You are not looking are some fan drawn images. These are official images from Dragon Ball Super’s fifth episode. Fan drawn images probably look better!
The images look stiff, rough, and incredibly awkward. Polished, they are not. Online in Japan, people are saying this is a “massive breakdown” (大崩壊 or dai houkai) of the anime’s images. Crap images are not uncommon in anime, but this is perhaps a tad disappointing because Dragon Ball Super is a big, new show. The bar is a bit higher, I guess. (It’s supposed to be super, right?!) Also, this was supposed to be the episode’s big showdown...
Let’s have a look.
[Photo via 2ch]
The hell you talking about? This looks fine, you say. Wait, just wait. I say.
[Photo via syunsyun26]
[Photo via TEC_Arrowhead]
[Photo via 2ch]
[Photo via syunsyun26]
[Photo via 2ch]
[Photo via 2ch]
[Photo via 2ch]
[Photo via nobu_0736]
This does not look like Goku.
[Photo via TEC_Arrowhead]
Neither does this.
[Photo via toramipi]
Bwah.
[Photo via nobu_0736]
Well, then. But this wasn’t the only scene with crud animation, but it was the most egregious.
[Photo via 2ch]
Blergh.
Working in the anime industry is not easy. The pay is generally shit. The hours are insane. And the schedule for anime shows is brutal.
[Photo via kouhei44]
[Photo via nikka_aloha]
[Photo via TEC_Arrowhead]
As Thomas Romain, one of the few foreigners in animation in Japan, points out that the industry needs to recognize how tough the work environment is. If it does, perhaps not only the work conditions will improve, but the quality of anime.
[Photo via 2ch]
Hopefully.
To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter@Brian_Ashcraft.
Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.