by Doesn’t this go beyond the realm of “animation collapse”?
There are many different types of animation failures. Some animation failures have been unpopular with anime fans, while others have been well-received. For example, the animation failures of Mobile Suit Gundam fall into the latter category.
He’s so beautiful… This handsome character from Shurato was suspected of wearing a wig. Among them, the animation failure Zaku, commonly known as “Doan Zaku,” which appeared in the 15th episode of the anime “The Island of Cucuruz Doan,” was well-received for its strangely elongated nose and was later made into a plastic model.
There are other cases where animation failures have been well-received. First, when discussing funny animation failures, “Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers” is indispensable. The first work in the “Transformers” series, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2024, is famous for the countless stories about animation failures. Generally speaking, when we think of animation failure, many people imagine a state in which the shape of the picture is broken.
However, in the case of “Transformers,” in addition to the usual animation failure, there were many strange mistakes, such as a robot that should have been one body splitting into two due to coloring mistakes and Bumblebee participating in a meeting to “go find the missing Bumblebee.” At this point, it seems that viewers have come to see it as a “funny animation with animation failure,” and it appears that there are surprisingly many people who rewatch “Transformers” to find such things to criticize. Speaking of robot anime, the animation failure of “Machine Robo Bucchigiri Battle Hackers” was also impressive.
This work, the second in the series, incorporates the Yankee culture of the time into the world of robot anime, and the high-quality opening video created by Nobuyoshi Habara and Hirotoshi Sano is still often discussed on the Internet. However, the animation of the main story is not very stable. Sometimes, the robots are as cool as the opening, but sometimes, they are so goofy that they put Doan Zaku to shame.
The episodes with good animation are of a quality that is head and shoulders above other robot anime of the same era, and many people find this gap appealing. Even in the works of Tatsunoko Productions, which is well-known for its modern-design battle suits and mecha, there was a legendary anime with poor animation. Its name is “Tenkuu Senki Shurato.”
The work is based on Indian mythology and depicts a young man who fights wearing armor called “Shakti,” which transforms into an animal. What supported its appeal were the handsome characters created by Okuda Matsuri, who is famous for his character design in the anime “Legend of the Galactic Heroes.” However, as the broadcast approached the second half, perhaps due to a lack of workforce, the animation became questionable.
Even if we were to give in and say that it would be one thing if the characters’ shapes were distorted, their movements became jerky, almost like animated GIFs. Even in serious battle scenes, there were many strange scenes, such as characters running around with a bang. Even Yasha King Gai, one of the most handsome characters in the series, fell victim to animation failure.
In episode 32 of the anime, a strange phenomenon occurred: his head floated around every time he walked. Modern anime has relatively stable animation, but in the past, such animation failures were commonplace. The many animation failures that are unthinkable today may be the charm unique to Showa-era anime.
