Animes I have watched

These holidays, I have had the time to watch some animations/animes that I really enjoyed.

I will list all the animes I found to be really inspiring for my path/future with animation.

Yuri on Ice

This was a huge influence in the style of drawing faces, using simple scenery and beautiful music. The animation seen was breathtaking and amazing. The story was a real story. Many people can relate to the characters within the story and some of the settings they appear in. I still love this anime and will continue to for a long time, especially with the new Yuri on Ice movie, Ice Adolescence coming in 2019. I'm very excited!

Many say that this anime is gay. I disagree on this matter. I see that the two main characters are not romantically in love and won't be romantically in love. Their relationship is pure like the love of family or friends. I like the idea of having the pure, innocent kind of relationship that is not romantic nor sexual.

Your Name

This anime demonstrated breathtaking views and locations in Japan. The plot line was very engaging, yet frustrating with the sudden plot twists and change of moods. I loved how in a certain scene, it used and combined lots of different techniques with animating to portray someone's life flashing before another's eyes. It was truly amazing. I also really liked how the beginning of the film linked to the ending and helped finalise the film. The beginning was confusing at the very start but, at the end of the film, it came together and made perfect sense. I hope to one day be able to achieve a complex and beautiful plot line, like this film showed me.

Haven't you heard? I'm Sakamoto

This anime was such a delight to watch. So funny and such an unbelievable main character. The amazing thing about this story is that, while we learn about all the important side characters' backgrounds and struggles, we do not know anything about the main character except for the fact that he is perfect and loved but every girl who sees him. Even the mothers of other students love him. The ending of this anime is seemingly cut short and sudden. It is unknown what truly happens to the main character. There are many fan made theories about why the main character 'truly' left school but it is still not known. I hope to achieve the pure comedy and quality of drawing characters this anime has.

Daily lives of High-school Boys

This anime was weird but very funny to watch. It gave insight of a great way to animate one character's thoughts clearly and effectively. It reminded me that the thoughts of the characters don't have to be hidden away but can be brought into the limelight to add both dramatic and comical moods. I personally thought that there were too many characters being introduced too fast that even one of the main characters didn't seem to appear in their own anime. I will use this anime as a reminder of why I should keep the number of characters to a simple number until much further in the story.

Free! - 3 part series 

(Free! - Free! Eternal Summer! - High Speed! Free! Starting days)

I love this anime. I really like how I got to grow up with the characters within the story, from childhood to young adults. The story was also a real story, not ridiculous, with many different characters I could relate to on a real level. The story always linked perfectly within all the different series that came out. The story was even added to and made even more sense than before. The animation angles are truly one to work hard to achieve. The story has such depth and tacked real life problems like childhood trauma affecting a teenager. This anime also shows me how to master having a character grow up on screen, and to show the different ages of each character in a believable style. The water animation was really well done. I could relate to the relationship shown between the main characters, due to the strong bond I have with my own sister. Once again, fans suggest that this anime is gay. This is not gay. It shows clearly that the friendship the main characters have is like one of brothers. They are really close, but not romantic in any way. 

One Punch Man

This story was so funny. It has an interesting main character that flattens all the stereotypical superheroes around. I love the comedy in this anime. The amusingly and simply drawn main character is just amazing and funny. This showed me that I do not have to create and draw the best character in the world to be funny and create dramatic character development. It has a real man possessing the most power in the universe. This is just funny. While other side characters are worrying about saving the city and stopping invasion, the main character is worrying about someone putting a hole in his ceiling and what he is going to buy at the supermarket.

Silent Voice

This anime is a big inspiration on how to animate and show a character who doesn't speak yet expresses how they feel. Yet another real life story, dealing with the difficult topic of the effects of being bullied as a child and being the bully as a child. I really like how the creators of this anime were able to give a voice to a deaf character in a clear way. I will try to use the techniques they showed me to improve and clarify the way to show communication without speech. 

Snow White with the Red Hair

I was drawn to this anime because of the seemingly accurate story that fit into the time period it was set in. I also really liked a mysterious side character's nature; his mysteriousness and calm, yet intimating glares. I also liked how the story doesn't force two characters to perfectly fall in love and fit together in perfect harmony without any problems. It shows a more real response to different events and character development, like if kissed by a prince, the girl is overwhelmed and avoids the prince to think things over for herself. But in the end, it was a good love story to watch develop as the story progresses.

Spirited Away

This film was beautiful with both the music and the scenery created. The story was very unique and unpredictable from start to end. I like how the film drew and animated a fast moving, flying creature that, when animated, was consistent as it rotated and spun around. I also like how, even if a character transforms into a different species, it is still recognizable to be the same character. Even if the two different forms do not look similar at all. I like the majestic creature and am inspired to stylize a creature I may create to present a majestic look to it as well. A really good movie to watch.

A Manga that inspired the style I'd like to achieve in comics is a Web-comic called ReLIFE.

ReLIFE

The story was consistent. The main issue/problem was not solved until the very end of the series. It did not cut itself short but provided a lot of mini challenges that the characters had to conquer. The thoughts and actions of the main character fit the backstory he was given. The mysteriousness of the sidekick of the main character was amazing, as I was given the explanations and backstories whereas the main character wasn't privy to these. The manga only let the reader truly understand the entire story. My favorite character is the funny and mysterious sidekick. I liked how the manga shows past memories and thoughts, as open space with faded images scattered around.