrottop]

Not strictly animation, but the backgrounds used in the Nappa fight and the Tree of Might always struck me as really beautiful and ethereal, even when FUNimation ruined all the animation when they decided to "remaster" the show.

[Ajay]

More from Studio Cockpit, I believe. Again, incredible choreography and top notch animation. It's scenes like these that make me wish they could have handled the entire series.

I cut together two segments from the same episode (#279). It's incredible how well put together it is. Many scenes throughout the series were just a few frames cutting between each other to give the impression of speed. These cuts feel so dynamic because the characters are actually moving.

If there's one 'criticism', it's that their 'style' (for lack of a better word) doesn't really resemble Toriyama's. It looks amazing but it's very far removed from the original manga. Certainly doesn't stop me from adoring it though.

Here it is - http://a.pomf.se/evsuiy.webm

(Some users reported that links from this domain wouldn't work the last time I used this host. The cause was unanimously the result of a script-blocking extension messing up. If you run into any issues, try temporarily disabling them.)

I'm sure our resident animation expert, JulieYBM, will tell you more about the staff behind it so I'll leave it here for now.

[DragonBalllKaiHD]

Keisuke Matsuzaka was the animation supervisor for Studio Cockpit for that episode. He has the knacks for drawing some fierce expression and some for excellent choreography. I enjoy his direction for action cuts to some degree and not so much for his style.

Shigeyasu Yamauchi is a pretty good action director. He makes a excellent storyboard and has a good sense for camera. He also draws for some really fluid animation even for action cuts. I really wish he was a director for Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods instead of that terrible director. With Fukkastu no F being more action film, he would be an excellent choice as a director. Below is his work as a director for Casshern Sin.

[JulieYBM]

Iwane Masa'aki is at the top of the key animation credits, which leads me to believe he did the majority of the action cuts, if not all of them. Tamagawa Akihiro, who serves as an on-and-off animation supervisor and key animator for Pocket Monster alongside Iwane is also credited as key animator. Satou Masayuki went on to become character designer for One Piece Film Strong World and One Piece Film Z. I am not sure if he is a member of Studio Cockpit here or simply a in-house Toei Animation employee working on the episode at Episode Director Yama'uchi Shigeyasu's request, ala Miyahara Naoki working on Dragon Ball Z Episode #184. Episode #279 has quite a few action cuts, so I'm tempted to say Iwane did them himself. He is a quick one but at the same time this episode did not have a long production schedule and the animation is quite complex thanks to Animation Supervisor Masunaga Keisuke's usual style.

I just asked Cookiefication and he's pretty sure the clips from Episode #179 are Umakoshi Yoshihiko. Umakoshi another regular Toei Animation freelancer who also performed the role of character designer for Saint Seiya Omega Episodes #1-51 and Smile PreCure. Umakoshi was also the second credited key animator for Episode #179:



As for Episode #279 0:18-1:30 is Iwane.

[Black_Liger]

Oh Wow, Thanks for backing your scenes with all that awesome info!. It's good to know the names of those animation directors, definitely studio cockpit makes it to my list of best db animation.

I put another one of my favorites here.

The animation used for Goku vs Piccolo Jr is just amazing here, considering how old it actually is, I'd say it looks even better than most of the animation for the Raditz Battle (In my opinion, maybe because it has that Final battle feel to it)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnxF8qnZMAg

Anyone know who's responsible for this scene? Did they do more scenes for Dbz?

Once I get some videofiles for extracting I'll post more of my favorites.

[NitroEX]

Kid Buu vs Goku (prior to SSJ3) is always a joy to watch. One of the rare times when the series' animation borders on movie quality in terms of detail, fluidity, choreography and effects/lighting. They really went all out there.

[LordCrumb]

I've mentioned it before, but I think the Buu saga has the finest animation around. So many great moments, too many to list.

[JulieYBM]

Oh Wow, Thanks for backing your scenes with all that awesome info!. It's good to know the names of those animation directors, definitely studio cockpit makes it to my list of best db animation.

I put another one of my favorites here.

The animation used for Goku vs Piccolo Jr is just amazing here, considering how old it actually is, I'd say it looks even better than most of the animation for the Raditz Battle (In my opinion, maybe because it has that Final battle feel to it)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnxF8qnZMAg

Anyone know who's responsible for this scene? Did they do more scenes for Dbz?

Once I get some videofiles for extracting I'll post more of my favorites.

That's from Dragon Ball Episode #147. Ohara Tai'ichirou, Shida Naotoshi, and Akio Katada were the only credited key animators. My guess is that that is the work of Ohara but some of the drawings do look a bit too on-model to be him. It might be the work of Shida Naotoshi with some corrections by Animation Supervisor Uchiyama Masayuki but I'm not sure.

[FortuneSSJ]

There's a lot of things I love but to keep it simple:
- I think the art look the best during 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai/Saiyan Arc
- Favourite fight scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6bz-vK ... xSwVBaeRRg

[JulieYBM]

That action scene from Episode #232 is directed by Yama'uchi Shigeyasu, the same person who directed Episode #279. It's been my guess that Yamamuro Tadayoshi did the key animation for those cuts but I've never been able to say for sure. For all I know it's an animator who didn't take credit!

[Ajay]

Here's a scene from one of my personal favourites in terms of animation.

http://webmup.com/Y0p69/

Almost all of Episode #4 looks absolutely beautiful. I would post the entire thing if I could.



The thick black lines are so my thing.

[JulieYBM]

I think that is Shimanuki Masahiro.

If you'd up to doing Webm files of your favorite stuff please add them to Sakugabooru! It'll make it easier to reference back to. Just remember to not include audio.

[Ajay]

Well, that last WebM I uploaded to Sakugabooru was removed - "Sorry, it's not all that well animated. Lots of stills and stuff."

Welp. I tried.

Anyway, here's another one. It's not exactly an iconic moment nor is that outstandingly well animated (lots of repeated frames) but to me, it's a perfect example of the type of fighting the show is known for - a mix of quick punches and well choreographed moves.

http://webmup.com/rYcaH/

This is Episode #73, animated by Mitsuo Shindō, I believe. It's also from the 35mm episodes of the Freeza arc so it looks stunningly crisp in Kai.

[JulieYBM]

Eep, that happens. I sort of had a feeling it might happen but I want to at least try getting new stuff added! The only key animators for Dragon Ball Z Episode #73 are Ryuu Teruhisa (I guess his last name is 'Ryuu'), Yamamuro Tadayoshi, and Shibata Noriko. This is before Yamamuro took over at the animation supervisor for Shindou Pro episodes, so I'm not sure if this is his work or not. This is better than that stuff from Dragon Ball Z Episode #4, though!

[Keikari86]

Here's a scene from one of my personal favourites in terms of animation.

http://webmup.com/Y0p69/

Almost all of Episode #4 looks absolutely beautiful. I would post the entire thing if I could.



The thick black lines are so my thing.

I think episode 4 is an ideal example of a Dragon Ball episode. Not only is the line work akin to that Toriyama's, but it also has fantastic animation perfectly suitable for a series like Dragon Ball. I'm particularly fond of the animation brought about by the likes of Masahiro and Hisada. The what I like to call "exponential frame build up animation," where an action a character makes starts off with little difference between the sequential frames and builds up exponentially as the action sequence approaches its end. For an example of this, take for instance episode 98. When Goku and Freeza charge at each other at the beginning, Freeza starts off flying toward the camera slowly, and as he approaches, he gets exponentially bigger until the last frame of the sequence shows an extreme close up of his face. Here's the kind of thing I'm talking about:

[JulieYBM]

I love those cuts from Episode #98 where Gokuu hits Freeza with that Kanada-esque snappiness. If the Seigasha episodes had just a few more drawings I bet they could've pulled off some better stuff. Episode #166 is one of their best episodes thanks to Hisada's work on Gokuu versus Gohan.