So it seems that Jump’s launched a web site/portal/promo page for the DOGS anime (I can’t tell exactly what it is since I, uh, can’t read it), and it includes our first look at the promotional art for the OAV, which could be indicative of the style they end up with in the actual animation. My first thought is the realization that there are going to be a lot of sacrifices. Miwa Shirow’s style is very detailed, super clean, but occasionally chaotic. He also uses a ton of spot blacks, which is something I think almost always loses its charm when color is added (just take a look at Watchmen; hunt down the inked pages and compare them to the colored ones).
My second thought is that those character designs look pretty generic all of a sudden. From left to right: Badou looks a bit more feminine and flamboyant than I’m used to… I think it’s his face? I don’t know, but I miss the camo pattern on his coat. Haine actually doesn’t look that bad. His proportions are full of lulz, and I really don’t know what’s going on with that left arm of his, but honestly, Shirow has some funky proportions sometimes too. Naoto is pretty unimpressive, but I don’t think that angle’s helping. Her face looks kind of off, and I can’t see the detail that needs to be on the hilt of her katana. Mihai probably looks the best here. His face is spot on, and the rest of him looks passable.
Really though, it isn’t that bad. The characters are far from being bastardized, and the background looks pretty good too. In any case, it’s just promotional art. How the animation ends up remains to be seen, and that’s the important part, right? This might be the first time a manga is adapted into an anime as I’m reading it, so I can’t say how purist I’ll end up being, but as far as first impressions go, I’m reasonably pleased. At least I don’t have to worry about the voice cast.
(Hattip: DOGS LJ Community)
I don’t know, I’m not really impressed. But what’s up with the anatomy and proportions? I mean, yeah, sure, Shirow makes some mistakes as well sometimes, but that’s no excuse. It’s not BAD or anything, but it looks like a second rate fanart.
Well, it markedly better than what I’d expect a doujinshi to look like, so I don’t really think it deserves to be compared to bad fanart. The only really obvious proportion problem I see in the promo art is Badou’s face, Haine’s arm, and probably Mihai’s body — most of which likely has to do with the funky angle.
If they stay true to Shirow’s storytelling, there will probably be a lot of funky angles in the animation too, but I expect those scenes to go by fast enough that minor mistakes won’t matter. I guess it isn’t really an excuse, but I think it’s easy to pick on promo art since we can stare at it as long as we want. Animation gets a bit more leeway. Judging by relative accuracy of the designs, I’d expect all the close-ups to be pretty good, so at this point, I’m not too worried about the rest of it.
I guess I’m just an optimist at this point? Dunno. :3