Off Topic: Anime Designers Can Enjoy, Part 1

In addition to discussing cuteness and its place in design, I see this blog as a place to promote my strange little hobbies- one of which is watching anime. I've been into anime since freshman year of college, and over the years have seen dozens of series. Some are good, most are bad, and some are particularly... interesting. I've grown attracted to series that have a unique style and art direction, something different from the usual giant fighting robots and cute girls wearing cat ears that infects most anime.

So I've decided to start a mini-part series on Design Benign: Anime Designers Can Enjoy. Each post in the series will highlight several anime series that set themselves apart from the typical anime fare in terms of art style. So here we go.


Mononoke


Plot: A mysterious medicine seller uses tricks and spells to ward off the evil. It draws mostly from Japanese horror legends, focusing on the demons haunting people's lives.
Style: Art Deco-meets-Alphonse Mucha-meets-ukiyo-e woodblock prints. Very minimal animation, but heavy on mood, composition and suspense.
Where Can I Watch It: Mononoke's prequel, episodes 9-11 of the anime series Ayakashi, are available on DVD in North America (with English dub voices and English subtitles). Mononoke has yet to be licensed in North America, but you can watch it through various semi-legal means (English subtitles only).

Utena


Plot: A girl who wishes to be a prince duels to protect the "Rose Bride" in this surreal fairy tale.
Style: Art Deco-meets-shadow puppets-meets Baroque-meets fairy tale symbolism. Like Mononoke, very minimal animation (caused by a limited budget), but the repeated sequences, like in the duel scenes, just add to the surrealism and beauty of the series. Also, ROSES EVERYWHERE.
Where Can I Watch It: The entire Utena series, including the movie, is available on DVD in North America. One of my absolute favorite shows, I highly recommend it.

FLCL


Plot: Puberty welcomes a young boy by having robots emerge from his head and a strange alien girl move into his home.
Style: Actually, out of all of the series I'll review here, I think this one has the most "normal" style. But the way the animation is used and the editing and pacing is absolutely fantastic. I am completely in love with how pauses and quiet moments are used in this series, and how it gives the viewer just enough information to keep them engrossed and wondering and somewhat confused.
Where Can I Watch It: FLCL is a six-episode series available on DVD in North America. It's a very good introductory series for those wanting to get into anime, too.