The Art of Anime

I don't really have anywhere to go with this; just want to register my frustration:

Anime is a visual medium. Yes, there are voice actors and sound effects and such. But the art is central to the experience.

And yet reviewers rarely talk about the art itself. What do the characters look like? How big are the eyes compared to other, similar works? How are the bodies drawn? How is hair rendered? What's the color scheme?

On that last front, I'm amazed at the conservation of color in Akira. Considering the size of the film's budget--US $11 million, many times that of most films--look at how many colors are used here on Tetsuo:

[http://www.otakunovideo.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/485full-akira-screenshot-300x168.png|300x168px|Akira screenshot]

Three skin colors, two red cape colors, two shirt colors (white and gray), and two pant colors. That's it. That's not a complaint; the film remains beautiful. It's smart economy.

I'm frustrated about mostly because I don't talk about the art much either. I've almost completely missed this element of analysis and review.

Time to get better.